Ptolemy Reference library
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable (19 ed.)
... bc ) Ptolemy VII , Neos Philopator (‘new Philopator’) ( d.144 bc ) Ptolemy VIII , Euergetes II (‘benefactor’) ( d.116 bc ) Ptolemy IX , Soter II (‘saviour’) ( fl. 2nd–1st century bc ) Ptolemy X , Alexander ( d.88 bc ) Ptolemy XI , Alexander II ( c. 115–80 bc ) Ptolemy XII , Auletes (‘flute player’) ( c. 112–51 bc ) Ptolemy XIII , Theos Philopator (‘god and father-lover’) ( 63–47 bc ), co-ruler with his sister, cleopatra Ptolemy XIV , Theos Philopator II ( c. 59–44 bc ), co-ruler with his elder sister, Cleopatra Ptolemy XV ,...
Ptolemy ((Claudius Ptolemaeus; fl. 127–141 CE)) Reference library
prudence jones
Dictionary of African Biography
...as predictors, Ptolemy’s Almagest continued to influence astronomers until, in the sixteenth century, Copernicus presented his heliocentric theory. Ptolemy’s less famous astronomical works include the Manual Tables and Hypotheses on the Planets in which Ptolemy describes the appearance of the universe. The Manual Tables collects the tables scattered throughout the Almagest into a single handbook. The Hypotheses on the Planets is an account of the findings published in the Almagest designed for a popular audience. Ptolemy’s vision involved a...
Ptolemy (ad 90–168) Quick reference
World Encyclopedia
... ( ad 90–168 ) ( Claudius Ptolemaeus ) Greek astronomer and geographer. He worked at the library of Alexandria, Egypt. Ptolemy's chief astronomical work, the Almagest , drew heavily on the work of Hipparchus . The Ptolemaic system is based on the geocentric world system of the ancient Greeks. His Geography , which provided the basis for a world map, was a definitive text until the...
Ptolemy (3) Reference library
Simon Hornblower
The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.)
... (3) of Cyrene revived the sceptical school of philosophy ( see sceptics ) about 100 bc (Diog. Laert. 9. 115). See Zeller , Phil. d. Griechen 3. 2 4 . 2. Simon...
Ptolemy Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (6 ed.)
...Ptolemy ( Claudius Ptolemaeus ) (2nd century ad ) Greek astronomer and mathematician , responsible for the most significant work of trigonometry of ancient times. Usually known by its Arabic name Almagest (‘The Greatest’), it contains, amongst other things, tables of chords, equivalent to a modern table of sines, and an account of how they were obtained. Use is made of Ptolemy’s Theorem , from which the familiar addition formulae of trigonometry can be shown to...
Ptolemy ([Na]) Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (3 ed.)
... [Na] The name used by all the kings who ruled Egypt in the period 304 bc to 30 bc . The founder of the dynasty was Ptolemy Lagus who was a general of Alexander the Great and who established himself in Egypt following the death of Alexander and the break‐up of the Macedonian Empire in 323 bc . Although Egypt was essentially a Hellenistic state during the Ptolemy Period, many traditional forms of art and architecture were maintained and hieroglyphics were still...
Ptolemy (ad 139–61) Quick reference
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
...latitudes and longitudes, and a brief description of each continent, country, and people. See Geography , ed. P. J. Fischer (London, 1932); Geographia (3 vols., Hildesheim, 1966); T. G. Rylands , The Geography of Ptolemy (London, 1893); Geography of Claudius Ptolemy , ed. Edward L. Stevenson (New York, 1932); Walter M. Ellis , Ptolemy of Egypt (London and New York,...
Ptolemy (146–170) Quick reference
A Dictionary of Philosophy (3 ed.)
... ( fl. ad 146–170 ) Alexandrian astronomer , mathematician , and geographer . His masterpiece is known by its Arabic title of the Almagest , a complete treatment of astronomical knowledge in thirteen books. This work dominated astronomical theory in Byzantium, the Islamic world, and medieval Europe. Ptolemy acknowledges debts to Apollonius and Hipparchus of Rhodes, and his writing is an important source for the history of astronomy. Ptolemy also wrote extensively on geography, where he was probably the first to use systematic coordinates of...
Ptolemy (2nd century) Quick reference
A Dictionary of Astronomy (3 ed.)
... ( Claudius Ptolemaeus ) ( 2nd century ad ) Egyptian astronomer and geographer . He produced the Almagest , a compendium of contemporary astronomical knowledge, drawing on writers, such as Plato and Hipparchus , whose works were kept in the great library at Alexandria. His Ptolemaic system was a geocentric model of the Universe. Highly contrived as it now appears, it accounted for the observed apparent motions of the planets reasonably well, and remained largely unquestioned until the sixteenth century, when it was challenged by N. Copernicus...
Ptolemy Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History
...for each. The proper way to determine accurate coordinates, Ptolemy insists, is by astronomical observation. Of the thousands of coordinates he offers, however, only a mere handful were so determined; all the rest were based on estimates of distance traveled on land or sea gathered from reports of traders and seamen, and many of these had been collected by a predecessor, Marinos of Tyre, whom Ptolemy quotes frequently. Ptolemy did no voyaging or traveling himself; he was an armchair geographer. Ptolemy presents the known world as extending from the Canaries in...
Ptolemy Reference library
The Oxford Companion to World Exploration
...Ptolemy's brief mentions of them. Although most of the geographical information in Ptolemy's sources was originally expressed in conventional units of distance (Roman miles, Greek stades, occasionally a march or sail of “so many days”), Ptolemy converted everything to degrees of longitude and latitude. Ptolemy's practice differs from the modern only in that he chose the Isles of the Blest for his prime meridian, so that all longitudes on his map are east of that line. Recognizing that a model globe might not be the most convenient medium for the map, Ptolemy...
Ptolemy Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World
...world. Ptolemy I as historian Ptolemy I wrote a history of the reign of Alexander. Its title, length and its date of composition are unknown. Apart from a single citation in Strabo , our knowledge of it is wholly due to Arrian who selected it, along with Aristobulus, as his principal source. The work was evidently comprehensive, covering the period from at least 335 bc to the death of Alexander , and it provided much ‘factual’ detail, including most of our information about the terminology and organization of the Macedonian army. Ptolemy emphasized...
Ptolemy Reference library
David Pingree and Anthony Cutler
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
... , ancient astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician; fl. Alexandria ca. 130–75 . The greatest authority on astronomy and astrology in late antiquity, Ptolemy continued to be regarded as such in Byz. until the Palaiologan period, when some astronomers, beginning with Gregory Chioniades , were persuaded to prefer new parameters and methods of computation derived from Islamic sources. Ptolemy's most impressive work, in which he presented the astronomical system named after him, was the Mathematical Composition ( Syntaxis mathematike ), better known as...
Ptolemy (1) Reference library
Dorothy J. Thompson, Albert Brian Bosworth, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, Dorothy J. Thompson, and Dorothy J. Thompson
The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.)
...Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (‘Young father-loving’), is known only through the dynastic cult from 118 bc ; he probably never reigned. He may have been Memphites, the first son of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II . Some (e.g. Huss 2001 ) would return to the numbering of antiquity, applying VII to Ptolemy Euergetes II (q.v.). M. Chauveau , BIFAO 90 (1990), 135–68. Dorothy J. Thompson Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (‘Benefactor’) ( c. 182 / 1–116 bc ), also called Physcon (‘Potbelly’) was younger brother of Ptolemy VI . He ruled jointly with Ptolemy VI...
Ptolemy Quick reference
Dorothy J. Thompson, Albert Brian Bosworth, Dorothy J. Thompson, Theodore John Cadoux, and Ernst Badian
Who's Who in the Classical World
...troubles there were rebellion and revolts in Alexandria and throughout the country. PTOLEMY VII NEOS PHILOPATOR (‘Young father-loving’), son of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II , ruled briefly together with his father in 145 and following Philometor's death; he was speedily liquidated by his uncle Ptolemy VIII . PTOLEMY VIII EUERGETES II (‘Benefactor’) ( c. 182/1–116 bc ), also called Physcon (‘Potbelly’), was younger brother of Ptolemy VI . He ruled jointly with Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II in 170–164 , alone in 164–163 , and in Cyrene from 163 ...
Ptolemy Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature (4 ed.)
... ( Claudius Ptolemaeus ) Lived at Alexandria in the 2nd century ad ; a celebrated mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer. He devised a system of astronomy according to which the sun, planets, and stars revolved round the earth, generally accepted until displaced by that of Copernicus. Combined with Aristotle 's natural philosophy, which saw Nature as orderly, hierarchical, and teleological, Ptolemaic astronomy when suitably Christianized formed the core of the medieval world picture. Ptolemy's work on this subject is generally known by...
Ptolemy Reference library
The Oxford Companion to English Literature (7 ed.)
... ( Claudius Ptolemaeus ) Lived at Alexandria in the 2nd century ad ; a celebrated mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer. He devised a system of astronomy according to which the sun, planets, and stars revolved round the earth, generally accepted until displaced by that of Copernicus . Combined with Aristotle 's natural philosophy, which saw Nature as orderly, hierarchical, and teleological, Ptolemaic astronomy when suitably Christianized formed the core of the medieval world picture. Ptolemy's work on this subject is generally known...
Ptolemy Quick reference
A Dictionary of Scientists
... ( c. 2nd century ad ) Egyptian astronomer Virtually nothing is known about the life of Ptolemy (full name Claudius Ptolemaeus ). He was probably a Hellenized Egyptian working in the library at Alexandria. He produced four major works the Almagest , the Geography , the Tetrabiblos (Four Books), and the Optics . The first work – the culmination of five hundred years of Greek astronomical and cosmological thinking – was to dominate science for 13 centuries. Ptolemy naturally relied on his predecessors, especially Hipparchus. A work of such...
Ptolemy (4) Reference library
G. J. Toomer, Alexander Jones, and Andrew D. Barker
The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.)
...Although, as Ptolemy tells us, it was based in part on the work of Marinus of Tyre (otherwise unknown), it seems probable that Ptolemy was the first to employ systematically latitude and longitude as terrestrial co-ordinates. Book 1 includes instructions for drawing a world map, with two different projections (Ptolemy's chief contribution to scientific map-making). Book 8 describes the breakdown of the world map into 26 individual maps of smaller areas. The maps accompanying the existing mss. are descended from a Byzantine archetype; whether Ptolemy himself...
Ptolemy Quick reference
G. J. Toomer and Andrew D. Barker
Who's Who in the Classical World
...as Ptolemy tells us, it was based in part on the work of Marinus of Tyre (otherwise unknown), it seems probable that Ptolemy was the first to employ systematically latitude and longitude as terrestrial co-ordinates. Book 1 includes instructions for drawing a world map, with two different projections (Ptolemy's chief contribution to scientific map-making). Book 8 describes the breakdown of the world map into 26 individual maps of smaller areas. The maps accompanying the existing manuscripts are descended from a Byzantine archetype; whether Ptolemy himself...
