How are words like Ptolemy and Gnaeus pronounced? Thanks.
How are they pronounced in English, is that your question? The initial letter is silent in both cases, just as it is in words such as “gnarled” and “ptomaine”.
Or how are they pronounced in Latin? In that case I believe the convention is to sound the G in Gnaeus, which is a Roman name, but not the P in Ptolemaeus, which is a Greek name.