An Early Form of Greek Algebra (Q4780758)

The examples (the original text is given in the appendix) are two from papyri, two from the writings of Roman land surveyors, and six from Heron's \textit{Geometrica} (of which four are the same problem, different only in the constant number given in the problem). All these problems are concerned with sides and areas of rectangular triangles and rectangles and can be reduced to indeterminate equations of two unknowns. (Sometimes sides and areas are added together, so the concern to the dimension peculiar in Greek theoretical geometry seems to be lacking), The solutions in the sources indicate only the procedures leading to the solution, without proof or justification. The author reconstructs the possible approach toward the solution by considering the sum and difference (or half-sum and half-difference) of two unknowns, using modern algebraic expressions. In the end of the paper, the author compares this reconstruction to the Babylonian, medieval and renaissance solutions of similar problems.