Eudoxus of Cyzicus - Biography of Ancient Greek Explorer

Eudoxus of Cyzicus us an ancient Greek explorer and sea navigator that is remembered by historical writings as one of the first sailors who managed to make successful trips between Arabian and Indian ports, explore Arabian Sea under contract from Ptolemy VIII king, the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, and for his 2nd century BC attempt to circumnavigate the continent of Africa.

Very little is known about the life of Eudoxus of Cyzicus, except from the records in several ancient documents written by Greek historian Posidonius and several other sources. According to such records which are viewed as credible by modern historians and scholars, Eudoxus first traveled the monsoon wind system of the Indian Ocean after he heard of this new way of sailing by the shipwrecked Indian sailor that was brought to the court of the Ptolemy VIII in Alexandria. Using his help, Eudoxus of Cyzicus made his first journey to India in 118BC, and another in 116BC which he managed without the help of Indian guides. On his first journey he managed to bring back cargo of precious stones and aromatics, while the cargo of his second journey remains unknown.

However, his return home from 2nd journey from India proved to be very eventful. After strong wind pushed him all the way to the coast of Eastern Africa, he managed to find there a wreck of a ship of a peculiar design. He tried to find out which nation have managed to build such a ship and came to conclusion that this was a vessel made by the territory of Gades, which is located in today’s Cádiz in Spain. This discovery led him to believe that circumnavigation of Africa is possible. He organized new expedition on his own, but the large distance and bad weather forced him to return back to Europe. After reorganizing, he tried to achieve his goal again, but he was never heard from again. Most historian agree that he most likely died on his journey.