Leonid Zhmud The Origin of the History of Science in Classical Antiquity

 Catalogue mentions six mathematicians (after
whom follows Philip): Amyclas of Heraclea, Menaechmus, Dinostratus, Theu-
dius of Magnesia, and Athenaeus of Cyzicus. They are said to have spent their
time together in the Academy and collaborated in their research. This group is
followed by Hermotimus of Colophon, mentioned independently. The
 Cata-
logue names Menaechmus and his brother Dinostratus as Eudoxus’ students,
and to them two mathematicians from Cyzicus must be added: Athenaeus and
Helicon (who was mentioned by Plutarch)
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and perhaps Hermotimus who
“continued the work that had been done by Eudoxus and Theaetetus” (
In Eucl.,
67.20f.). Theudius’ origin (whichever of the two Magnesia’s he was born in)
may also indicate that he studied with Eudoxus in Cyzicus and traveled with
him to Athens. Although the last possibility remains mere conjecture, it is re-
vealing that almost the entire group of Eudoxus’ young contemporaries came
from Asia Minor.
90
From this group, only Amyclas is
directly named as ‘one of
Plato’s followers’ (
In Eucl., 67.9). Meanwhile Amyclas, an acquaintance of
Plato, is presented by Aristoxenus as a Pythagorean!
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In any case, we do not
know anything about Amyclas’ mathematical research.
88
See already Allman,
op. cit., 178.
89
De gen. Socr. 573 C; Dion. 19,4 = Lasserre. Léodamas, 16T 2–3; cf. pseudo-Platonic
13
th
letter (360b–c). Two other students of Eudoxus, Callippus and Polemarchus,
were also from Cyzicus (Simpl.
In Cael. comm., 493.5, 504.20, 505.21). Another
native of Cyzicus, Timolaus, is mentioned in two lists of Plato’s students (D. L. III,
46; Dorandi.
Filodemo, 135, col. VI), but it is not known whether he was a math-
ematician and a disciple of Eudoxus.
90
The origin of Menaechmus and Dinostratus is unknown. The identification of the
mathematician Menaechmus with a certain Menaechmus of Alopecae or Proconne-
sus who is mentioned in the
Suda is unconvincing. See Schmidt, M. Die Fragmente
des Mathematikers Menaechmus,
Philologus 42 (1884) 72–81. The Suda says:
filósofo~ Platonikó~. Égraye filósofa kaì eı~ tà~ Plátwno~ Politeía~
biblía gV (Lasserre. Léodamas, 12 T 2). If these referred to a contemporary of Plato,
he would be called Plato’s student and not just ‘a Platonic philosopher’. Meanwhile,
Dercyllides calls Menaechmus and his fellow student Callippus mathematicians,
separating them from philosophers (Theon.
Exp., 201.25f., cf. Procl. In Eucl.,
254.4). Furthermore, in the
Suda it is not said that the philosopher Menaechmus was
concerned with mathematics. When this Menaechmus was alive is not clear, but it is
well known that in the fourth century there were no
special commentaries to the Pla-
tonic dialogues. Proclus names Xenocrates’ student Crantor as the first interpreter of
Plato (
In Tim., 76.1–2). See Tarán. Proclus, 270f.; Dörrie, op. cit., 328f.; Krämer, op.
cit., 122f.
91
Aristoxenus tells us that Plato wanted to collect all Democritus’ books and burn
them, but the Pythagoreans Amyclas and Cleinias persuaded him not to do this, ex-
plaining that too many people had copies of them (fr. 131 =
DK 54 A 2). Cleinias, un-
like Amyclas, occurs in a catalogue of Pythagoreans, compiled by Aristoxenus (
DK,
446.28; Zhmud.
Wissenschaft, 67f.). Pace Lasserre (Léodamas 7 T 6), who con-

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Chapter 3: Science in the Platonic Academy
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It seems quite likely that after Eudoxus’ return to Cnidus (before 348, ac-
cording to Lasserre), his students remained for some time in Athens and
worked at the Academy. How long they stayed there is unknown, as is the na-
ture of their relationship with Plato, who was nearly eighty. In the earliest
known list of his students, preserved by Philodemus,
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the names of five of
these mathematicians are missing; only Amyclas is named (strictly speaking,
Amyntas of Heraclea), and he is the only one of this group who appears in Dio-
genes Laertius’ list of the Academics (III, 46).
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The other five are not on any
list of early Academics and practically nothing is known about their connection
with the Academy.
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This could mean either that their stay at the Academy was
very short and did not leave any traces outside the