Eudoxus of Cyzicus
Eudoxus of Cyzicus | |
|---|---|
Εὔδοξος ὁ Κυζικηνός | |
| Born | fl. c. 130 BC Cyzicus, Ancient Greece |
| Died | Unknown |
| Occupation | Navigator |
| Known for | Voyages to India, African circumnavigation attempt |
Eudoxus of Cyzicus (/ˈjuːdəksəs/; Greek: Εὔδοξος ὁ Κυζικηνός, Eúdoxos ho Kyzikēnós; fl. c. 130 BC) was a Greek navigator who explored the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean under the service of Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.[1]
Voyages to India
[change | change source]According to Poseidonius, as later reported in Strabo's Geography,[2] Eudoxus of Cyzicus was one of the first Greek navigators to sail across the Indian Ocean using the monsoon wind system. The first of his two voyages to India took place in 118 BC and was guided by an Indian sailor who had been rescued in the Red Sea and taken to Ptolemy VIII in Alexandria. Eudoxus returned with a cargo of aromatics and precious stones, prompting a second voyage in 116 BC, this time without a guide.
Strabo, the main surviving source of Eudoxus's voyages, was skeptical about the story. However, modern scholarship generally considers it credible as it aligns with the known maritime trade activities between the Greeks and the Indian subcontinent during the period.[3]
African Circumnavigation Attempts
[change | change source]While returning from his second voyage to India, Eudoxus was blown off course south of the Gulf of Aden and along the coast of Africa. There, he reportedly found the remains of a ship that he believed had sailed from Gades (modern-day Cádiz, Spain) around the southern coast of Africa. This discovery inspired Eudoxus to attempt a circumnavigation of Africa himself. Starting from Gades, he sailed down the African coast, but the journey proved too difficult, and he was forced to return to Egypt.[4]
Legacy
[change | change source]Eudoxus of Cyzicus is remembered for his pioneering explorations of the Indian Ocean and his ambitious, though ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to circumnavigate Africa. His voyages contributed to the early understanding of the monsoon wind systems and facilitated Greek and Roman trade with India.
Related pages
[change | change source]- Hippalus
- Ptolemaic Kingdom
- Monsoon
- Indian Ocean trade
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book II Chapter 3". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
{{cite web}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 41 (help) - ↑ Strabo (1917). Geography. Vol. 2. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- ↑ Warmington, Eric Herbert (1928). The Commerce Between the Roman Empire and India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 47–49.
- ↑ Ball, Warwick (2002). Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire. Routledge. p. 196.