It is usually claimed that Dinostratus used the quadratrix, discovered by Hippias , to solve the problem of squaring the circle . It appears from this quote that Hippias discovered the curve but that it was Dinostratus who was the first to use it to find a square equal in area to a given circle. Others have done the same thing by means of the quadratrices of Hippias and Nicomedes . This makes somewhat less convincing the claim that Dinostratus used the quadratrix, discovered by Hippias , to square the circle since Eudemus does not even mention Dinostratus. There is also a suggestion that Hippias wrote a treatise on the quadratrix and if this is the case it seems hard to believe that he did not show how it could be used to square the circle.
Pappus relates how the quadratrix was used to square the circle.
The construction of the curve is described in the article on Hippias . This leads to the construction of a square equal to the circle. Pappus reports that Sporus was critical of this construction. The second objection relates to Dinostratus's use of the quadratrix to square the circle. Sporus claims that the moving line B ' C ' never cuts the line AD and so the point G is not determined.