Archimedes the Poet: Generic Innovation and Mathematical Fantasy in the Cattle Problem

Abstract

Archimedes’ Cattle Problem ( Bov .) is a mathematical masterpiece, but it is also an innovative poem that Archimedes himself probably wrote. Three important poetic issues have gone unaddressed until now because of the focus on mathematics: how Bov . is organized, its genre, and how Archimedes reimagines his Homeric source. I demonstrate that Bov . is a generically hybrid poem that explores what it means to be wise. I also contend that the picture of the cattle of the Sun in Bov . is as fantastic as the account in the Odyssey , and Archimedes’ mathematical fantasy would have especially intrigued Eratosthenes, Bov .’s probable recipient.

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