The Shelves · Mathematics (incl. astronomy)

Almagest (Mathematical Syntaxis)

Μαθηματικὴ σύνταξις

Known · Attestedin Alexandria?Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placement

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I · The entry, in his form

In the table of Mathematics (incl. astronomy)

Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placement

Claudius Ptolemy

c. 100–170 CE. Made his observations at Alexandria between 127 and 141 CE and set up the Canobic Inscription in 146/147. The Almagest gave astronomy its form until Copernicus and the Tetrabiblos did the same for astrology; he also wrote the Geography, the Handy Tables, the Harmonics and the Optics.

Almagest

Μαθηματικὴ σύνταξις

Opening words

Πάνυ καλῶς οἱ γνησίως φιλοσοφήσαντες, ὦ Σύρε...

Those who have been true philosophers, Syrus, seem to me to have separated the theoretical part of philosophy from the practical...

Length: not counted

Above, his entry form, filled from what we know. Below, ours.

II · Does it survive? Where to read it

Survives whole

Was it in Alexandria?

Known · Attested

Written in Alexandria.

On the table: written in Alexandria; no evidence it was in the Library.

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III · In the show

+ 3 more
  • Fixed StarsSets Agrippa's star natures beside Ptolemy's (Tetrabiblos I.9) and says where they differ.Known: attested
  • Zodiacal HoursCites Ptolemy, Almagest II, for the seasonal hours.Known: attested
  • Planetary HoursThe Chaldean order Ptolemy also uses; Cassius Dio (37.18–19) credits the planetary week to the Egyptians.Known: attested

IV · Sources and the living entry

Ancient references
  • Ptolemy, Almagest 1.1 (preface to Syrus) and 7-8 (the star catalogue)
Modern scholarship (2)
  • G. J. Toomer (trans.), Ptolemy's Almagest (London: Duckworth, 1984)
  • O. Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, 3 vols (Berlin: Springer, 1975).

Entry checked 31 Oct 2026 · no corrections · Suggest a correction ›

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Beside it on the table