Patrocles (geographer)

For other uses ,see Patrocles

Patrocles (Greek: Template:Polytonic) (active c. 312 -270 B.C.) was a Macedonian general and writer on geographical subjects. He served Seleucus and Antiochus, apparently for several decades, and explored the Caspian Sea caming to the conclusion that the Caspian was a gulf or inlet, and that it was possible to enter it by sea from the Indian Ocean. The only information as to his work (even the title is unknown) is derived from Strabo. As a military, Patrocles was a skilled engineer, and at one point managed to defend Babylonia for Seleucus against Demetrius Poliorcetes by flooding the irrigation canals.

After the death of Seleucus, Patrocles was sent by his successor Antiochus to put down a revolt in Asia Minor, but there his forces were defeated in an engagement with the Bithynians.

References

• http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Patrocles
• The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought: Geography, Exploration, and Fiction Page 97 By James S. Romm ISBN 0691037884