File:Posidonio,_replica_augustea_(23_ac.-14_dc_ca)_da_originale_del_100-50_ac._ca._6142.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Posidonius
Sign in to saveAlso known as Poseidonios, Posidonius of Apamea
Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" () or "of Rhodes" () (), was a Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea, Syria. He was considered the most learned man of his time and, possibly, of the entire Stoic school. After a period learning Stoic philosophy from Panaetius in Athens, he spent many years in travel and scientific researches in Spain, Africa, Italy, Gaul, Liguria, Sicily and on the eastern shores of the Adriatic. He settled as a teacher at Rhodes where his fame attracted numerous scholars. Next to Panaetius he di
OverviewAI-generated
Posidonius, also known as Posidonius of Apamea or of Rhodes, was a male mathematician, astronomer, historian, and philosopher active during the Hellenistic period. Born in Apamea around 135 BCE, he died in Rome in 51 BCE. He wrote in Ancient Greek and was associated with the Stoic movement. His native name was Ποσειδώνιος.
He studied under Panaetius, who also influenced his work, and taught Athenodoros Cananites. Posidonius’s field of work included philosophy, ancient Greek philosophy, and Stoicism. He authored nine works, including Hapanta and various fragment collections such as Posidonii Rhodii Reliquiae. His writings have been described in sources including the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition.
Synthesized by Vinony from 24 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Open Library. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- ca. 135 BC
- Died
- 51 BC
- Works
- 9
Top works
- Hapanta
- Posidonius (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries)
- Posidonius
- Die Fragmente
- Posidonii Rhodii Reliquiae doctrine, collegit atque illustravit Janus Bake
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key facts
- Philosopher.region
- Western philosophy
- Philosopher.era
- Hellenistic philosophy
- Philosopher.image
- Posidonio, replica augustea (23 ac.-14 dc ca) da originale del 100-50 ac. ca. 6142.JPG
- Philosopher.caption
- Bust of Posidonius from the Naples National Archaeological Museum
- Philosopher.name
- Posidonius
- Philosopher.birth_place
- Apamea Seleucid Empire
- Philosopher.death_date
- (aged 83–84)
- Philosopher.death_place
- Rhodes or Rome
- Philosopher.school_tradition
- Stoicism
- Philosopher.main_interests
- Astronomy, geography, history, mathematics, meteorology, philosophy, physics
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Place of birth
- Apamea
- Place of death
- Rome
- Occupation
- geographer
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Student of
- Panaetius
- Field of work
- ancient Greek philosophy
- Movement
- stoicism
- Image
- Probably Poseidonos Rhodos.jpg
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- Posidonius
- date of death
- 0051-01-01
- date of birth
- 0135-01-01
- time period
- Hellenistic period
- name in native language
- Ποσειδώνιος
- influenced by
- Panaetius
- writing language
- Ancient Greek
- P8168
- Tei
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
- birth name
- Ποσειδώνιος
- P11493
- Beta Pegasi
- significant place
- Apamea
via Wikidata · CC0
~23 min read
Encyclopedic overview
21 sectionsContents
- Life
- Early life and education
- Travels
- Political offices
- The Stoic school on Rhodes
- Partial scope of writings
- Philosophy
- Ethics
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Astronomy and meteorology
- Geography, ethnology, and geology
- Earth's circumference
- History and tactics
- Reputation and influence
- See also
- References
- Editions and translations
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" () or "of Rhodes" () (), was a Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea, Syria. He was considered the most learned man of his time and, possibly, of the entire Stoic school. After a period learning Stoic philosophy from Panaetius in Athens, he spent many years in travel and scientific researches in Spain, Africa, Italy, Gaul, Liguria, Sicily and on the eastern shores of the Adriatic. He settled as a teacher at Rhodes where his fame attracted numerous scholars. Next to Panaetius he did most, by writings and personal lectures, to spread Stoicism to the Roman world, and he became well known to many leading men, including Pompey and Cicero.
His works are now lost, but they proved a mine of information to later writers. The titles and subjects of more than twenty of them are known. In common with other Stoics of the middle period, he displayed syncretic tendencies, following not just the earlier Stoics, but making use of the works of Plato and Aristotle. A polymath as well as a philosopher, he took genuine interest in natural science, geography, natural history, mathematics and astronomy. He sought to determine the distance and magnitude of the Sun, to calculate the diameter of the Earth and the influence of the Moon on the tides.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Posidonius” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.