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Eudoxus of Cnidus

408 BC - 355 BC
Eudoxus was a Greek mathematician and astronomer who contributed to Euclid's Elements. He mapped the stars and compiled a map of the known world. His philosophy influenced Aristotle.
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Honours awarded to Eudoxus
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Lunar features Crater Eudoxus

Eudoxus of Cnidus

Eudoxus of CnidusBorn: c. 390 BC
Birthplace: Cnidus, Asia Minor
Died: c. 340 BC
Location of death: Cnidus, Asia Minor
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Religion: Pagan
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Mathematician, Astronomer

Nationality: Ancient Greece
Executive summary: Influential Greek mathematician

Eudoxus, of Cnidus, Greek savant, flourished about the middle of the 4th century BC. It is chiefly as an astronomer and mathematician that his name has come down to us. From a life by Diogenes Laërtius, we learn that he studied at Athens under Plato, but, being dismissed, passed over into Egypt, where he remained for sixteen months with the priests of Heliopolis. He then taught physics in Cyzicus and the Propontis, and subsequently, accompanied by a number of pupils, went to Athens. Towards the end of his life he returned to his native place, where he died. Strabo states that he discovered that the solar year is longer than 365 days by 6 hours; Vitruvius that he invented a sundial. The Phaenomena of Aratus is a poetical account of the astronomical observations of Eudoxus. In astronomy he described constellations, and attempted a model of the solar system. Several works have been attributed to him, but they are all lost; some fragments are preserved in the extant work of the astronomer Hipparchus. According to Aristotle's Ethics, Eudoxus held that pleasure was the chief good, because (1) all beings sought it and endeavored to escape its contrary, pain; (2) it is an end in itself, not a relative good. Aristotle, who speaks highly of the sincerity of Eudoxus's convictions, while giving a qualified approval to his arguments, considers him wrong in not distinguishing the different kinds of pleasure and in making pleasure the summum bonum. Eodoxus' contributions in mathematics lie in the the science of proportions and magnitudes, on which sections of Euclid are at least part based. Though his works are largely lost, he was a mathematician of the highest importance, with lasting influence throughout antiquity.

Lunar Crater Eudoxus (44°N, 16°E, 67km dia., 3350m height)



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Copyright ©2010 Soylent CommunicationsStructure in Euclid’s Elements (1981). For his general contributions to astronomy, see O. Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, 3 vol. (1975); but for his lunar and planetary models, see Henry Mendell, “Reflections on Eudoxus, Callippus and their Curves: Hippopedes and Callippopedes,” Centaurus, 40 (3–4): 177–275 (1998).
Henry Ross Mendell Learn more about "Eudoxus of Cnidus"
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Aspects of the topic Eudoxus of Cnidus are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
Assorted References

* role in Plato’s Academy (in Plato (Greek philosopher): Life)

contribution to

* algebra (in algebra (mathematics): The Pythagoreans and Euclid)
* analysis (in Pi Recipes (pi); in analysis (mathematics): Zeno’s paradoxes and the concept of motion )
* celestial cartography (in astronomical map: The constellations and other sky divisions)
* constellations (in constellation (astronomy))
* geometry (in geometry (mathematics): Squaring the circle)
* Greek mathematics (in arithmetic: Irrational numbers; in mathematics: The pre-Euclidean period; in mathematics: Applied geometry )
* mathematical foundations (in foundations of mathematics: Arithmetic or geometry)

influence on

* Aratus (in Hipparchus (Greek astronomer): Lover of truth)
* Archimedes (in Archimedes (Greek mathematician): His works)
* Euclid (in Euclid (Greek mathematician): Sources and contents of the Elements)

theory of

* calendar (in calendar (chronology): Complex cycles)
* homocentric spheres (in physical science: Ancient Middle Eastern and Greek astronomy)

Places
The following are some places associated with "Eudoxus of Cnidus"

* Cnidus (ancient city, Turkey)

Other
The following is a selection of items (artistic styles or groups, constructions, events, fictional characters, organizations, publications) associated with "Eudoxus of Cnidus"

* astronomy
* geometry (mathematics)
* irrational number (mathematics)
* mathematics
* method of exhaustion (mathematics)
* number theory (mathematics)
* physical science
* planet
* proportionality (mathematics)
* space motion
* star (astronomy)

Learn more about "Eudoxus of Cnidus"

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The topic Eudoxus of Cnidus is discussed at the following external Web sites.

How Stuff Works - Science - Biography of Eudoxus of Cnidus
Wolfram Research - Biography of Eudoxus of Cnidus
Technology Museum of Thessaloniki - Eudoxus Of Cnidus
The MacTutor History of Mathematics - Eudoxus of Cnidus
MacTutor History of Mathematics - Biography of Eudoxus of Cnidus

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Citations

MLA Style:
"Eudoxus of Cnidus." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Jun. 2010 .

APA Style:
Eudoxus of Cnidus. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 22, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195005/Eudoxus-of-Cnidus

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