Dicaearchus

Dicaearchus (c. 300 BC) was a Greek scholar from Messina in Sicily and a pupil of Aristotle. He is often credited as the first to introduce the concept of geographical reference lines which later developed into the more formal meridians and lines of latitude that we now use. He is associated with an east-west line that generally followed the 36º N parallel, which extended from Gibraltar to Rhodes, as well as running through Malta^(a).

In a review of the German edition (Ge) of  Frau’s book, Thorwald C. Franke commented “As a central starting point of his argumentation, Sergio Frau chooses a statement by Dicaearchus. According to Dicaearchus the distance from Cape Maleas to the end of the Adriatic Sea (without giving any number for this distance) is longer than the distance to the “Pillars of Hercules”, given as 10000 stadia. Polybius later corrects this to 22500 stadia (e.g. It 85 / Ge 83 or It 270 / Ge —). Since Dicaearchus gives the distance from Sicily to the “Pillars of Hercules” with 3000 stadia, there is a vast remainder of 7000 stadia which in truth must, of course, be smaller (It 272 f. / Ge —).”^(b)

^(a) http://www.myoldmaps.com/maps-from-antiquity-6200-bc/111-dicaearchus-of-messana/111dicaearchus.pdf

^(b) https://www.atlantis-scout.de/atlantis-sergio-frau-english.htm