Library of Alexandria | Description, Facts, & Destruction

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data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria">Library of Alexandria</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334078"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria#ref334078">The hunt for books</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334079"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/Other-languages">Other languages</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334080"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/Other-languages#ref334080">Growth of the library</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334081"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/Other-languages#ref334081">Registration and classification of books</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref334082"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/The-fate-of-the-Library-of-Alexandria">The fate of the Library of Alexandria</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Library-of-Alexandria">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/publications/Berti-Costa_Alexandria_Kentucky.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Perseus Digital Library - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology - The Ancient Library of Alexandria. A Model for Classical Scholarship in the Age of Million Book Libraries</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/paganism/library.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Encyclopaedia Romana - The Great Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/article/207/what-happened-to-the-great-library-at-alexandria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">World History Encyclopedia - What happened to the Great Library at Alexandria?</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688959/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Library of Congress - Resurrecting the Ancient Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.academia.edu/829652/The_Ancient_Library_of_Alexandria_A_Model_for_Classical_Scholarship_in_the_Age_of_Million_Book_Libraries" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Academia - The Ancient Library of Alexandria. A Model for Classical Scholarship in the Age of Million Book Libraries</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://voice.bibleodyssey.org/articles/the-ancient-library-of-alexandria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Bible Odyssey - The Ancient Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/burning-library-alexandria" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Ohio State University - ehistory - The Burning of the Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1822/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">UNESCO World Heritage Convention - Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/greatlibraryofalexandria.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Social Studies for Kids - The Great Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-places/the-ancient-library-of-alexandria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Biblical Archaeology Society - The Ancient Library of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1427&context=libphilprac" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">DigitalCommons at University of Nebraska - Lincoln - The Great Library of Alexandria?</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.livescience.com/rise-and-fall-of-the-great-alexandria-library" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Live Science - The rise and fall of the Great Library of Alexandria</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Library-of-Alexandria/626201" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Library of Alexandria - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Library-of-Alexandria/384870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Library of Alexandria - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Mostafa-El-Abbadi/9766563" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Mostafa El-Abbadi</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Emeritus Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Alexandria, Egypt. Author of <em>The Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria </em> and others. Coeditor of <em>What Happened...</em></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Mostafa El-Abbadi</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-29T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 29, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd><i>c. </i> 300 BCE - <i>c. </i> 275</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Eratosthenes">Eratosthenes</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Apollonius-of-Rhodes">Apollonius of Rhodes</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Mostafa-El-Abbadi">Mostafa El-Abbadi</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Aristophanes-of-Byzantium">Aristophanes Of Byzantium</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Zenodotus-of-Ephesus">Zenodotus Of Ephesus</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Library-of-Alexandria"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref210618"></span>Library of Alexandria</strong>, the most famous <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/library" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">library</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Classical-antiquity" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Classical antiquity</a>. It formed part of the research institute at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Alexandria-Egypt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexandria</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Egypt</a> that is known as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alexandrian-Museum" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexandrian Museum</a> (Mouseion, “shrine of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Muse-Greek-mythology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Muses</a>”).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Libraries and archives were known to many ancient civilizations in Egypt, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mesopotamia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/Media-and-publishing#ref214617" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Syria</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Anatolia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Asia Minor</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Greece/Cultural-institutions#ref281582" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greece</a>, but the earliest such institutions were of a local and regional nature, primarily concerned with the conservation of their own particular traditions and heritage. The idea of a universal library, like that of Alexandria, arose only after the Greek mind had begun to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="envisage" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envisage" data-type="MW">envisage</a> and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="encompass" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encompass" data-type="MW">encompass</a> a larger worldview. The Greeks were impressed by the achievements of their neighbours, and many Greek <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intellectuals" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectuals" data-type="MW">intellectuals</a> sought to explore the resources of their knowledge. There is literary evidence of Greek individuals visiting Egypt especially to acquire knowledge: e.g., <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herodotus-Greek-historian" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Herodotus</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Plato</a> (particularly in <em>Phaedrus</em> and <em>Timaeus</em>), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theophrastus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Theophrastus</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eudoxus-of-Cnidus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Eudoxus of Cnidus</a> (as detailed by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diogenes-Laertius" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Diogenes Laërtius</a> in the 3rd century <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>).</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Against that background of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="avid" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avid" data-type="MW">avid</a> hunger for knowledge among the Greeks, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexander</a> launched his global enterprise in 334 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>, which he accomplished with meteoric speed until his untimely death in 323 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>. His aim throughout had not been restricted to conquering lands as far from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Macedonia-ancient-kingdom-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Macedonia</a> as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/India/History#ref214184" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">India</a> but had been to also explore them. He required his companions, generals, and scholars to report to him in detail on regions previously unmapped and uncharted. His campaigns resulted in a “considerable addition of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="empirical" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empirical" data-type="MW">empirical</a> knowledge of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/geography" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">geography</a>,” as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eratosthenes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Eratosthenes</a> remarked (as reported by Greek geographer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Strabo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Strabo</a>). The reports that Alexander had acquired survived after his death, and they motivated an unprecedented movement of scientific research and study of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Earth</a>, its natural physical qualities, and its inhabitants. The time was pregnant with a new spirit that engendered a renaissance of human <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a>. It was in that atmosphere that the great library and Mouseion saw the light of day in Alexandria.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The founding of the library and the Mouseion is unquestionably connected with the name of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Demetrius-of-Phaleron" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Demetrius of Phaleron</a>, a member of the Peripatetic school and a former Athenian politician. After his fall from power in Athens, Demetrius sought refuge at the court of King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-I-Soter" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ptolemy I Soter</a> (c. 297 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>) and became the king’s adviser. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Ptolemy</a> soon took advantage of Demetrius’s wide and versatile knowledge and, about 295 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>, charged him with the task of founding the library and the Mouseion.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The “Letter of Aristeas” of the 2nd century <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span> reveals that the institution was conceived as a universal library:</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/wonders-of-the-world-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/86/170586-131-7E23E561/Taj-Mahal-Agra-India.jpg" alt="Taj Mahal, Agra, India. UNESCO World Heritage Site (minarets; Muslim, architecture; Islamic architecture; marble; mausoleum)" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Wonders of the World Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><blockquote><p>Demetrius…had at his disposal a large budget in order to collect, if possible, all the books in the world;…to the best of his ability, he carried out the king’s objective. (Letters 9–10.)</p></blockquote><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The same claim was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="reiterated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reiterated" data-type="MW">reiterated</a> more than once: Irenaeus spoke of Ptolemy’s desire to equip “his library with the writings of all men as far as they were worth serious attention.” Undoubtedly, however, the largest amount of material was written in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greek</a>. In fact, judging from the scholarly work produced in Alexandria, it seems likely that the whole corpus of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Greek-literature" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Greek literature</a> was amassed in the library.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">One of the major acquisitions for the library was the “books of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aristotle</a>,” concerning which there are two conflicting accounts. According to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Athenaeus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Athenaeus</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-II-Philadelphus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philadelphus</a> purchased that collection for a large sum of money, whereas <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Strabo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Strabo</a> reported that Aristotle’s books passed on in succession through different hands, until they were later confiscated in 86 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span> by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sulla" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sulla</a>, who carried them away to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rome" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rome</a>. The two accounts perhaps deal with two different things. Athenaeus may be referring to the collection of books that Aristotle had amassed at his school in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Athens</a>, which Philadelphus was able to purchase when his former tutor, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Straton-of-Lampsacus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Straton</a>, was head of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lyceum-Greek-philosophical-school" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Lyceum</a>. Strabo’s account may be dealing with the personal writings that Aristotle had <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bequeathed" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequeathed" data-type="MW">bequeathed</a> to his successors as heads of the Lyceum, until they were confiscated by Sulla. In support of the latter understanding is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plutarch" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Plutarch</a>’s remark that “the Peripatetics no longer possess the original texts of Aristotle and Theophrastus, because they had fallen into idle and base hands.”</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref334078"><h2 class="h1">The hunt for books</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Fabulous stories circulated about the lengths to which the Ptolemies would go in their avid hunt for books. One method to which they reportedly resorted was to search every ship that sailed into the harbour of Alexandria. If a book was found, it was taken to the library for a decision as to whether to return it or to confiscate it and replace it with a copy made on the spot (with an adequate compensation to the owner). Books acquired in that manner were designated “from the ships.”</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Another story (reported by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Galen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Galen</a> in the writings on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hippocrates" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hippocrates</a>) reveals how <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ptolemy III</a> managed to obtain the original texts of the great dramatic poets <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aeschylus-Greek-dramatist" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aeschylus</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sophocles" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sophocles</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Euripides" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Euripides</a>. The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="precious" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precious" data-type="MW">precious</a> texts were safeguarded in the Athenian state archives and were not allowed to be lent out. The king, however, persuaded the governors of Athens to permit him to borrow them in order to have them copied. The enormous sum of 15 talents of silver was deposited in Athens as a pledge for their safe restitution. The king thereupon kept the originals and sent back copies, willingly forfeiting the pledge.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Those irregular methods of collection were supplemented by the purchase of books from different places, especially from Athens and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhodes-Greece" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhodes</a>, which <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="sustained" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/sustained" data-type="EB">sustained</a> the largest book markets of the time. Occasionally, the library’s collectors bought different versions of the same work—for example, in the Homeric texts that came “from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chios-island-Greece" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chios</a>,” “from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sinop" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sinope</a>,” and “from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Marseille" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Massilia</a>.”</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Of languages other than Greek, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Egyptian-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Egyptian</a> had the largest section. Ptolemy I is said to have encouraged Egyptian priests to accumulate records of their past tradition and heritage and to render them available for use by Greek scholars and men of letters whom he had invited to live in Egypt. Best-known examples from each group were the Egyptian priest <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manetho" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Manetho</a>, who had good command of Greek, and the Greek author Hecataeus of Abdera.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":3,"pageId":14417,"pageLength":1026,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Library of Alexandria | Description, Facts, & Destruction | Britannica