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Eudoxus of Cnidus "Willingly would I burn to death like Phaeton, were this the price for reaching the sun and learning its shape, its size and its substance." Attributed to Eudoxus by C. B. Boyer in A History of Mathematics, New York 1968. Though this quote may not have been uttered by the famous mathematician, it certainly does describe Eudoxus's lifelong drive for knowledge. discount uggs Biography Board a plane headed to the modern day Republic of Turkey and chances are your touchdown destination will be in its most populous city of Istanbul, where nine million people make their home. A day's drive south will take you from this flurry of human civilization to a place seemingly forgotten by the world. The architectural ruins which inhabit this ancient city are the only signs that more than two millennia past, men and women who called themselves Carians walked the streets of Cncheap uggs idus, a city remembered in antiquity for giving the world the mathematician Eudoxus. Born around the year 408 B.C. (a happy medium between the extremes of 410 B.C. and 405 B.C. given by varying sources) to the physician Aeschines of Cnidus, Eudoxus is remembered not only for his contributions to the world of mathematics but for his work in areas including astronomy, geography, medicine, and philosophy. Throughout his life, he constantly strove for knowledge in any area in which he could find a teacher. Eudoxus began his journey to enlightenment in the sciences when he traveled to Tarentum, in modern day Italy, to study under the philosopher and statesman Archytas. From Archytas, Eudoxus first learned mathematics. Archytas was interested in the problem of duplicating the cube, and it is probable that Eudoxus garnered his interest in mathematics from Archytas. He may also have learned numCheap ugg ber theory and music theory from Archytas. Eudoxus traveled to Sicily, an island off the southern coast of Italy, during his stay in Tarentum; there, he learned medicine from a man variously identified in sources as Philistium, Philiston, and Philistion the Sicilian, abo During his time at the Academy, the school founded by Plato in Athens, Eudoxus lived in an apartment in the harbor district, known as the Piraeus; he was too poor to afford living quarters anywhere else. As with all ancient knowledge, specific facts and figures are open to debate, but it is known that Eudoxus walked from his apartment in the Piraeus a number of miles, anywhere from two to seven, every day to study at the Academy. It is frequently given that Eudoxus walked this distance because, in his own peculiar way, he found pleasure in the walk; however, the most reasonable inference is that he found pleasure in the knowledge he would gain at theghds uk Academy and was willing to walk this distance to gain that knowledge. He lived in the Piraeus and trudged back and forth between his living space and Athens for two months while studying at the Academy. Due to Eudoxus's poverty, his friends in Cnidus - after the mathematician's falling out with Plato - raised funds to send Eudoxus with Chrysippus the physician to Heliopolis (Greek for town of the sun) in Egypt; he was given letters of introduction recommending him to the priests there. There he studied and gained a knowledge of astronomy as well as a wider viewpoint on mathematics as a whole. Eudoxus lived in Heliopolis for 16 months before he packed his bags and traveled north to Cyzicus, then part of Mysia, in modern day Turkey. While based in Cyzicus, he traveled south to the court of Mausolus, who was satrap or governor - and practical ruler - of a GHD Dark large portion of the Persian empire. During his extensive travels, Eudoxus worked as a Sophist and gathered a body of students of his own; he founded a school in Cyzicus (the name of which was either the School of Eudoxus or has been forgotten, depending upon the