Menelaus' ``Spherics''. Early translation and al-Māhānī/al-Harawī's version
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
title: Menelaus' ``Spherics''. Early translation and al-Māhānī/al-Harawī's version
zbMATH Open document ID: 1400.01002
DOI: 10.1515/9783110571424
author: Roshdi Rashed
author: Athanase Papadopoulos
published in: Scientia Graeco-Arabica
publication date: 2018-07-19T00:00:00Z
review text: This is a definitive, monumental work on Menelaus's \textit{Spherics}. Given that the Greek original is lost, the major task is that of comparing the extant Arabic and Latin translations, of presenting the various versions, and of providing a commentary on them. Several conclusions regarding these versions include: ``(i) That there exists a fragment (about one third) of an ancient Arabic translation of the \textit{Spherics}, which is different from all the subsequent translations. The reader will find in the present volume the \textit{editio princeps} of the fragment together with its first translation. (ii) That the edition of the \textit{Spherics} which is commonly attributed to al-Harawī (10th century) is in fact due to al-Māhānī, and that it was only revised by al-Harawī. The authors also provide the \textit{editio princeps} of this other important text as well as its first translation. (iii) That the King of Saragossa, Ibn Hūd (d. 1085), in the material he borrowed for his \textit{Encyclopedia}, had at his disposal two sources: al-Māhānī's edition for what concerns the first and the second book, and al-Dimashqī's translation for the third. (iv) That the Latin translation of Gerard of Cremona (d. 1175) was not realized, as it was claimed up to now, from one and the same Arabic translation, but, exactly as is the case for Ibn Hūd's commentary, from two sources: al-Māhānī's edition for part of the work, and al-Dimashqī's translation for the rest.'' A general presentation of Menelaus's work and of his \textit{Spherics} is followed by a chapter looking at the differences in the redaction of the \textit{Spherics} by al-Māhānī and by al-Harawī, a chapter on Ibn Hūd, one on the Propositions from the \textit{Spherics} quoted in Ibn Hūd's \textit{Encyclopedia}, one on the mathematical content of the \textit{Spherics}, with the individual Proposition formulated in a language friendly to a contemporary reader, with mentions here and througout the text to later mathematicia…
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01-02
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A20
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A30
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A75
zbMATH DE Number: 6908518
zbMATH Keywords: spherical geometry
reviewed by: Victor V. Pambuccian
MaRDI profile type: Publication
full work available at URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110571424
OpenAlex ID: W2766054813
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 6908518