Anatolios of Laodicea

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Anatolius of Laodicea ( Greek : Ανατόλιος , also known as Anatolius of Alexandria , * around 220 in Alexandria , † around 282 in Laodicea in Syria ), was a Greek mathematician and Aristotelian . In AD 268 he became Bishop of Laodicea. Anatolius was also a great computist . Around AD 260 he invented the very first Metonic 19-year lunar cycle (not to be confused with the Metonic cycle , of which this is an application). That is why Anatolius can be regarded as the founder of the new Alexandrian computus paschalis, who began half a century later with the active construction of the second version of the Metonic 19-year lunar cycle and finally, via the Passover tablet of Bishop Theophilos of Alexandria , Dionysius Exiguus , and Beda Venerabilis , would have the upper hand in all of Christendom for a long time (until 1582 when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar ).

Life

Almost everything that is known about Anatolius has come down to us from Eusebius of Caesarea in his church history . Anatolios was from Alexandria and was knowledgeable in math, philosophy, rhetoric, and astronomy. He taught Aristotelian philosophy and, as a respected citizen, had a seat in the city's Senate. When his district in Alexandria was besieged by Roman soldiers during military conflicts, he is said to have enabled many women, children and old people to leave through clever negotiations. Anatolius later went to Caesarea in Palestine to be ordained a priest by Bishop Theotecnus , and was intended as his helper and successor. This did not happen, however, because when Anatolius came to Laodicea on the way to a council in Antioch , he was offered the office of bishop there around 280, since the previous incumbent Eusebius had just died. Anatolius accepted the office and held it until his death a few years later.

Works

Anatolius wrote a textbook on arithmetic in ten books under the title Arithmerikai Eisagogai . Excerpts of this work can be found in the anonymous work Theologumena arithmeticae , which was previously ascribed to Iamblichius of Chalkis . In addition to Pythagorean and Platonic number mysticism, these excerpts deal with arithmetic properties of numbers. Perhaps the ten books were assigned numbers from one to ten. In addition, a fragment on general questions in mathematics has survived.

In addition, Anatolius wrote a pamphlet on Easter and its time determination (Canon Paschalis) . Eusebius reproduces them in excerpts in church history in his own way. The seventeen-century enigma of its 19-year Paschal Cycle (not to be confused with the Paschal Cycle of the Byzantine Orthodox Churches ) was recently completely resolved by the Irish scholars Daniel P. Mc Carthy and Aidan Breen. This famous Paschal cycle has been preserved in seven different complete medieval manuscripts of the Latin text De ratione paschali . Between Anatolius '19 year lunar cycle and the (ultimately chosen) classical Alexandrian lunar cycle contained in Dionysius Exiguus ' Passover table and in the Easter table of Beda Venerabilis , there is a gap of 2 days, which dates from before the first council of Nicaea. The Metonic 19-year lunar cycle, now called the classic Alexandrian lunar cycle, is the one introduced by Annianus in the fifth century and adopted by Bishop Cyril of Alexandria .

literature

Web links

Individual proof

  1. ↑ a b Declercq, pp. 65-66
  2. ↑ Eusebius, 7, 32, p. 6
  3. ↑ Eusebius, 7, 32, pp. 14-19
  4. ↑ Mc Carthy, pp. 15-143
  5. ^ Mc Carthy, pp. 25-43
  6. ↑ Zuidhoek (2019) 9-72
  7. ↑ Mosshammer, p. 202
personal data
SURNAME Anatolios of Laodicea
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anatolios of Alexandria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Laodicea, mathematician, Aristotelian
DATE OF BIRTH around 220
PLACE OF BIRTH Alexandria
DATE OF DEATH at 282
Place of death Laodicea in Syria