A Fashionable Curiosity: Claudius Ptolemy’s ‘Desire for Knowledge’ in Literary Context

Abstract

This article examines in detail the second-century CE polymath Claudius Ptolemy’s expression of the ‘desire for knowledge’, situating it against a wider backdrop of similar expressions in the Greek textual tradition. I argue that in his expression, Ptolemy creatively alludes to Plato’s Phaedrus, a practice that, surprisingly, here ties his work more closely to contemporary oratory and the ‘novel’ than to generic precursors in the exact sciences. The piece thus demonstrates how an author in the highly formalized genre of mathematics employs specific textual strategies held in common with his wider, contemporary literary culture.

I would like to thank the organizers of the Guangzhou conference for including me in the program, as well as for showing such wonderful hospitality over the course of the conference weekend. Acknowledgements are due, too, to audiences at Stanford and in Philadelphia who heard and commented on earlier versions of the paper. I am especially grateful to Geoffrey Lloyd, Reviel Netz, Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi, Susan Stephens, and the two anonymous referees, all of whom offered comments on earlier drafts that resulted in important clarifications and improvements. All errors of fact and interpretation remain my own.