History of mathematical notation back to any school or period before that of the Ionian Greeks, but the subsequent history may be divided into periods, the distinctions between which are tolerably well marked. Greek mathematics, which originated with the study of geometry, tended from its commencement to be deductive and scientific. Since the fourth century AD, Pythagoras has commonly been given credit for discovering the Pythagorean theorem, a theorem in geometry that states that in a right-angled triangle the area of the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of
Proofs of Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares of which is a sum of two squares, is itself a sum of two squares." 2. "If a number which is a sum of two squares is divisible by a prime which is a sum of two squares, then the quotient is a sum of two squares." (This is Euler's first Proposition). 3. "If a number which can be written as a sum of two squares is divisible by a number which is not a sum of two squares, then the quotient has a factor which is not a sum of two squares." (This is Euler's second Proposition). 4. "If