An Archimedean solid is a convex polyhedron whose faces are regular polygons of two or more types that meet in the same pattern around each vertex, and whose rotational symmetry axes cannot be contained in fewer than three planes. This last criterion is a technical way of saying that Archimedean solids possess symmetries of high order, which excludes regular prisms, regular antiprisms, and the Elongated Square Gyrobicupola, all of which have prismatic (Dnh) or antiprismatic (Dnv) symmetries. There are only 13 Archimedean solids. They are named after the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes (287-212 BC) due to a reference by Pappus of Alexandria (circa 340 AD) that attributes the 13 solids to Archimedes. Archimedes' own writings on the subject have been lost.