---
title: "Science in classical antiquity"
chunk: 6/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_classical_antiquity"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:10:44.265759+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100–170 AD), living in or around Alexandria, carried out a scientific program centered on the writing of about a dozen books on astronomy, astrology, cartography, harmonics, and optics. Despite their severe style and high technicality, a great deal of them have survived, in some cases the sole remnants of their kind of writing from antiquity. Two major themes that run through Ptolemy's works are mathematical modelling of physical phenomena and methods of visual representation of physical reality.
Ptolemy's research program involved a combination of theoretical analysis with empirical considerations seen, for instance, in his systematized study of astronomy. Ptolemy's Mathēmatikē Syntaxis (Ancient Greek: Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις), better known as the Almagest, sought to improve on the work of his predecessors by building astronomy not only upon a secure mathematical basis but also by demonstrating the relationship between astronomical observations and the resulting astronomical theory. In his Planetary Hypotheses, Ptolemy describes in detail physical representations of his mathematical models found in the Almagest, presumably for didactic purposes. Likewise, the Geography was concerned with the drawing of accurate maps using astronomical information, at least in principle. Apart from astronomy, both the Harmonics and the Optics contain (in addition to mathematical analyses of sound and sight, respectively) instructions on how to construct and use experimental instruments to corroborate theory.
In retrospect, it is apparent that Ptolemy adjusted some reported measurements to fit his (incorrect) assumption that the angle of refraction is proportional to the angle of incidence.
Ptolemy's thoroughness and his preoccupation with ease of data presentation (for example, in his widespread use of tables) virtually guaranteed that earlier work on these subjects be neglected or considered obsolete, to the extent that almost nothing remains of the works Ptolemy often refers. His astronomical work in particular defined the method and subject matter of future research for centuries, and the Ptolemaic system became the dominant model for the motions of the heavens until the seventeenth century.

== See also ==
Forensics in antiquity
Protoscience
Roman technology
Obsolete scientific theories

== Notes ==

== References ==