The phenomenon of Greek mathematics

Abstract

The phenomenon of Greek civilization is astonishing, and new sources to it as well as new attempts at reading it are constantly appearing. Mathematics was an important component of Greek civilization and this article is an attempt to rethink it. Unlike modern monographs on the history of mathematics, which focus on mathematical achievements and, consequently, tend to emphasize the continuity in the development of mathematics – this article highlights the fundamental difference of Greek mathematics compared to the achievements of earlier civilizations. It is visible not only in the Greeks giving it the distinguishing name of a mathematics (before the Greeks it was an unnamed part of knowledge, treated as a sophisticated pastime or a practical skill), but above all in its new source, which was Greek philosophy. The philosophical origin of Greek mathematics and its strong influence on the part of various Greek philosophical schools have made general notions, theorems and proving to the fore, as well as the defining associated with them – previously completely unknown – which made it a science in the modern sense of the term and remains a constant source of inspiration. The article distinguishes and analyzes some of the characteristics of Greek mathematics, with particular emphasis on the aporia (difficulties) it encountered and the role they played in its development.