Introduction

The contribution of the ancient Greeks to mathematics was immense. In geometry the solving of problems by using only ruler and compass led to the development of the geometric algebra and the foundations of the Euclidean geometry taught unchanged until today. Concepts such as the analysis, the synthesis, the induction were introduced as scientific methods. During the Hellenistic period a kind of trigonometry was developed with the help of detailed tables of chords of the circumference of a circle. A method of differentiation in an orthogonal or skew coordinate system for troubleshooting in extreme values was devised. Integration methods were discovered for the calculation of specific sizes, volumes, lengths and weight centres. For solving equations of 3rd and 4th grade ingenious mechanical structures were used (kinematic geometry) as Plato’s cubist, Ptolemy’s mesolabio and Nicomedes’ trisector (through conchoid).