Claudius Ptolemaeus (c.90-c.168), also known as Ptolemy, was an astronomer who lived in the Greek culture of Roman Egypt. The geocentric (Earth-centred) Ptolemaic system in his 'Almagest' documented previous Greek thought, and dominated Western science for over a thousand years. Across top is Ptolemy's name, his location (Alexandria, Egypt) and his profession (mathematician). At bottom is a Latin couplet. This portrait is from an edition of 'Icones sive Imagines Virorum Literis Illustrium' (first published 1587) by Nikolaus Reusner (1545-1602), with woodcut portraits by Tobias Stimmer (1539-1584).