In the year 285 B.C., there was not much work done in mathematics.  The only mathematician of any importance alive, Sporus of Nicaea, is best know for being a teacher of Pappus of Alexandria.  Sporus was about forty-five years old at the time, and would die fifteen years later.  All that is known about Sporus comes from the writings of Pappus.  He was a professor at the University of Alexandria and his primary interest was solving the problems of the duplication of the cube and the quadrature of the circle.  Some of the methods that Sporus used resemble the theory behind integration.  Sporus also wrote critiques of other mathematician’s works on these problems.  Astronomy was another science that caught Sporus’ attention and he worked on calculating the size on the sun and various comets.  Because of his teaching ability and work on these problems, Pappus held Sporus in high esteem and described him as having an excellent reputation among his colleagues.

Author: Tim Lucas

References:
Mac Tutor History of Mathematics Archive
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Sporus.html

The Ptolemaic Legacy
http://www.mirrors.org.sg/Egypt/Alexandria/History/legacy.html