A student of , Menaechmus is said by some sources to have been a mathematics tutor to Alexander the Great. He is most famous for his discovery of .

Menaechmus was born in about 380 B.C. in Alopeconnesus, Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. Little is known of the ancient mathematician's personal life. However, his alleged response to Alexander's request for a shortcut to learning geometry suggests something of a sense of humor as well as a reverence for his chosen field of study. He is said to have told Alexander, "O king, for traveling through the country there are private roads and royal roads, but in geometry there is one road for all." Some sources suggest that might have introduced the two men to each other.

It seems likely that Menaechmus took over from Eudoxus as head of an illustrious mathematics school in Cyzicus, a Turkish city. Other...