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
Buddhism in the West that he adopted the Buddhist religion. The Buddhist tradition considers Menander as a great benefactor of the Dharma, along with Ashoka. The "Mahavamsa" mentions that during Menander's reign, a Greek elder monk named Mahadharmaraksita led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alexandria" (possibly Alexandria on the Caucasus) to Sri Lanka for the dedication of a stupa showing that Greeks took an active part in Indian Buddhism during this period. Greco-Buddhist styles continued to be influential during the Kushan empire. Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in Alexandria in Egypt decorated with depictions of the