The tragedy of the Great Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria was one of the ancient world’s most prestigious libraries. So, why did it disappear, and how has humanity suffered as a result?
Image: Ptolemy II Philadelphus talking with Jewish scholars in the library of Alexandria - a painting by Jean Baptiste de Champaigne | Public Domain
In 332 BC, Macedonian king Alexander the Great took over Egypt as he assembled one of the largest empires in history. The following year, he founded the city of Alexandria — named after himself — on the northern Egyptian coast.
Despite arriving from a foreign land, Alexander was welcomed by the Egyptians, who saw him as a hero liberating them from their hated Persian custodians. All the same, Alexander did not take the Egyptians’ affection for granted. Indeed, early Alexandria merged cultural touchstones from Egypt and Alexander’s Greek homeland.
This cosmopolitan approach extended to the establishment of a ‘Great Library’ aimed at luring influential scholars to the city. However, the oft-told story of the library — including its eventual demise — is a mix of history and hearsay.
Trust Sky HISTORY to investigate what made this repository of knowledge so significant — and why no definitive physical traces of the library remain today.
How was Alexandria’s Great Library established?
Like many aspects of the library, its origins are shrouded in mystery. Alexander himself has been credited with envisioning the concept of a ‘universal library’ where books from across the world would be gathered. Such a library would give the city ‘soft power’ by bolstering its reputation and offering resources for Egypt’s rulers.
Alternatively, the idea might have originated with Ptolemy I Sotor, who became pharaoh of Egypt in 304 or 305 BC, after Alexander the Great’s death. According to a letter written in the 2nd century BC, Demetrius of Phalerum — an adviser to Ptolemy — was tasked with sourcing books for the library.
Judging from the sources, it’s possible that the book-gathering stage, at least, did begin during Ptolemy I’s reign. Still, it looks likely that the library was not physically built and opened until the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283-246 BC).
How were books collected for the library?
The above-mentioned ‘Letter of Aristeas’ claims that Demetrius was handed 'a large budget in order to collect, if possible, all the books in the world'. By the time Ptolemy came to the throne, this work was transferred to other agents.
Agents striving to obtain books on the Ptolemaic rulers’ behalf reportedly went to extraordinary lengths to do so. These included travelling to book markets in Athens and Rhodes and taking books found on ships in Alexandria’s harbour.
Where possible, agents sought original texts rather than copies, as the former were assumed to be more in line with the author’s vision. One seemingly common practice was to seize manuscripts, duplicate their contents and subsequently deliver the copies to the original owners.
What was the Library of Alexandria actually like?
Contemporary descriptions of the library are somewhat vague, and do not touch upon its precise layout. Nonetheless, during its heyday, the library is said to have included lecture halls, meeting rooms, gardens and a communal dining room.
In the first century BC, Greek geographer Strabo reported that scholars based at the library were paid handsomely and exempt from paying taxes. Such perks were intended to help the scholars free up more time to spend on academic pursuits.
The list of prestigious scholars who worked at the library is like a who’s who of thought leaders in the third and second centuries BC. For example, there’s the mathematician Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who calculated the earth’s circumference within an astonishing degree of accuracy.
Meanwhile, to make the library’s resources easier to peruse, poet Callimachus created ‘the Pinakes’ — a precursor to the modern library catalogue.
What led to the Library of Alexandria’s demise?
Over the centuries, the library lost patronage from political authorities, whose interests often conflicted with the scholars’ own. Reports suggest that leaders including Julius Caesar may also have inflicted damage to the building in wars.
However, contrary to some stories, it likely perished more due to long-term decline than any single destructive event. All in all, there is no reliable evidence that the library still existed by the 270s AD.
How many books did the library hold at its height? Judging from ancient sources, it was in the tens of thousands. These would have included works from such respected authors as philosopher Plato and historian Herodotus.
Literary pieces by the poets Sophocles, Euripides and Sappho may have been lost forever as the library fell. Scientific tracts from such scribes as Democritus and Anaximander, too, could have failed to see the light of day again.
It is hard to ascertain the exact losses, as duplicates could easily have circulated elsewhere. To learn more about knowledge saved from oblivion, subscribe to the Sky HISTORY Newsletter!
