Ptolemaic
Ancient Alexandria's astronomy
Ptolemaic describes anything relating to the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt from 323 BCE until Cleopatra's death in 30 BCE, or to the astronomer Ptolemy and his geocentric model of the universe.
The Ptolemaic system placed Earth at the center, with celestial bodies orbiting around it—a model that dominated Western astronomy until Copernicus.
Ptolemaic astronomy now suggests outdated thinking that puts oneself at the center of everything.
Orbits within orbits
- deferentShowing humble respect
- celestial spheresAncient cosmos's rotating layers
- retrogradeMoving in reverse direction
- eccentricUnconventional in character
planetary motion · apogee · perigee · empyrean · heavenly bodies · Aristotelian · geocentrism · Copernican
Egypt's last pharaoh
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- HellenisticOf post-Alexander Greek civilization
- successionFollowing in order
- AlexandriaEgyptian Mediterranean port
Berenice · throne · reign · royal · court · heir · sovereignty · regency
Book collection or building
- SerapeumTemple to Serapis
- lighthouseCoastal beacon tower
- scrollsRolled written records
- papyrusAncient plant-derived writing material
scholarship · Euclid · Eratosthenes · philosophers · harbor · cosmopolitan · Hellenistic · gymnasium
Africa's longest river
- MemphisTennessee city, ancient Egyptian capital
- ThebesAncient city, two locations
- templesHoly places or head sides
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
priests · Rosetta · Egyptology · mummies · sarcophagus · obelisks · Karnak · Luxor
epicycles
Orbits within orbits
- deferentShowing humble respect
- celestial spheresAncient cosmos's rotating layers
- retrogradeMoving in reverse direction
eccentric · planetary motion · apogee · perigee · empyrean · heavenly bodies · Aristotelian · geocentrism · Copernican · heliocentric
Cleopatra
Egypt's last pharaoh
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- HellenisticOf post-Alexander Greek civilization
- successionFollowing in order
Alexandria · Berenice · throne · reign · royal · court · heir · sovereignty · regency · fratricide
library
Book collection or building
- SerapeumTemple to Serapis
- lighthouseCoastal beacon tower
- scrollsRolled written records
papyrus · scholarship · Euclid · Eratosthenes · philosophers · harbor · cosmopolitan · Hellenistic · gymnasium · agora
Nile
Africa's longest river
- MemphisTennessee city, ancient Egyptian capital
- ThebesAncient city, two locations
- templesHoly places or head sides
hieroglyphics · priests · Rosetta · Egyptology · mummies · sarcophagus · obelisks · Karnak · Luxor · Sphinx
PtolemaicCopernican
Sun-centered cosmological view
revolutionary · modern · progressive · empirical · scientific
- Ptolemaic systemEarth as universe's center