The Catalogus geometrarum from the Corpus Agrimensorum

Abstract

The Catalogus geometrarum from the Corpus Agrimensorum, an early witness to the Aratean commentary tradition, names an author with mathematical interests as Euclid the Sicilian. If this individual is identical with Euclid the geometer, then we are able to move beyond the traditional biographies of Euclid, which rest on the problematic evidence of Proclus and Pappus, and consider an ancient case of mistaken identity which suggests that Euclid may even have been a Geloian by birth. This new identification raises questions about the status of Doric as a scientific language, and Alexandria’s role as a haven for those dislocated by war or civil strife, not merely as a magnet for scientific talent.