History This Latin inscription regarding Tiberius Claudius Balbilus of Rome (d. c. AD 79) mentions the ALEXANDRINA BYBLIOTHECE (line eight). Although it was arguably one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world, details about it are a mixture of history and legend.[12] The librarys main purpose was to show off the wealth of Egypt, with research as a lesser goal,[13] but the librarys contents were used to aid the ruler of Egypt.[12] According to the earliest source of information, the pseudepigraphic Letter of Aristeas composed between c180 and 145 BC,[13] the library was initially organized by Demetrius of Phaleron,[14] a student of Aristotle, under the reign of Ptolemy I Soter (c.367 BC—c.283 BC). Other sources claim it was instead created under the reign of his son Ptolemy II (283–246 BC).[15] The Library was built in the Brucheion (Royal Quarter) in the style of Aristotles Lyceum, adjacent to (and in service of) the Musaeum (a Greek Temple or House of Muses, whence the term museum).[16] The Library at Alexandria was in charge of collecting all the worlds knowledge, and most of the staff was occupied with the task of translating works onto papyrus paper.[12] It did so through an aggressive and well-funded royal mandate involving trips to the book fairs of Rhodes and Athens.[17] According to Galen, any books found on ships that came into port were taken to the library,[15] and were listed as books of the ships.[18] Official scribes then copied these writings; the originals were kept in the library, and the copies delivered to the owners.[18] Other than collecting works from the past, the library served as home to a host of international scholars, well-patronized by the Ptolemaic dynasty with travel, lodging, and stipends for their whole families.[11] According to Galen, Ptolemy III requested permission from the Athenians to borrow the original scripts of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, for which the Athenians demanded the enormous amount of fifteen talents (1,000 lbs./450 kg) of a precious metal as guarantee. Ptolemy III happily paid the fee but kept the original scripts for the library.[19] This story may also be construed erroneously to show the power of Alexandria over Athens during the Ptolemaic dynasty. This detail is due to the fact that Alexandria was a man-made bidirectional port between the mainland and the Pharos island, welcoming trade from the East and West, and soon found itself to be an international hub for trade, the leading producer of papyrus and, soon enough, books.[20] The editors at the Library of Alexandria are especially well known for their work on Homeric texts. The more famous editors generally also held the title of head librarian. These included Zenodotus, Apollonius of Rhodes, Eratosthenes, Aristophanes of Byzantium, and Aristarchus of Samothrace, among others.[21] (While Callimachus—the first bibliographer and developer of the Pinakes, popularly considered to be the first library catalog—did his most famous work at the Library of Alexandria, he was never the head librarian there.[22]) In the early 2nd century BC scholars began to abandon Alexandria for safer areas with more generous patronage, and in 145 BC Ptolemy VIII expelled all foreign scholars from Alexandria.[23]
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 22:42:46 +0000
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