Euclid's Elements constitute one of the most studied and publicized books in the history of mathematics and is certainly one of the best known works of science of the modern era.
As happened, generally, with the scientific, philosophical and literary legacy of Classical Antiquity, the transmission of this work, where the advanced mathematical knowledge of the Greeks is clearly shown and remarkably systematized, was lost during the Middle Ages.
In the 12th century, English monk Adelard of Bath travelled to Córdoba, posing as an Arab student, in order to obtain a copy of the text. Indeed, during the Middle Ages, the Arabs were the guardians of ancient science. In Spain, namely in Toledo, there were prestigious schools of translators of Greek and Latin texts.
Above, on the left, the statue of Euclid in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Oxford. The Greek sage holds a manuscript of the Elements in his left hand
Below, a papyrus fragment of the Elements, discovered in Egypt.
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EUCLIDES, ca. 323-285 a. C.
Euclidis Elementorum lib. XV... nunc iterum editi ac multar[um] rerum accessione locupletati / Christophoro Clavio Bambergensi è Societate Iesu. - Romae : apud Bartholomaeum Grassium, 1589. - [16], 918, [1] p. : il. ; 17 cm. - Illustrated in the text
Library/IDC of FMUL: RES. 2326
