The Mathematician Zenodorus Toomer, G J Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1972; 13, 2; ProQuest pg. 177

The Mathematician Zenodorus 

C. J. Toomer 

Z ENODORUS the mathematician is best known for his treatise 
n€p' lC01T€PLf.LhpWll1 cX1Jf.La:rwll, On Figures of Equal Boundary. This, 
like all his works, is lost, but part of its contents has been pre­

served in three secondary sources. Only one of these, Theon's com­
mentary on Book I of the Almagest, specifically mentions Zenodorus,2 
but the other two, Pappus, Synagoge 5.4-19,3 and the so-called "Intro­
duction to the Almagest"4 are so similar to Theon's version that there 
is no doubt that they are derived from the same work (in fact all three 
versions may well be derived from an intermediary source, Pappus' 
lost commentary on Almagest I). The contents of Zenodorus' treatise, 
in so far as it is available to us from these sources, have been ade­
quately described in modern works,5 and are therefore omitted here. 
Only two other ancient authors mention mathematical works by 

1 The two earlier editions of Theon's commentary on the Almagest (in the ed.prine. of the 
Almagest [Ioannes Walderus, Basel 1538J 11, and by N. Halma, Commentaire de Theon 
d'Alexandrie sur Ie premier livre de la composition mathematique de Ptoiemee [Paris 1821] 33) read 
lcop.lrpwv, and this was defended against Nokk's obvious conjecture (Zenodorus' Abhandlung 
uber die isoperimetrisehen Figuren von Dr Nokk [Freiburger Lyceums-Programm, 1860] 26), 
lC07T€ptfl.ETPWV, by Fr. Hultsch (Pappi Alexandrini Co/lectionis quae supersunt III [Berlin 1875-78] 
1190 n.2), and adopted by T. L. Heath (History of Greek Mathematics II [Oxford 1921] 207) and 
others. But A. Rome, in his edition of Theon's commentary (Commentaires de Pappus et de 
Theon d'Alexandrie sur [,Almageste II [Citta del Vaticano 1936] 355), shows that lcofl.ETpwV is 
merely a variant reading of some MSS. The correctness of lC07T€ptP.€TPWV is shown by the con­
text in Theon and also by the remark of Simplicius (Comm. in Aristotelis de Caelo, ed. Hei­
berg [Berlin 1894] 412): 3,[3€LKTat . . . 1Tapa 'ApX'p:r730vc Ka~ 1Tapa ZTJvo3wpov 1TAaT1Yr€pOV, on 
'TWV lC07T€ptfllTPWV CXTJwf'Twv 7TOAVXWPTJ'TO'Tfp6c £cnv £V fI.£V 'TOLC €7Tt7T€30tC 6 KVKAOC, £v 3£ 'TOtC 

CTfP€oI:C ~ ccpal:pa. 
2 ed. Rome (supra n.1) pp.355-79. 
3 ed. Hultsch (supra n.1) 1.308-34. 
, The section of this on isoperimetric figures was printed by Hultsch in his edition of Pap­

pus, III.1l38-64. On the work in general see J. Mogenet, "L'introduction a l'Almageste," 
MemAeBelg 51.2 (1956). 

6 Nokk (see n.1), with reconstruction, in German translation, from Theon and Pappus; 
Heath, HGM (supra n.1) II.207-13; W. MUller, "Das isoperimetrische Problem im Alter­
tum," Sudhoffs Arehiv 37 (1953) 39-71, with German translation of Theon's version. 

177 



178 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

Zenodorus; one of these references is certainly to the Il€p~ lC01T€P£­
,.d:rpwv cxrJl-"}:rwv, the other probably SO.6 

The date of Zenodorus has been the subject of some discussion. 
Older works on the history of mathematics 7 made him a disciple or 
contemporary of Oinopides, i.e. mid-fifth century B.C., apparently by 
confusion with one Zenodotus who is said by Proclus8 to belong to 
«the tradition of Oinopides." Nokk rightly protested against this, and 
concluded from the several references to Archimedes in the Theon 
and Pappus versions of the Il€pL lC01T€P'I-'ETPWV CxrJl-'d.TWV that Zenodorus 
was probably subsequent to Archimedes.9 The inference was plaus­
ible, though not quite certain, given the secondhand nature of our in­
formation/o and has been universally accepted. However the 
attempts of Hultsch and Cantorll to establish a lower limit for the 
date of Zenodorus on stylistic grounds or supposed knowledge of his 
work by Quintilian are worthless. The first solid evidence for Zeno-

'The first is the reference by Simplicius quoted in n.l. The second is Produs, Comm. on 
EuclidI(ed. G. Friedlein [Leipzig 1873] 165), where it is stated thatZenodorus gave the name 
Ko,>.,oywvla to the quadrilateral with one angle greater than two right angles. For the latter 
cf "Introduction to the Almagest' in Pappus, ed. Hultsch, III p.1l54 lines 11-16. See also 
A. Rome. Comm. de Theon p.371 n.(l). 

7 e.g. J. F. Montuda. Histoire des mathematiques2 I (Paris. An VII [= 1798]) 151. The error 
persists as late as 1883 in the large and inept work of M. Marie. Histoire des sciences mathe­
matiques et physiques I (Paris 1883) 26. where Zenodorus is put at 450 B.C.; the author (p.261) 
pays his tribute to more recent scholarship by creating another Zenodorus who was born 
about A.D. 290. 

8 Prod. In Euclid.I Comm., ed. G. Friedlein (BT. Leipzig 1873) p.80. 
9 Nokk. op.cit. (supra n.1) 27-29. 
10 An exactly similar inference. which is now known to be incorrect, has been made for 

Diodes. His work On Burning Mirrors was for long known only from two extracts in Euto­
dus' commentary on Archimedes' Sphere and Cylinder. Because there are references to 
Apollonius' Conics in one of these (e.g. Archimedes, ed. Heiberg2 III [Leipzig 1915] p.142 
lines 8-9), it is commonly assumed that Diodes is subsequent to Apollonius (see e.g. Heath, 
HGM [supra n.l] 1.264; 11.200, where Diodes is described as "writing a century or more 
later than Apollonius," on no grounds whatever). However, the recently discovered Arabic 
translation of Diodes' treatise (see below) shows that Eutocius has recast the original in the 
<dassical' form of analysis and synthesis, and added the references to Apollonius. From 
other indications in the work it appears that Diodes was in fact a contemporary of Apollo­
nius. The suspicion ofP. Tannery (Memoires scientifiques II [Toulouse and Paris 1912] 46) has 
been justified: "Les citations des coniques d' Apollonius qui se trouvent dans la solution de 
Diodes doivent etre des interpolations d'Eutodus et ne peuvent servir pour determiner la 
limite superieure de l'epoque OU vivait Diodes." 

11 Hultsch, in Pappus. III pp.1189-90; M. Cantor, Vorlesungen tiber Geschichte der Mathe­
matik' I (Leipzig 1894) 341. Rome, Comm. de Theon pp.355-56, points out how the latter's 
argument falls to the ground. An even more confused attempt to date Zenodorus in the 
second century was made by Cantor, CRAcSc 51 (1860) 630-33. 



G. J. TOOMER 179 

dorus' date was turned up by Cronert, who published in 1900 a frag­
mentary biography of the Epicurean philosopher Philonides from the 
Herculaneum papyrus roll no.1044.12 Philonides is dated by his deal­
ings, as a mature man, with the Seleucid kings Antiochus IV Epi­
phanes (reigned 175-164? B.C.) and Demetrius I (162-150 B.C.),13 

Philonides was, at least in his youth, very interested in mathematics 
and came into contact with several notable mathematicians, includ­
ing Apollonius of Perge,14 Eudemus and Dionysodorus.15 

The Herculaneum biography provides the only secure evidence for 
dating these men. It also mentions, at least once and possibly twice, 
a Zenodorus whom Philonides appears to have known. Cronert 
(p.956) identified this man with the author of the treatise on isoperi­
metric figures. The identification dates Zenodorus to the first half of 
the second century B.C. It has been generally accepted.16 

I believe that the identification proposed by Cronert is correct, but 
I also believe that it requires argumentation, which neither Cronert 
nor anyone else has offered. The fact that Philonides is known to have 
associated with mathematicians is an argument for identifying the 
Zenodorus whom he knew with Zenodorus the mathematician, but is 
not in itself sufficient. If the name in question had been not Zeno­
dorus but its synonym Diodorus, the identification would have been 
highly dubious, since Diodorus is an extremely common name at all 
times and in all parts of the Greek-speaking world. In order to judge 
the probability of Cronert's identification, then. it is necessary to 
examine the evidence for the occurrence of the name ZTJv68wpocP 

12 W. Cronert, "Der Epikureer Philonides," SBBerlin 1900.2,942-59. 
IS Cronert, op.cit (supra n.12) 956-57. 
14 Apollon.Perg. Conic. II Praef., ed. J. L. Heiberg [BT, Leipzig 1891] I p.192). 
11> Cronert, op.cit. (supra n.12) 956. Eudemus was the recipient of the first three books of 

Apollonius' Conics. Dionysodorus is known as an able mathematician from several second­
ary sources. See 1. Bulmer-Thomas, s.v. DIONYSODORUS, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography 
IV (New York 1971) 108-10. 

16 e.g. by W. Schmidt, "Zur Geschichte der Isoperimetrie im Altertum," Bibliotheca 
Mathematica 3 F. 2 (1901) 5-8; G. Loria, Le Sdenze esatte nell'antica Grecia2 (Milan 1914) 419. 
Heath, however, writing in 1921, appears to be ignorant of the evidence adduced by Cro­
nert (HGM [supra n.1] II.207). This is one of many instances in which Heath's "standard" 
work is inferior to Loria's excellent book, which was published earlier than Heath's and is 
therefore, apparently, seldom referred to now. That the evidence is also unknown to the 
author of an even more recent "standard" work (Ch. Mugler, Dictionnaire historique de la 
terminologie geometrique des Grecs [Paris 1958) 254) and to the ed.s of Cantor's Vorlesungen I 
(Leipzig 1907) 356-57, will surprise no one acquainted with those compilations. 

17 The importance of the study of the chronological and geographical distributions of 



180 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

As in all such investigations, the evidence is largely inscriptional. 
For Z7Jvoowpoc one can supplement the inscriptions with a few literary 
references and, for Egypt and Dura-Europos, occurrences in papyri. I 
have not attempted to make a complete collection of all occurrences 
of the name, but have tried to establish the pattern of its appearance. 

In only one area of the Greek-speaking world can the name Z7Jvo­
owpoc be considered common: in Palestine and Syria and adjacent 
areas, from the second century B.C.IS with increasing frequency up to 
at least the late third century there are numerous examples.I9 In 

personal names for ancient history has been repeatedly stressed by L. Robert (e.g. "Eulaios, 
histoire et onomastique," Epist.Epeteris Philos.SehoI.Panep.Ath. 1962-63, pp.528-29, repro 
Opera Minora Seleeta II [Amsterdam 1969] 986-87: uil faut mettre les noms dans leur cadre 
historique et geographique, naturellement avec leur chronologie. n se revele que beaucoup 
des noms sont plus ou moins locaux, employes seulement dans une ville ou une region plus 
ou moins vaste. lIs nous instruisent sur les cultes,les sentiments et les modes; ils soulignent 
ou reveIent des rapports de colonisation et de parente ethnique, des relations economiques 
ou politiques. Nous devons faire non point des catalogues de noms, mais l'histoire de noms, 
et meme l'histoire par les noms"). Though the illuminating results that can be achieved by 
such study have been demonstrated by Robert himself (see for instance the masterly article 
"De Delphes a 1'0xus," CRAI 1968, 416-57) and by others (e.g. the article by O. Masson 
quoted in n.23), this aspect of onomastics is still generally neglected. Moreoever, such 
general works on Greek names as do exist (e.g. W. Pape, Worterbueh der grieehisehen Eigen­
namen3 , bearb. G. E. Benseler [Braunschweig 1911]; Fr. Bechtel, Die historisehe Personen­
namen des Grieehisehen bis zur Kaiserzeit [Halle 1917]), besides being antiquated, were not 
compiled with a view to illuminating the topics outlined by Robert above, but rather for 
narrowly philological or prosopographical ends. I have therefore relied mainly on primary 
sources in this onomastic investigation. 

18 For second-century B.C. examples see the inscriptions from Delphi and Delos cited in 
n.19. Sammelbueh [SB] I 681, the stele from Memphis (ibid.), is also assigned to the second 
century B.C. on the basis of the lettering (photograph in E. Breccia, Iscrizioni greehe e latine, 
Cat.Gen.Mus.Alexandrie nos. 1-568 [Cairo 1911] tav. xxv, 62). If we could trust the reading in 
P.Cair.Zen. 59009, 1I'apa ZTJvo8wpov l1I'aTPoc 'AfJfJalo[u, then the name of the son must surely 
be considered Semitic (cf. Gerasa, City of the Decapo/is, "Inscriptions," ed. C. B. Welles [New 
Haven 1938] p.439, no.186 line 5, [LI ,ov]vclov 'AfJfJalou; 'AfJf3alov is tentatively restored in a 
list of Jewish names in P.Tebt. 882 line 1 by Tcherikover and Fuks, C.P]. I p.173), and hence 
the father would be a very early (ca. 250 B.C.) example of a Semite adopting the name 
Z1Jvo8wpoc. However, the papyrus is extremely fragmentary. Is it possible that Edgar 
misread A88aw as Af3f3a,o? If so, then this Zenodorus is of Macedonian descent (ef. n.35), 
for A(d)daios is a characteristically Macedonian name (0. Hoffmann, Die Makedonen 
[Gottingen 1906] 189-90; L. Robert, Gnomon 35 [1963] 60-61, adds many more examples). 
This suggestion is palaeographically implausible, however, and the papyrus is concerned 
with dealings in Palestine (see Edgar ad loc.), so 'Af3fJalov is probably correct. But I suspect 
that the connection of 'Af3f3alov to Zenodorus via 1I'aTpOc rests either on a misreading or a 
misunderstanding due to the incompleteness of the papyrus. 

18 A sampling: IGLSyr II 577 (Banaqfur, about 20 miles west of Aleppo; for the site see 
R. Dussaud, Topographie historique de La Syrie antique et medievaLe [paris 1927] 217 and map x), 



C. J. TOOMER 181 

many of these examples it is certain that the bearers of the name were 
Semites or, more precisely, speakers of Aramaic, who had a veneer of 
Hellenization. In most cases it is probable that they had a Semitic 
name as well. The adoption of a Greek name in addition to, or rather 
as an alternative to, one's native name is a well-known phenomenon 
in Aramaic-speaking areas.20 The best discussion of this and of the 

Ma <.hxoc(?) Z'!}vr/otPpov; ibid. II 664 (Darkush, on the Orontes about 10 miles north of Jisr­
ash-Shughur [Dussaud p.163 and map x], 4th century?); ibid. m.2 1213j (Seleucia Pieria, 
A.D. 149/50), Z7JvoSWpov Toii Llwvvdov &yopavofLov; cf ibid. 111.2 1152B (Seleucia Pieria), ]7JVO­
owpoc E€pnrlwvoc, and IV 1256 (Lao dice a TTPOC 8aAacc'[J), Z7JvoSwp~; ibid. VI 2851 (BaCalbek) 
... Z7JvoSwpliJ Avc[avlov T]n'papxov I Ka~ I1vc[avllil . .. KaL T]OtC vlotc. The latter Zenodorus 
is the man known from Joseph .• 'V 15.345-59, and other literary sources (Cass. Dio 54.9.3, 
Strabo 16.20) and coins (Head, Hist.Num. 2 p.784,BMC Galatia p.281) as tetrarch ofIturaea and 
an enemy of Herod the Great early in the reign of Augustus (he died 20 B.C.). IG 112 2810 
(mid-second century), ~ TTOAtc ~ 'ACKaAWV€tTWV KaL AOUKtOt AlfLlAWt Kapoc KaL ol TOV-rOV VlOL 
'ATTOMwvlS7Jc KaL OV€L{3£avoc Z7JvoSwpOC T~V TToALV ~V 'A87Jvalwv KTA. Another man of Asca-
10n,IG XI.4 817 and 818, by combining which we can extract' Aq,poSlcwc ZTJvoSWpov 'ACKaAW­
vlT7Jc. OGIS 614.7 (Derea, ancient Adraa, Syria, A.D. 263/4). SEG 16.814 (Derea, A.D. 274/5, an 
inscription of a type similar to the preceding). IGRR III 1287.10 (Derea, A.D. 262/3). IGRR III 
1193 (Shaqqa, ancient Saccaea, later Maximianopolis [Dussaud pp.367--68, 516 and map Il], a 
Roman legionary). SEG 7.250 (al-Quneitra, Syria). SEG 7.252 (Ezra", ancient Zorava, im­
perial period). IGRR III 1157 (Ezrac , a Roman legionary). SEG 8.86 (Qabla, Palestine). CIG 
4611 (CAtil, ancient Athela, just north of Suweida, Syria [Dussaud p.349 and map II], im­
perial period). EI.Af.vKOC Toii Z7JvoSwpov from Hieropolis (Bambyke in Syria) was priest of 
the Syrian gods at Delos in the second century B.C. (Inser. Delos 2247). A ZTJvo8wpoc of lam­
neia in Palestine is among those making a dedication to the gods of Iamneia at Delos (ibid. 
2308). LlwvVcwc Z7Jvo8wpov appears in inscriptions of the Poseidoniasts of Berytus at Delos 
(ibid. 1790). Examination of the geographical distribution of these names shows that Z7Jvo­
owpoc is found in nearly all parts of Syria and Palestine, but that it is particularly common 
in the Hauran and Trachonitis. In Egypt the name occurs several times on two stelai, from 
Memphis (second century B.C.) and Hermopolis Magna (80--69 B.C.), containing names of 
soldiers (SB 1681 and 4206, cf Fr. Zucker, "Doppelinschrift spatptolemaischer Zeit aus der 
Garnison von Hermopolis Magna," AbhBerI1937.6, 34-49). Many of the names are obviously 
Semitic, and Zucker has shown (pp.15-16) that a significant number are specifically Idu­
maean. Clearly 'AMfavSpoc Z7JvoSWpov, 'A1TOMwvwc Z7Jvoowpov (SB I 4206 lines 181, 193), 
[Z7Jvo]Swpoc KOCfLaAaxov, IIp[ofLa]xoc ZTJvo8wpov and ewpaf Z7Jvo8wpov (SB 1681 lines 43, 
84,118) should also be considered Idumaeans. The name Z7JvoSwpoc is also borne by Jews, 
despite its pagan associations: besides the Cyrenaean Jew mentioned in n.29, there is an 
inscription in the Jewish catacomb on the Via Nomentana in Rome (Corpus Inseriptionum 

Iudaicarum, ed. J. B. Frey, I 43), MapKla Tpv¢>l.pa I MapKwi Z7JVOOWP€ ( = MapKlTJ Z7JvoowpTJ 
according to Frey) rfi lSllil &8€Aq,ii KTA. It is likely that 'ATToMo¢>aVYJc Kd 'IA,aS7Jc apfaVT€C Ka~ 
Z7JVOOWpoc, who erected the inscription OGIS 192 (found at Cos but not necessarily originat­
ing there) to Ptolemy XII (80-51 B.C.) 'J1T~p TOV1TOAtT€VfLaTOC, were members of a Jewish com­
munity: see W. Ruppel, "Politeuma," Philologus 82 (1926-27) 437-38. 

20 Several cases of men bearing two names, one Semitic, one Greek, are known from 
Hellenistic Babylonia, but in no case is there any obvious relationship between the pair. 
(The same lack of correspondence is occasionally found elsewhere: for Palmyra see F. 



182 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

different types of correspondence between the original Semitic name 
and the adopted Greek name has been given by Rosenthal with refer­
ence to the Palmyrene inscriptions.21 He shows that some of the Greek 
names are translations of the Semitic name,22 but that in many cases 
the main factor in choosing the Greek equivalent seems to have been 
that it sounded similar to the Semitic original.23 An example of this is 
Zenobia herself, whose Semitic name was Batzabbai, <daughter of 
Zabbai'.24 I believe that the use of Z'T}vo8wpoc in Aramaic-speaking 
areas 25 is a mixture of both these motives. It must correspond to a 
Semitic theophoric name such as Zabdibol, <gift of Bol',26 or Zabdilah, 

Rosenthal, Die Spraehe der palmyrenisehen Insehriften [MVAG 41.1, Leipzig 1936] 94; for a 
Phoenician example see O. Masson, BC H 93 [1969] 699). On the general topic of Greek names 
in Babylonia see A. Aymard, "Une ville de la Babylonie seleucide," in his Etudes d'histoire 
ancienne (Paris 1967) 200-02, where references to the literature will be found; on double 
names ibid. p.197 n.6 and 201 n.3. 

21 Rosenthal, op.cit. (supra n.20) 93-94. The phenomenon was recognized long ago, and 
the essential was enunciated by C. S. Clermont-Ganneau, Recueil d'areheologie orientale I 
(Paris 1888) 186: "Quand un Semite adoptait un nom grec, il pouvait proceder de trois 
fa<;ons dont nous avons de nombreux exemples: ou bien H transcrivait purement et simple­
ment son nom; ou bien Hie traduisait; ou bien il choisissait un veritable nom hellenique 
presentant avec son nom semitique une assonance souvent tres superficielle." 

22 Thus Vaballathus, the son of Zenobia, was also known as Athenodorus (examples in 

Rosenthal p.93). WHB means 'gift' in Palmyrene Aramaic (ef Arabic o..:J' -' 'give'), and the 
goddess Allat was equated with Athena. 

28 Both motives are adduced by O. Masson in an interesting article on names of Phoeni­
cians in Greek inscriptions, "Recherches sur les Pheniciens dans Ie monde hellenistique," 
BCR 93 (1969) 679-700. E.g., for the first, he conjectures (p.691) that BaaA£l&r]c= MLK or 
MLKY ('king'), or MLKBcL ('Bacal is king'); for the second he conjectures (p.692) that lPt>..o­
cTpaToc=cBVCSTRT (,slave of Astarte'), and shows from a bilingual inscription (p.698) that 
'I£pwvvl-'0c=cBD"LNM (,slave of the gods'). 

24 Inscriptionally attested CIS 11.3 3947, 3971. There are several examples of Z7]v6{J,oc as 
the equivalent of the names Zabdilah or Zabida (Zabbai is a hypoeoristieon derived from the 
same root ZBD 'give'): CIS 11.33932, 'IoVA,ov Atlp~Atov Z7]vOf3wv TOV Ka, Za{J8lAav (A.D. 242/3), 
ef ibid. 4031 (A.D. 233), 4168 (A.D. 149),4201 (A.D. 212). 

26 It is not attested at Palmyra itself, but this is probably accidental, since it occurs several 
times in the files of the Cohors Vicesima Palmyrenorum stationed at Dura-Europos in the 
third century. See Dura-Europos, Final Report V.i: The Parchments and Papyri, ed. C. B. 
Welles, R. O. Fink,]. F. Gilliam (New Haven 1959) 380, nO.107 (ca. A.D. 240) ii 16: Aurel Zeno­
dorus; ibid. 98 iv 24 (A.D. 210): Zenodorus Artemidori. Cf ibid. p.312, 100 viii 1; p.345, 101 xiii 13. 
An optio Z7]vo8wpoc appears in a dedication to Zeus Dolichenus at Dura of A.D. 251 (SEG 
17.770). Note (Welles, op.cit. p.59) that Z7]vo8wpoc is not among the Greek names found at 
Dura before the establishment of the Roman camp there in the early third century. 

II On the onomastic element ZT/V- as the equivalent of Bacal in the names of Phoenicians 
see Clermont-Ganneau, "Steles peintes de Sidon," GazArch 3 (1877) 110-13. Zabdibolis very 
common at Palmyra (lists in ]. K. Stark, Personal Names in Palmyrene Inscriptions [Oxford 
1971] 16-17; on Zabdibol/Zabdibel at Palmyra see J. Starcky in H. Seyrig, Antiquitts Sy-



G. J. TOOMER 183 

<gift of god'.27 Thus it is a translation. But the reason for selecting 
Z1)VOOWpoc, rather than e.g. L1tOOWpoc, was the greater similarity in 
sound to the Semitic original. I have found no explicit evidence for the 
equivalence, but it is the most plausible hypothesis to explain the fre­
quency of the name Zenodorus in this area alone. 

Elsewhere the name is surprisingly rare, when one considers that 
both its elements are extremely common in other combinations.28 In 
most parts of the Greek-speaking world it is not attested at all. It 
occurs occasionally in the Cyrenaica,29 where it may be an example of 
the survival of Theran nomenclature.3o There are several examples of 

riennes IV [Paris 1953] 39-40). Note also ol 'y YEVOVC Za{18L{1wAfdwv, Lebas-Waddington III 
2595, Palmyra, A.D. 179. (On this tribe, the Beni Zabdibol, at Palmyra see e.g. Clermont­
Ganneau, Recueil d'archeologie orientale VII [Paris 1906] 13; two tesserae inscribed BNY 
ZBDBWL, Recueil des tesseres de Palmyre, ed. H. Ingholt, H. Seyrig, J. Starcky [Paris 1955] nos. 
138, 141; on the tribes at Palmyra in general see du Mesnil du Buisson, us tessfres et les 
monnaies de Palmyre [Paris 1962] 453-63.) The name is found also in the files of the Cohors 
Vicesima Palmyrenorum, e.g. Dura, Papyri (supra n.25) no.122 (p.394), [A]lm! [Za]~dib[o]![us (a 
contemporary of the Aurelius Zenodorus of no.107, mentioned in n.25, but there is no 
reason to identify the two). Note too the Za{18t{17jAOC, leader of a contingent of "Arabs" 
(Palmyrenes?: see J. Starcky ap. Seyrig, cited above) serving under Antiochus III at the 
battle of Raphia (Polyb. 5.79.8). See Zucker's remarks, op.cit. (supra n.19) 60, on names 
beginning Zaf38- in the Hermopolis stele, and (on the element ZBD in Palmyrene names) 
A. Caquot, "Sur l'onomastique religieuse de Palmyre," Syria 39 (1962) 244. 

27 Stark, op.cit (supra n.26) 17-18. 
28 The frequency of the onomastic element -8wpoc requires no documentation (though 

it does not become ubiquitous until the fourth century B.C., as was remarked by Letronne, 
"Memoire sur l'utilite qu'on pem retirer de l'etude des noms propres grecs," Oeuvres 
Choisies, 38 SER. II [Paris 1885] 76-77). As for Z7jv-, Z~vwv is common in many areas from the 
Hellenistic period onwards, and there are numerous and widespread examples of Z7jvo-
8o'Toc. 

29 SEG 20.735a II 13 (Cyrene, fourth century B.C.), Z7jv68wpoc BcfKaA[oc]. SEG 9.533 (Tau­
chiris-Arsinoe). Cf CrG III 5202 (Ptolemais, imperial period) Z7jvo8wpa. SEG 17.823.19 
(Berenice, A.D. 56; republished by B. Lifshitz, Donateurs et fondateurs dans les synagogues 
juives [Paris 1967] no.100). But this man, Z7jvo8wpoc €hiXfotAov, is a Jew (one of a list of contrib­
utors to the building of a synagogue), so his name may reflect Palestinian influence rather 
than Cyrenaean (cf n.19). The AOXayclc Z7jvo8wpoc of P.Sorb. 14a.8 (266 B.C.; same person, 
ibid. 15.3) was a Cyrenaean according to the plausible supplement of the editor, Helene 
Cadelle. ' AAt:ewclc Z7jvo8wpov KVp7jvawc appears on a tombstone of the first century B.C. in 
the museum at Eleusis (IG 112 9125). 

30 On the frequent onomastic relationship between metropolis and colonies see e.g. 
Robert, "Noms de personnes et civilisation grecque, I,"JSav 1968, pp.209-10, with the litera­
ture cited p.210 n.78. The only example of Z7jvo8wpoc from Thera itself known to me is SEG 
16.473. It is perhaps worth noting that Thera is one of the few places where Z7jvOC occurs as 
the genitive of Zt:lk in ordinary speech; see C. D. Buck, The Greek Dialects (Chicago 1955) 93, 
and e.g. SGDr 3.2. 4734, ZeJlo( c); but names with the element Z7jv- are common throughout 
the Greek world, cf n.28. 



184 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

the name amongst the voluminous onomastic material from Ptole­
maic and Roman Egypt.s1 Unfortunately it is rarely possible to deter­
mine the ethnic background of individuals mentioned in papyri. It 
seems certain that most, if not all, of the Z7]v6Swpot occurring in papyri 
of the earlier Ptolemaic period (to which most of the published 
examples belong) are of Greek or Macedonian origin,32 but in only 
one case (the probably Cyrenaean AoXayoc mentioned in n.29) do we 
know the place of origin of the man or his ancestors.33 Nevertheless, 
the fact that we find men called Zenodorus holding responsible ad­
ministrative positions in the mid-third century,34 combined with in­
dications of Macedonian connections for some Z7]V6SWpOt,35 suggests 

31 Some fifteen occurrences can be derived from Fr. Preisigke, Namenbuch (Heidelberg 
1922) co1.117, and some 25 more from D. Foraboschi, Onomasticon alterum papyrologicum 
(Milan 1%7) fasc.2, s.v. Many of these consist of double or multiple references to the same 
person (see n.32), and the total of different Z7]vo8wpot is not large. 

32 The name occurs several times in the Zenon papyri of the mid-third century B.C. 

There are at least two individuals involved: (1) a man in the employment of Apollonius: 
P.CoI.Zen. 2 line 4, P.CoI.Zen. 90 line 1, P.S.I. 485 line 21 (more fully edited P.S.I. 854 lines 12, 
21), P.s.l. 505 lines 8, P.Cair.Zen. 59009(a) (but see n.18), P.Cair.Zen. 59035 line 1, P.Cair.Zen 
59090 line 1, P.Cair.Zen. 59434 line 1. These do not necessarily all refer to the same man. (2) 
The official in the Ptolemaic administration at Alexandria in the early years of Ptolemy III 
Euergetes, plausibly conjectured by M. I. Rostovtzeff (A Large Estate in Egypt in the Third 
Century B.C. [Madison 1922]) to have been hypodioiketes: P.S.I. 524 line 3, P.Cair.Zen. 59359 
lines 20-21, P.Cair.Zen. 59367 lines 4,12, P.Cair.Zen. 59368 lines 8, 21 (should we identify the 
writer of the letter P.S.l. 364, addressed to Zenon, with this man? Note in line 21 of P.Cair. 
Zen. 59368 Atovvclwt TWt '1Tapa -??7[v]98wpov; the Zenodorus of P.S.l. 364 mentions an athletic 
victory of his brother Dionysius). Perhaps also P. Tebt.lII.l 703 line 1 (reading insecure). The 
Zenodorus who was OlKovofWc of the lower and Thmoisepho toparchies of the Oxyrhynchite 
nome between 251 and 244 B.C. (P.Hamb. 183 lines 4, 16; P.Hib. 59 line 1, P.Hib. 60 line 1, 
P.Hib. 107 line 5, P.Hib. 124-27, P.Hib. 210 lines 4-5; P.Jen. inv. 900= SB 8.9841) may conceiv­
ably be the same man at an earlier stage of his career: note that the latest dated document 
mentioning the OlKOVOILOC (P.Hib. 107) belongs to the third year of Euergetes (244 B.C.), 

while the earliest mentioning the hypodioiketes( 7) (P.Cair.Zen. 59359) belongs to the fifth year. 
33 The AtO[CKO]pOC Z7]vo8[wpov IUp]cat rijc ~'1Tt')'ovfjc (P.Oxy. 269 line 1; the names are 

guaranteed by line 15) is no exception, for at this late date (A.D. 57) the n/pcat rijc £'1Tt')'ovfjc, 

whatever the historical origin of the term, include men of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. 
3' See n.32 for examples. Another(?) Zenodorus appears, apparently as a minor police 

official, in P.Tebt. III.l 748 line 12 (mid-third century). 
36 The clearest example is the Zenodorus of P. Tebt. I 64a line 82 (and several other places 

in P.Tebt. I, see index), a KaTOtKOC at Cerceosiris of the mid-second century B.C. (Prosopo­
graphia Ptolemaica no.2644, II p.92). This man's father and son were both called BpOILEPOC, a 
name occurring otherwise, to my knowledge, only in P. Tebt. 111.2890 (see below) and as the 
father of a chieftain in Lyncestis, Thuc. 4.83.1 (see Hoffmann, op.cit. [supra n.18] 166). Cf also 
Z7]vo8wpoc 'AVTt'1TaTpOV Mvcoc, P.Tebt.III.2 890 lines 7, 9 (second century B.C.). The appella­
tion 'Mysian' probably refers not to his ethnic origin but to his membership in a section of 
the army called the 'Mysians' (see M. Launey, Recherches sur les armees hellenistiques I [Paris 



C. J. TOOMER 185 

that the comparative frequency of the name in Ptolemaic Egypt may 
possibly reflect the settlement of Macedonians there. On the other 
hand, I know of no example of the name in Macedon itself, nor any 
Zenodorus who is explicitly called a Macedonian. 

Otherwise, apart from Attica (for which see below) the name is of 
extreme rarity. In Asia Minor, for example, I have found only two 
occurrences: the dubious [ZJ7Jvoowpoc 'ApvaccLOc (Halicarnassus, late 
fifth century B.C. ?)36 and the magistrate Z7Jv6Swpoc 'Avagay6pov on 
bronze coins of Erythrai from the first half of the third century B.C.37 
The occurrence of the name at Erythrai is one of many links between 
this city and Chios, where I have found two examples of the name: a 
magistrate on a bronze coin of the second or first century B.C.38 and 
AafJ/1T1JP7JC Z7Jvoowpov on an inscription in the city of Chios of unknown 
date.39 In the islands otherwise only Z7Jvoowpa at Samothrace,4o for 
most of the occurrences at Delos are either Semites (see n.19) or 
Athenians (see below); of uncertain origin, but probably not Delians, 
are Z7Jv6owpoc MalKWC [KolvTOV] (i.e. libertus?) of the second or first cen­
tury B.C.,41 and the graffiti Z7Jv68wpoc in the gymnasium.42 Elsewhere 
only two examples, both from a late period: 'IoVAtov Z£voowpov, Panti­
capaeum, A.D. 221,43 and C. Curtius Zenodorus, a lenuncularius at 
Ostia, A.D. 192.44 

1949] 444-46). He could well be of Macedon ian descent, which is consistent with, though not 
proven by, his father's name. It is interesting that the rare Macedonian name BpOfL"p6c 
occurs in this same papyrus, line 98. For another possibly Macedonian example see n.18. 

36 SIG3 no.46. 
37 R. Miinsterberg, "Die Beamtennamen auf den griechischen Miinzen, II," NZ 45 (1912) 

26 (for the dating see Robert, BCH 57 [1933] 477-81). This example too might appear 
dubious, for Miinsterberg (p.27) evidently read the name as MTJV6'8wpoc 'A"a~ay6polJ, nam­
ing the example Wien 29016). Head, BMC Ionia p.140, nos.203-06, read all four pieces as 
ZHNO,dQ[POl:] ANABAr[OPOY], but the first part of the name is illegible on the plate 
(pl.xVI.8). The first letter is also illegible on the example Syl/oge Copenhagen, Ionia pt.II, p1.l6 
nO.724. I have examined the example in the collection of the American Numismatic So­
ciety, however, and report that ZHNO,dQ is absolutely certain. 

38 Miinsterberg, op.cit. (supra n.37) 45; BMC Ionia p.333 no.50, Sylloge Copenhagen, Ionia 
pt.lII, pl.35 no.l561. 

39 G. I. Zolotas, XWKWV Kat 'EPV(JpatKWV €7nyparpwv cvvayWi'1/ (Athens 1908) 252 nO.l01. 
40 IG XII.8 199. 
U Inscr. Delos 1739 line 6 (cf 1738). 

n Exploration archeologique de Delos, fasc.2S: Le gymnase (Paris 1970) App. m, by M.-Th. 
Couilloud, p.l07 no.4 II e and p.112 no.9 II d. These may be Athenians, cf pp.130-31. 

43 Corpus Inscriptionum Regni Bosporani (Moscow 1965) no.99, lines 11-12. 
" CIL XIV 251 vi 34. Cf also Domitia Zenodora at Puteoli, CIL X 2373. These two may 

both be of Semitic origin. There was a large community of Tyrians at Puteoli during the 



186 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

Unless we are to entertain the hypothesis that the mathematician 
Zenodorus was a Hellenized Semite,4S the comparative rarity of the 
name in other parts of the Greek world confirms Cronert's identifica­
tion. On the basis of the evidence assembled above, one might guess 
that the mathematician was a Cyrenaean or a resident of Ptolemaic 
Egypt, or conceivably from Chios or Erythrai. But, as we shall see, 
there is one other place where the name Zenodorus is, though not 
common, at least attested several times, namely Attica. And here the 
evidence of the Philonides papyrus is significant: in both passages 
where the name Zenodorus occurs or has been plausibly restored in 
the papyrus, the events are evidently taking place at Athens, though 
the context is too lacunose to make continuous sense. The relevant 
passages, as printed by Cronert, are as follows: 

fr.31 lines 1-6 (Cronert pp.953-54): 

~ANTEI y' EA71'tELV 
[~c &1To]Soxi1c Elc 'AO+ 
[vac EV]EYKELV &SVCKO-
• • • • • ~ Kat TOV Z1}voSw­
[PO]V aUTOV &c/>tKO/LEVOC 
E lc aCTv. KT A. 

fr.34 lines 1-5 (Cronert p.954): 

;SWKE Kat [Z1}v]6§wpov [au]­
TcA":" 1Tap&YEw EN~~nJ\O 

early empire (see the well-known inscription, OGIS 595. a letter of the Tyrian community 
at Puteoli to the city of Tyre. dated A.D. 174. esp. lines 7-9, 'Tam,c 7T&>.CU J.'€V E7T£J.'£AoWro 04 

EV llO'TL&AOLC Ka'TO'KoWr€C TVpLOL{O'} 7ToMoi C5VT€C Kai 7TAoVc,o,. VVv 8~ colc &Alyovc ~p.ac 7T€pdC'TTf 
'TOV &pL8p.&v. The evidence for men of Palestinian or Syrian origin residing at Ostia is less 
striking, but see R. Meiggs, Roman Ostia (Oxford 1960) ZI5-16. 

45 This is not in itself implausible. An example of a mathematician from about the same 
time who was a Hellenized Semite is Bac.A€l3TJc 0 Tvp'oc (Hypsic1es, [Euclid.] Elem. XIV, ed. 
Heiberg, V [BT, Leipzig 1888] p.Z; on Bac.A€l3'fJc as a typical adoptive Greek name ofPhoe­
nicians see Masson, op.cit. [supra n.Z3] 690-91). Furthermore, Philonides came from Lao­
dicea 7TPOC 8aMcc'!J in Syria (see n.47), and a ZTJv03wpa is attested from that very city (see 
n.19). though from a much later period. Therefore it is possible that Zenodorus in the 
papyrus was a fellow-countryman whom Philonides was introducing to Athens. Even if we 
adopt this interpretation, the identity of the mathematician and the acquaintance of Philon­
ides is still assured. But it entails a strained reading of the passages in the papyrus, and 
there is no certain example of a Semite being named Zenodorus as early as this. 



G. J. TOOMER 

TI f-Lpar. Kcx2 Ot6n 7T'CXpCX-
I , 'Af} I YEVOf-LEVOC etC "f]vcxc 

cxth6V46 {J7T"TCX~EV MACAP>'< 
KTA. 

187 

Philonides himself came from Laodicea 7Tp6c Bcx>..ciccrJ; but he was an 
honorary Athenian citizen, as we learn from an Eleusinian decree.4? 

Thus he had plenty of reason to visit Athens, quite apart from his in­
terest in Epicureanism. Nevertheless, the mention of Zenodorus in 
connection with both visits to Athens which can be inferred from the 
papyrus may be significant. It is worth investigating the possibility 
that Zenodorus was an Athenian. 

The name Z"f]voowpoc occurs, to my knowledge, eight times in Attic 
inscriptions and can be plausibly restored in one other place.48 Two of 
the eight occurrences can be discounted, as they refer to non-Athen­
ians.49 But we can add two occurrences of Athenians in inscriptions at 

46 atlrov is equally possible, as is remarked by R. Philippson, s.v. PHlLONIDES 5, RE 20 
(1941) 67 (the article PHILONIDES 7 by K. Orinsky, ibid. co1.74, is worth quoting in its entirety 
as a curiosity: "P. wird von Apollonios von Perge [so Hultsch O. Bd. II S. 151ff.] als Mathe­
matiker angefiihrt. Er war Epikureer und brach durch seine Interessen als Mathematiker 
eigentlich die epikureische Tradition [Usener K1. Schr. III 188ff.]. Seine Heimat und seine 
Lebenszeit sind uns nicht bekannt.") Philippson interprets the two passages mentioning 
Zenodorus in the sense that Philonides introduced Zenodorus to Athens. This is not im­
possible (see n.45), but rests on supplements to the papyrus which the author describes 
(co1.63) as "meist nur Versuche" and which would be better described as exercises in 
fantasy. 

47 Both the city of his origin and his Athenian citizenship are known not from the papy­
rus but from inscriptions. The facts were pointed out by U. Kohler, "Ein Nachtrag zum 
Lebenslauf des Epikureers Philonides." SBBerII900.2 pp.999-1 00 1. The most recent editions 
of the relevant inscriptions (all unknown to PhiIippson, op.cit. [supra n.46], who quotes only 
Kohler and CIA) are: IG IP 1236 (decree of the Eumolpidai and Kerykes honoring Philon­
ides, his brother Dicaearchus and their father Philonides); OGIS 241 (decree of the Del­
phians honoring Dicaearchus, known only from a copy by Cyriacus of Ancona); BCH 45 

(1921) Iff, IV 78-80 (the well-known Delphian list of Ot:WP0'80KO£, in which Philonides and 
Dicaearchus are named as Ot:WP0'80KO£ at Laodicea). 

48 The only other place where it can even possibly be restored is IG 112 1039 line 90, which 
reads . TJv6'8wpoc ZTJvo'8[ .. ou - -]vc (one of a list of ephebes of the tribe Aegeis in the 
archonship of Apollodorus, ca. 80 B.C.). Mitsos, however, in his republication of the inscrip­
tion, ArchEph 1964, opp. p.44, reads .TJv6'8wpoc ZT]vwv[oc ·Epx£t:r]vc. In the context, MJTJv6-
DWpOC seems more likely than Z]TJv6'8wpoc, cf lines 86-88: [K]6vwv MTJvo'8wpou K[o]A­
"\un:vc I .l'[ w ]K,.\d'8TJc MTJvo'8wpou K[ 0 ]AAtJT£vC I [M]TJv64>LAoC MTJvo'86rou 'E[P ]XLnk. Kirch­
ner, PA no.6193,lists this as a Z'TJv6'8wpoc, but the fiveZTJv6'8wpoc entries in Kirchner, like the 
rest of the book, are hopelessly antiquated. Thus Kirchner's 6197 is certainly a false restora­
tion. The republication of the relevant inscription, now IG lIZ 2707, reads opoc x[wplo] I 'lTt:­
'lTpafL['VO] I ~'lTt (>..}Vw I .. . 8WpWL I [.l'm]pLEr. Thus there is too little space for [ZTJvo]'8wPWt. 

49 IG 112 2810 (see n.19), a Zenodorus from Ascalon; ibid. 9125 (see n.29), a Cyrenaean. 



188 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

Delos,50 making nine in all. The bearers of the name came from 
several different demes: Eupyridai, from a late period ;51 Paiania 
(plausibly restored) ;52 Marathon and Trikorythos (see n.50). But the 
other five occurrences, which include the earliest examples, refer to 

men from the same deme and, as examination of the inscriptions 
shows, from the same family. The most informative inscription is IG 
112 2332, a list of contributors for some unknown purpose in the 
archons hip of Hermogenes (183/2 B.C.). Lines 26-36 read: Z7JVOOWpoc 
Aap:7TT[pEtJe -] I Kat tmEP TWV aOE[A</>wv] I Z7JVOOOTOV Aap:7TT[pEWC] I 
Kat tJ7TEP 'A</>POOLctOV A[afL]1T[TpEWC] I Kat TOU fJou Z'Y}VOOWpo[v] I 
Kat fJ1TEP LJafLwvoc AafL[1TTpEWC] I Kat TOU fJou Z7JVOOWpo[v] I Kat fJ1TEP 
MLAnaoov AafL[ 1T ]Tp[ EWC] I Kat. fJ1TEP II OCELOwvlov AafL1TT[pEWC] I Kat 
TWV fJwv aVTOU IIocELow[vlov] I Kat fHpaKAEloov -LJ. IG II2 
6652, as corrected ArchEph 1957 p.165, the gravestone of the 
above-mentioned LJafLwv, supplies us with the name of his father: 
LJafLwv I Z7Jvoowpov I AafL1TTpEvC. The younger IIocELowvLOc appears as a 
lEP01TOLOC in an inscription of about 150 B.C. (IG II2 1938 line 59), and 
two of his sons, IIocELowvLoc IIoCELowvlov and -OCOEV7JC IIocELowvlov, were 
ephebes in the archonships of Agathocles (106/5) and Echecrates 
(102/1 ?) respectively. 53 Finally IG II2 2338, of the archonship of Areios 
(late first century B.C.) provides us with three more members of the 
same family, including another Zenodorus. This most interesting in­
scription is a list of the members of the YEVOC of the Amynandridai, of 
whom we know nothing except that they exercised some priestly 

oO InsCT. Delos 1953, Z7]v6owpoe 'HpaKAdTov Mapa8cfmoe vuo/eae 'A8~vala .,..qv Aap:rraoa TWV 
'l7mowv (138/7 B.C.); ibid. 2136 J'I7[~ It']p£we Ll - - - I TOV ZTjvoocfJpov TPLKOpvclov (between 166 
and 158/7, cf P. Roussel, Les cultes egyptiens Ii Delos [Paris-Nancy 1915-16] 118 no.65). 

61 IG 112 6147, 'IM.pa Z7]voocfJpov I Jf EiJ17vPLOWV. There is no doubt thatZenodorus is Hilara's 
father (not her husband), and hence that this Zenodorus is from Eupyridai. Robert, REG 80 
(1967) 454, points out that a woman's name plus genitive alone always indicates a daughter. 
The rule is amply confirmed by examination of the inscriptions adjacent to this in 
IG IP. 

52 S. Dow, Prytaneis (Hesperia SuppJ, 1937) no.116 line 28 (under IIalavLt'i:e): LlIOVVCLOC 

ZTjvo[o]cfJpov. In the photograph, ibid., neither the 0 before the missing 0 nor the w after it 
are clearly visible, but no other restoration is plausible. This inscription belongs to the 
archonship of Demeas, which Dow puts at ca. 20 B.C. The inscription is in any case from the 
second half of the first century B.C. 

03 The IIowocfJvLoe IIowowv[ov ephebe under Agathocles, Fouilles de Delphes III.2 25 col. 
iii line 4, is not qualified by demotic, but the likelihood that he is to be identified as the 
eldest son of IIowocfJvLoc (2) of Lamptrai is increased by the appearance of another 
son of that Poseidonius (duly identified by demotic), a very few years later, in IG lIZ 
1028. 



G. J. TOOMER 189 

function. Line 22 reads: Z'Y}vo8wpoc 'Acppo8tc[l]ov AaV7T'TpEtJc, llafLj-I,ElITJc, 
viOc.54 Thus we can construct the stemma shown in Figure l. 

If the mathematician Zenodorus was an Athenian, then it is a plaus­
ible guess that he belonged to the family of Lamptrai, amongst whom 
the name was hereditary. And if he did belong to that family, then he 
must be identified with ZT)vo8wpoc (2) of the stemma. What little we 
know of the family and the man is at least compatible with the identi­
fication. The family was fairly wealthy, as is shown by llOCEt8WJlLOC (2) 
being a iEp07TOtOC, and by his sons being ephebes at a time when ser­
VICe was voluntary and a matter of social distinction.55 Since the 

Z1JvoSWPOC (1) 

I 
I I I 

Z1JvoSWpoc (2) Lla/Lwv llOCEtScfJVLOC (1) 

I 
Z1JvoSwpoc (4) I 

I 
'AcppoSlcLOC (1) llOCEt8wVLOC (2) 

I I 
Z1JvoSwpoc (3) 

I 
I 

llOCE'SWVWC (3) 
I 

-odNV7Jc 
'AcppoSlnoc (2) 

I 
Z7JvoSWpoc (5) 

I 
II a/L/L€v1Jc 

Figure 1. STEMMA OF THE Z7Jvo8wpot OF LAMPTRAI 

U It is not certain whether the lIa]J.4J.4'![vJrJc AaJ.47TTp€15c (no patronymic) who was a theoros 
at Delphi in the archonship of Euthydomus (Fouilles de Delphes III.2 57 line 9) is to be identi­
fied with Pammenes the son of Zenodorus (5). According to W. B. Dinsmoor, The Archons 
of Athens in the Hellenistic Age (Cambridge [Mass.] 1931) 285, Euthydomus was archon in 
42/1 B.C. The archonship of Areios falls early in the reign of Augustus but later than 28/7 
(see Graindor, BCH 38 [1914] 412 n.1). If we make the identification, then Zenodorus (5) 
must have been an old man at the time of the engraving of IG IJ2 2338, and Aphrodisius (2) 
was the son, rather than the great-grandson, of Zenodorus (3). The former is the relation­
ship adopted in Fig.1. though the latter cannot be ruled out. 

65 On this aspect of the Athenian ephebate in the Hellenistic period see W. S. Ferguson, 
Hellenistic Athens (London 1911) 128; C. pelekidis. Histoire de l'ephebie attique (Paris 1962) 
169-70. In the year when the younger son of Poseidonius was ephebe there were only 138 
ephebes altogether, and 36 of these came from other cities such as Miletus. Cyrene. Rome 
and Naples (pelekidis p.184). 



190 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

family belonged to the priestly y'voc of the Amynandridai, it was 
descended from the old Athenian aristocracy. The background is ap­
propriate for one with the education and the leisure to become a 
mathematician and a philosopher. A further inference can be made 
from IG ll2 2232 concerning the status of Z1}v68wpoc (2). Since he makes 
contributions on behalf of the other relations, he is clearly the head 
of the family, i.e. the oldest of the brothers. Three of his brothers have 
sons, but no son of his own is mentioned. It is a certain inference that 
he had no male children, and a probable one that he was unmarried. 
Epicurus is known to have discouraged marriage and the begetting of 
children,56 and though many of his sect did not follow him in this par­
ticular, it is conceivable that Zenodorus' childlessness was a conse­
quence of his Epicureanism. 

Clearly the identity of the mathematician Zenodorus and the 
Lamptran of IG ll2 2232 remains unproven, but I hope to have shown 
that it is at least plausible. The identity of the mathematician and the 
acquaintance of Philonides seems to me proven beyond reasonable 
doubt, and the jloruit of Zenodorus the mathematician is thus estab­
lished as early second century B.C. 

This dating is important when we come to examine a hitherto un­
published passage mentioning a Zenodorus which occurs in the intro­
duction to the work of the mathematician Diocles On Burning Mirrors. 
Until recently this treatise was known only from two extracts in Euto­
cius' commentary on Archimedes' Sphere and Cylinder.57 Now, how­
ever, the complete work is available in Arabic translation, of which I 
have prepared an edition to be published shortly. I give a literal ver­
sion of the opening passage :58 

"The book of Diodes on burning mirrors. He said: Pythion the 
geometer, who was of the people of Thasos, wrote a letter to Con on 
in which he asked him how to find a mirror surface such that when it 
is placed facing the sun the rays reflected from it meet the circumfer­
ence of a circle. And when Zenodorus the astronomer came down to 
Arcadia and was introduced( ?) to us, he asked us how to find a mirror 
surface such that when it is placed facing the sun the rays reflected 

66 Clem.Alex. Strom. 2.138.3, ed. Stahlin p.189, 15-18: .::1"1f'6KPLTOC 8~ yaf'ov Ka~ 7Tcu&7Todav 
7TapatT€'iTcu 8t~ T~C 7TO'\'\~C t, aVrwv a"l8lac T€ Ka~ &t/>oAKac a7To TWV avaYKatOT/pwV. cVYKaTa­
TaTT€TCU 8~ aVro/ Ka~ • ErrlKOVpOC. 

117 ed. Heiberg! III pp.66-70, 130, 160-74. 
118 Meshed. Shrine Library, MS. 392/5593 pp.l06-07. 



C. J. TOOMER 191 

from it meet a point and thus cause burning. So we want to explain 
the answer to the problem posed by Pythion and to that posed by 
Zenodorus; in the course of this we shall make use of the premises 
established by our predecessors. One of those two problems, namely 
the one requiring the construction of a mirror which makes all the 
rays meet in one point, is the one which was solved practically by 
Dositheus. The other problem, since it was only theoretical, and there 
was no argument worthy to serve as proof in its case, was not solved 
practically. We have set out a compilation of the proofs of both of 
these problems and elucidated them." 

This passage provides a good deal of new and interesting historical 
information, which cannot however be discussed here. Two points 
must be made about the occurrences of the name Zenodorus in it. 
The first is that both occurrences are my emendations. The text is 
found in two manuscripts, of which one (Chester Beatty Arabic 5255) 

is a direct copy of the other (Meshed, Shrine Library 392/5593). Thus 
only the latter comes into consideration. It is written in a Persian 
hand, and dated A.H. 867 (= A.D. 1462/3). The two occurrences of the 
name in it are reproduced in Figure 2. One would transcribe these as 
1..1'""\~~\ and 1..1'""\~~\, neither of which corresponds to a possible 

. I 
u'1'~. v-') · "' , .)'. 

Figure 2. ARABIC TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE NAME 'ZENODORUS' 

IN MESHED, SHRINE LIBRARY MS. 392/5593 

Greek name. In this script, however, the resemblance of alif to ra. or 
Za. is very great, and the corruption from ..r.J~~j or..r .J.J~~j59 is easily 
explained. I regard the emendation as certain. The second point is that 
Zenodorus is referred to as 'the astronomer' (al-munajjim). This is in 
itself no bar to identification with the mathematician. It was common 
practice in antiquity for those whose primary work was in mathe­
matics to take an interest in astronomy also. Notable examples from 
near the period of Diodes and Zenodorus are Archimedes and Apol­
lonius. Furthermore, we have independent testimony of the existence 

61 One might rather expect..r.J.J~ ~j, but I have observed that Arabic transcriptions of 
Greek names frequently use a long vowel to represent the Greek accented syllable rather 
than a Greek long vowel. This no doubt reflects contemporary Greek pronunciation (like 
the ~ for the 8 of ZT}vo8wpoc). 



192 THE MATHEMATICIAN ZENODORUS 

of an 'astronomer' Zenodorus. In a catalogue of ot 71'£pi 'TOU 7f'(SAov 
cvv'TcX~aV'T£c (where 71'£pi 'TOU 71'oAov is to be interpreted 'concerning the 
heavens'), found in MS. Vat. Gr. 381 and published by Maass,6o occurs 
the name Z7Jvo8wpoc. This man was tentatively identified by Maass 
(Aratea p.163) with the mathematician. The identification appears cer­
tain in the light of the new evidence. 

One important conclusion that can be drawn from the mention of 
Zenodorus in the introduction to Diocles' treatise concerns the date 
of Diocles. Since Diocles reports that he had personal contact with 
Zenodorus, his jloruit must coincide with that of Zenodorus, namely, 
early second century B.C. Until now it has been generally assumed 
that Diocles was later than Apollonius (see n.1O). We can now say that 
Diodes was a contemporary of Apollonius (we have the link Apollo­
nius-Philonides on the one hand, and Philonides-Zenodorus-Diodes 
on the other). This is completely consistent with what we should con­
clude from an examination of Diocles' treatise, which in form belongs 
to the pre-Apollonian tradition of conic sections.61 

BROWN UNIVERSITY 

March, 1972 

60 First in Hermes 16 (1881) 388; a better version in his Aratea (Berlin 1892) 123. 
81 I must defer a discussion of the difficult question of whether Diodes was at all ac­

quainted with Apollonius' work to the introduction to my forthcoming edition of Diodes' 
treatise. To D. M. Lewis, O. Neugebauer, P. J. Parsons, A. J. Sachs and Nancy Waggoner I 
am grateful for assistance with various points in this essay. 

ADDENDUM to p.179 n.16 supra: To those authorities ignorant of the evidence for 
Zenodorus' date must now be added the article ZBNODOROS 5, RE lOA (1972) 18, by K. 
Ziegler, published while this article was in proof. The multiple omissions and the 
inextricable confusion in references to the sources for Zenodorus' treatise make the 
artide quite useless. The only reference to the chronolOgical problem is "anscheinend 
nicht viel jUnger als Archimedes," which is derived, I suspect, solely from the discussion 
of Hultsch, op.cit. (supra n.1) III 1190 ("non multo post Archimedem"), in a work 
published in 1878.