The Greeks view mathematics as a very important aspect of life, education and view it as a necessary tool to help assist in the forward progress of technology. To show how the Greeks view the concept of mathematics, dissect the word. The word mathema is a noun from the verb manthano meaning a subject connected with learning. When broken down into its two main branches, arithmetic and geometry , which mean respectively study of numbers and the measuring of the earth. The name algebra itself is Arabic , though the Greek mathematician Diophantus developed it in some depth. Mathematics were viewed as a very important skill that must be learned in order to function properly in society, although in this day in age it has seemed to fall to a lower level.
Philosophers of the Ionian school are considered to be the first Greeks to study mathematics in great detail. These Greek philosophers date back to the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. Questions were asked about the earth and the universe and mathematics were extensively used to try to answer these questions. It is said that Thales, the founder of the schoo
with solid geometry. These pieces of work remained standard in schools until recent times.
The oldest known manual for geometry is the geometry manual by Euclid of Alexandria. This textbook builds on works by such people as Hippocrates of Chios, Eudoxus of Cnidos as well as others. Euclid’s manuals are split up into thirteen books.
Books one though six deal with plane geometry. Books seven through nine deal with the
Greek Mathematics was derived from the basic knowledge and original discoveries of the Egyptians. Thales was greatly involved in integrating these ideas along with his individual thoughts into the Greek culture. It is not known how much of an overall understating Thales had of these applications or if he was able to take the knowledge and apply it to real life situations, like determining the distance of a boat from shore. But, the contributions made by him to show that he has a basic understanding of geometric principles. Not much is known about what advances in geometry were made between the times of Thales and the Pythagoreans. The Pythagoreans advanced the understanding of