History of geometry lost. He was brought to the university at Alexandria by Ptolemy I, King of Egypt. "The Elements" began with definitions of terms, fundamental geometric principles (called "axioms" or "postulates"), and general quantitative principles (called "common notions") from which all the rest of geometry could be logically deduced. Following are his five axioms, somewhat paraphrased to make the English easier to read. Concepts, that are now understood as algebra, were expressed geometrically by Euclid, a method referred to as Greek geometric algebra. Archimedes (287-212 BC), of Syracuse, Sicily, when it was a Greek city-state, is often considered to be the greatest
Tomb of Alexander the Great 4th or early 3rd century BC Alexander's body was transferred from the Memphis tomb to Alexandria for reburial (by Ptolemy Philadelphus in , according to Pausanias). Later Ptolemy Philopator placed Alexander's body in Alexandria's communal mausoleum. The mausoleum was called the Soma or Sema, which means "body" in Greek. By 274 BC Alexander was already entombed in Alexandria. The Tomb of Alexander became the focal point for the Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great. In 48 BC Alexander's tomb was visited by Caesar. To finance her war against Octavian, Cleopatra took gold from the tomb. Shortly after the death of