Mathematical Treasure: Arithmetic of Nicomachus in Greek

Nicomachus of Gerasa (ca. 100 CE) was a Neo-Pythagorean philosopher and mathematician. His Pythagorikou arithmētikēn eisagōgē (Introduction to Pythagorean Arithmetic) became the source of medieval European knowledge of ancient Greek number theoretical arithmetike (αριθμητική), the study of number properties and relationships. (The full title written in the Greek alphabet is Πυθαγορικού αριθμητικήν εισαγωγή.) Today, the work is most often referred to as the Arithmetic or Arithmetica (Latin) of Nicomachus. Images from a 14th century Greek manuscript copy of the work follow.

The manuscript featured above is held by the Central Scientific Library, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, and can be viewed via the World Digital Library.

Index to Mathematical Treasures