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The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies

Menelaus of Alexandria

Also known as: Menelaos

Born: c. 70 ce; Alexandria, Egypt?

Died: c. 130 ce; Rome?

Related civilizations: Hellenistic and Roman Greece, Egypt, Imperial Rome

Major role/position: Mathematician, astronomer

Life: Menelaus (mehn-el-AY-uhs) of Alexandria invented the geometry of spheres, in which concentric arcs are analogous to lines in the geometry of planes. Little is known of his life except that he lived for a time in Alexandria and for a time in Rome. The mathematician Ptolemy reported that Menelaus observed the proximity of the star Beta Scorpii to the Moon in 98 ce. Plutarch reported his conversation with a certain Lucius about the angles of incidence of reflected light. Mathematical commentator Pappus of Alexandria and Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus both mentioned him. Only his book on spherical geometry, Sphaerica (first century ce; English translation, 1936), survives, but he is supposed to have also written books on mechanics, optics, basic geometry, and astronomy. The original Greek text of Sphaerica has been lost. The content has been preserved through an Arabic translation.

Influence: The Menelaus theorem was an important advance in both planar and spherical trigonometry and remains applicable in astronomy.

See also: Greece, Hellenistic and Roman; Plutarch; Ptolemy; Rome, Imperial.

—Eric v.d. Luft

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Menelaus Of Alexandria." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, edited by Shally-Jensen Michael, Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_1302.
APA 7th
Menelaus of Alexandria. The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, In S. Michael (Ed.), Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_1302.
CMOS 17th
"Menelaus Of Alexandria." The Ancient World: Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Societies, Edited by Shally-Jensen Michael. Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CWEP_1302.