Eudoxus of Cyzicus: The Ancient Explorer Who Dared to Defy the Map

History is littered with explorers like Bartolomeu Dias, Ibn Battuta, Jeanne Baret, and Pedro Alvares Cabral, men and women who pushed beyond the boundaries of the known world. From Pytheas, who journeyed to the distant northern reaches in search of Thule, to Ferdinand Magellan, who led the first circumnavigation of the globe, the spirit of adventure and the quest for discovery has been a defining goal for millennia.

Into this rarified group steps Eudoxus of Cyzicus, one of the first true explorers of the ancient world – a visionary Greek navigator who dared to defy the map when most believed the edges of the world were impassable. His attempts to reach India by sea and to circumnavigate Africa pushed the boundaries of ancient geography to new limits.

So who was Eudoxus – sometimes spelled in the Greek form Eudoxos – the navigator? Did he find a new, uncharted route to India? Was he the first person to circumnavigate Africa, a challenge so dangerous it was sixteen centuries before anyone seemingly dared try again?

This is the astonishing story of Eudoxus of Cyzicus, one of the world’s greatest adventurers.

As a starting point, the one thing we do know about Eudoxus is that he was an ancient Greek explorer. Beyond that however, ancient sources provide almost no information about his upbringing, family background, or education. Most of what’s recorded about Eudoxus focuses on his remarkable voyages and his service under Ptolemy VIII in Alexandria, where he first came to prominence as a navigator and explorer.

The lack of detail about his formative years is typical for figures from this period, especially those whose fame rests primarily on their achievements rather than on personal histories. As a result, the early life of Eudoxus of Cyzicus remains a mystery, with historians relying on later accounts of his explorations and the impact he had on maritime trade and navigation.

It’s also worth noting that almost everything we know about Eudoxus’ voyage to Africa and his earlier journeys to India comes primarily from the writings of Greek polymath Poseidonius, which were later reported by Greek geographer Strabo in his encyclopedia Geographica. These accounts were not contemporary with Eudoxus himself – Poseidonius probably lived about fifty years after Eudoxus, and Strabo wrote even later, in the late first century BC or early first century AD.

Therefore, the surviving stories about the voyages of Eudoxus of Cyzicus were written after his death, relying on secondhand reports and oral traditions rather than direct, eyewitness testimony. This temporal gap is one reason why some modern scholars remain sceptical about the accuracy of such stories surrounding his travels.

Where was Cyzicus?

In antiquity, Cyzicus was a prominent Greek city located on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of Mysia in Asia Minor. Today, its ruins can be found near the modern town of Balıkesir in northwestern Turkey, on the Kapıdağ Peninsula. The site, once a thriving centre of trade and culture, is now an archaeological area known for its impressive ancient remains.

Around the late 120s or early 110s BC, Eudoxus was sent from Greece to Alexandria in Egypt as a herald for festivals held in honour of Persephone, the mythical daughter of Zeus. It was a role typically reserved for educated, well-known and respected citizens, and as herald, Eudoxus came to the attention of the Egyptian king Ptolemy VIII Euergetes.

The First Journey to India

Under the king’s patronage, the career of this famous ancient Greek explorer began, and in approximately 118 BC, guided by a shipwrecked Indian sailor, Eudoxus of Cyzicus set off on two pioneering voyages across the Arabian Sea to India. He successfully reached Indian ports and returned laden with valuable cargo, including aromatics and gemstones. When he showed the king the riches from these exotic faraway lands, the monarch promptly took them for himself.

The Second Journey to India

Undeterred, he set out again – probably around 116 BC – without a guide, instead relying on his navigational skill. By this time, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes had died, so the trip was organised by his widow Queen Cleopatra III. Eudoxos the navigator thus reached India for a second time, marking him as one of the first Greeks to master the direct maritime route across the Arabian Sea, a feat previously thought impossible.

On the return journey, Eudoxus was shipwrecked somewhere in modern-day East Africa, most likely around the Somali Peninsula, known as the Horn of Africa. When he eventually arrived back in Alexandria, Ptolemy IX was on the throne, so this would be sometime before 107 BC. Again, everything he brought back from India was taken by the king.

The story goes that while he was stranded along the East African coast, Eudoxos came across a shipwreck which, according to natives, was from Gades (modern-day Cádiz, a port city in Andalucia in southwestern Spain) and had sailed around the coast of Africa. This was an act that directly challenged contemporary maps which treated Africa as an impassable landmass.

Intrigued by the idea of being one of the first to circumnavigate Africa, the intrepid Greek navigator returned to Cyzicus, sold everything he owned to finance the expedition, then journeyed to Gades and fitted out three ships.

The First Attempt

Setting sail from Gades, Eudoxus’ voyage to Africa started well and the ships made their way down the continent’s western coast, past Morocco and the Western Sahara. They landed in Mauritania where Eudoxus attempted to get patronage from King Bocchus I to finance his onward journey. When Bocchus refused, Eudoxus had no choice but to go back to Gades.

The Second – And Final – Attempt

It’s likely that Eudoxus of Cyzicus embarked on his second attempt to circumnavigate Africa sometime between 115 BC and 102 BC. After his initial voyage was thwarted and he was forced to return to Gades, Eudoxus was undeterred. Driven by determination – or perhaps desperation – he prepared once more and set sail along the uncharted western coast of Africa. Yet the historical record grows silent from that point onward. No definitive account marks his progress, no report heralds his return. Eudoxus vanished without a trace, swallowed by the vast unknown. His fate remains one of antiquity’s most haunting maritime enigmas. By 100 BC, Poseidonius – the last eyewitness at Gades – reported that Eudoxus hadn’t returned.

Most scholars believe this legendary ancient Greek explorer perished during this voyage, likely succumbing to the immense challenges of navigating Africa’s uncharted southern coasts. The vast distances, treacherous currents, and lack of resupply points would have made sustained progress nearly impossible for ancient ships. While some ancient writers, such as Pliny the Elder, speculated that he may have succeeded on his quest, modern historians dismiss this due to the lack of corroborating evidence and the fact that Africa’s true scale was unknown at the time.

His disappearance marked the end of documented attempts to circumnavigate Africa until the Age of Exploration in the 1500s.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding his later life, Eudoxus’s legacy is profound. He paved the way for more regular maritime trade between the Mediterranean and India, and his daring challenges to established geography inspired future generations of ancient and modern explorers.