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The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity

Charles River Editors

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Description:The lack of libraries in the West has helped contribute to the popular imagination of the ancient Library at Alexandria, and all the myths and legends that have come to be associated with it, but the Library of Alexandria deserves its reputation. Before the Middle Ages, Greek scholars carefully collected and inventoried books and other written materials in the Library of Alexandria, which truly made it a sort of precursor to all modern libraries. In fact, the Library of Alexandria proved to be one of the greatest institutions created in the ancient world because it influenced the minds of countless people in profound ways for centuries. The Library not only inspired the imaginations of artists but gave birth to new research methods, which proved to provide the basis for many considered common-place today. The Library of Alexandria was one of the few libraries in the ancient Greek world, which helped ensure that mathematicians, scientists and other scholars from across the Mediterranean traveled to Egypt to study there, and it was so impressive in its size and influence that it left an indelible mark on the world that still reverberates today.While the exact nature of the Library remains murky, it functioned for at least several centuries and is believed to have housed hundreds of thousands of books, most written as scrolls on papyrus, and it essentially became the culmination of two ancient literary and cultural traditions converging: the Greek and Egyptian. Of course, the most controversial aspect of the Library of Alexandria is its destruction, which is still a topic of debate today. Several ancient historians attributed its destruction to the Roman conquest of Egypt during the 1st century B.C., with some like Plutarch specifically citing Julius Caesar’s soldiers as the ultimate cause of its destruction. The Roman writer Seneca wrote that 40,000 books were lost in the fire. However, other ancient historians claimed to have gone to the Library of Alexandria after Caesar stayed in the city, and all of these claims might be muddled by the fact that there was more than one library in the area. It’s possible that the Library of Alexandria or some version of it survived until the 7th century A.D., but either way, the destruction of the library is often viewed as one of the reasons the Middle Ages were “Dark”. Nobody knows for sure how much knowledge was lost in the Library, nor how it affected what Western societies knew and didn’t during medieval times.At the time, the Ptolemies were not the only Greek kings with a great library in their capital, because the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon also built a library as a testament to Hellenism (Fox, 2001, 393). The Library of Pergamon was established slightly later than the Library of Alexandria, during the reign of king Eumenes II (197-158 BCE) (Thorton 1941, 12), but Eumenes embarked on a program to stock the Library of Pergamon with some of the greatest works of Greek literature in order to rival the Library of Alexandria (Canfora 1989, 46). For example, a complete set of Demosthenes’ works was among the classics that graced the shelves in the Pergamon collection (Canfora 1989, 45).This competition seems to have been the basis for the papyrus ban, as the Ptolemies intended to halt academic work in Pergamon, such as editing new editions of the classics. While the Ptolemaic ban on papyrus may have slowed operations at the Library of Pergamon, the introduction of parchment as a medium of writing helped re-stock Pergamon’s Library (Thorton 1941, 12). Ultimately, however, despite being considered a great institution of the ancient world in its own right, the Library of Pergamon never approached the size or influence of the Library of Alexandria, making it the loser in the heated competition for academic and cultural prestige.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity. To get started finding The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 109

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: Charles River Editors

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Description: The lack of libraries in the West has helped contribute to the popular imagination of the ancient Library at Alexandria, and all the myths and legends that have come to be associated with it, but the Library of Alexandria deserves its reputation. Before the Middle Ages, Greek scholars carefully collected and inventoried books and other written materials in the Library of Alexandria, which truly made it a sort of precursor to all modern libraries. In fact, the Library of Alexandria proved to be one of the greatest institutions created in the ancient world because it influenced the minds of countless people in profound ways for centuries. The Library not only inspired the imaginations of artists but gave birth to new research methods, which proved to provide the basis for many considered common-place today. The Library of Alexandria was one of the few libraries in the ancient Greek world, which helped ensure that mathematicians, scientists and other scholars from across the Mediterranean traveled to Egypt to study there, and it was so impressive in its size and influence that it left an indelible mark on the world that still reverberates today.While the exact nature of the Library remains murky, it functioned for at least several centuries and is believed to have housed hundreds of thousands of books, most written as scrolls on papyrus, and it essentially became the culmination of two ancient literary and cultural traditions converging: the Greek and Egyptian. Of course, the most controversial aspect of the Library of Alexandria is its destruction, which is still a topic of debate today. Several ancient historians attributed its destruction to the Roman conquest of Egypt during the 1st century B.C., with some like Plutarch specifically citing Julius Caesar’s soldiers as the ultimate cause of its destruction. The Roman writer Seneca wrote that 40,000 books were lost in the fire. However, other ancient historians claimed to have gone to the Library of Alexandria after Caesar stayed in the city, and all of these claims might be muddled by the fact that there was more than one library in the area. It’s possible that the Library of Alexandria or some version of it survived until the 7th century A.D., but either way, the destruction of the library is often viewed as one of the reasons the Middle Ages were “Dark”. Nobody knows for sure how much knowledge was lost in the Library, nor how it affected what Western societies knew and didn’t during medieval times.At the time, the Ptolemies were not the only Greek kings with a great library in their capital, because the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon also built a library as a testament to Hellenism (Fox, 2001, 393). The Library of Pergamon was established slightly later than the Library of Alexandria, during the reign of king Eumenes II (197-158 BCE) (Thorton 1941, 12), but Eumenes embarked on a program to stock the Library of Pergamon with some of the greatest works of Greek literature in order to rival the Library of Alexandria (Canfora 1989, 46). For example, a complete set of Demosthenes’ works was among the classics that graced the shelves in the Pergamon collection (Canfora 1989, 45).This competition seems to have been the basis for the papyrus ban, as the Ptolemies intended to halt academic work in Pergamon, such as editing new editions of the classics. While the Ptolemaic ban on papyrus may have slowed operations at the Library of Pergamon, the introduction of parchment as a medium of writing helped re-stock Pergamon’s Library (Thorton 1941, 12). Ultimately, however, despite being considered a great institution of the ancient world in its own right, the Library of Pergamon never approached the size or influence of the Library of Alexandria, making it the loser in the heated competition for academic and cultural prestige.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity. To get started finding The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity

The Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity

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