Pappus of Alexandria

Who was Pappus of Alexandria?

Pappus of Alexandria was one of the last great Greek mathematicians of Antiquity, known for his Synagoge or Collection, and for Pappus's Theorem in projective geometry. Nothing is known of his life, except that he had a son named Hermodorus, and was a teacher in Alexandria.

Collection, his best-known work, is a compendium of mathematics in eight volumes, the bulk of which survives. It covers a wide range of topics, including geometry, recreational mathematics, doubling the cube, polygons and polyhedra.