P
PTOLEMY, Claudius
By Pierre Joppen
Sep 7, 2004, 08:04

Greek geographer and astronomer of Alexandria. Codified cartographic ideas and data in his Geographia, which gave instructions for map-making, including a system of coordinates. Ptolemy's text has survived, but no maps known to have been drawn by him.

The oldest known Ptolemaic maps date from about the 13th century; they were made following the information in the Geographia.

Ptolemy's work was lost to the West for centuries, but survived in the Byzantine Empire and Islamic societies, and was rediscovered during the Renaissance.

Many editions of the Geographia have been published, the first printed edition with maps being Bologna, 1477.

Click here to see maps after Ptolemy.