Abstract
Thirty years were all that were needed to change Ptolemy’s negative image as a counterfeiting eclectic into a positive one. During the time when Jacob Burckhardt’s cultural history of Greece exerted its greatest influence, the results of the intensive, historical grappling with ancient astronomy cast doubt on the dominant interpretation of Delambre. The manuscripts that were handed down from the works of Ptolemy, Hipparchus, Geminos, Proclus, Aristarchus, Archimedes and Eratosthenes were published in critical editions, valid even today, whose quality such names as Manitius, Heath, Maass and Boll can vouch for.
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References
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Graßhoff, G. (1990). The Rehabilitation of Ptolemy. In: The History of Ptolemy’s Star Catalogue. Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, vol 14. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4468-4_4
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