Which Greek philosopher coined the term 'Geography' in the 3rd century B.C.E. 7

The term 'Geography' was first coined by Eratosthenes of Cyrene, a Greek scholar who lived between 276 and 194 BCE [1]. He is widely regarded as the 'Father of Geography' for this contribution. The word is derived from the Greek roots 'geo' (earth) and 'graphos' (description), literally meaning 'description of the earth' [1]. Eratosthenes used the term as the title for his three-volume work, 'Geographica', in the 3rd century BCE. Beyond coining the term, he was a polymath who served as the head of the Library of Alexandria and is famous for being the first to calculate the Earth's circumference using geometry. While other Greek thinkers like Aristotle and Pythagoras contributed to the idea of a spherical Earth, Eratosthenes established geography as a distinct scientific discipline [2].

Sources

1. [1] FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Geography as a Discipline > GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE > p. 2
2. [2] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 2: The Solar System > Explanation: > p. 21