Conon of Samos

Life and work

Conon, a native of Samos, likely ended his days in Alexandria as the court astronomer for Ptolemy III Euergetes. He is credited with inventing the constellation Coma Berenices, or "Berenice's Hair," after the queen sacrificed her locks to ensure her husband's safe homecoming from the Third Syrian War. When the hair vanished, Conon claimed a goddess had set it among the stars as a sign of favor. This designation was not universally accepted; Ptolemy’s Almagest omits it as a separate constellation, though it does credit Conon with several seasonal weather markers.

A friend of Archimedes, Conon probably met him in Alexandria. His seven-volume work De astrologia contained solar eclipse records. Seneca called Conon a careful observer who noted Egyptian eclipse data, though modern scholars question this.

The poet Catullus praised Conon for mapping the stars, tracking their risings and settings, and explaining solar dimming and stellar retreats. Pappus claimed that the spiral now attributed to Archimedes was actually Conon’s discovery. Apollonius of Perga stated that Conon studied conic sections, forming the basis for the fourth book of Apollonius’ Conics. Apollonius also noted that Conon sent flawed work to Thrasydaeus, but since none of Conon’s writings survive, the truth of that criticism remains unknown.