Theatelus-The Five

Platonic Solids (400 B.C.)

By: Alexandria Howell
History Math322

Theaeteus

Theaeteus

Born c.417 BC, Athens Greece-died

369, Athens.

Athenian mathematician who

significant influenced on
development of Greek geometry.

Made important contributions to

mathematics that Euclid (300 BC)
eventually collected and
systematized in his Elements.

He discovered methods of inscribing

in sphere the five Platonic solids
(tetrahedron, cube, octahedron,
dodecahedron, and icosahedron), the
subject of Book XII of Elements.

He may be the author of a general

theory of proportion that was
formulated after the numerically
based theory of Pythagoreans(5 th
century BC).

Theateteus (the Five Platonic solids)

Other evidence suggests that he

may have only been familiar with
the tetrahedron, cube, and
dodecahedron and that the
discovery of the octahedron and
icosahedron belong to Theaetetus,
a contemporary of Plato.

In any case, Theaetetus gave a

mathematical description of all
five and may have been
responsible for the first known
proof that no other convex regular
polyhedral exist.

Platonic solid
Is a regular, convex polyhedron. It is
constructed by congruent regular
polygonal faces with the same number of
faces meeting at each vertex. Only five
solids meet those criteria.
Geometers have studied the
mathematical beauty and symmetry of
the platonic solids for thousands of years.
They are named for the ancient Greek
philosopher Plato who theorized in his
dialogue, the Timaeous, that the classical
elements were made of these regular
solids.
Ancient Greeks studied Platonic solids
extensively. The Platonic solids are
prominent in philosophy of Plato, their
namesake. Plato write about them in a
dialogue Timaeus c.360 B.C. in which he
associated each of the four classical
elements (water, air, fire, and earth) with
a regular solid.

Four Elements
Air

Earth

Was associated with the cube.

To justify these associations, these clumsy little solids cause dirt to

crumble and break when picked up in stark difference to the smooth
flow of water.
Moreover the cubes being the only regular solid that tessellates
Euclidean space was believed to cause the solidarity of the Earth.

Was associated with the

octahedron.
To justify these associations.
Air is made of the
octahedron: its minuscule
components are so smooth
that one can barely feel it.

Four Elements
Water

Fire

Was associated with the

icosahedron.

Was associated with the tetrahedron.

To justify these associations the heat of fire feels sharp and

stabbing

To justify these associations.

Water flows out of ones hand
when picked up, as if it is
made of tiny little balls.

Four/Fifth Elements

Dodecahedron was the fifth element

called Aether. Plato obscurely
remarks the god used it for
arranging the constellations on the
whole heaven.
Aristotle added a fifth element, and
postulated that the heavens were
made of elements, but he had no
interesting in matching it with
Plato's fifth solid.

Geometric Proof
Geometric argument is very similar to the one given by Euclid in the Elements:

Each vertex of the solid must be a vertex for at least three faces.

At each vertex of the solid, the total, among the adjacent faces, of the angles between their respective
adjacent sides must be less than 360. The amount less than 360 is called an angle defect.

Triangular faces: Each vertex of a regular triangle is 60, so a shape may have 3, 4, or 5 triangles
meeting at a vertex; these are the tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron respectively.

Square faces: Each vertex of a square is 90, so there is only one arrangement possible with three faces
at a vertex, the cube.

Pentagonal faces: Each vertex is 108; again, only one arrangement of three faces at a vertex is
possible, the dodecahedron.

Altogether this makes 5 possible Platonic solids.

The last book (Book XII)

Euclid completely mathematically described the Platonic solids in the

Elements, the last book (Book XIII) of which is devoted to their properties.

Propositions 1317 in Book XIII describe the construction of the tetrahedron,

octahedron, cube, icosahedron, and dodecahedron in that order.

Each solid Euclid finds the ratio of the diameter of the circumscribed sphere
to the edge length. In Proposition 18 he argues that there are no further
convex regular polyhedra.

Andreas Speiser has advocated the view that the construction of the 5 regular
solids is the chief goal of the deductive system canonized in the Elements.

Much of the information in Book XIII is probably derived from the work of
Theaetetus.

Euclid Proposition 13-18 in Book XII

Proposition 13.

To construct a pyramid, to comprehend it in a given sphere; and to prove that the square on the diameter of the sphere is one and a
half times the square on the side of the pyramid.

Lemma for XIII.13.

Proposition 14.

To construct an octahedron and comprehend it in a sphere, as in the preceding case; and to prove that the square on the diameter
of the sphere is double the square on the side of the octahedron.

Proposition 15.

To construct a cube and comprehend it in a sphere, like the pyramid; and to prove that the square on the diameter of the sphere is
triple the square on the side of the cube.

Proposition 16.

To construct an icosahedron and comprehend it in a sphere, like the aforesaid figures; and to prove that the square on the side of
the icosahedron is the irrational straight line called minor.

Corollary. The square on the diameter of the sphere is five times the square on the radius of the circle from which the icosahedron
has been described, and the diameter of the sphere is composed of the side of the hexagon and two of the sides of the decagon
inscribed in the same circle.

Proposition 17.

To construct a dodecahedron and comprehend it in a sphere, like the aforesaid figures; and to prove that the square on the side of
the dodecahedron is the irrational straight line called apotome.

Corollary. When the side of the cube is cut in extreme and mean ratio, the greater segment is the side of the dodecahedron.

Proposition 18.

To set out the sides of the five figures and compare them with one another.

My References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Platonic-solid

https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_solid#Radii.2C_area.2C_and_volume

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theaetetus_(mathematician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid%27s_Elements

The End