Part 1

I remember the first smell I had when I was born was of salt water and fish in 287 BC in Syracuse, Sicily. I was born in a large house. We were very rich because we were related to king Hieron. My father was named Phidias, an astronomer. I spent my whole life in Sicily, though I traveled to Egypt to study at Alexandria, and it was the greatest city I ever knew. It had been founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. and was home of the famous Pharos lighthouse. Also, Euclid, a great mathematician, helped me on my journey. I studied with a lot of other mathematicians in the great library of Alexandria. It contained more than a million books: more than enough books for me to get a really decent education. My dream was to be one of the greatest mathematicians...