Several artists, artisans, and mathematicians described fascinating solid bodies in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The knowledge they developed on the subject was so progressive that it is considered a milestone in the history of polyhedra. In the first part of this study we analyze, from a chronological and comparative perspective, the consistent studies developed between 1460 and 1583 on those that came to be recognized as Archimedean Solids. The authors who engaged in such studies were Piero della Francesca, Luca (...) Pacioli, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Augustin Hirschvogel, an Anonymous Author who accomplished remarkable studies between 1538 and 1556, Wentzel Jamnitzer, Daniele Barbaro, Lorenz Stöer, Rafael Bombelli, and Simon Stevin. In the second part, we discuss how the revolutionary method of describing solid bodies with planar nets contributed to the rediscovery of the Archimedean Solids. We also present our interpretation of some of the studies by the Anonymous Author and our conclusions on his identity and influence on other authors. (shrink)

Federico Commandino’s Latin editions of the mathematical works written by the ancient Greeks constituted an essential reference for the scientific research undertaken by the moderns. In his Latin editions, Commandino cleverly combined his philological and mathematical skills. Philology and mathematics, moreover, nurtured each other. In this article, I analyze the Greek and Latin manuscripts and the printed edition of Apollonius’ Conics to highlight in a specific case study the role of the editions of the classics in the renaissance of modern (...) mathematics. (shrink)

Aristarchus’s De magnitudinis et distantiis solis et lunae was translated into Latin and printed by Federico Commandino in 1572. All subsequent editions of Aristarchus’ treatise, published by John Wallis (1688), Fortia d’ Urban (1823) and Thomas Heath (1913), followed Commandino’s work. In this article, through a philological approach to the geometric diagrams, I tracked down one of the Greek sources used by Commandino for preparing his Latin version. Commandino pays particular attention to drawing figures. This article sheds light on the (...) interaction between mathematical skills and the drawing of geometric diagrams implemented in his Latin edition of Aristarchus’ book. (shrink)