Ancient Greek mathematicians

Maps, a scale model of the real world, are an important tool in geography. Maps can be considered as a reference tool and a communication tool. Maps were first drawn to assist with navigation. Aristotle determined that the Earth was a sphere. He noticed that the Earth?s shadow is a circle during an eclipse. Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word geography. He created the first correctly prepared world map. Ptolemy, writer of an eight volume ?Guide to Geography?, improved map-making that could not be changed for more than a thousand years. Little progress occurred after Ptolemy until the seventh century, when Bernhardus Varenius created a map which stood as the standard for almost a century.