Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Carcharoth (talk | contribs) at 11:10, 28 March 2006 (→Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty (rulers)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The name Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus comes from the Greek Ptolemaios, which means warlike. There have been many people named Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus, the most famous of which are the Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus and the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy I Soter. The following sections summarise some of the people named Ptolemy, and some of the other uses of this name.

Early Greek Ptolemies

• Ptolemy (mythological) (12th century BC) - mythical ruler of the ancient Greek city of Thebes.
• Ptolemy (son of Seleucus) (died 333 BC) - Macedonian bodyguard and general of Alexander the Great.
• Ptolemy (general) (died 309 BC) - Macedonian general and nephew of Antigonus I Monophthalmus.
• Ptolemy of Epirus (died 235 BC) - King of the Greek frontier kingdom of Epirus.

Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty (rulers)

The Ptolemaic dynasty, of Macedonian origin, ruled Hellenistic Egypt for nearly 300 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC. The kings of this dynasty were all named Ptolemy. See Ptolemaic dynasty for details of their reigns and other ruling members of the dynasty. See also: Legacy of Ptolemy I Soter.

• Ptolemy I Soter (367 BC-283 BC) - Macedonian general of Alexander the Great
• Ptolemy II Philadelphus
• Ptolemy Nios
• Ptolemy III Euergetes
• Ptolemy IV Philopator
• Ptolemy V Epiphanes
• Ptolemy VI Philometor
• Ptolemy Eupator
• Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator
• Ptolemy VIII Physcon
• Ptolemy IX Lathyros
• Ptolemy X Alexander I
• Ptolemy XI Alexander II
• Ptolemy XII Auletes
• Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator
• Ptolemy XIV
• Ptolemy XV Caesarion (47 BC-30 BC) - last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt

Ptolemy Nios is a Ptolemy of uncertain identity. Other Ptolemies named around the same time, and which may or may not be the same Ptolemy, are Ptolemy the Son, Ptolemy son of Lysimachus, Ptolemy of Telmessos, and Ptolemy "the Brother". See here for a discussion of these issues.

Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty (descendents)

There were several members of the Ptolemaic dynasty that did not become rulers of Egypt. Some of them became rulers of other kingdoms. Many of the dates and other details about these Ptolemies are uncertain.

• Ptolemy Keraunos (died 279 BC) - eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter. Eventually became king of Macedon.
• Ptolemy Andromachou (3rd century BC) - probable illegitimate son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
• Ptolemy (grandson) (3rd or 2nd century BC) - grandson of Ptolemy Nios.
• Ptolemy Apion (died 96 BC) - son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Made king of Cyrenaica. Bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome.
• Ptolemy of Cyprus (died 58 BC) - son of Ptolemy IX Lathyros. Became king of Cyprus.
• Ptolemy Philadelphus (Cleopatra) (born 36 BC) - son of the Roman general Mark Antony and the Egyptian Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII.
• Ptolemy of Mauretania (reigned 21-40 AD) - grandson of Cleopatra VII. King of Mauretania and an ally of Rome.

Other Ptolemies

• Ptolemy (son of Dorymenes) (circa 66 BC) - soldier in the Seleucid Empire under Lysias.
• Ptolemy (son of Mennaeus) (rule ended circa 40 BC) - governor of Abilene, a district of the disputed region of Coele-Syria.
• Claudius Ptolemaeus (circa 90 AD-circa 168 AD) - also known as Ptolemy, he was an author, geographer, mathematician, astronomer and astrologer who lived in the Greek culture of Roman Egypt. See also: Legacy of Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemaeus Chennus (2nd century AD) - grammarian who lived in the Greek culture of Roman Egypt.
• Ptolemy (gnostic) (circa 180 AD) - a religious philosopher who was active in Roman Italy and Gaul.

Legacy of Claudius Ptolemaeus

• Ptolemaic system - astronomical worldview as described by Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy world map - map of the ancient world as described by Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy's theorem - mathematical theorem described by Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy Cluster - star cluster described by Claudius Ptolemaeus.

Legacy of Ptolemy I Soter

• Ptolemaic period - period of Egyptian history during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
• Ptolemaic dynasty - Egyptian ruling dynasty founded by Ptolemy I Soter.
• Ptolemais - towns and cities named after members of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Other

A non-exhaustive list of later uses of the name Ptolemy includes:

• Ptolemaeus crater on the Moon - named for Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemaeus crater on Mars - named for Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• 4001 Ptolemaeus - an asteroid named for Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy Project - based at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. This project concerns the modeling, simulation, and design of concurrent, real-time, embedded systems. Three generations of software have been produced: Gabriel (1986-1991); Ptolemy Classic (1990-1997); and Ptolemy II (started 1996). The project is named for Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy Project - a project to allow surgeons in Africa to access medical texts in the online library of the University of Toronto, Canada. It started in 2001, and was inspired by the medical library of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy I Soter.
• Tolomeo (the Italian spelling of Ptolemy) - an iconic desk lamp design produced for the Italian company Artimide in 1986.
• Ptolemaic Terrascope - magazine (founded 1989). The name was inspired by "Ptolemy the turtle, who lives at Terrascope Towers". Various artworks and logos feature an astronomer peering through a 'terrascope', so Ptolemaic may here refer to Claudius Ptolemaeus.
• Ptolemy's Gate (published 2005) is the third book in The Bartimaeus Trilogy, a fantasy series by the English author Jonathan Stroud. The series includes a character called Ptolemy, from 2nd century BC Ptolemaic Egypt, who is nephew to Ptolemy VIII and cousin to Ptolemy IX.
• Claudius Ptolemaeus is featured, as a wizard called Ptolemy, on a magical collectible card in the fictional Harry Potter universe.
• The Ptolemy (1934) - a large reed organ built by the American composer Harry Partch. This may have been named in tribute to Claudius Ptolemaeus, who summarized the musical work of philosophers like Pythagorus.
• Tolomeo (the Italian spelling of Ptolemy) - an opera by Handel, composed in 1728. It is set in Egypt around 108 BC, when Ptolemy IX Lathyros deposed his mother and joint ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra III, for his younger brother, who reigned as Ptolemy X Alexander I.

• Disambiguation pages
• Disambiguation pages with (qualified) titles