The climes (singular ''clime''; also ''clima'', plural ''climata'', from Greek κλίμα ''klima'', plural κλίματα ''klimata'', meaning "inclination" or "slope") in classical

Greco-Roman geography The History of geography includes many history, histories of geography which have differed over time and between different cultural and political groups. In more recent developments, geography has become a distinct academic discipline. 'Geography ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

were the divisions of the inhabited portion of the

spherical Earth Spherical Earth or Earth's curvature refers to the approximation of the figure of the Earth as a sphere. The earliest documented mention of the concept dates from around the 5th century BC, when it appears in the writings of Ancient Greek philos ...

geographic latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the ...

. Starting with

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

(''Meteorology'' 2.5,362a32), the Earth was divided into five zones, assuming two ''frigid'' climes (the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

) around the poles, an uninhabitable ''torrid'' clime near the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

, and two ''temperate'' climes between the frigid and the torrid ones. Different lists of climata were in use in

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

time. Claudius

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

was the first ancient scientist known to have devised the so-called system of seven climes (Almagest 2.12) which, due to his authority, became one of the canonical elements of late antique, medieval European and Arab geography. In

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, the climes for 15 and 18 hours of longest daylight at summer

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

were used to calculate the changing length of daylight through the year. The modern concept of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

and the related term are derived from the historical concept of ''climata''.

Ptolemy

gives a list of parallels, starting with the

, and proceeding north at intervals, chosen so that the longest day (summer

) increases in steps of a quarter of an hour from 12 hours at the equator to 18 hours at 58° N, and then, in larger steps, to 24 hours at the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. But for the purposes of his geographical tables, Ptolemy reduces this list to eleven parallels, dividing the area between the equator and 54°1' N into ten segments, at half-hour intervals reaching from 12 hours to 17 hours. Even later in his work, he reduces this to seven parallels, reaching from 16°27' N (13 hours) to 48°32' N (16 hours). Ptolemy's system of seven climes was primarily adopted in Arabo-Persian astronomy, by authors such as

al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

and

al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

, and eventually by Amīn Rāzī, the author of the 16th-century ''haft iqlīm'' (), while in Europe, Aristotle's system of five climes was more successful. This view dominated in medieval Europe, and existence and inhabitability of the Southern temperate zone, the

antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ea ...

, was a matter of dispute.

Thirty-nine parallels

To identify the parallels delineating his climes, Ptolemy gives a geographical location through which they pass. The following is a list of the 33 parallels between the equator and the polar circle (39 parallels between the equator and the pole)Otto Neugebauer, ''A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy'', (New York: Springer Verlag, 1975), pp. 43–5. of the full system of climes; the reduced system of seven climes is indicated by additional numbers in brackets. Both Ptolemy's latitude estimates and modern values are provided. Ptolemy never considered the

impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a large force or mechanical shock over a short period of time * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Imp ...

of atmospheric refraction on his calculation of the length of the day. If you account for that and for the drift in orbital parameters since Ptolemy's time, his values are remarkably accurate, off by less than 30 arcseconds in most cases. {, class="wikitable" , - ! parallel ! clima ! Ptolemy's latitude ! actual latitude ! longest daylight ! location , - , 1. , , 0° , 0° , 12 hours , (

) , - , 2. , , 4°4' N , 2°14' N , 12:15 ,

Taprobana Taprobana (; ), Trapobana, and Taprobane (, ) was the name by which the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka was known to the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks. Tabrobane is suggested to be derived from Sanskrit "Tamraparni". This name could be a ref ...

(

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

) , - , 3. , , 8°25' N , 6°31' N , 12:30 , Avalites ( Saylac,

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

) , - , 4. , , 12°00' N , 10°42' N , 12:45 , bay of

Adulis Adulis (Sabaic, Sabaean: 𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, , ) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean list of cities in Eritrea, city of Zula. It was the emporium (antiquit ...

(

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

) , - , 5. , I , 16°27' N , 14°46' N , 13:00 , Meroe island , - , 6. , , 20°14' N , 18°39' N , 13:15 , Napaton (

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

) , - , 7. , II , 23°51' N , 22°20' N , 13:30 , Syene (

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

) , - , 8. , , 27°12' N , 25°48' N , 13:45 , Thebes , - , 9. , III , 30°22' N , 29°3' N , 14:00 ,

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

, - , 10. , , 33°18' N , 32°4' N , 14:15 ,

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

, - , 11. , IV , 36°00' N , 34°53' N , 14:30 ,

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, - , 12. , , 38°35' N , 37°29' N , 14:45 ,

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, - , 13. , V , 40°56' N , 39°53' N , 15:00 ,

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

, - , 14. , , 43°04' N , 42°5' N , 15:15 , Massalia (

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

) , - , 15. , VI , 45°01' N , 44°7' N , 15:30 , the middle of the Euxine Sea , - , 16. , , 46°51' N , 45°59' N , 15:45 , Istros (Danube) , - , 17. , VII , 48°32' N , 47°43' N , 16:00 , the mouths of Borysthenes ( Dnepr) , - , 18. , , 50°04' N , 49°18' N , 16:15 , Maeotian Lake (

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

) , - , 19. , , 51°06' N , 50°45' N , 16:30 , the southern shore of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

, - , 20. , , 52°50' N , 52°6' N , 16:45 , mouths of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, - , 21. , , 54°1' N , 53°20' N , 17:00 , mouths of the Tanais river ( Don) , - , 22. , , 55° N , 54°29' N , 17:15 , Brigantion in Britannia , - , 23. , , 56° N , 55°32' N , 17:30 , the middle of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, - , 24. , , 57° N , 56°30' N , 17:45 , Katouraktonion in Britannia , - , 25. , , 58° N , 57°24' N , 18:00 , the southern part of Britannia MinorΜικρὰ Βρεττανία, later the name of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

but by Ptolemy used to refer to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(even though the latitudes given are too far north for the actual location of Ireland). , - , 26. , , 59° N , 59°0' N , 18:30 , the middle part of Britannia Minor , - , 27. , , 61° N , 60°21' N , 19:00 , the northern part of Britannia Minor , - , 28. , , 62° N , 61°30' N , 19:30 , Ebudes island , - , 29. , , 63° N , 62°29' N , 20 hours ,

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

, - , 30. , , 64°30' N , 63°59' N , 21 hours , unknown

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

, - , 31. , , 65°30' N , 64°59' N , 22 hours , , - , 32. , , 66° N , 65°33' N , 23 hours , , - , 33. , , 66°8'40"N , 65°44' N , 24 hours , polar circle , - , , , 69°30' N , 68°48' N , 2 months , , - , , , 78°20' N , 77°27' N , 4 months , , - , 39. , , 90° N , 90° N , 6 months , (

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

) , -

References

Bibliography

* Berggren J.L., Jones A. (2000). ''Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters''. Princeton University Press. 216 p. * Dicks D.R. (1955). "The ΚΛΙΜΑΤΑ in the Greek Geography". ''Classical Quarterly'' 5 (49): 248–255. * Dicks D.R. (1956). "Strabo and the ΚΛΙΜΑΤΑ". ''Classical Quarterly'' 6 (50): 243–247. * Dicks D.R. (1960) ''The Geographical Fragments of Hipparchus''. London: Athlon Press. XI, 214 p. * Diller A. (1934). "Geographical Latitudes in Eratosthenes, Hipparchus and Posidonius". ''Klio'' 27 (3): 258–269. * Honigmann E. (1929). ''Die sieben Klimata und die πολεις επισημοι''. Eine Untersuchung zur Geschichte der Geographie und Astrologie in Altertum und Mittelalter. Heidelberg: Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung. 247 S. * ''The Itinerary of Alexander through the Seven Climes of Antiquity according to the Aljamiado-Morisco Rrekontamiento del rrey Alisandre.'' Santa Barbara, CA. Fifth Annual Middle East Studies Regional Conference. March 22, 2003. * Kubitschek W. (1921). "Klima 2". ''Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft''. Ed. A. F. von Pauly, G. Wissowa et al. Stuttgart. Bd. XI.1: 838–844. * Marcotte D. (1998). "La climatologie d'Ératosthène à Poséidonios: genèse d'une science humaine". G. Argoud, J.Y. Guillaumin (eds.). ''Sciences exactes et sciences appliquées à Alexandrie (IIIe siècle av J.C. – Ier ap J.C.)''. Saint Etienne: Publications de l'Université de Saint Etienne: 263–277. * Neugebauer O. (1975). ''A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy''. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer Verlag: 43–45, 333–336, 725–733. * Shcheglov D.A. (2004/2006). "Ptolemy's System of Seven Climata and Eratosthenes' Geography". ''Geographia Antiqua'' 13: 21–37. * Shcheglov D.A. (2006):
Eratosthenes' Parallel of Rhodes and the History of the System of Climata
. ''Klio'' 88: 351–359. * Szabó Á. (1992). ''Das geozentrische Weltbild. Astronomie, Geographie und Mathematik der Griechen''. München: Dt. TaschenbuchVerlag. 377 S. * Szabó Á., Maula E. (1986). ''Les débuts de l'astronomie de la géographie et de la trigonométrie chez les grecs''. Traduit par M. Federspiel. Paris: Libr. philos. J. Vrin. 238 p.

Ptolemy

Thirty-nine parallels

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading