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Euclid (; , ''Eukleidēs'' ; fl. 300 BC), sometimes called Euclid of Alexandria to distinguish him from Euclid of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His ''Elements'' is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century.〔Ball, pp. 50–62.〕〔Boyer, pp. 100–19.〕〔Macardle, et al. (2008). ''Scientists: Extraordinary People Who Altered the Course of History.'' New York: Metro Books. g. 12.〕 In the ''Elements'', Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory and rigor. Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name Εὐκλείδης, which means "renowned, glorious". == Life == Very few original references to Euclid survive, so little is known about his life. The date, place and circumstances of both his birth and death are unknown and may only be estimated roughly relative to other figures mentioned alongside him. He is rarely mentioned by name by other Greek mathematicians from Archimedes onward, who usually call him "ὁ στοιχειώτης" ("the author of Elements").〔Heath (1981), p. 357〕 The few historical references to Euclid were written centuries after he lived, by Proclus c. 450 AD and Pappus of Alexandria c. 320 AD.〔Joyce, David. ''Euclid''. Clark University Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. ()〕 Proclus introduces Euclid only briefly in his ''Commentary on the Elements''. According to Proclus, Euclid belonged to Plato's "persuasion" and brought together the ''Elements'', drawing on prior work by several pupils of Plato (particularly Eudoxus of Cnidus, Theaetetus and Philip of Opus.) Proclus believes that Euclid is not much younger than these, and that he must have lived during the time of Ptolemy I because he was mentioned by Archimedes (287–212 BC). Although the apparent citation of Euclid by Archimedes has been judged to be an interpolation by later editors of his works, it is still believed that Euclid wrote his works before those of Archimedes.〔Proclus, (p. XXX )〕〔''(Euclid of Alexandria )''〕〔The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.〕 Proclus later retells a story that, when Ptolemy I asked if there was a shorter path to learning geometry than Euclid's ''Elements'', "Euclid replied there is no royal road to geometry."〔Proclus, (p. 57 )〕 This anecdote is questionable since it is similar to a story told about Menaechmus and Alexander the Great.〔Boyer, p. 96.〕 In the only other key reference to Euclid, Pappus briefly mentioned in the fourth century that Apollonius "spent a very long time with the pupils of Euclid at Alexandria, and it was thus that he acquired such a scientific habit of thought" c. 247–222 BC.〔Heath (1956), p. 2.〕 A detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth town of Tyre. This biography is generally believed to be completely fictitious.〔 Because the lack of biographical information is unusual for the period (extensive biographies are available for most significant Greek mathematicians for several centuries before and after Euclid), some researchers have proposed that Euclid was not, in fact, a historical character and that his works were written by a team of mathematicians who took the name Euclid from the historical character Euclid of Megara (compare Bourbaki). However, this hypothesis is not well accepted by scholars and there is little evidence in its favor.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Euclid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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