Sosigenes ( grc-gre, Σωσιγένης) was an ancient astronomer. According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

's '' Natural History'' 18.210–212,

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

consulted him while he was designing the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

Biography

Little is known about him apart from Pliny's '' Natural History''. Sosigenes appears in Book 18, 210-212: :... There were three main schools, the Chaldaean, the Egyptian, and the Greek; and to these a fourth was added in our country by Caesar during his dictatorship, who with the assistance of the learned astronomer Sosigenes (''Sosigene perito scientiae eius adhibito'') brought the separate years back into conformity with the course of the sun. Sosigenes is credited with work on the orbit of Mercury, which is described by Pliny in Book 2, chapter 6, of his ''Natural History'': :The star next to

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

is Mercury, by some called

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

; it has a similar orbit, but is by no means similar in magnitude or power. It travels in a lower circle, with a

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

nine days quicker, shining sometimes before sunrise and sometimes after sunset, but according to Cidenas and Sosigenes never more than 22 degrees away from the sun. The introduction of the Julian year occurred in 46 BC. This particular year lasted 445 days in Rome to correct the erroneous old

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the dictator Julius Caesar and emperor Augustus in the late 1stcenturyBC and some ...

Cultural depiction

Since the 18th century, the classicists have added to the name of Sosigenes, to distinguish it from others, the origin: "of Alexandria". However, no ancient source calls him that, or indicates that he was an Alexandrian. The misattribution may be due to the fusion of two pieces of news about the reform of the Roman calendar at the initiative of Julius Caesar, namely: the indication by

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

and

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

that the reform was based on "Egyptian teachings" together with the news from Pliny that Sosigenes was one of the experts consulted by Caesar for the adaptation of the calendar. The oldest mention of Sosigenes of Alexandria appears in the work of Le Fèvre de Morsan, entitled: ''Des Moeurs et des Usages des Romains'', published in 1739.https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/search?q=Sosigenes Sosigenes was portrayed by

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman an ...

in the 1963 movie ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

''. This portrayal is heavily fictionalized: he serves as

's tutor/adviser and later her envoy to Rome. He is ultimately murdered in the Forum by

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, commencing his war against Egypt. None of these events are present in historical record and were invented for the film.

References

* {{Authority control Ancient Greek astronomers Julian calendar Ancient Alexandrians

Biography

Cultural depiction

See also

References