Antike Darstellungen des Ikosaeders (Q5708909)

In the first part of the article, Artmann argues that the diagram representing the icosahedron in \textit{Elements} XIII must go back to Euclid's original -- and thereby, like the whole book XIII, probably to Theaetetus. It is shown that the diagram combines a central and a parallel projection in a very efficient way, and suggested that this might corroborate the thesis that the same multiperspective technique was used in Vth-century (BCE) scenography. This drawing of the icosahedra is unique in Antiquity, the next example we know about is Piero della Francesca's from about 1450. The second part describes two rock-crystal icosahedra, one in the Altes Museum in Berlin from the XVth century, the other (now lost from the Staatliche Münzsammlung in Munich) of unspecified ancient date and probably used for astrological purposes, and a third made of bronze (Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, third century CE) which is very similar in its making to Roman-Celtic dodecahedra and like these of unknown use. Further icosahedra from Hellenistic Egypt are mentioned, made of stone or faiance and used as dice. Since icosahedra never occur as natural shapes (the other regular polyhedra exist as crystals, either exactly or in good approximation), Artmann concludes that at least some results achieved by ancient mathematics were diffused more broadly as vulgarizations in the general population.