Exploring ancient Greek and Roman numeracy

Abstract

This article outlines the general aims of my current research on numeracy in ancient Greece and Rome. I survey the available evidence, which is both textual and archaeological, and briefly discuss some of the main questions which will guide my exploration of this wide field. I conclude by presenting the results of some preliminary examination of two case-studies: account inscriptions from fifth- and fourth-century BC Athens, and accounts in the late Roman Republic, through the eyes of Cicero. The article is a slightly modified version of a talk presented at Gresham College May 2011 as part of the BSHM day on Early Mathematics.

Notes

¹ See the very popular ‘Numberjacks’ at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/numberjacks/ [accessed 15 June 2011].

² Oscan was an Italic language, distinct from Latin but not entirely dissimilar, used particularly in central and southern Italy. Its use for inscriptions is otherwise attested in Pompeii; see, for example, Cooley 2002.

³  Thanks to Joaquín Gómez Pantoja for bringing this to my attention; see Gómez 2010.