Metrodorus (; fl. c. 6th century) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
grammarian and
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, who collected mathematical
epigrams
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia. ...
which appear in the ''Greek Anthology''.
Nothing is known about the life of Metrodorus. The time he lived is not certain: he may have lived as early as the 3rd century AD, but it is more likely that he lived in the time of the emperors
Anastasius I and
Justin I, in the early 6th century.
[Henrietta Midonick, (1965), ''The Treasury of Mathematics, Volume 2'', pages 51–2. Penguin Books.]
His name occurs in connection with 45 mathematical
epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...
s which are to be found in book 14 of the ''Greek Anthology''. Although he may have authored some of the epigrams, it is generally accepted that he collected most of them, and some of them may predate the 5th century BC.
Many of the epigrams lead to simple equations, and they are of the same type as those found in the
Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (RMP; also designated as papyrus British Museum 10057, pBM 10058, and Brooklyn Museum 37.1784Ea-b) is one of the best known examples of ancient Egyptian mathematics.
It is one of two well-known mathematical papyri ...
(17th century BC).
[ Sir Thomas Little Heath, (1921)]
''A history of Greek mathematics, Volume 2, From Aristarchus to Diophantus''
pages 441–3. Oxford Among the problems Metrodorus collected are:
*Twenty-three simple equations with one unknown, one of which is the famous epigram which reveals the age of
Diophantus
Diophantus of Alexandria () (; ) was a Greek mathematician who was the author of the '' Arithmetica'' in thirteen books, ten of which are still extant, made up of arithmetical problems that are solved through algebraic equations.
Although Jose ...
.
*Twelve are easy
simultaneous equation
In mathematics, a set of simultaneous equations, also known as a system of equations or an equation system, is a finite set of equations for which common solutions are sought. An equation system is usually classified in the same manner as single e ...
s with two unknowns.
*One gives a simultaneous equation with three unknowns.
[''Greek Anthology'', xiv. 51]
*Six are problems about filling and emptying vessels by pipes.
Notes
External links
''The Greek anthology, Volume 5'' containing books 13–16, at the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
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Ancient Greek grammarians
Ancient Greek mathematicians
Epigrammatists of the Greek Anthology
6th-century mathematicians