GEOGRAPHER

Life
Timosthenes travelled widely on the orders of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, whose "Captain-in-Chief" (Admiral) he was. He studied the works of all the great philosophers and geographers of the ancient world: Aristotle, Dicaearchus, Eudoxus, Ephorus, Cleon. He is cited by Agathemerus, and commentaries on his writings are found in Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Marcian and Strabo, who notes that "Timosthenes sailed around the Tyrrhenian Sea". Fragments of his writings survive in the works of other authors.


Work
His principal works are:

"On harbours": 10 books. Lost. This work was criticised by Eratosthenes, Hipparchus and Strabo.

"On islands": Contains descriptions of several islands, including Cyprus, Thera, Sicily, Cephallonia, Hecatonesus (group of islands between Lesbos and the Asian mainland).

"Charts of distances - A Guide": Timosthenes was considered an authority on the winds, and he drew many charts and diagrams of the winds on the basis of Aristotle's "Meteorologica", adding 2 more to the 10 described by Aristotle. He always placed Rhodes at the centre of his charts, a practice that was continued by those who came after him.