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The
Great Library
Also known as the Library of Alexandria, was build by Demetrius
of Phaleron under Ptolemy Soter. Demetrius an exiled tyrant of Athens
had studied with Alexander under Plato. This Library was build to
collect the books of man so Ptolemy could better understand his
people and his trade partners. The librabry seems to have been just
one part of the Museum, a temple dedicated to the Muses, which housed
many of the inventions of the Ancient World, a zoological garden,
the Library and much more. Strabo tells us the heart of the Museum
were a Great Hall and the dome with it's observatory. It seems some
30-50 scolars were living inside the Museum.
The actual Library may have been located in one of the halls or
even in the Great Hall itself. The oldest writing were most likely
stored in pidgeon holes, wrapped in linnen or leather. During Roman
times books became more popular, These were stored in wooden boxes.
One of the tasks undertaken by the Library was the translation
of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, into Greek by 72 rabbis. Ptolemy
tried to get a copy of every 'book' in the world inside the Library.
Callimachuis records 400.000 mixed scrolls (possibly containing
multiple works), 90,000 unmixed scrolls and another 42,000 inside
the Serapeum. Ptolemy III requested books from all sovereigns and
had them copied. Then he sent the copies back and kept the originals.
The Museum (and the Libray) were lost to fire during the time of
Caesar and Cleopatra.
For more information on what the Library contained you can have
a look here.
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