Famous Greek Mathematicians

Pythagoras was an Ionian Greek philosopher. He is credited with many scientific and mathematical discoveries, including the Sphericity of the Earth, the Theory of Proportions, the five regular solids, Pythagorean tuning, and the Pythagorean Theorem. Pythagoras influenced other philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. His philosophy also had a major impact on personalities like Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Nicolaus Copernicus.

Greek polymath Eratosthenes of Cyrene was a mathematician, poet, geographer, music theorist, and astronomer. He also served as the Library of Alexandria’s chief librarian. He was also the first to calculate the Earth’s circumference and the tilt of the Earth's axis. Nicknamed Pentathlos, he also invented many scientific terms.

One of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, Thales was a 6th-century mathematician who believed that the Earth was a flat disk floating on a huge ocean. Legend has it that he had predicted a solar eclipse that stopped a major battle and had also laid down several geometrical theorems.

Greek inventor and mathematician Hero of Alexandria is remembered for his iconic work on geometry, Metrica, which was lost for many years but was then discovered after 1896. His most significant contributions include the Heron’s formula to find the area of a triangle, the Hero engine, and a wind-harnessing machine.

Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer best known for being the first person to present the heliocentric model at a time when the geocentric theories of Ptolemy and Aristotle were considered conventional. Aristarchus of Samos even estimated the sizes of the Moon and Sun and is regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

Posidonius was a Greek astronomer, astrologer, politician, historian, mathematician, geographer, and teacher. Widely regarded as the most learned man of his generation, Posidonius took genuine interest in natural history and natural science. He worked towards spreading Stoicism to the Roman world through his personal lectures and writings. Also a philosopher, Posidonius’ works have influenced the works of several subsequent writers.     

Greek-origin German mathematician Constantin Carathéodory is best remembered for his work on concepts such as real functions and the calculus of variations. Initially an engineer working for a British project in Egypt, he later switched to study math. He also taught at the universities of Berlin and Munich.

Archytas was an Ancient Greek astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, strategist, statesman, and music theorist. One of the most important and popular scientists of the Pythagorean school, Archytas is famous for founding mathematical mechanics. Also remembered as a dear friend of Plato, Archytas is also credited by Aulus Gellius with building the first self-propelled flying device which supposedly flew some 200 meters.

One of the world’s most prominent computer science theorists, Christos Papadimitriou is also a professor at Columbia University. Best known for his research on computational complexity, he has also contributed to areas such as the theory of evolution, game theory, robotics, and economics. He has taught at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, too.

Greek mathematician and Athens Polytechnic professor Themistocles M. Rassias is known for his countless research papers and several university-level textbooks. The UCB alumnus is an expert in mathematical analysis and has won several honors and awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Nis in Serbia.

Greek philosopher Philolaus is considered one of the pillars of the Pythagorean school. He promoted the number theory of Pythagoras and dismissed the theory of geocentrism, supporting the thought that the center of the universe consisted of an unseen Central Fire, around which the Sun, the Earth, and all other planets revolve.

Theon of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician and scholar. He is credited with editing and arranging Euclid's prominent work Elements. He also wrote commentaries on works by Ptolemy and Euclid. Theon of Alexandria's daughter Hypatia also went on to become a famed mathematician.

Greek mathematician Hippocrates of Chios revolutionized geometry and inspired Euclid’s Elements. Initially a merchant, he was looted by pirates. Unsuccessful in bringing them to justice in Athens, he started studying math. He was the first to author a systematic textbook of geometry. He is also known for his work on astronomy.

Greek sophist Hippias of Elis lectured on a wide range of subjects, such as grammar, history, astronomy, politics, and poetry, but is best remembered for his ground-breaking contribution to math. He discovered a curve called quadratrix. However, he finds mention in Plato’s works as an arrogant man.

Greek mathematician Menaechmus is best remembered for discovering conic sections, or the concepts of hyperbola, parabola, and ellipse. Well acquainted with Plato, he is also believed to have tutored Alexander the Great. An epigram by Greek polymath Eratosthenes has been the chief record of Menaechmus’s works.

Menelaus of Alexandria was a Greek astronomer and mathematician. Sphaerica, his only book to have survived in the form of an Arabic translation, deals with the geometry of the sphere and introduces the concept of spherical triangle. The Arabic version of the book was translated again by Francesco Maurolico, a 16th century mathematician and astronomer.

Dicaearchus was a Greek philosopher, author, and geographer who studied under Aristotle in the Lyceum. Dicaearchus wrote on subjects, such as geography, politics, philosophy, and ancient Greek poets. Very few of his works have survived and among them, Life of Greece is considered the most prominent work of his career.

Theaetetus was a Greek mathematician whose contributions on irrational lengths, discussed in Book X of Euclid's Elements, are considered his principal work. A good friend of Plato and Socrates, Theaetetus is the main character in Plato's Socratic dialogue, Theaetetus, which deals with the nature of knowledge.

Eudemus of Rhodes was a Greek philosopher and one of the most important pupils of Aristotle. Eudemus is also credited with editing many of Aristotle's works and simplifying it to make more easily accessible. Most of his works have not survived and what remain today are citations of his work in the works of other philosophers like Theon of Smyrna.

Diocles was a Greek geometer and mathematician who is considered the first mathematician to prove a parabola's focal property. In geometry, a cubic plane curve called Cissoid of Diocles is named so in his honor. Although much of his work was destroyed, fragments of his book On burning mirrors went on to influence many Arabic mathematicians, including Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham. 

Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher and lecturer best remembered for delivering lectures on the works of imminent personalities like Aristotle, Plato, and Porphyry of Tyre. He also wrote commentaries on Platonic and Aristotelian works. Ammonius Hermiae is also credited with teaching several Neoplatonists like Olympiodorus of Thebes, Damascius, Simplicius of Cilicia, John Philoponus, and Asclepius of Tralles.

Conon of Samos was a Greek mathematician and astronomer best known for naming the constellation Coma Berenices. As a mathematician, Pappus credits Conon of Samos with the discovery of the spiral of Archimedes. Conon is also remembered for his friendship with the popular mathematician, Archimedes. 

Byzantine theologian and historian Michael Glycas was from the Greek island of Corfu. Accused of conspiring against emperor Manuel I Komnenos, he was partially blinded and imprisoned but continued to write even while in prison. Verses from Prison and his chronicle remain his best-known works.