Polinomílis

Polinomílis is a term used in modern Greek to describe a type of triangular pegboard used for mental calculations, particularly for polynomial calculations. The polinomílis is composed of 64 pegs arranged in a 7-row by 8-column grid, and it is essentially a visual representation of a number system.

Each peg on the board represents a numerals from 1 to 64, and the rows are grouped into different orders, each representing different levels of operations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. This design allows for calculations of polynomials up to the fourth degree.

The polinomílis is a tool specifically designed for specialized mental arithmetic calculation and used to be an important aid for students, particularly in ancient Greece and the Orthodox Christian regions. It allows users to efficiently learn, perform and check operations like squaring numbers, calculating products and determining data within a given degree of two or more variables.

Ancient Greeks considered polinomílis a wondrous contribution to history, in combination with the Oxyrhynchus mathematical papyrus, marking early achievements of merit in ancient history.

The tool's early appearance goes back to Byzantine Empire and likely the golden age of the Athonite era.