|
The definitive Greek work on astronomy was written by Claudius Ptolemy
of Alexandria abou A.D. 150. This very influential treatise, called the syntaxis
mathematica, or "Mathematical Collection," was based on the writings of
Hipparchus and is noted for its remarkable compactness and elegance. To
distinguish it from other lesser works on astronomy, later commentatore assigned
to it the |
superlative magiste, or "greatest." Still later, the Arabian translators prefixed the Arabian article al, and the work has ever since been known as the Almagest. The Almagest remained the atandard work on astronomy until the time of Copernicus and Kepler. Ptolemy wrote on map projections (see Problem Study 6.10), optics, and music. He also attempted a derivation of Euclid's fifth (or parallel) postulate from the other axioms and postulates of the Elements in a vain effort to remove the postulate from Euclid's list of initial assumptions.
 | |
