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Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος; c. AD 90 – c. 168), known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek-speaking geographer, astronomer, and astrologer who lived in the Hellenistic culture of Roman Egypt. He may have been a Hellenized Egyptian but no description of his family background or physical appearance exists, though it is likely he was born in Egypt.

Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, three of which have been of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise that is now known as the Almagest ("The Great Treatise"). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known as the Tetrabiblos ("Four books") in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. (read more...)