New History of Greek Mathematics

The ancient Greeks played a fundamental role in the history of mathematics and their ideas were reused and developed in subsequent periods all the way down to the scientific revolution and beyond. In this the first complete history for a century. Reviel Netz offers a panoramic view of the rise and influence of Greek mathematics and its significance in world history. He explores the Near Eastern antecedents and the social and intellectual developments underlying the subject's beginnings in Greece in the fifth century BCE. He leads the reader through the proofs and arguments of key figures like Archytas Euclid and Archimedes and considers the totality of the Greek mathematical achievement which also includes in addition to pure mathematics such applied fields as optics music mechanics and above all astronomy. This is the story not only of a major historical development but of some of the finest mathematics ever created.