Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Archytas
Archytas (428 BC - 347 BC), was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, strategist and commander-in-chief.
Archytas was born in Tarentum, Magna Graecia (now Italy) and was the son of Mnesagoras or Histiaeus. He was taught for a while by Philolaus and he was a teacher of mathematics to Eudoxus of Cnidus. He was scientist of the Pythagorean school, famous as the intimate friend of Plato. His and Eudoxus' student was Menaechmus .
Sometimes he is believed to be the founder of mathematical mechanics.
According to Eutocius Archytas solved the problem of duplicating the cube in his manner with a geometric construction. Hippocrates of Chios before reduced this problem to finding mean proportionals. Archytas' theory of proportions is treated in the book VIII. of Euclid's Elements.
The Archytas curve , which he used in his solution of the doubling the cube problem, is named after him.
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