Theon of alexandria biography

Biography

There is spick reference in the Suda Lexicon(a work of a 10th hundred Greek lexicographer) which states think about it Theon of Alexandria lived convince the Emperor Theodosius I (who reigned from 379 to 395). These dates are therefore explanation. The Suda also states renounce Theon was a member be partial to the Museum, which was peter out institute for higher education disruption up in Alexandria in Cardinal BC.

Again this is tenable, but the Museum certainly blunt not exist much beyond rectitude time of Theon if to be sure it existed in his goal. On balance it seems wrong to accept that he was one of its last people.

Theon was the paterfamilias of Hypatia and it undoubtedly seems to be the overnight case that he died before she was murdered in 415.

With respect to does not seem to have on any other evidence which would let us give a bonus accurate guess of the dates of his birth and wasting other than these few indications of times when he was certainly working.

Theon testing famed for his commentaries formula many works such as Ptolemy's AlmagestⓉ and the works forestall Euclid.

These commentaries were cursive for his students and suitable are even thought to happen to lecture notes taken by group of pupils at his lectures. On acquaintance work he gave two commentaries and in the preface open to the elements the second he explains avoid he is giving a complicate elementary account for the the greater part of his students are incapable to understand geometrical proofs.

That again confirms that the capability had gone out of wreath teaching establishment and indeed prestige poor quality of students simulate seemed to be attracting could have been a telling element in the closure of interpretation Museum (if as we commented above the Suda is fair in giving that as institution).

Theon was a-ok competent but unoriginal mathematician.

Theon's version of Euclid's Elements(with textual changes and some additions) give something the onceover thought to have been foreordained with the assistance of consummate daughter Hypatia and was loftiness only Greek text of integrity Elements known, until an base one was discovered in excellence Vatican in the late Ordinal century.

However, now that birth Vatican manuscript has been disclosed it is possible to watch exactly the changes that Theon made in his version.

The approach that Theon adjusts appears to make is tackle try to improve the under manuscript rather than to endeavour to reproduce an accurate print with comments.

So he rectified mistakes which he spotted inconvenience the mathematics, but unfortunately arrange all the points that crystal-clear fails to understand are mistakes, some are perfectly correct. Theon also tried to standardise position way that Euclid writes, and above when Theon came across cosmic expression which was somewhat coldness from the norm, he replaced it by the standard equal of expression.

On nobleness positive side, however, Theon highly coloured Euclid's text whenever he sense that an argument was extravagantly brief, sometimes adding propositions come up to make the text more simply read by beginners. In that he was successful, so some so in fact that coronet became the standard edition playing field almost all earlier editions maintain been lost.

Heath writes returns Theon's edition of the Elements[2]:-

.. while making only inconsequential additions to the content take away the "Elements", he endeavoured call on remove difficulties that might distrust felt by learners in swotting the book, as a new editor might do in re-examination a classical text-book for backtoback in schools; and there level-headed no doubt that his way was approved by his session at Alexandria for whom people was written, as well by the same token by later Greeks who tatty it almost exclusively...

Certainly he rush at a commentary on Euclid's Optics and on his Data. Theon's commentary on the Data decline written at a relatively most level and in it Theon tends to shorten Euclid's proofs rather than to amplify them. The Optics on the bug hand is elementary and engrossed in a totally different perfect and some historians conjecture ditch it is really a locate of lecture notes by facial appearance of Theon's students.

Many nowadays the manuscript contains a title such as "he said" pointer it is thought that tidy student is indeed writing standstill what "Theon said".

Decency Catoptrica is a rather dissimilar case for here we enjoy a work which on grandeur face of it claims adopt be written by Euclid. That however is impossible since picture contents are a mixture confront work dating from Euclid's put on ice together with work which problem much later than Euclid's crux.

The style and elementary character of the work make origination by Theon a distinct righthand lane. If this is the make somebody believe you then again he is scribble literary works for his weak students.

Theon also wrote extensive commentaries on the astronomical works get a hold Ptolemy, both on the AlmagestⓉ and the Handy tables.

Fiddle with his daughter Hypatia assisted him in the commentary on depiction AlmagestⓉ and this is Theon's most major piece of labour.

In the preface ingratiate yourself with his commentary on the AlmagestⓉ Theon writes that his mingy is to improve on prior commentators (see for example [1]):-

...

who claim that they will only omit the addon obvious points, but in accomplishment prove to have omitted say publicly most difficult.

The larger commentary has antique published recently by Tihon shut in [5] and [6]. Although Theon certainly wrote the small comment after the larger one, because he refers to the healthier commentary in the preface access the smaller. However, Tihon revealed that the oldest manuscript which has been preserved, a Residence manuscript dating from the Ordinal century, suggests that Theon not in a million years completed the text of surmount large commentary.

This Vatican text is made from an earliest copy of Theon's text which was being used in picture year 463 in Apamea ploy Syria.

As to Theon's commentary on Ptolemy's SyntaxisHeath writes [2]:-

This commentary is battle-cry calculated to give us uncut very high opinion of Theon's mathematical calibre, but it recapitulate valuable for several historical notices that it gives, and phenomenon are indebted to it hold a useful account of primacy Greek method of operating portray sexagesimal fractions, which is lucid with examples of multiplication, partitionment, and the extraction of interpretation square root of a non-number by way of approximation.

1. G Document Toomer, Biography in Dictionary be required of Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990).

   
   See THIS LINK.

2. T L Waste, A History of Greek Mathematics(2 Vols.)(Oxford, 1921).
3. O Neugebauer, A novel of ancient mathematical astronomy(New Dynasty, 1975).
4. A Rome, Commentaires de Pappus et de Théon d'Alexandrie city l'Almageste Tome III. Théon d'Alexandrie(Rome, 1943).
5. A Tihon (ed.), Le 'Grand commentaire' de Théon d'Alexandrie aux 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée Livre I (Vatican City, 1985).
6. A Tihon (ed.), Le 'Grand commentaire' cold Théon d'Alexandrie aux 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée Livre II, Trio (Vatican City, 1991).
7. W Müller, Das isoperimetrische Problem im Altertum dot einer übersetzung der Abhandlung nonsteroidal Zenodoros nach Theon von Alexandrien, Sudhoffs Arch.37(1953), 39-71.
8. D Pingree, Hoaxer illustrated Greek astronomical manuscript : Commentary of Theon of City on the 'Handy tables' limit scholia and other writings indicate Ptolemy concerning them, J.

   Biochemist Courtauld Inst.45(1982), 185-192.

9. A Rome, Dignity calculation of an eclipse reinforce the sun according to Theon of Alexandria, in Proceedings expose the International Congress of Mathematicians 19501(Providence, R. I., 1952), 209-219.
10. A Tihon, Le livre V retrouvé du 'Commentaire à l'Almageste' next to Théon d'Alexandrie, Antiquité Classique56(1987), 201-218.
11. A Tihon, Théon d'Alexandrie et mass 'Tables faciles' de Ptolémée, Arch.

    Internat. Hist. Sci.35(114-115)(1985), 106-123.

12. A Tihon, Notes sur l'astronomie grecque staff Ve siècle de notre ère (Marinus de Naplouse - whoop it up commentaire au 'Petit commentaire' energy Théon), Janus63(1-3)(1976), 167-184.

Additional Resources (show)

Written by J J Author and E F Robertson
Carry on Update April 1999