Library of Alexandria

It was only when Alexander dies and Ptolemy I ascended the throne of Egypt that Alexandria became home of the world's first-ever university. Mathematicians and other intellectuals flocked to Ptolemy's city of culture, and although they were certainly drawn by the reputation of the university, the main attraction was the Alexandrian Library.

The Library was the idea of Demetrius Phalaerus, an unpopular orator who had been forced to flee Athens, and who eventually found sanctuary in Alexandria. He persuaded Ptolemy to gather together all the great books, assuring that the great minds would follow. . . .. Even tourists to Alexandria could not escape the voracious appetite of the Library. Upon entering the city, their books were confiscated and taken to the scribes. The books were copied so that while the original was donated to the Library, a duplicate could graciously be given to the original owner. . . . . In 1906 J.L. Heiberg discovered in Constantinople just such a manuscript, "The Method," which contained some of Archimedes' original writings. ~ Page 45

During the centuries between Euclid and Diophantus, Alexandria remained the intellectual capital of the civilized world, but throughout this period the city was continually under threat from foreign armies. The first major attack occurred in 47 B.C., when Julius Ceasar attemptd to overthrow Cleopatra by setting fire to the Alexandrian fleet. The Library, which was located near the harbor, also caught alight, and hundred of thousands of books were destroyed. Fortunately for mathematics Cleopatra appreciated the importance of knowledge and was determined to restore the Library to its former glory. Mark Antony realised that the way to an intellectual's heart is via her library, and so marched to the city of Pergamum. This city had already initiated a library that it hoped would provide it with best collection in the world, but instead Mark Antony transplanted the entire stock to Egypt, restoring the supremacy of Alexandria.

For the next four centuries the Library continued to accumulate books until in A.D., 389 it received the first of two fatal blows, both result of religious bigotry. The Christian Emperor Theodosius order Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, to destroy all pagan monuments. Unfortunately when Cleopatra rebuilt and restocked the Library became caught up in the destruction of icons and altars. The "pagan" scholar attempted to save six centuries' worth of knowledge, but before they could do anything they were butchered by the Christian mob. The descent into the dark Ages had begun.
~ Page 54

There was never anything like he great library and museum before, nor has there been since: the single place on earth where all the knowledge in the entire world was gathered together -- every great play and poem, every book of physics and philosophy, the key to understanding.... simply everything. That institution aimed to accumulate every book written, even from as far afield as India, and at its zenith it was said to contain three-quarters of a million scrolls. Here were not only the works of the brilliant scholars of their own time but also those of their illustrious predecessors -- of Homer, Pythagoras, and Herodotus, of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle -- names that might otherwise be unknown to us. Other libraries since have held more books; indeed, today the Library of Congress in Washington and the British Library in London hold between them nearly every book printed in the last two hundred years and many more besides. But they are not complete, not least because most of the knowledge of the first thousand years of Western civilization is missing. .... xvi (Intro)

~ Excerpt "Alexandria" Authors: Justin Pollard & Howard Reid