Ptolemy (Cladius Ptolemaeus), b. abt. 87 A.D. (Egypt), d. abt. 160 A.D. (Alexandria, Egypt). An astronomer, mathematician and geographer from Alexandria who collected and synthesized the work of ancient Greeks such as Hipparchus and Aristotle. The title of this book, the Almagest, is a corruption of a Greek title "The Greatest". (Ptolemy's original title was the "The Mathematical Collection"). The Almagest ranks among the most historically significant astronomical works ever written. This large "encyclopedia" (written about 150 A.D.) included a star catalog and rules for calculating the future positions of the planets based on a the geocentric world view of Aristotle and other ancient Greeks. These rules became the basis of planetary calculations for about fifteen hundred years.
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