Rhodiapolis ( Ancient Greek : Ῥοδιάπολις ), also known as Rhodia (Ῥοδία) and Rhodiopolis (Ῥοδιόπολις), was a city in ancient Lycia . Today it is located on a hill northwest of the modern town Kumluca in Antalya Province , Turkey .
91-404: Rhodiapolis stands out as a successfully planned, very compact Roman city in limited and difficult terrain with a uniquely intricate and packed layout of buildings without leaving empty space other than the streets. On the sloping terrain, terraces needed for urban fabric were formed mostly by cisterns, a clever solution that satisfied water demand while also creating flat areas for construction. It
182-536: A Roman citizen . Gerald Toomer, the translator of Ptolemy's Almagest into English, suggests that citizenship was probably granted to one of Ptolemy's ancestors by either the emperor Claudius or the emperor Nero . The 9th century Persian astronomer Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi mistakenly presents Ptolemy as a member of Ptolemaic Egypt's royal lineage , stating that the descendants of the Alexandrine general and Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter were wise "and included Ptolemy
273-417: A perfect fourth ) and octaves . Ptolemy reviewed standard (and ancient, disused ) musical tuning practice of his day, which he then compared to his own subdivisions of the tetrachord and the octave , which he derived experimentally using a monochord / harmonic canon. The volume ends with a more speculative exposition of the relationships between harmony, the soul ( psyche ), and the planets ( harmony of
364-601: A Roman citizen, but was ethnically either a Greek or at least a Hellenized Egyptian. Astronomy was the subject to which Ptolemy devoted the most time and effort; about half of all the works that survived deal with astronomical matters, and even others such as the Geography and the Tetrabiblos have significant references to astronomy. Ptolemy's Mathēmatikē Syntaxis ( Greek : Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις , lit. ' Mathematical Systematic Treatise ' ), better known as
455-470: A coherent mathematical description, which persists to the present as just intonation – the standard for comparison of consonance in the many other, less-than exact but more facile compromise tuning systems. During the Renaissance , Ptolemy's ideas inspired Kepler in his own musings on the harmony of the world ( Harmonice Mundi , Appendix to Book V). The Optica ( Koine Greek : Ὀπτικά ), known as
546-402: A handful of places. Ptolemy's real innovation, however, occurs in the second part of the book, where he provides a catalogue of 8,000 localities he collected from Marinus and others, the biggest such database from antiquity. About 6 300 of these places and geographic features have assigned coordinates so that they can be placed in a grid that spanned the globe. Latitude was measured from
637-492: A long exposition on the relationship between reason and sense perception in corroborating theoretical assumptions. After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argues for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (as opposed to the ideas advocated by followers of Aristoxenus ), backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the excessively theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans ). Ptolemy introduces
728-587: A method for specifying the location of the Sun in three pairs of locally oriented coordinate arcs as a function of the declination of the Sun, the terrestrial latitude, and the hour. The key to the approach is to represent the solid configuration in a plane diagram that Ptolemy calls the analemma . In another work, the Phaseis ( Risings of the Fixed Stars ), Ptolemy gave a parapegma , a star calendar or almanac , based on
819-425: A mountain called Tittheion (from τίτθη "wet nurse", τιτθεύω "to suckle, breastfeed"). The child was given milk by one of the goats that pastured about the mountain, and was guarded by the watch-dog of the herd. Aresthanas, the owner of goats and the guard dogs found the child. As he came near, he saw lightning that flashed from the child, and thinking of it to be a sign of the divine, he left the child alone. Asclepius
910-461: A much later pseudepigraphical composition. The identity and date of the actual author of the work, referred to now as Pseudo-Ptolemy , remains the subject of conjecture. Ptolemy wrote a work entitled Harmonikon ( Greek : Ἁρμονικόν ), known as the Harmonics , on music theory and the mathematics behind musical scales in three books. Harmonics begins with a definition of harmonic theory, with
1001-565: A snake with a "head of linen" was an incarnation of Asclepius. The Greek language rhetorician and satirist Lucian produced the work Alexander the False Prophet to denounce the swindler for future generations. He described Alexander as having a character "made up of lying, trickery, perjury, and malice; [it was] facile, audacious, venturesome, diligent in the execution of its schemes, plausible, convincing, masking as good, and wearing an appearance absolutely opposite to its purpose." In Rome,
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#17328452375831092-538: A son, Aratus , with Aristodeme . Asclepius once started bringing back to life the dead people like Tyndareus, Capaneus, Glaucus, Hymenaeus, Lycurgus and others. Others say he brought Hippolytus back from the dead on Artemis's request, and accepted gold for it. It is the only mention of Asclepius resurrecting the dead. In all other accounts he is said to use his skills simply as a physician. However, Hades accused Asclepius of stealing his subjects and complained to his brother Zeus about it. According to others, Zeus
1183-480: A team led by E. Krickl in 1894. The site was damaged by a large forest fire in 2005. The first excavation campaign at Rhodiapolis was conducted in 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Akdeniz University under the leadership of Nevzat Çevik. There are 2 thermal baths in the city. The extensive Large Baths dating from the 2nd century cover an area of 1077 m and have been excavated. They are remote from
1274-543: A temple at Canopus , around 146–147 AD, known as the Canobic Inscription . Although the inscription has not survived, someone in the sixth century transcribed it, and manuscript copies preserved it through the Middle Ages. It begins: "To the saviour god, Claudius Ptolemy (dedicates) the first principles and models of astronomy", following by a catalogue of numbers that define a system of celestial mechanics governing
1365-478: A thousand years or more". It was first translated from Arabic into Latin by Plato of Tivoli (Tiburtinus) in 1138, while he was in Spain. Much of the content of the Tetrabiblos was collected from earlier sources; Ptolemy's achievement was to order his material in a systematic way, showing how the subject could, in his view, be rationalized. It is, indeed, presented as the second part of the study of astronomy of which
1456-467: A very complex theoretical model built in order to explain a false assumption. Ptolemy's date of birth and birthplace are both unknown. The 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes wrote that Ptolemy's birthplace was Ptolemais Hermiou , a Greek city in the Thebaid region of Egypt (now El Mansha, Sohag Governorate ). This attestation is quite late, however, and there is no evidence to support it. It
1547-553: A view supported by the Stoics. Although mainly known for his contributions to astronomy and other scientific subjects, Ptolemy also engaged in epistemological and psychological discussions across his corpus. He wrote a short essay entitled On the Criterion and Hegemonikon ( Greek : Περὶ Κριτηρίου καὶ Ἡγεμονικοῡ ), which may have been one of his earliest works. Ptolemy deals specifically with how humans obtain scientific knowledge (i.e.,
1638-417: Is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology . He is the son of Apollo and Coronis , or Arsinoe , or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia ("Health, Healthiness"), Iaso (from ἴασις "healing, recovering, recuperation", the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (from ἄκεσις "healing",
1729-474: Is an accepted version of this page Claudius Ptolemy ( / ˈ t ɒ l ə m i / ; Ancient Greek : Πτολεμαῖος , Ptolemaios ; Latin : Claudius Ptolemaeus ; c. 100 – c. 170 AD) was an Alexandrian mathematician , astronomer , astrologer , geographer , and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises , three of which were important to later Byzantine , Islamic , and Western European science. The first
1820-572: Is ancestral to the modern system of constellations but, unlike the modern system, they did not cover the whole sky (only what could be seen with the naked eye in the northern hemisphere). For over a thousand years, the Almagest was the authoritative text on astronomy across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Almagest was preserved, like many extant Greek scientific works, in Arabic manuscripts;
1911-579: Is called Rhodia by Ptolemy (V, 3) and Stephanus Byzantius ; Rhodiapolis on its coins and inscriptions; Rhodiopolis by Pliny the Elder , who locates it in the mountains to the north of Corydalla . The city was considered to have been founded by colonists from Rhodes ; the name Rhodiapolis means Rhodian City in English. Rhodiapolis was a relatively small city in the Lycian League with only one vote, but did have
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#17328452375832002-672: Is his Geographike Hyphegesis ( Greek : Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις ; lit. ' Guide to Drawing the Earth ' ), known as the Geography , a handbook on how to draw maps using geographical coordinates for parts of the Roman world known at the time. He relied on previous work by an earlier geographer, Marinus of Tyre , as well as on gazetteers of the Roman and ancient Persian Empire . He also acknowledged ancient astronomer Hipparchus for having provided
2093-705: Is known but who likely shared some of Ptolemy's astronomical interests. Ptolemy died in Alexandria c. 168 . Ptolemy's Greek name , Ptolemaeus ( Πτολεμαῖος , Ptolemaîos ), is an ancient Greek personal name . It occurs once in Greek mythology and is of Homeric form . It was common among the Macedonian upper class at the time of Alexander the Great and there were several of this name among Alexander's army, one of whom made himself pharaoh in 323 BC: Ptolemy I Soter ,
2184-458: Is known that Ptolemy lived in or around the city of Alexandria , in the Roman province of Egypt under Roman rule . He had a Latin name, Claudius, which is generally taken to imply he was a Roman citizen . He was familiar with Greek philosophers and used Babylonian observations and Babylonian lunar theory. In half of his extant works, Ptolemy addresses a certain Syrus, a figure of whom almost nothing
2275-960: Is not known." Not much positive evidence is known on the subject of Ptolemy's ancestry, apart from what can be drawn from the details of his name, although modern scholars have concluded that Abu Ma'shar's account is erroneous. It is no longer doubted that the astronomer who wrote the Almagest also wrote the Tetrabiblos as its astrological counterpart. In later Arabic sources, he was often known as "the Upper Egyptian ", suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt . Arabic astronomers , geographers , and physicists referred to his name in Arabic as Baṭlumyus ( Arabic : بَطْلُمْيوس ). Ptolemy wrote in Koine Greek , and can be shown to have used Babylonian astronomical data . He might have been
2366-659: Is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika ( Greek : Αποτελεσματικά , lit. ' On the Effects ' ) but more commonly known as the Tetrábiblos , from the Koine Greek meaning "Four Books", or by its Latin equivalent Quadripartite . The Catholic Church promoted his work, which included the only mathematically sound geocentric model of the Solar System , and unlike most Greek mathematicians , Ptolemy's writings (foremost
2457-518: The Almagest ) never ceased to be copied or commented upon, both in late antiquity and in the Middle Ages . However, it is likely that only a few truly mastered the mathematics necessary to understand his works, as evidenced particularly by the many abridged and watered-down introductions to Ptolemy's astronomy that were popular among the Arabs and Byzantines. His work on epicycles has come to symbolize
2548-413: The Almagest , is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Although Babylonian astronomers had developed arithmetical techniques for calculating and predicting astronomical phenomena, these were not based on any underlying model of the heavens; early Greek astronomers, on the other hand, provided qualitative geometrical models to "save the appearances" of celestial phenomena without
2639-468: The Aesculapian snake ( Zamenis longissimus ) is named for the god. He was originally called Hepius but received his popular name of Asclepius after he cured Ascles, ruler of Epidaurus who suffered an incurable ailment in his eyes. Asclepius became so proficient as a healer that he surpassed both Chiron and his father, Apollo. Asclepius was therefore able to evade death and to bring others back to life from
2730-662: The Almagest was the first, concerned with the influences of the celestial bodies in the sublunary sphere . Thus explanations of a sort are provided for the astrological effects of the planets , based upon their combined effects of heating, cooling, moistening, and drying. Ptolemy dismisses other astrological practices, such as considering the numerological significance of names, that he believed to be without sound basis, and leaves out popular topics, such as electional astrology (interpreting astrological charts to determine courses of action) and medical astrology , for similar reasons. The great respect in which later astrologers held
2821-572: The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association ( collegium ) that served as a burial society and dining club that also participated in the Imperial cult . The botanical genus Asclepias (commonly known as milkweed) is named after him and includes the medicinal plant A. tuberosa or "Pleurisy root". Asclepius was depicted on the reverse of the Greek 10,000 drachmas banknote of 1995–2001. At
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2912-410: The Geography is likely to be of different dates, in addition to containing many scribal errors. However, although the regional and world maps in surviving manuscripts date from c. 1300 AD (after the text was rediscovered by Maximus Planudes ), there are some scholars who think that such maps go back to Ptolemy himself. Ptolemy wrote an astrological treatise, in four parts, known by
3003-784: The Optics, is a work that survives only in a somewhat poor Latin version, which, in turn, was translated from a lost Arabic version by Eugenius of Palermo ( c. 1154 ). In it, Ptolemy writes about properties of sight (not light), including reflection , refraction , and colour . The work is a significant part of the early history of optics and influenced the more famous and superior 11th-century Book of Optics by Ibn al-Haytham . Ptolemy offered explanations for many phenomena concerning illumination and colour, size, shape, movement, and binocular vision. He also divided illusions into those caused by physical or optical factors and those caused by judgmental factors. He offered an obscure explanation of
3094-457: The Tetrabiblos derived from its nature as an exposition of theory, rather than as a manual. A collection of one hundred aphorisms about astrology called the Centiloquium , ascribed to Ptolemy, was widely reproduced and commented on by Arabic, Latin, and Hebrew scholars, and often bound together in medieval manuscripts after the Tetrabiblos as a kind of summation. It is now believed to be
3185-478: The Therapeutae of Asclepius . The etymology of the name is unknown. In his revised version of Frisk's Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch ( Greek Etymological Dictionary ), R. S. P. Beekes gives this summary of the different attempts: Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *(a)-s klap- . His name may mean "to cut open" from a story about his birth. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and, according to
3276-461: The equator , as it is today, but Ptolemy preferred to express it as climata , the length of the longest day rather than degrees of arc : The length of the midsummer day increases from 12h to 24h as one goes from the equator to the polar circle . One of the places Ptolemy noted specific coordinates for was the now-lost stone tower which marked the midpoint on the ancient Silk Road , and which scholars have been trying to locate ever since. In
3367-519: The harmonic canon (Greek name) or monochord (Latin name), which is an experimental musical apparatus that he used to measure relative pitches, and used to describe to his readers how to demonstrate the relations discussed in the following chapters for themselves. After the early exposition on to build and use monochord to test proposed tuning systems, Ptolemy proceeds to discuss Pythagorean tuning (and how to demonstrate that their idealized musical scale fails in practice). The Pythagoreans believed that
3458-430: The "criterion" of truth), as well as with the nature and structure of the human psyche or soul, particularly its ruling faculty (i.e., the hegemonikon ). Ptolemy argues that, to arrive at the truth, one should use both reason and sense perception in ways that complement each other. On the Criterion is also noteworthy for being the only one of Ptolemy's works that is devoid of mathematics . Elsewhere, Ptolemy affirms
3549-485: The French astronomer Delambre in the early 1800s which were repeated by R.R. Newton. Specifically, it proved Hipparchus was not the sole source of Ptolemy's catalog, as they both had claimed, and proved that Ptolemy did not simply copy Hipparchus' measurements and adjust them to account for precession of the equinoxes, as they had claimed. Scientists analyzing the charts concluded: It also confirms that Ptolemy’s Star Catalogue
3640-425: The Greek term Tetrabiblos (lit. "Four Books") or by its Latin equivalent Quadripartitum . Its original title is unknown, but may have been a term found in some Greek manuscripts, Apotelesmatiká ( biblía ), roughly meaning "(books) on the Effects" or "Outcomes", or "Prognostics". As a source of reference, the Tetrabiblos is said to have "enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of
3731-455: The Sun or Moon illusion (the enlarged apparent size on the horizon) based on the difficulty of looking upwards. The work is divided into three major sections. The first section (Book II) deals with direct vision from first principles and ends with a discussion of binocular vision. The second section (Books III-IV) treats reflection in plane, convex, concave, and compound mirrors. The last section (Book V) deals with refraction and includes
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3822-461: The Wise, who composed the book of the Almagest ". Abu Ma'shar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line "composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy". Historical confusion on this point can be inferred from Abu Ma'shar's subsequent remark: "It is sometimes said that the very learned man who wrote the book of astrology also wrote the book of the Almagest . The correct answer
3913-422: The ability to make any predictions. The earliest person who attempted to merge these two approaches was Hipparchus , who produced geometric models that not only reflected the arrangement of the planets and stars but could be used to calculate celestial motions. Ptolemy, following Hipparchus, derived each of his geometrical models for the Sun, Moon, and the planets from selected astronomical observations done in
4004-472: The appearances and disappearances of stars over the course of the solar year. The Planisphaerium ( Greek : Ἅπλωσις ἐπιφανείας σφαίρας , lit. ' Flattening of the sphere ' ) contains 16 propositions dealing with the projection of the celestial circles onto a plane. The text is lost in Greek (except for a fragment) and survives in Arabic and Latin only. Ptolemy also erected an inscription in
4095-514: The appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation. Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes—the Aesculapian Snakes —slithered around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout
4186-471: The art of medicine. It is said that in return for some kindness rendered by Asclepius, a snake licked Asclepius's ears clean and taught him secret knowledge (to the Greeks snakes were sacred beings of wisdom, healing, and resurrection). Asclepius bore a rod wreathed with a snake, which became associated with healing. Another version states that when Asclepius (or in another myth Polyidus ) was commanded to restore
4277-605: The brink of death and beyond. This caused an excessive abundance of human beings, and Zeus resorted to killing him to maintain balance in the numbers of the human population. At some point, Asclepius was among those who took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Also, he was one of the Argonauts . Asclepius was married to Epione , with whom he had five daughters: Hygieia , Panacea , Aceso , Iaso , and Aegle , and three sons: Machaon , Podaleirios and Telesphoros . He also sired
4368-473: The city and it relied solely on water storage in cisterns. The so-called “aqueduct piers” that were once identified in fact belong to Roman chamber tombs. The restoration of the temple near the amphitheatre in 2017 was criticised for employing workers with no experience in restoration, lacking an experienced project manager, placing some stones backwards or in the wrong place, and excessively using Italian marble in place of existing stone. Ptolemy This
4459-400: The city centre, at the foot of the hill as when it was built no room was left elsewhere for baths of this size, and water could be supplied here at the highest pressure. The southern half of the complex comprises the palaestra which covers 58% of the entire area. The cisterns below form the substructure/terrace of the palaestra on the sloping hillside. The east wall stands to its full height to
4550-476: The classical world. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ...". Epidauria (τὰ Ἐπιδαύρια) was a festival at Athens in honour of Asclepius. Some later religious movements claimed links to Asclepius. In the 2nd century AD the controversial miracle-worker Alexander claimed that his god Glycon ,
4641-403: The cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples ( Asclepieia ) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary– the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe
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#17328452375834732-479: The damage caused by an earthquake between 140 and 143 AD. He also funded the construction of two temples at Rhodiapolis. Heraclitus was another famous resident, known for his oratory and knowledge of medicine. According to inscriptions the city was a centre for the cult of Athena Polias during the Hellenistic and Roman period. Rhodiapolis was in the late Roman province of Lycia and so its episcopal see
4823-506: The data needed to compute the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the rising and setting of the stars, and eclipses of the Sun and Moon, making it a useful tool for astronomers and astrologers. The tables themselves are known through Theon of Alexandria 's version. Although Ptolemy's Handy Tables do not survive as such in Arabic or in Latin, they represent the prototype of most Arabic and Latin astronomical tables or zījes . Additionally,
4914-519: The earliest accounts, a mortal woman named Koronis (Coronis), who was a princess of Tricca in Thessaly. When she displayed infidelity by sleeping with a mortal named Ischys , Apollo found out with his prophetic powers and killed Ischys. Coronis was killed by Artemis for being unfaithful to Apollo and was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed, but Apollo rescued the child by cutting him from Coronis' womb. According to Delphian tradition, Asclepius
5005-402: The earliest surviving table of refraction from air to water, for which the values (with the exception of the 60° angle of incidence) show signs of being obtained from an arithmetic progression. However, according to Mark Smith, Ptolemy's table was based in part on real experiments. Ptolemy's theory of vision consisted of rays (or flux) coming from the eye forming a cone, the vertex being within
5096-469: The elevation of the north celestial pole for a few cities. Although maps based on scientific principles had been made since the time of Eratosthenes ( c. 276 – c. 195 BC ), Ptolemy improved on map projections . The first part of the Geography is a discussion of the data and of the methods he used. Ptolemy notes the supremacy of astronomical data over land measurements or travelers' reports, though he possessed these data for only
5187-425: The empirical musical relations he identified by testing pitches against each other: He was able to accurately measure relative pitches based on the ratios of vibrating lengths two separate sides of the same single string , hence which were assured to be under equal tension, eliminating one source of error. He analyzed the empirically determined ratios of "pleasant" pairs of pitches, and then synthesised all of them into
5278-419: The eye, and the base defining the visual field. The rays were sensitive, and conveyed information back to the observer's intellect about the distance and orientation of surfaces. Size and shape were determined by the visual angle subtended at the eye combined with perceived distance and orientation. This was one of the early statements of size-distance invariance as a cause of perceptual size and shape constancy,
5369-567: The first pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom . Almost all subsequent pharaohs of Egypt, with a few exceptions, were named Ptolemy until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, ending the Macedonian family's rule. The name Claudius is a Roman name, belonging to the gens Claudia ; the peculiar multipart form of the whole name Claudius Ptolemaeus is a Roman custom, characteristic of Roman citizens. This indicates that Ptolemy would have been
5460-637: The goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep . He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The rod of Asclepius , a snake-entwined staff similar to the caduceus , remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as
5551-409: The highest honour. Despite being a minority position among ancient philosophers, Ptolemy's views were shared by other mathematicians such as Hero of Alexandria . There are several characters and items named after Ptolemy, including: Asclepius Asclepius ( / æ s ˈ k l iː p i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἀσκληπιός Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós] ; Latin : Aesculapius )
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#17328452375835642-553: The history of science". One striking error noted by Newton was an autumn equinox said to have been observed by Ptolemy and "measured with the greatest care" at 2pm on 25 September 132, when the equinox should have been observed around 9:55am the day prior. In attempting to disprove Newton, Herbert Lewis also found himself agreeing that "Ptolemy was an outrageous fraud," and that "all those result capable of statistical analysis point beyond question towards fraud and against accidental error". The charges laid by Newton and others have been
5733-599: The introduction to the Handy Tables survived separately from the tables themselves (apparently part of a gathering of some of Ptolemy's shorter writings) under the title Arrangement and Calculation of the Handy Tables . The Planetary Hypotheses ( Greek : Ὑποθέσεις τῶν πλανωμένων , lit. ' Hypotheses of the Planets ' ) is a cosmological work, probably one of the last written by Ptolemy, in two books dealing with
5824-485: The late Hellenistic period. In the Roman period the city became famous for being the home of the rich philanthropist Opramoas . A monument was constructed in his memory close to the city's theatre. On the monument's walls is the longest inscription in Lycia, commemorating his benefactions and the numerous honors bestowed on him. According to these, Opramoas donated approximately 500,000 denarii to 28 cities in Lycia to repair
5915-461: The level of the vault. The caldarium , tepidarium and frigidarium had windows facing the palaestra on the south, thus profiting from the daylight and sun's heat. The baths had several phases of construction and after revision in the Roman period, radical alterations took piace in the Byzantine period. The small baths dating from after the 4th century are located northeast of the large baths and are
6006-481: The life of Glaucus, he was confined in a secret prison. While pondering on what he should do, a snake crept near his staff. Lost in his thoughts, Asclepius unknowingly killed it by hitting it again and again with his staff. Later, another snake came there with an herb in its mouth, and placed it on the head of a dead snake, which soon came back to life. Seeing this, Asclepius used the same herb, which brought Glaucus back. A species of non-venomous pan-Mediterranean serpent,
6097-500: The mathematics of music should be based on only the one specific ratio of 3:2, the perfect fifth , and believed that tunings mathematically exact to their system would prove to be melodious, if only the extremely large numbers involved could be calculated (by hand). To the contrary, Ptolemy believed that musical scales and tunings should in general involve multiple different ratios arranged to fit together evenly into smaller tetrachords (combinations of four pitch ratios which together make
6188-555: The modern title is thought to be an Arabic corruption of the Greek name Hē Megistē Syntaxis (lit. "The greatest treatise"), as the work was presumably known in Late Antiquity . Because of its reputation, it was widely sought and translated twice into Latin in the 12th century , once in Sicily and again in Spain. Ptolemy's planetary models, like those of the majority of his predecessors, were geocentric and almost universally accepted until
6279-493: The most distant building from the town centre. Their location may have been determined by the stream that still flows today. The agora , two-story stoa and the Opramoas stoa are also important monuments. The remains of a small theatre, a temple of Asclepius , sarcophagi , and churches are still visible on the site. In 2011 a Lycian cemetery complex was discovered, dating from approximately 300 BC. No aqueduct fed water to
6370-559: The most famous temples of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese , dated to the fourth century BC. Another famous asclepeion was built approximately a century later on the island of Kos , where Hippocrates , the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Gortys (in Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia . From the fifth century BC onwards,
6461-477: The motions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. In 2023, archaeologists were able to read a manuscript which gives instructions for the construction of an astronomical tool called a meteoroscope ( μετεωροσκόπιον or μετεωροσκοπεῖον ). The text, which comes from an eighth-century manuscript which also contains Ptolemy's Analemma , was identified on the basis of both its content and linguistic analysis as being by Ptolemy. Ptolemy's second most well-known work
6552-461: The observations were taken at 12:30pm. The overall quality of Ptolemy's observations has been challenged by several modern scientists, but prominently by Robert R. Newton in his 1977 book The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy , which asserted that Ptolemy fabricated many of his observations to fit his theories. Newton accused Ptolemy of systematically inventing data or doctoring the data of earlier astronomers, and labelled him "the most successful fraud in
6643-401: The radius of the sphere of the fixed stars was 20 000 times the radius of the Earth. The work is also notable for having descriptions on how to build instruments to depict the planets and their movements from a geocentric perspective, much as an orrery would have done for a heliocentric one, presumably for didactic purposes. The Analemma is a short treatise where Ptolemy provides
6734-486: The reappearance of heliocentric models during the scientific revolution . Under the scrutiny of modern scholarship, and the cross-checking of observations contained in the Almagest against figures produced through backwards extrapolation, various patterns of errors have emerged within the work. A prominent miscalculation is Ptolemy's use of measurements that he claimed were taken at noon, but which systematically produce readings now shown to be off by half an hour, as if
6825-410: The right to mint coins. Hellenistic finds in excavations belonging to monuments and particularly inscriptions and coins are definitive but comparatively few suggesting that the settlement at that time was small compared with the later Roman settlement. Due to the compact city area, most older buildings were overbuilt by later Roman ones and the theatre’s cavea is the sole remaining monument that dates to
6916-561: The sake of Apollo, put among the stars." Asclepius was killed by Zeus, and by Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. The most ancient and the most prominent asclepeion (or healing temple) according to the geographer of the 1st century BC, Strabo, was situated in Trikala . The 1st century AD Pool of Bethesda , described in the Gospel of John , chapter 5, was found by archaeologists in 1964 to be part of an asclepeion. One of
7007-405: The secondary literature, while noting that issues with the accuracy of Ptolemy's observations had long been known. Other authors have pointed out that instrument warping or atmospheric refraction may also explain some of Ptolemy's observations at a wrong time. In 2022 the first Greek fragments of Hipparchus' lost star catalog were discovered in a palimpsest and they debunked accusations made by
7098-474: The spanning of more than 800 years; however, many astronomers have for centuries suspected that some of his models' parameters were adopted independently of observations. Ptolemy presented his astronomical models alongside convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets. The Almagest also contains a star catalogue , which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus . Its list of forty-eight constellations
7189-451: The spheres ). Although Ptolemy's Harmonics never had the influence of his Almagest or Geography , it is nonetheless a well-structured treatise and contains more methodological reflections than any other of his writings. In particular, it is a nascent form of what in the following millennium developed into the scientific method, with specific descriptions of the experimental apparatus that he built and used to test musical conjectures, and
7280-440: The structure of the universe and the laws that govern celestial motion . Ptolemy goes beyond the mathematical models of the Almagest to present a physical realization of the universe as a set of nested spheres, in which he used the epicycles of his planetary model to compute the dimensions of the universe. He estimated the Sun was at an average distance of 1 210 Earth radii (now known to actually be ~23 450 radii), while
7371-517: The subject of wide discussions and received significant push back from other scholars against the findings. Owen Gingerich , while agreeing that the Almagest contains "some remarkably fishy numbers", including in the matter of the 30-hour displaced equinox, which he noted aligned perfectly with predictions made by Hipparchus 278 years earlier, rejected the qualification of fraud. Objections were also raised by Bernard Goldstein , who questioned Newton's findings and suggested that he had misunderstood
7462-496: The supremacy of mathematical knowledge over other forms of knowledge. Like Aristotle before him, Ptolemy classifies mathematics as a type of theoretical philosophy; however, Ptolemy believes mathematics to be superior to theology or metaphysics because the latter are conjectural while only the former can secure certain knowledge. This view is contrary to the Platonic and Aristotelian traditions, where theology or metaphysics occupied
7553-573: The third part of the Geography , Ptolemy gives instructions on how to create maps both of the whole inhabited world ( oikoumenē ) and of the Roman provinces, including the necessary topographic lists, and captions for the maps. His oikoumenē spanned 180 degrees of longitude from the Blessed Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of China , and about 80 degrees of latitude from Shetland to anti-Meroe (east coast of Africa ); Ptolemy
7644-426: Was a suffragan of Myra , the metropolitan see of that province. Only one bishop of Rhodiapolis is known, Nicholas, present in 518 at a Council of Constantinople . The Notitiae episcopatuum continue to mention the see as late as the 12th or 13th century. The city was discovered in 1842 by T. A. B. Spratt . The first visual documentation and detailed investigations of the Opramoas inscriptions were completed by
7735-440: Was afraid that Asclepius would teach the art of resurrection to other humans as well. Concerning the fate of Asclepius, Ovid writes that "the youth [Asclepius] blasted by ancestral bolts [of Zeus] soars from earth [rising as the constellation Ophiuchus] and flings his hands coiled with double snakes." Later accounts read "The Serpent-Holder. Many astronomers have imagined that he is Aesculapius [Asclepius], whom Jupiter [Zeus], for
7826-483: Was born in the temple of Apollo, with Lachesis acting as a midwife and Apollo relieving the pains of Coronis. Apollo named the child after Coronis' nickname, Aegle. Phoenician tradition maintains that Asclepius was born of Apollo without any woman involved. According to the Roman version, Apollo, having learned about Coronis' betrayal with the mortal Ischys through his raven Lycius , killed her with his arrows. Before breathing her last, she revealed to Apollo that she
7917-556: Was his astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest , originally entitled Mathematical Treatise ( Greek : Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις , Mathēmatikḗ Syntaxis ). The second is the Geography , which is a thorough discussion on maps and the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world . The third is the astrological treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This
8008-467: Was later taken by Apollo. According to Strabo and other traditions, the birthplace of Asclepius is considered to be Tricca (modern Trikala city in Thessaly ). Apollo named the rescued baby "Asclepius" and reared him for a while and taught him many things about medicine. However, like his half-brother, Aristaeus , Asclepius had his formal education under the centaur Chiron who instructed him in
8099-464: Was not based solely on data from Hipparchus’ Catalogue. ... These observations are consistent with the view that Ptolemy composed his star catalogue by combining various sources, including Hipparchus’ catalogue, his own observations and, possibly, those of other authors. The Handy Tables ( Greek : Πρόχειροι κανόνες ) are a set of astronomical tables, together with canons for their use. To facilitate astronomical calculations, Ptolemy tabulated all
8190-408: Was pregnant with his child. He repented his actions and unsuccessfully tried to save her. At last, he removed their son safely from her belly before she was consumed by the fire. In yet another version, Coronis who was already pregnant with Apollo's child, had to accompany her father to Peloponnesos . She had kept her pregnancy hidden from her father. In Epidaurus , she bore a son and exposed him on
8281-499: Was well aware that he knew about only a quarter of the globe, and an erroneous extension of China southward suggests his sources did not reach all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It seems likely that the topographical tables in the second part of the work (Books 2–7) are cumulative texts, which were altered as new knowledge became available in the centuries after Ptolemy. This means that information contained in different parts of
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