Eudoxus of Cyzicus

Eudoxus of Cyzicus (/ˈjuːdəksəs/ YOO-dək-səs; Greek: Εὔδοξος ὁ Κυζικηνός, romanized: Eúdoxos ho Kyzikēnós; fl.

c. 130 BC) was a Greek navigator who explored the Arabian Sea for Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.

According to Poseidonius, later reported in Strabo's Geography,[1] the monsoon wind system of the Indian Ocean was first sailed by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 118 or 116 BC.

For the Greeks to acquire the expertise of an Indian pilot meant the chance to bypass the Arabian ports and establish direct commercial links with India.

[3] When Eudoxus was returning from his second voyage to India the wind forced him south of the Gulf of Aden and down the coast of Africa for some distance.

Due to its appearance and the story told by the natives, Eudoxus concluded that the ship was from Gades (later Cádiz), in Roman Hispania Baetica, and had sailed south around Africa.