School of Athens

The Greek philosophers and mathematicians pondered already the question of limit. Zeno of Elea designed some interesting thought experiments, also called Zeno's paradoxa. The most famous illustration of this time was done between 1509 and 1511 by Raffaello Sanzio. Raphael had been 26-28 years old, when he did this work. It is considered one of the greatest renaissance paintings. The philosophers Plato (428-348 BC) and Aristotle (384-323 BC)are pictured at the centre of a group of philosophers and mathematicians. Note that there was no overlap between the time spans of Plato and Aristotle. The 7 liberal arts of science Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. are personified. The fresco had been an immediately pop culture hit. Its immediate success established Raphael as one of the best artists of all time. I had been told at one time that Zeno is the person to the very right, leaving the room, but the exact ``who is who?" on that painting is probably always a matter of interpretation. The picture is from Wikipedia. Click on it, in order to see it larger: And here is part of it: On this page you can make a quiz about some of the mathematicians and philosophers appearing in the ``School of Athens".