Episode 37 - Theon of Smyrna - A Number for a Name

2025-09-03

Join Benjamin Cornish as he uncovers the story of Theon of Smyrna (c. 70 CE), the ancient world's ultimate study-guide writer! He wasn't a revolutionary, but Theon's "Mathematical Matters Useful for Reading Plato" was a game-changer for anyone trying to decipher the mathematical underpinnings of Plato's philosophy. In this episode, we explore: Theon's life and philosophical context as a Middle Platonist.

Join Benjamin Cornish as he uncovers the story of Theon of Smyrna (c. 70 CE), the ancient world's ultimate study-guide writer!

He wasn't a revolutionary, but Theon's "Mathematical Matters Useful for Reading Plato" was a game-changer for anyone trying to decipher the mathematical underpinnings of Plato's philosophy.

In this episode, we explore:

Theon's life and philosophical context as a Middle Platonist.
His monumental work: a comprehensive guide to Pythagorean and Platonic arithmetic, music theory, and a glimpse into ancient astronomy.
The fascinating world of ancient "number personalities," where numbers were categorized as noble, deficient, or abundant
The monochord : how Theon used a simple instrument to demonstrate the mathematical structure of music and the cosmos.
Why Theon's seemingly unoriginal work was crucial for preserving Greco-Roman mathematical thought through the Islamic Golden Age and beyond.

Discover the often-overlooked importance of the "Great Explainers" – the compilers and clarifiers who ensure that genius remains accessible. Theon didn't just push knowledge forward; he carried it, providing the essential "cheat sheet" for understanding the universe through numbers and the role of maths.

Keywords: Theon of Smyrna, Plato, ancient maths, history of maths, Pythagoras, Nicomachus, Middle Platonism, Greek philosophy, mathematical history, arithmetic, music theory, astronomy, monochord, harmony of the spheres, perfect numbers, figurate numbers, ratios, ancient Greece, Roman Empire, historical figures, mathematical concepts, podcast, education, Benjamin Cornish, The Mathematicians Podcast.

Hashtags: #TheonOfSmyrna #HistoryOfMaths #AncientMaths #Plato #Pythagoras #MathematicalHistory #Podcast #MathsEducation #Philosophy #GreekMaths #Arithmetic #MusicTheory #Astronomy #AncientGreece #TheMathematiciansPodcast #STEM

The music was:

"Danse Macabre - Finale"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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