Resumen de Experiencing Geometry in Roman Surveyors' Texts
The surveyors who mapped and measured the Roman world engaged broadly withthe Greek tradition of mathematical literature, transforming it to fit their profession¿spractical needs and to enhance the cultural status of their discipline. This paper will explore the transformative strategies used by Hyginus Gromaticus and Balbus,two agrimensorial authors who wrote in the late first or early second century CE.Both authors work to integrate Greek mathematical knowledge into a literary milieuin which broad appeal is privileged over narrow expertise, and a profession whichdemanded the application of mathematical knowledge to the experiential needs of surveyors. The hands-on experiences of practicing surveyors selectively re-formed themathematical and literary structures of Greek mathematics, including both verbaland visual elements. Far from being derivative repetitions or simplifications of the mathematical material, these texts build it into a rich structure of creatively deployedexperiential knowledge, giving it a new life in a complex and concrete world.
