Claudius Ptolemy

Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος (Known as "Master of the Almagest & Geographia")

Mathematician, Astronomer, Astrologer, Geographer, Musician

Born c. 100 CE

Ptolemais Hermiou (Thebaid), Egypt

Passed Away c. 170 CE Alexandria, Egypt

Lifespan ~70 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I know that I am mortal and the creature of a day; but when I search out the massed and gliding stars, my feet no longer touch the earth."

Archival Overview

Greco-Egyptian polymath whose monumental astronomical treatise, the Almagest, and Geographia defined celestial mechanics and global cartography for fourteen centuries.

Biographical Record

Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100–170 CE) lived and worked in Alexandria during the height of the Roman Empire. His thirteen-book mathematical synthesis, the Almagest (*Mathematike Syntaxis*), constructed the definitive geocentric model of the universe using epicycles, deferents, and equants to predict planetary motions with remarkable practical accuracy.

His eight-volume Geographia cataloged the coordinates of over 8,000 locations across the known Greco-Roman world, providing map projections that guided Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery. His treatises on optics, harmonics, and astrology (*Tetrabiblos*) were equally authoritative throughout the Middle Ages.

Key Life Milestones

c. 150 CE

Publication of the 'Almagest'

Completed his mathematical treatise on celestial mechanics, providing astronomical tables that endured for 1,400 years.

c. 160 CE

Compilation of 'Geographia'

Mapped the known world with latitude and longitude coordinates and created conical map projections.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Canopus Sanctuary Quarter
Alexandria, Egypt

                         GPS: 31.3000, 30.0667                    

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