Activity 6: Greek Civilization

Collaborators: Jyrhyn Xyry M. Ablog, Darwin Agullana, Jasmine Aguigam, Mary Jane

Aguinaldo, & Rhodalyne Agoto Year and Section: BSE MATH-1A

Date submitted: 09/29/21

1. Copy and paste here the three most useful link that you used in this
activity

a.) https://www.math.tamu.edu/~don.allen/history/greekorg/greekorg
.html#:~:text=From%20the%20viewpoint%20of%20its,(in%20Egypt
)%2C%20the%20city

b.) https://www.storyofmathematics.com/greek.html#:~:text=But%20most%20
of%20Greek%20mathematics%20was%20based%20on%20geometry.&text
=Pythagoras%20was%20perhaps%20the%20first,known%20of%20all%20
mathematical%20theorems.

c.) https://www.slideserve.com/miach/greek-mathematics

2. Provide the organized data that you have gathered based on the guide questions provided. Do
not just copy and paste. Learn to synthesize details.
GREEK CIVILIZTION GREEK CIVILIZATION (1200 BC – 323 BC)

It is the period for political, philosophical,

artistic, scientific and mathematical achievements that
formed a legacy with unparalleled influence on Western
Civilization.

Though the Greeks certainly borrowed from other

civilizations, they built a culture and civilization on their
own which is

 The most impressive of all civilizations,

 The most influential in Western culture,
 The most decisive in founding mathematics as we
know it.
 The word “mathematics” comes from the Greek
word “mathema” meaning “subject of instruction”.

The Two Periods of Greek Mathematics

1 2
CLASSICAL PERIOD ALEXANDRIAN or
(600 BC TO 300 BC) HELLENISTIC PERIOD
(300 BC to 300 A.D)
Mathematics was
transformed from an By the 3rd Century
eclectic collection of BCE, in the wake of the
practical techniques into a conquests of Alexander the
coherent structure of Great, mathematical
deductive knowledge. For breakthroughs were also
many mathematicians, the beginning to be made on
discipline was founded in the edges of the Greek
this period. Hellenistic empire.
 The Major Schools of Greek Mathematics

The Ionian School was founded by Thales (c. 643- c. 546

B.C.). Students included Anaximander (c. 610-c. 547 B.C.)
and Anaximenes (c. 550-c. 480 B.C.). Thales is sometimes
credited with having given the first deductive proofs.

The Pythagorean School was founded by Pythagoras in about

585 B.C. A brief list of Pythagorean contributions includes:

1. Philosophy.
2. The study of proportion.
3. The study of plane and solid geometry.
4. Number theory.
5. The theory of proof.
6. The discovery of incommensurables.

The Eleatic School one of the

principal schools of ancient pre-Socratic philosophy, so
called from its seat in the Greek colony of Elea was led
at one time by Zeno who brought to the fore the
contradictions between the discrete and the continuous,
the decomposable and indecomposable.
Indeed, Zeno directed his arguments against both
opposing views of the day that space and time are
infinitely divisible; thus motion is continuous and
smooth, and the other that space and time are made up
of indivisible small intervals, in which case motion is a
succession of minute jerks.
The Sophist School ( 480 B.C.) was centered in Athens,
just after the final defeat of the Persians advocated by
Protagoras of Abdera.
 Emphasis was given to abstract reasoning
and to the goal of using reason to
understand the universe.
 This school had amongst its chief pursuits
the use of mathematics to understand the
function of the universe.
At this time many efforts were made to solve the
three great problems of antiquity: doubling the
cube, squaring the circle, and trisecting an angle --
with just a straight edge and compass.

The Platonic School, the most famous of all was

founded by Plato (427-327 B.C.) in 387 B.C. in Athens.

 The academy of Plato was much like a modern

university. There were grounds, buildings,
students, and formal course taught by Plato and his
aides.
 During the classical period, mathematics and
philosophy were favored.
 Plato was not a mathematician -- but was a strong
advocate of all of mathematics.
 Plato believed that the perfect ideals of physical
objects are the reality. The world of ideals and
relationships among them is permanent, ageless,
incorruptible, and universal.
 The Platonists are credited with discovery of two
methods of proof, the method of analysis and
the reductio ad absurdum.
 Plato affirmed the deductive organization of
knowledge, and was first to systematize the rules
of rigorous demonstration.
 The academy was closed by the Christian emperor
Justinian in A.D. 529 because it taught ``pagan
and perverse learning".
The School of Eudoxus founded by Eudoxus (c.
408 B.C.), the most famous of all the classical Greek
mathematicians and second only to Archimedes.

 Eudoxus developed the theory of proportion,

partly to account for and study
the incommensurables (irrationals).
 He produced many theorems in plane
geometry and furthered the logical
organization of proof.
 He also introduced the notion of magnitude.

The School of Aristotle, called the Lyceum,

founded by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) followed the
Platonic school. It had a garden, a lecture room, and
an altar to the Muses.
 Aristotle set the philosophy of physics,
mathematics, and reality on a foundations that
would carry it to modern times.
 He contributed little to mathematics however,
his views on the nature of mathematics and its
relations to the physical world were highly
influential.
MOST PROMINENT GREEK MATHEMATICIANS

 He was born 624 BC in Miletus

1
 The first of the Greek who took
any scientific interest in
mathematics in general
 Improved Egyptian mathematics
 He was the first individual to
whom a mathematical discovery
was attributed.
 He’s best known for his work in
calculating the heights of
pyramids and the distance of
the ships from the shore using
THALES OF MILETUS geometry.

 Born 300 BC
 Father of Geometry
2
 Pioneer of axiomatics in
geometry
 His work “Elements”
fundamental work in the
field of Greek
mathematics
 He worked his entire life
in the field of
mathematics and made
revolutionary
EUCLID OF ALEXANDRIA
contributions to
geometry.
  Born 384 BC
 Aristotle had a diverse
3
knowledge over various areas
including mathematics,
geology, physics,
metaphysics, biology,
medicine and psychology.
 He was a pupil of Plato
therefore it’s not a surprise
that he had a vast knowledge
and made contributions
towards Platonism
 Tutored Alexander the Great
ARISTOTLE and established a library
which aided in the production
of hundreds of books.

 Mathematician and inventor

born in 287 BC
4
 Founder of quantitative physics
 He thrived for gaining
knowledge in mathematical
education and made various
contributions.
 He is best known for antiquity
and the invention of
compound pulleys and screw
pump.
 Anecdote an Archimedes,
Archimedes has gone down in
history as the guy who ran naked
through the streets of Syracuse
ARCHIMEDES shouting "Eureka!" — or "I have
it!" in Greek.
 5
 Born 570 BC in Samos
 Worked with abstract
geometric objects and
numbers
 Gathered his school as
a sort of
mathematician secret
brotherhood
 This great
mathematician is most
prominently known for
his Pythagoras
PYTHAGORAS theorem.

 Born in 428 BC
6
 Plato played a role in
encouraging and
inspiring Greek
intellectuals to study
mathematics as well as
philosophy.
 His academy taught
mathematics as a branch
of philosophy.
 He was best known for
the identification of the
PLATO Platonic Solids
  Apollonius was a
7
Greek mathematician
known as 'The Great
Geometer'

 His works had a very

great influence on the
development of
mathematics and his
famous book Conics
introduced the terms
parabola, ellipse and
APPOLINIUS hyperbola.

 Hypaitia of Alexandria was the

8
daughter of a mathematician
and took her father as an
inspiration to become a
mathematician herself.
 She is the first woman to
make valuable contributions
in the field of mathematics.
 Hypaitia was the first woman
to take the bold step to
pursue with her dreams and
became an inspiration to
many young women who
became the world’s most
famous geniuses ever.
HYPAITIA
3. Do a substantial reflection based on the following questions.

A. How did you do you collaborate with your classmates?

I was able to collaborate with my classmates by sharing the links and learning
materials I used in making this activity. At the same time, we share our ideas and thoughts
on Greek civilizations so that we could come with a better concept on how should we
present our output.

B. Why do we need to know the details in this civilization?

Knowing the details in Greek civilization gives us a historical background on how

mathematics expanded and grow during this period, and how did it influence the
mathematics in the present . As we are now aware of the fact that this civilazation greatly
contributes in the development of mathematics, it is time for us to give our appreciation and
recognition to the Greek mathematicians behind it. Without them, mathematics will not be
same as it is now.

Given the chance to go back to the civilization, do you think that you will enjoy? Why or why not?

It would be an honor and a great privilege if I were given the chance to go back in
the Greek civilization. As I travel back to this period, I would be able to witness with my own
eyes how mathematics flourished during that time. Moreover, I’d be able to have a
firsthand experience on the teachings of the different prominent Greek mathematicians.
Deepening Activity

For the deepening activity, you are tasked to do the following questions.

1. Who among these Greek Mathematicians do you consider to be most inspiring? Why do you
say so.
All of the Greek mathematicians are worthy of my respect and honor. However, if I
were to choose among them on who do I consider to be the most inspiring Geek
mathematician, I would pick Hypaitia. As a person sharing the same gender as her, I found
her as an inspiration to us women. Looking back on the history, we all know how women
were oppressed and considered as inferior to men. That is why I admire her courage and
bravery in pursuing her dream to become a great mathematician regardless of the setbacks
and prejudice.

2. You are tasked to prepare a vignette for the prominent mathematicians.

A vignette (pronunciation: vin-YET) is a short scene in literature that is used to describe a

moment in time. It is descriptive and creates an atmosphere around a character, an incident, an
emotion, or a place.

3. But you are assigned to prepare this vignette based on your Family names as follows. You
find a way to collaborate with your group mates
A. Thales (students with family names starting with A to C)
B. Euclid (D to G)
C. Aristotle (H to I)
D. Archimedes (J to L)
E. Pythagoras (M to N)
F. Plato (O to R)
G. Apolonius (S to U)
H. Any Mathematician (V to Z)

Agreements

Work on this on this activity. Outputs should be submitted on October ___ until 5 pm. Should
you have questions as to how you are going to do this, our Chat Group is open.
ONE OUT OF SEVEN WISE MEN
A Vignette

Thales of Miletus, renowned as

one of the Seven Sages of Greece; a pre-
Socratic philosopher; a prominent Greek
scientist and mathematician; and an
astronomer. None of his writings survived
and no contemporary exist. But in the
history of mathematics, he was credited for
his discovery in the theorems of the five
geometric or the proposition relating plane
figures.
Aristotle regarded him as the first
philosopher in the Greek tradition. The
history recognized him as the first known
Greek scientist. The present acknowledge
him as the first known Greek mathematician.
In philosophy, for him all of nature had
developed from one source. In science, for
him the world is derived from water. In
mathematics, for him the use of geometry
can calculate the height of pyramids and the
distance between a ship and the shore.
Thales is even well-known for his
“ThalesTheorem”, which is taught in school
to dates. He was even said to have offered
an ox as a sacrifice to thank the Greek gods
for the theory’s discovery. Thales used the
little knowledge he had to come up with
good theories