Sporus of Nicaea was a Greek mathematician and astronomer, (b. ca. 240; d. ca. 300), probably Nicaea (Greek Nikaia), ancient district Bithynia, (modern-day Iznik) in province Bursa, in modern day Turkey.
Much of his work focused on squaring the circle and reproducing cubes, both in his own attempts at these problems or in criticizing the work of other contemporary mathematicians.
Sporus also criticized Archimedes for not producing a more accurate approximation of π.
Famous quotes containing the word sporus:
“Let Sporus tremble—‘What? That thing of silk,
Sporus, that mere white curd of ass’s milk?
Satire or sense, alas, can Sporus feel,
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?’
Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings,
This painted child of dirt, that stinks and stings;
Whose buzz the witty and the fair annoys,
Yet wit ne’er tastes, and beauty ne’er enjoys:”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)