(Of the measurements of the Earth). Ptolemy's Contributions to Geography - ThoughtCo He was nicknamed Beta because he was great at many things and tried to get his hands on every bit of information but never achieved the highest rank in anything; Strabo accounts Eratosthenes as a mathematician among geographers and a geographer among mathematicians. The simplified method works by considering two cities along the same meridian and measuring both the distance between them and the difference in angles of the shadows cast by the sun on a vertical rod (a gnomon) in each city at noon on the summer solstice. Geography is the study of Earths natural environment and human society, as well as how society and nature interact. [1] However, his Geography has been lost to history, although fragments of the work can be pieced together from other great historians like Pliny, Polybius, Strabo, and Marcianus. He has written works on geography, philosophy, history, astronomy, mathematics, and literary criticism. Events Egyptian trade on nile 4000 B.C. This is important to marine science because these concepts are used for locations around the globe. He worked in geography to try to figure out why the Nile river had such a regular flood pattern, and hypothesized that it was because of heavy rain upstream. He conceived the subcontinent of India to be of rhomboidal form and supposed the range of Imaus (Himalayas) which he said extended from west to east, to have made the boundary of India. 5 best Master's degrees in Clinical and Health Psychology to study in Spain, The 40 phrases of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, 7 keys for someone to open up more to you, The 10 most romantic cities on the planet, Social behavior: definition and explanatory theories, Postcoital dysphoria: symptoms, causes and treatment, Scriptophobia: symptoms, causes and treatment, Nematodes: characteristics, classification, reproduction, nutrition, Specialized texts: characteristics, structure, types, examples. The 200-foot ship was three-masted, square-rigged, and built of wood. This is the sieve's key distinction from using trial division to sequentially test each candidate number for divisibility by each prime. The texts of his early works as a poet are not preserved either; however, some names were passed on to posterity through quotations from other Greeks. is credited for two important contributions to oceanography: 1. Sieve of Eratosthenes: algorithm steps for primes below 121 (including optimization of starting from the prime's square). 2. Pacific Ocean- Largest, deepest, lots of islands and seamounts. The first book of "Geography" contained a summary of existing geographical work and Eratosthenes' speculations about the nature of the planet Earth. III. He concluded that the circumference of the earth was about 50 times greater than the distance from Alexandria to Aswan. Isaac, Benjamin. Geography consisted of eight volumes. (Writing before the Greeks adopted the degree, a Babylonian unit of measure, he actually said a fiftieth of a circle.) He correctly assumed the Suns distance to be very great; its rays therefore are practically parallel when they reach Earth. "Zeno and Stoic Consistency," in Phronesis. Eratosthenes was born in the Greek colony Cyrene, now the city of Shahhat, Libya. 3. He developed Read more. Now part of modern-day Libya, Cyrene had been founded by Greeks centuries earlier and became the capital of Pentapolis (North Africa), a country of five cities: Cyrene, Arsinoe, Berenice, Ptolemias, and Apollonia. He sketched, quite accurately, the route of the Nile to Khartoum, showing the two Ethiopian tributaries. At this time Eratosthenes took advantage of his position and the access to the information he had to learn about the most diverse subjects. It is a large, submerged massif, about 120 km long and 80 km wide. Your email address will not be published. Although Eratosthenes method was well founded, the accuracy of his calculation was inherently limited. Everything that pleases the Muses and kings you yourself gave to your son. In 1609 he published Astronomia Nova, delineating his discoveries, which are now called Keplers first two laws of planetary motion. He calculated the Earths circumference. "Eratosthenes of Cyrene." Ben-Avraham et al. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Biography of Eratosthenes, Greek Geographer - ThoughtCo The word for Earth in Greek is geo, so we call this idea a geocentric theory. Alexander the Great conquered Cyrene in 332 BC, and following his death in 323 BC, its rule was given to one of his generals, Ptolemy I Soter, the founder of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. There is no distinction between the usages. Eratosthenes proposed a simple algorithm for finding prime numbers. Later, the Greeks speculated on the idea that the earth was round. It starts with 2 and all the numbers that are multiples of that first digit are crossed out, then the same is done with the next number that is not crossed out and so on. There it remained, approximately, for 25 years. The city of Cyrene had spent an independent period from Egypt until the marriage between Ptolemy III and Berenice, the daughter of Magas, governor of that city. Eratosthenes was a man of many talents. % complete First maps showing water (river charts) 3800 B.C. Despite not having a prominent ancestry, Eratosthenes did come from a city that had achieved recognition by the men who were born in it. Which common nonsilicate mineral is used in wallboard. Contribution of Greeks to Mathematical and Physical Geography! He worked in geography to try to figure out why the Nile river had such a regular flood pattern, and hypothesized that it was because of heavy rain upstream. Eratosthenes was also the first to calculate the tilt of the Earths axis, which he figured with remarkable accuracy; the finding was reported by Ptolemy (85-165 CE). He calculated the circumference of the Earth to be about 252,000 stadi which is equal to about 24,662 miles. He also dedicated to Eratosthenes The method. He was a figure of influence in many fields who yearned to understand the complexities of the entire world. Eratosthenes, then thirty years old, accepted Ptolemy's invitation and traveled to Alexandria, where he lived for the rest of his life. Was nicknamed Beta by other Greeks of his time, in reference to the second letter of the alphabet. Polynesian Seafarers - Dive & Discover Eratosthenes. Modern Geographys founder, Alexander von Humboldt. He drew the meridian through Alexandria, Syene, Rhodes and the mouth of Boresthenes (Dniester). The technology geographers and other scientists use to study the physical and cultural environments spatially and over time is with geospatial technology. Eratosthenes (c. 276194 bce), who had prepared a map of the Nile valley southward to the latitude of modern Khartoum, anticipated the correct answer when he reported that heavy rains had been observed to fall in the upper reaches of the river and that these History at your fingertips Oceanography Chapter 1 Oceanography Oceanus would be a better name for Earth, since oceans cover 70% surface (most major cities, resources, etc. His prime number sieve made it simple for Greek mathematicians (and now-frustrated modern students!) The two cities used were Alexandria and Syene (modern Aswan), and the distance between the cities was measured by professional bematists. Eratosthenes' Geography | Princeton University Press Required fields are marked *. Eratosthenes also did other things that are known today. In the first, Eratosthenes addressed the previous theories and compiled the existing information in the library. in. So he trained and became famous as an academic. Digital Radiography Technique, In addition, he calculated approximate distances between them. 5000 BC - 1 BC - Ocean Exploration Timeline on Sea and Sky geography term coined by Eratosthenes - Geographer Corner At that time he also wrote Peri agathn kai kakn, a text that was lost. Eratosthenes died in Alexandria, approximately in 194 BC, when he was 82 years old. The multiples of a given prime are generated starting from that prime, as a sequence of numbers with the same difference, equal to that prime, between consecutive numbers. wikipedia.en/History_of_geophysics.md at main - github.com Eratosthenes measured Earths circumference mathematically using two surface points to make the calculation. They believed only rivers had currents, and named this mass of water okeanos (meaning river), from which we derived our term . What was the major contribution of Ptolemy? Eratosthenes knew from readings he had taken in Alexandria that during the summer solstice in Siena, at noon the sun was just overhead. III. He wrote on many topics geography, mathematics, philosophy, chronology, literary criticism, grammar, poetry, and even old comedies. Definition of Oceanography 1. Eratosthenes's main interest in youth was philosophy and that vocation led him to Athens at the age of 15. Eratosthenes calculates circumference of Earth, invents latitude and longitude 230 B.C. He made maps, both of the world and sky and is said to have made a map that included 675 stars. Learn everything about the Oceanography from scratch and become a master of this topic with quiz based flashcards. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. His work is comparable to what is now known as the study of geography, and he introduced some of the terminology still used today.[1]. This algorithm is known in mathematics as the Sieve of Eratosthenes. The geometry of the situation is sketched at the right. This method consisted of creating a table with natural numbers between 2 and the desired quantity. In the Geography the names of over 400 cities and their locations were shown, which had never been achieved before. The Classical Review. Eratosthenes made major contributions to geography. He was a renowned mathematician, poet, geographer, astronomer, and music theorist. Known For: Eratosthenes was a Greek polymath who became known as the father of geography. Defending the theory that vision is due to a flow emanating from the eye, Ptolemy analyzed the reflection of light on flat and spherical mirrors, and its refraction when it crosses the surface between two transparent media. Eratosthenes - Windows to the Universe How Do You Get Rid Of Hiccups In 5 Seconds. eratosthenes contribution to oceanography He was the founder of Geography and holds the credit to . However, his contributions to the study of the earth gave him the title of father of geography. Euclid, Greek Eukleides, (flourished c. 300 bce, Alexandria, Egypt), the most prominent mathematician of Greco-Roman antiquity, best known for his treatise on geometry, the Elements. What is the contribution of Eratosthenes in ancient geography? Within about five years he became Chief Librarian, a position that the poet Apollonius Rhodius had previously held. The first discussed the problems of representing a spherical earth on a flat sheet . [9], The measurement of Earth's circumference is the most famous among the results obtained by Eratosthenes,[13] who estimated that the meridian has a length of 252,000 stadia (39,060 to 40,320 kilometres (24,270 to 25,050mi)), with an error on the real value between 2.4% and +0.8% (assuming a value for the stadion between 155 and 160 metres (509 and 525ft)).