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rebuilding the library of alexandria

431,931 просмотров • 2 лет назад •via X (Twitter)

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The ancient Library of Alexandria was one of the greatest human achievements in antiquity. It was a vast collection of knowledge from countless and varied sources and contained tens or possibly even hundreds of thousands of scrolls. For this reason, the destruction of the library has been a subject of keen interest by many lovers of knowledge. It is often regarded as a great tragedy. But who actually burned the Library of Alexandria?... Firstly, let us establish an understanding of what exactly the Library of Alexandria really was. It was part of a large center of learning in Egypt in the city of Alexandria, called the Mouseion. It was built during the Ptolemaic period of Egypt. This was a time during which a Greek dynasty ruled over the country (Hellenistic Era). The library may have been built during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in mid-3rd Century BC. It quickly acquired many scrolls from all sorts of sources. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt supported it directly, due to the ancient Greek love of knowledge. The Library of Alexandria grew to enormous proportions. At its height, it allegedly held anywhere between forty thousand to four hundred thousand scrolls. It was perhaps the greatest center of learning in the ancient world. Nonetheless, the library is no longer in existence but was famously burned. The question that remains is who was responsible for this. Numerous dramatic events took place during the reign of Julius Caesar. Therefore, it should be no surprise that he had a hand in the burning of Library of Alexandria. At one point during his war against Ptolemy XIII, the Greek forces surrounded him in Alexandria, both by land and by sea. To escape, Caesar set fire to the enemy fleet in the harbor of the city. This strategy worked, but the fire also spread to the city itself, causing the Library of Alexandria to burn down too. According to Plutarch, a Greek historian from 1st Century AD: "Caesar was forced to repel the danger by using fire, which spread from the dockyards and destroyed the Great Library" Thus, it appears straight-forward enough that Julius Caesar burned down the Library of Alexandria. This occurred in 48 BC. However, things are not quite that simple. Some scholars believe that there is evidence the Library of Alexandria still existed even after Caesar allegedly unintentionally set it on fire. Strabo, in the later 1st Century BC, visited Alexandria. In his writings, he describes a visit to the Mouseion. According to some scholars, this is evidence that the library, which was part of the Mouseion, still existed. Other scholars note that Strabo never actually mentions the existence of the library in his day. In fact, his words apparently imply that it was no longer even a thing. Other scholars also try to refute this by pointing to the fact that Mark Antony allegedly gifted two hundred thousand scrolls to Cleopatra. This was after Caesar had burned Library of Alexandria. The logic goes that this must mean that library still actually existed. Otherwise, where would Cleopatra house all those scrolls? In fact, some experts believe this gift was likely to replenish the library’s collection after many of scrolls had been burned in 48 BC. However, this argument ignores the fact that there was a ‘daughter library’ elsewhere in Alexandria. This was called the Serapeum. It was actually a temple, but it was also used as an overflow for the main Library of Alexandria. Therefore, when Mark Antony gifted so many scrolls to Cleopatra, they could have been placed in Serapeum. This also potentially explains away another argument used in favor of Library of Alexandria still existing after Caesar’s time. A scholar named Didymus Chalcenterus lived in late 1st Century BC in Alexandria. He was a very prolific writer, allegedly producing thousands of works. Some scholars argue that he must have had access to library’s resources to be able to do so. 🎥© scenesofthepast (IG) #archaeohistories

Archaeo - Histories

11,090 просмотров • 5 месяцев назад