Sosigenes of Alexandria facts for kids

Sosigenes of Alexandria was a smart astronomer who lived a long time ago, in the 1st century BC. An astronomer is a scientist who studies stars, planets, and everything in space. He was very important because he helped a famous Roman leader, Julius Caesar, create a new and better calendar. This calendar is called the Julian calendar, and it was used for many, many years!

Who Was Sosigenes?

Sosigenes lived in Alexandria, a famous city in ancient Egypt. He was known for his deep knowledge of the stars and planets. Because of his wisdom, powerful people like Julius Caesar asked for his advice. Caesar was a very important Roman general and politician.

Helping Julius Caesar with the Calendar

Julius Caesar wanted to fix the old Roman calendar, which had become very confusing. It didn't match the seasons correctly. So, he asked Sosigenes and other experts for help. Sosigenes used his astronomy skills to design a new calendar. This new calendar, the Julian calendar, started on January 1st, 45 BC. It had 365 days, with an extra day every four years, which we now call a leap year. This made the calendar much more accurate and helped keep track of time better.

Sosigenes' Other Work

Sosigenes also helped Julius Caesar write a book called "De astris," which means "About the Stars." Sadly, only small parts of this book still exist today. Another famous writer, Pliny the Elder, mentioned Sosigenes in his book "Natural History." Pliny wrote that Sosigenes carefully watched the planet Mercury. Sosigenes noticed that Mercury never appeared more than 22 degrees away from the Sun in the sky. This observation showed how skilled he was at watching the planets.

See also

In Spanish: Sosígenes para niños