The myth is that the Library was intentionally burnt. In Alexandria it was papyrus rolls rather than books that were supposedly burnt. The Burning Of The Library: The Evidence Burning of books, in a 15th century illustration. Now, what do ancient texts tell us about the destruction of the Library of Alexandria? If we order by size what they tell us, the number of books was either 40,000 54,800 70,000 200,000 400,000 490,000 or 700,000 books.Īnd by book, one needs to understand it as a papyrus roll. The Library held between 40,000 and 700,000 papyrus rolls, written in Greek.Īncient authors give us vastly different estimates of the number of books the library held. How Many Books Were Held In The Library? Egyptian holding a papyrus roll, surrounded by Osiris and Anubis, via Pushkin Museum. He gave the new copy to the owners, whose books had been brought to him after they sailed there, but he put the original copy in the library.” The books were then copied into new manuscripts. “Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, was so eager to collect books, that he ordered the books of everyone who sailed there to be brought to him. The second explained how books were acquired: “He was asked, ‘How many thousands of books are there in the library?’ “And he replied: ‘More than two hundred thousand, O king, and I shall make an endeavor in the immediate future to gather together the remainder also, so that the total of five hundred thousand may be reached.’” By means of purchase and transcription, he carried out, to the best of his ability, the purpose of the king. “Demetrius of Phalerum, the president of the King’s library, received vast sums of money for the purpose of collecting together, as far as he possibly could, all the books in the world. The oldest is a text written sometime in the 2d century BC. This brings us to the main sources about the books in the Library. This is why, for three centuries, the Pharaohs of Egypt were Greek and why the language written in the Library was Greek. They ruled the country from the new capital, Alexandria. They were the successors of Alexander the Great, who had invaded Egypt, becoming Pharaoh. We do not know the exact date of its creation, but it would have been around 300 BC, ordered by either Ptolemy I or Ptolemy II. The Museum – Library of Alexandria was likely created during his reign, or his successor Ptolemy II. When Was The Library Created? Ptolemy I, successor of Alexander the Great. Since the Museum was funded by Kings, its library was one of the most important in the ancient world. One needs to think of a well-funded scientific institute, concentrating the best scholars of the day. Its members were men of letters, enjoying a generous allowance and free lodging. This meant that the Museum was a religious institution and was the reason why its director was a priest. The Muses were the goddesses of music and poetry. Why call it a Museum? Because it was a shrine to the Muses, called a Mouseion in Greek and a Museum in Latin. Either there was a library inside the Museum or a library building near it. Was It A Museum Or A Library? Pompeii mosaic depicting a group of philosophers, probably Plato in the center, via Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli.Īlthough no ancient source clearly states that the Museum and the Library were the same thing, we assume that they must have been related. The building, part of the Royal Quarter of palaces, was instead called the Museum. Also, note that there isn’t a single mention of a library or books. Disappointingly, this is no actual description of a grand building, only that scholars lived in a place where they could stroll and take their meals together in a large hall.
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