Ancient Greek grammarian, astronomer, and mathematician
Attalus of Rhodes (
Greek: Ἄτταλος ὁ Ῥόδιος) was an ancient Greek
grammarian,
astronomer, and
mathematician, who lived in
Rhodes in the 2nd century BC, and was a contemporary of
Hipparchus.[1] He wrote a commentary on the Phaenomena of
Aratus.[1][2][3] Although this work is lost,[2] Hipparchus cites him in his Commentary on the Phaenomena of Eudoxus and Aratus.[3] Attalus sought to defend both Aratus and
Eudoxus against criticisms from contemporary astronomers and mathematicians.[1][3]
Book IV of
Apollonius of Perga's Conics is addressed to someone named Attalus, and it has been suggested that this may have been Attalus of Rhodes. However, this is not a good match chronologically, and Attalus was a common name at the time, so the connection is only speculative.[4]