Eratosthenes

E196028

Eratosthenes was an ancient Greek polymath best known for remarkably accurately calculating the Earth's circumference and for devising the sieve method for finding prime numbers.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Greek mathematician
astronomer
geographer
human
librarian
poet
polymath
areaOfInfluence Mediterranean world
canonized as a foundational figure in geography and number theory
countryOfCitizenship Ancient Greece
linked to: Greek Antiquity
dateOfBirth c. 276 BC
dateOfDeath c. 194 BC
describedAs Beta
second only to the greatest scholars of his time
educatedAt Athens
employer Library of Alexandria
estimatedValue Earth's circumference close to modern value
ethnicGroup Greek
fieldOfWork astronomy
chronology
geography
literary criticism
mathematics
influenced development of number theory
later geographers
later mathematicians
influencedBy Greek mathematical tradition
knownFor calculation of the Earth's circumference
creation of one of the earliest maps of the known world
early use of parallels and meridians in geography
invention of the Sieve of Eratosthenes
work on the chronology of Greek history
languageOfWorkOrName Ancient Greek
memberOf intellectual community of Alexandria
nativeLanguage Ancient Greek
notableIdea systematic sieve for finding prime numbers
use of a prime sieve up to a given limit
notableWork On the Measurement of the Earth
Sieve of Eratosthenes
linked to: Eratosthenes spiral
placeOfBirth Cyrenaica
Cyrene
Libya
linked to: Tripolitania
placeOfDeath Alexandria
positionHeld chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria
sexOrGender male
timePeriod Hellenistic period
usedMethod geometric reasoning to estimate Earth's circumference
measurement of sun angles at Syene and Alexandria

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hellenistic period notableFigure Eratosthenes
Syene usedBy Greek geographer Eratosthenes
linked to: Eratosthenes
Kyrenaikē hasNotableInhabitant Eratosthenes of Cyrene
subject linked to: Kyrenaïkē
linked to: Eratosthenes
Strabo influencedBy Eratosthenes
Mouseion of Alexandria notableScholar Eratosthenes
subject linked to: Mouseion
Eratosthenes spiral namedAfter Eratosthenes of Cyrene
linked to: Eratosthenes