Euclid and The Elements

WHO IS EUCLID?
 Euclid was from Alexandria, Egypt.

 was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician.
 EUCLID is NOT his true name ( True Name is unknown AND his true physical appearance)
 The English name 'Euclid' is the anglicized version of the Ancient
Greek name Eukleídes (Εὐκλείδης).[4][a] It is derived from 'eu-' (εὖ; 'well') and 'klês' (-κλῆς;
'fame'), meaning "renowned, glorious".[6] In English, by metonymy, 'Euclid' can mean his most
well-known work, Euclid's Elements, or a copy thereof,[5] and is sometimes synonymous with
'geometry'.[2] He is accepted as the author of four mostly extant treatises—
the Elements, Optics, Data, Phaenomena
 Euclid’s life nothing is known except what the Greek
philosopher Proclus (c. 410–485 CE) reports in his “summary”
of famous Greek mathematicians.
1. According to him, Euclid taught at Alexandria in the time
of Ptolemy I Soter, who reigned over Egypt from 323 to
285 BCE.
2. According to Proclus, Euclid lived shortly after several of Plato's (d. 347 BC) followers
and before the mathematician Archimedes (c. 287 – c. 212 BC);
3. Euclid's birthdate is unknown; some scholars estimate around 330 or 325 BC,
[11][12]
4. Today few historians challenge the consensus that Euclid

was older than Archimedes (c. 290–212/211 BCE).
5. In any event, the contents of Euclid's work demonstrate familiarity with the Platonic
geometry tradition. ( Proclus held that Euclid followed the Platonic tradition, but there is
no definitive confirmation for this.[17] It is unlikely he was contemporary with Plato, so it is
often presumed that he was educated by Plato's disciples at the Platonic Academy in
Athens.[18] Historian Thomas Heath supported this theory ).
6. Euclid is often referred to as 'Euclid of Alexandria' to differentiate him from the earlier
philosopher Euclid of Megara.
 Some ancient Greek mathematicians mention Euclid by name, but he is usually referred to
as "ὁ στοιχειώτης" ("the author of Elements").
 Any firm dating of Euclid's activity c. 300 BC is called into question by a lack of contemporary
references.
 FATHER OF GEOMETRY (explanation ayaw ig upod sa ppt: Euclid is often referred to as
the “Father of Geometry”, and he wrote perhaps the most important and
successful mathematical textbook of all time, the “Stoicheion” or
“Elements”, which represents the culmination of the mathematical
revolution which had taken place in Greece up to that time. He also wrote
works on the division of geometrical figures into into parts in given ratios, on
catoptrics (the mathematical theory of mirrors and reflection), and on
spherical astronomy (the determination of the location of objects on the
“celestial sphere”), as well as important texts on optics and music.)
https://www.storyofmathematics.com/hellenistic_euclid.html/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Euclid-Greek-mathematician
WHAT IS THE ELEMENTS?
 is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek

mathematician Euclid c. 300 BC.
 It is a collection of definitions, postulates, propositions (theorems and constructions),
and mathematical proofs of the propositions.
 Elements is the oldest extant large-scale deductive treatment of mathematics. It has proven
instrumental in the development of logic and modern science, and its logical rigor was not
surpassed until the 19th century.
 Euclid's Elements has been referred to as the most successful[a][b] and
influential[c] textbook ever written.
WHAT MOTIVATES EUCLID TO WRITE “THE ELEMENTS”?
 Euclid, a Greek mathematician, wrote "The Elements" around 300 BC. His
motivation for writing this work was to organize and systematize the
mathematical knowledge of his time. "The Elements" is a comprehensive
compilation of the mathematical knowledge available at the time,
covering topics such as geometry, number theory, and mathematical
proofs. Euclid's goal was to establish a coherent and logical framework for
understanding and applying mathematical principles, and "The Elements"
became one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics.
 Euclid wasn’t the first to write something called the Elements. Here’s what
Proclus had to say about him
 Euclid, who brought together the Elements, systematizing many of the
theorems of Eudoxus [Books V and VII], perfecting many of those of
Theatetus [Books X and part of Book XIII], and putting in irrefutable
demonstrable form propositions that had been rather loosely established
by his predecessors [especially Book I]. He lived in the time of Ptolemy the
First, for Archimedes, who lived after the time of the first Ptolemy,
mentions Euclid. It is also reported that Ptolemy once asked Euclid if there
was not a shorter road to geometry that through the Elements, and Euclid
replied that there was no royal road to geometry. He was therefore later
than Plato's group but earlier than Eratosthenes and Archimedes, for
these two men were contemporaries, as Eratosthenes somewhere says.
Euclid belonged to the persuasion of Plato and was at home in this
philosophy; and this is why he thought the goal of the Elements as a
whole to be the construction of the so-called Platonic figures.
 Proclus wrote several centuries after Euclid died, but he did have access
to a History of Geometry and other ancient works that no longer exist.
 Apparently, his Elements was sufficiently better than earlier versions of
the Elements since earlier versions were lost.
 Euclid wrote more than just the Elements. He also wrote about optics and
astronomy, both topics which depend on geometry.
BASIS IN EARLIER WORK :
 Scholars believe that the Elements is largely a compilation of propositions based on books
by earlier Greek mathematicians.[3]
 The Elements may have been based on an earlier textbook by Hippocrates of Chios, who
also may have originated the use of letters to refer to figures.
 Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BC) was probably the source for most of books I and II
 Hippocrates of Chios (c. 470–410 BC, not the better known Hippocrates of Kos) for book III,
 Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 408–355 BC) for book V, while books IV, VI, XI, and XII probably
came from other Pythagorean or Athenian mathematicians.
 In all, it contains 465 theorems and proofs, described in a clear, logical and
elegant style, and using only a compass and a straight edge. Euclid reworked
the mathematical concepts of his predecessors into a consistent whole, later
to become known as Euclidean geometry, which is still as valid today as it
was 2,300 years ago, even in higher mathematics dealing with higher
dimensional spaces.
 Influence
 The Elements is still considered a masterpiece in the application of logic to mathematics.
 n historical context, it has proven enormously influential in many areas of science.
 Scientists Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein and
Sir Isaac Newton were all influenced by the Elements, and applied their knowledge of it to
their work
 Mathematicians and philosophers, such as Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, Alfred North
Whitehead, and Bertrand Russell, have attempted to create their own foundational
"Elements" for their respective disciplines, by adopting the axiomatized deductive structures
that Euclid's work introduced.
 beauty of Euclidean geometry has been seen by many in western culture as a glimpse of an
otherworldly system of perfection and certainty.
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN kept a copy of Euclid in his saddlebag, and
studied it late at night by lamplight; he related that he said to
himself,
"You never can make a lawyer if you do not understand what

demonstrate means; and I left my situation in Springfield, went home to
my father's house, and stayed there till I could give any proposition in the
six books of Euclid at sight".*
 EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

 \wrote in her sonnet "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare", "O
blinding hour, O holy, terrible day, When first the shaft into his
vision shone Of light anatomized!"
ALBERT EINSTEIN recalled a copy of the Elements and a magnetic

compass as two gifts that had a great influence on him as a boy,
referring to the Euclid as the "holy little geometry book".
 The success of the Elements is due primarily to its logical presentation of most of the
mathematical knowledge available to Euclid. Much of the material is not original to him,
although many of the proofs are his. However, Euclid's systematic development of his
subject, from a small set of axioms to deep results, and the consistency of his approach
throughout the Elements, encouraged its use as a textbook for about 2,000 years.
The Elements still influences modern geometry books. Furthermore, its logical, axiomatic
approach and rigorous proofs remain the cornerstone of mathematics.
https://www.quora.com/What-motivated-Euclid-to-write-The-Elements#:~:text=An%20answer%20that
%20many%20of,are%20%E2%80%9Cself%20evident%E2%80%9D%E2%80%A6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid%27s_Elements
https://www.storyofmathematics.com/hellenistic_euclid.html/

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WHO IS EUCLID?

 Euclid was from Alexandria, Egypt.

4. Today few historians challenge the consensus that Euclid

 is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek

WHAT MOTIVATES EUCLID TO WRITE “THE ELEMENTS”?

BASIS IN EARLIER WORK :

"You never can make a lawyer if you do not understand what

 EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

ALBERT EINSTEIN recalled a copy of the Elements and a magnetic

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