Eudoxus of Cnidos
| Eudoxus of Cnidus | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Εὔδοξος ὁ Κνίδιος |
| Born |
c. 390 BC Knidos, Asia Minor |
| Died | c. 337 BC Knidos, Asia Minor |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
Eudoxus of Cnidus (/ˈjuːdəksəs/; Greek: Εὔδοξος ὁ Κνίδιος, Eúdoxos ho Knídios; c. 390– c. 337 BC) was a Greek astronomer, mathematician, scholar and student of Plato. All of his works are lost, though some fragments are preserved in Hipparchus' commentary on Aratus's poem on astronomy.Theodosius of Bithynia's important work, Sphaerics, may be based on a work of Eudoxus.
His name Eudoxus means "honored" or "of good repute" (in Ancient Greek εὔδοξος, from eu "good" and doxa "opinion, belief, fame"). It is analogous to the Latin name .
Eudoxus's father Aeschines of Cnidus loved to watch stars at night. Eudoxus first travelled to Tarentum to study with Archytas, from whom he learned mathematics. While in Italy, Eudoxus visited Sicily, where he studied medicine with Philiston.
Around 387 BC, at the age of 23, he traveled with the physician Theomedon, who according to Diogenes Laërtius some believed was his lover, to Athens to study with the followers of Socrates. He eventually attended lectures of Plato and other philosophers for several months, but due to a disagreement they had a falling out. Eudoxus was quite poor and could only afford an apartment at the Piraeus. To attend Plato's lectures, he walked the seven miles (11 km) each direction, each day. Due to his poverty, his friends raised funds sufficient to send him to Heliopolis, Egypt, to pursue his study of astronomy and mathematics. He lived there for 16 months. From Egypt, he then traveled north to Cyzicus, located on the south shore of the Sea of Marmara, the Propontis. He traveled south to the court of Mausolus. During his travels he gathered many students of his own.
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