ABSTRACT
I. The Conics is the principal work written by Apollonius, and one of the summits of Greek geometry. To ignore the Conics is to prohibit oneself from understanding anything about the development of mathematical research, particularly in Arabic, from the 9th century onwards. This was the century in which Apollonius’ work began to be read, commented, and developed, as is attested such names as the Banū Mūsā, Thābit ibn Qurra, Ibrāhīm Ibn Sinān, al-Qūhī, and Ibn al-Haytham, among many others. This interest became noticeable once again in the 17th century, in the works of Mydorge, Descartes, Fermat, Roberval, Desargues, Pascal, and Barrow, to cite only these names. It is as if every time research in classical mathematics is reborn, scholars have returned to the Conics of Apollonius, as they did to the works of Archimedes.
