In Hellenistic Egypt, the Greek mathematician Diophantus in the 3rd century AD referred to an equation that was equivalent to (which has a negative solution) in Arithmetica, saying that the equation was absurd. For this reason Greek geometers were able to solve geometrically all forms of the quadratic equation which give positive roots, while they could take no account of others.
In Hellenistic Egypt, the Greek mathematician Diophantus in the 3rd century AD referred to an equation that was equivalent to (which has a negative solution) in Arithmetica, saying that the equation was absurd. For this reason Greek geometers were able to solve geometrically all forms of the quadratic equation which give positive roots, while they could take no account of others