
Map from the 15th century depicting Ptolemy's description of the inhabited universe, (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver).
Ptolemy.
An early Baroque artist's rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus [c. AD 90 – c. 168], known in English as Ptolemy. He was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer and a poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid. He died in Alexandria around AD 168. Although believed to be one of the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt after the conquest of Alexander the title ‘King Ptolemy’ is generally viewed as a mark of respect for Ptolemy's elevated standing in science.