Who is Claudius Ptolemy?
Claudius Ptolemy was a first and second century CE, philosopher and scientist, who produced a number of writings on a wide range of topics. He was born in Egypt in approximately 85, and may have lived until 165. Early in his life he became a Roman citizen, but researchers show he conducted most of his work and writing in Alexandria, Egypt. Ptolemy wrote several main works. His most well known tract today is the Almagest, which is a discussion of how the solar system works. Ptolemy posited a geocentric model of the earth, where the planets and sun revolved around the earth. Though this model was naturally discarded, one point of interest in the work was his assumption that the earth was spherical. Ptolemy derived his work Almagest from the work of Hipparchus. Long after his death, scientists like Sir Isaac Newton would accuse Ptolemy of plagiarism, suggesting he could not possibly have formulated his theories of the universe. Plagiarism is a strong term given the time period in which Pt
Claudius Ptolemy was a first and second century CE, philosopher and scientist, who produced a number of writings on a wide range of topics. He was born in Egypt in approximately 85, and may have lived until 165. Early in his life he became a Roman citizen, but researchers show he conducted most of his work and writing in Alexandria, Egypt. Ptolemy wrote several main works. His most well known tract today is the Almagest, which is a discussion of how the solar system works. Ptolemy posited a geocentric model of the earth, where the planets and sun revolved around the earth. Though this model was naturally discarded, one point of interest in the work was his assumption that the earth was spherical.
