The Library of Alexandria is one of the most historically significant places of the ancient world. With numerous theories surrounding the library’s founding and its existence and by extension its inevitable demise from the land of Alexandria, it is no wonder that it has remained one of the most fascinating stories of a past civilisation. Founded by the famous Greek conqueror Alexander the Great, the Library of Alexandria was built in the city of its namesake to serve as a place to store the vast knowledge of all the civilisations that Alexander the Great had brought into his fold. The construction of such a colossal sanctuary of knowledge sent shockwaves through the ancient world and resulted in various scholars and intellectuals making the trek to Alexandria so they could engage with similarly brilliant minds while also discovering new veins of knowledge.
Some argue that Alexander, having conquered lands as far as India and Egypt, sought to assimilate the knowledge of the world in tandem with his campaign to conquer all its lands. His campaign also imposed Greek culture on all of his conquered nations, resulting in the melding of multiple cultures. Upon his death, his three generals took up his empire and split it amongst themselves. Ptolemy, who was known as Alexander’s favorite general, took up patronage of the Library of Alexandria. He was a zealous advocate for accumulating the knowledge of the world within the library’s walls, often spending large sums of money to acquire manuscripts and even imposing unorthodox fines where passing ships would have their literature taken as payment.
The Library of Alexandria is thought to have been located in the palace district, having housed almost half a million papyrus scrolls. Demetrius, a pupil of Aristotle, was instrumental to the library’s founding and advised King Ptolomy on where he should invest his funds to ensure the library ran efficiently. The head librarian was thought to have been the famous mathematician Euclid, who is attributed to creating the first rules that govern geometry. Archimedes, the famous mathematician and philosopher responsible for discovering the law of buoyancy, also studied in Alexandria.
There are many theories about how the Library of Alexandria met its demise. One such story is that the library was burnt down when Julius Caesar set fire to a fleet of his enemies and what happened to the library was collateral damage. Another story speaks of the Caliph Omar using the papyrus scrolls as kindle, as some of the content contradicted the teachings of the Koran. Yet another ruler, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus, was attributed with the library’s fall when the last pagan philosopher Hapatia was killed. Theophilus was responsible for the introduction of Christianity into the city and indirectly responsible for the death of Hapatia, who was brutally tortured before being killed by Christian zealots who attacked the Library. However, historical evidence has found that the library most likely wasted away on its own. With the advent of Christianity, many of its tomes of knowledge slowly became both forgotten and obsolete. Though most of its knowledge has been lost in the annals of time, the Library of Alexandria has still contributed to modern-day society. Some of the greatest minds in the world congregated within its walls to dispute and develop many of the theories which are still taught today. Consequently, the library continues to be one of the most profound academic mysteries of the ancient world.
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Published August 31, 2022
Written by Karena Dindial ~ Edited by Jade Thomas ~ Graphics by Anushka
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