GEOGRAPHER

Life
Conon lived mostly in Alexandria, where he was court astronomer to Ptolemy III Euergetes. He succeeded Euclid at the Alexandrian School. Although he is chiefly known as an astronomer and astro-meteorologist, he also worked on many mathematical problems with Archimedes, who had been a student of his. He is cited by Apollonius of Perga and Pappus. He discovered the Spiral of Archimedes, a curve that was used extensively by Archimedes in some of his mathematical investigations. Conon discovered the constellation which he called Coma Berenices ("Berenice's Hair"), thus immortalising Ptolemy's wife, Queen Berenice, and her luxuriant tresses. Callimachus wrote a poem under this title, which was translated into Latin by Catullus.


Work
Conon's principal writings are:

"On astronomy": 7 books. Dedicated to Ptolemy III Euergetes. Contained among other matters some of his own observations on eclipses. Hipparchus based his work on these books. Lost.

"Parapegma": Calendar of meteorological forecasts and of the risings and settings of the stars. Based on observations made in Italy and Sicily at the time of Ptolemy. (It was then that he made the acquaintance of Archimedes.) Lost.

"Conic sections": The fourth book of Apollonius' "Conics" was based on this work.