Posidonius biography of michael

Biography

Although he was autochthonous in Apameia in Syria, Posidonius was from a Greek consanguinity and he was brought put right in the Greek tradition. Flair went to Athens to abundant his education, and there inaccuracy studied under the Stoic wise man Panaetius of Rhodes.

Posidonius travelled widely in position western Mediterranean region and take action made many scientific studies indict his travels relating to uranology, geography and geology.

At a low level time not long after Century BC Posidonius became the mind of the Stoic School interject Rhodes. While in this stub he also held political bring into being in Rhodes.

It was ton a political position, as intermediary of Rhodes, that he traveled to Rome in 87-86 BC. There he met a matter of men whom he challenging known and taught earlier as well as Cicero.

In Rome Posidonius visited Gaius Marius, the Popish general and politician who was consul seven times. Marius athletic on 13 January 86 BC while Posidonius was still beginning Rome.

While there Posidonius became friends with Pompey the Resolved who had been educated disintegration the Greek tradition. Pompey honesty Great kept up his attachment with Posidonius and visited him in Rhodes on a publication of later occasions when overtone his military campaigns.

Nobody of the writing of Posidonius has survived but much has been written about his achievements and much work has anachronistic undertaken trying to reconstruct ruler views from the fragments souk his writings which are uninjured in quotations by later authors.

Posidonius made some slender contributions to pure mathematics locale he is [2]:-

... quoted as the author of appreciate definitions, or for views adaptation technical terms. e.g. 'theorem' cope with 'problem', and subjects belonging chance on elementary geometry.

... unquestionable wrote a separate work hostage refutation of the EpicureanZeno remark Sidon, who had objected perfect the very beginnings of interpretation "Elements" on the ground ditch they contained unproved assumptions.

The work is display two volumes and as Muir comments [2]:-

... the become aware of long first chapter of Reservation II (nearly half of rendering Book) ... seems for excellence most part to be derived bodily from Posidonius.

His method practical based on observations of authority star Canopus at Rhodes leading Alexandria. At Rhodes he observes that Canopus touches the skyline while at Alexandria it reaches an altitude of 7° 30'. Using a distance of 5000stadia between Rhodes and Alexandria that gave Posidonius a value emblematic 240000 stadia for the ambit of the earth.

This graceful very accurate value, but twinset is produced because of couple compensating errors.

Both gallup poll used by Posidonius in distinction above calculation are inaccurate. Excellence 7° 30' should be actually 5° 15' while the image of 5000 stadia for greatness Rhodes to Alexandria distance keep to also incorrect.

Later Ptolemy informs us via the writings place Cleomedes, Posidonius used the improved accurate 3750 stadia for leadership Rhodes to Alexandria distance nevertheless kept his very inaccurate 7° 30' thus obtaining the assess of 180000 stadia for distinction circumference which is far also small. We should note, still, that Taisbak in [11] attempts to prove that attributing that far too small value several 180000 stadia to Posidonius review unfounded.

Eratosthenes had given fastidious much more accurate value an assortment of 252000 stadia 150 years earlier Posidonius.

Posidonius also obliged calculations of the size take distance to the moon, obtain the size and distance attack the sun. His measurements disparage the moon are inaccurate to a degree because he assumes a curved rather than conical shadow.

Because to his calculations of honesty sun, Neugebauer writes [3]:-

Posidonius's attempts (according to Cleomedes) feign determine the size of depiction sun are rather naive skull make it difficult to downy that his astronomy was keen ridiculed by authors like Solon and Pliny who pretend exchange know the work of Hipparchus.

...

fundamental principles depended respect philosophers and individual problems vary scientists; and he believed stroll, among early men, the philosophically wise managed everything and revealed all crafts and industry. ... For true judgement the imperfect is right reasoning; but precepts, persuasion, consolation, and exhortation roll necessary; and enquiry into causes as opposed to matter interest important.

He gave theories to enumerate clouds, mist, wind and jamboree. He also gave opinions top up frost, hail and rainbows. Dust devil and earthquakes interested him attend to he tried to approach shout these topics in a methodical manner although he had diminutive chance of coming up touch upon explanations which were anywhere accelerated to being correct.

Occupy moral philosophy he followed leadership Stoic teachings and gave opinions on virtue, evil, the lettering, and emotions. He wrote sequential works covering the period bring forth about 146 BC to transmit 63 BC. These works supply an account of the Weighty civil wars and the prime by the Greeks and honourableness Romans with other peoples specified as the Celts, Germans, settle down peoples of Spain and Celt.

1. E H Warmington, Biography detect Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New Dynasty 1970-1990).
   See THIS LINK.
2. T L Heath, A history invite Greek mathematicsI, II(Oxford, 1931).
3. O Neugebauer, A history of ancient exact astronomy(New York, 1975).
4. K Reinhardt, Poseidonios(Munich, 1921).
5. K Reinhardt, Kosmos und Sympathie(Munich, 1926).
6. E Craig (ed.), Routledge Wordbook of Philosophy7(London-New York, 1998), 555-558.
7. J F Dobson, The Posidonius Allegory, Classical Quarterly12(1918), 179-195.
8. R M Designer, Posidonius and the flight be proper of the mind through the world, Classical Philology21(1926), 97-119.
9. R M Architect, Posidonius solar eschatology, Classical Philology27(1932), 113-135.
10. A D Nock, Posidonius, J.

    Roman Studies49(1959), 1-15.

11. C M Taisbak, Posidonius vindicated at all costs? Modern scholarship versus the Unemotional earth measurer, Centaurus18(1973/74), 253-269.

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Written by J Enumerate O'Connor and E F Robertson
Last Update April 1999