Definition: Eudoxus of Knidos (c. 390-c.340 B.C.) was an ancient Greek mathematician, geographer, and astronomer whose writings are known from secondary sources. He may have studied under Archytas of Tarentum, a mathematician in the Pythagoran tradition, and under Philistion of Locri, who wrote, practiced medicine, and served at the court of Dionysius of Syracuse. Eudoxus is said to have come to Athens as a young man to learn Socratic philosophy. He also studied astronomy in Egypt, visited Mausolus of Caria (of mausoleum fame), developed laws for Knidos (Cnidus), and taught in Athens.
Eudoxus developed the mathematical theory of proportion that allowed work with irrationals, and the method of exhaustion or approaching the limit. He extended mathematics to cover the motion of heavenly bodies in a system known as homocentric spheres. He described the constellations.
Sources:
- G. J. Toomer " Eudoxus (1)" The Oxford Classical Dictionary . Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. © Oxford University Press 1949, 1970, 1996, 2005.
- A History of Medicine: Greek Medicine, by Plinio Prioreschi
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Archytas.
Read more about Eudoxus in Discoveries in Science Made by Ancient Greek Scientists.
