A reference to perfect numbers in Plato's Theaetetus (Q1781897)

The author quotes (with translation) and analyzes a passage from Plato's \textit{Theaetetus} (204A7-205A10), in which is apparently the first known reference to perfect (or complete) numbers. The case for this interpretation is supported by an analysis of the philosophical and mathematical context of the passage, the distinction of Theaetetus as a mathematician and his interest in arithmetic, as well as Plato's style and use of mathematical examples. Although one might infer from various sources that complete numbers were known earlier, even by the Egyptians, there is no direct evidence in Greek mathematics apart from a vague reference by Iamblichus to Pythagoras that complete numbers were considered before the time of Plato.