What is known about Euclid’s life?

Little is known about the life of Euclid, a Greek mathematician. Most of the available information comes from the "summary" of famous Greek mathematicians written by the philosopher Proclus (c. 410–485 ce).1

According to Proclus, Euclid taught at Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter, who ruled Egypt from 323 to 285 bce. Proclus also recorded an anecdote in which Ptolemy asked Euclid if there was a shorter path to geometry than through his famous work, the Elements, to which Euclid famously replied that there was "no royal road to geometry".1

Historically, some medieval translators confused him with the philosopher Eukleides of Megara, a contemporary of Plato who lived about a century earlier. However, modern historians generally agree that Euclid lived after this period and was older than Archimedes (c. 290–212/211 bce). While he is credited with compiling and editing the Elements into a comprehensive and authoritative work, it is difficult to distinguish his original discoveries from the adaptations of his predecessors' research.123