[Portrait of Ptolemy and his map; reproduced from the Martin Waldseemüller wall map in twelve sheets, with commentary by Carlos Sanz, 1959.]
[Portrait of Ptolemy and his map; reproduced from the Martin Waldseemüller wall map in twelve sheets, with commentary by Carlos Sanz, 1959.]
Even the dates that he lived have been questioned. There are a few certainties: Ptolemy was a Greek who lived in Alexandria, the Roman capital of Egypt. He headed the renowned library at Alexandria from 127 to 150 A.D.
[Alexandria, located near the delta of the Nile River, is marked onto the modern world map from Ptolemy, Geographia, edited by Sebastian Münster. Basel:Heinricum Petrum, 1545.]
In some early printed books about astronomy, Ptolemy is shown wearing a crown, from an idea that arose during the Middle Ages that he was a king because of his name.
["Ptolemaeus Prince" shown in Johannes de Sacro Bosco, Sphaera mundi. Venice:Octaviani Scoti, 1490.]
But, Ptolemy was a common name, and it is very unlikely that he belonged to a royal family. Still, he is one of the giants in European geographic thought.
What kind of a person was Ptolemy? Some traits are evident through his writings: curiosity, dedication, industry–and persistence, surely. He may have been a man whose unceasing efforts to gather information on the many subjects of his interests wearied everyone around him. It appears that Ptolemy worked tirelessly–at night making astronomical observations; during the day in the library or visiting the harbor and marketplace to interrogate travelers who came to Alexandria for trade.
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