Hippocrates_of_Chios

Hippocrates of Chios HIPPOCRATES OF CHIOS by Rob Fisch It can be argued that if Euclid is the father of Geometry that Hippocrates of Chios could be considered the grandfather of geometry. Hippocrates was born about 410 BC in Chios, Greece and died about 410 BC. He was a Greek merchant turned geometer who compiled the first known work on the elements of geometry. I chose to write about Hipprocates because the little-known people who contribute to the works of others should always be recognized. He was very interested in math and astronomy and he was one of the greatest mathematicians of ancient times. Hippocrates was the greatest geometer of antiquity (relating to ancient times) but was “stupid and incompetent in the business of everyday life” as quoted by Aristotle. According to tradition, he lost his property because of his stupidity. Due to an unfortunate chain of events his life changed. One theory is that Hippocrates was a successful merchant until he was captured by pirates near Byzantium. The other theory is that dishonest customs men threatened him with imprisonment and they stole everything he owned. It is then believed Hippocrates went to Athens to try to hippocrates, about, theory, lune, first, proved, problem, method, one, geometry, triangle, reduction, mathematics, mathematicians, math, lunes, life, known, equal, cube, chios, believed, ancient, work, word, times, thought, squares, solutions, similar, semicircle, segment, school, influenced, geometer