Analytical descriptions of Perseus spirics (Q2110922)

The ancient Greek geometer Perseus investigated around 150\,BC the plane sections of tori such that the planes are parallel to the symmetry axes of the tori. The resulting curves are called \textit{spiric sections} and they can be partitioned into five different types, depending on the inner radius and outer radius of the torus on which they lie. The article presents explicit parametrizations for each of the five cases using elliptic and circular functions. Additionally, some historical context is provided.