Math and the Rise of Civilization Miniseries Episode 2 The Elements ( Air Date 2011-12-20 ) Genre Documentary category. Overview "In this episode we move to the Greek civilization, where meticulous thinkers used logic and reason to build the foundations of mathematics laid down by the Egyptians. Along with Pythagoras, to whom we owe the famous theorem, these philosophers have shown, through mathematics, the principles of geometry we know today.".