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Claudius Ptolemy (; (ギリシア語:Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος), ''Klaúdios Ptolemaîos'', (:kláwdios ptolɛmɛ́ːos); (ラテン語:Claudius Ptolemaeus); )〔http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy〕 was a Greco-Egyptian writer of Alexandria, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology.〔Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology By John William Mackail (Page 246 ) ISBN 1406922943, 2007〕〔(Mortal am I, the creature of a day.. )〕 He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Koine Greek, and held Roman citizenship.〔See 'Background' section on his status as a Roman citizen〕 Beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in an uncorroborated statement by the 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes.〔G. J. Toomer, "Ptolemy (or Claudius Ptolemaeus). " (Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography ). 2008. Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com. 21 Jan, 2013.〕 This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no other reason to suppose that he ever lived anywhere else than Alexandria,〔 where he died around AD 168.〔Jean Claude Pecker (2001), ''Understanding the Heavens: Thirty Centuries of Astronomical Ideas from Ancient Thinking to Modern Cosmology'', p. 311, Springer, ISBN 3-540-63198-4.〕 Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic, Byzantine and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the ''Almagest'', although it was originally entitled the "Mathematical Treatise" (, ''Mathēmatikē Syntaxis'') and then known as the "Great Treatise" (, ''Ē Megálē Syntaxis''). The second is the ''Geography'', which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. This manuscript was used by Christopher Columbus as the map for his westward-bound path to Asia, in which he discovered the hitherto unknown lands of the Americas. The third is the astrological treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the ''Apotelesmatika'' () but more commonly known as the ''Tetrabiblos'' from the Greek () meaning "Four Books" or by the Latin ''Quadripartitum''. ==Background== The name ''Claudius'' is a Roman ''nomen''; the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemy's family to become a citizen (whether he or an ancestor) took the ''nomen'' from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship. If, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD 41 and 68 (when Claudius, and then Nero, were emperors). The astronomer would also have had a ''praenomen'', which remains unknown. ''Ptolemaeus'' (Πτολεμαῖος – ''Ptolemaios'') is a Greek name. It occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form.〔(Πτολεμαῖος ), Georg Autenrieth, ''A Homeric Dictionary'', on Perseus〕 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 King of Egypt in 323 BC: Ptolemy I Soter. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies. Perhaps for no other reason than the association of name, the 9th-century Persian astronomer Abu Ma'shar assumed Ptolemy to be a member of Egypt's royal lineage, stating that the ten kings of Egypt who followed Alexander were wise "and included Ptolemy 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". We can evidence historical confusion on this point 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 is not known”.〔Abu Ma’shar, ''De magnis coniunctionibus'', ed.-transl. K. Yamamoto, Ch. Burnett, Leiden, 2000, 2 vols. (Arabic & Latin text); 4.1.4.〕 There is little evidence on the subject of Ptolemy's ancestry, apart from what can be drawn from the details of his name (see above); however, modern scholars refer to Abu Ma’shar’s account as erroneous,〔Jones (2010) ‘Ptolemy’s Doctrine of the Terms and Its Reception’ by Stephan Heilen, p. 68.〕 and it is no longer doubted that the astronomer who wrote the ''Almagest'' also wrote the ''Tetrabiblos'' as its astrological counterpart.〔Robbins, ''Ptolemy Tetrabiblos'' ‘Introduction’; p. x.〕 Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data.〔Asger Aaboe, ''Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy'', New York: Springer, 2001, pp. 62–65.〕〔Alexander Jones, "The Adaptation of Babylonian Methods in Greek Numerical Astronomy," in ''The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages'', p. 99.〕 He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek,〔(Britannica.com ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' 2007, "Claudius Ptolemaeus" )〕〔〔"Ptolemy." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2006. Answers.com 20 Jul. 2008.〕 although some suggest he was a Hellenized Egyptian.〔Victor J. Katz (1998). ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction'', p. 184. Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-321-01618-1. 〕〔George Sarton (1936). "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", ''Osiris'' 2, p. 406–463 ().〕〔John Horace Parry (1981). ''The Age of Reconnaissance'', p. 10. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04235-2.〕 He was often known in later Arabic sources as "the Upper Egyptian",〔J. F. Weidler (1741). ''Historia astronomiae'', p. 177. Wittenberg: Gottlieb. (cf. Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", ''Isis'' 83 (4), p. 596–607 ().)〕 suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt.〔Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", ''Isis'' 83 (4), p. 596–607 (606 ).〕 Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in (アラビア語:بَطْلُمْيوس) ''Batlaymus''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ptolemy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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