Library of Alexandria Essay example -- essays research papers

HOW WAS THE GREAT LIBRAY OF ALEXANDRIA ORGANIZED AND OPERATED? WHO OR WHAT CAUSED ITS DESTRUCTION? For the extra credit assignment I have decided to compose as essay describing the great library of Alexandria. The library itself is wrapped up in a great mystery that has had many historians and archeologists heavily interested in its existence for many years. It has been recorded that the library of Alexandria held many thousands, if not millions, of books, volumes and other documents. The library is also believed to be one of the biggest libraries in human history. Its significance is of invaluable knowledge. The mammoth size of such a huge monument for the period of time that is existed is phenomenal. Even though it was significant in it’s time, the destruction of such a beautiful collection of thoughts, novels and other writings is somewhat of a tragic occurrence that has baffled many for years. Alexandria was founded in Egypt by Alexandria the Great. His successor as Pharaoh was known as Ptolemy II Soter. He founded the Museum or Royal Library of Alexandria in 283 BC. The Museum was a shrine of the Muses modeled after the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens. The Museum was a place of study which included lecture areas, gardens, a zoo, and shrines for each of the nine muses as well as the Library itself. It has been estimated that at one time the Library of Alexandria held over half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations. Over 100 scholars and scribes lived at the Museum full time to perform research, write, lecture or translate and copy documents (Hertzke 2004). The library got so large it actually had another branch or "daughter" library at the Temple of Serapis. There are many stories and rumors surrounding the real destruction of such a great library. It is still unknown exactly who are what destroyed the entire library but many stories and personal accounts that were put onto historical text much later on reveal clues to its possible â€Å"real† destruction. The first person blamed for the destruction of the Library is none other than Julius Caesar himself. In 48 BC, Caesar was pursuing Pompey into Egypt when he was suddenly cut off by an Egyptian fleet at Alexandria. Greatly outnumbered and in enemy territory, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor to be set on fire. Sup... ...mar) all had an axe to grind and consequently must be seen as biased. Probably everyone mentioned above had some hand in destroying some part of the Library's holdings. The collection may have ebbed and flowed as some documents were destroyed and others were added. For instance, Mark Antony was supposed to have â€Å"given Cleopatra over 200,000 scrolls for the Library long after Julius Caesar is accused of burning it (Luciano 2005).† It is also quite likely that even if the Museum was destroyed with the main library the outlying daughter library at the Temple of Serapis continued on. Many writers seem to equate the Library of Alexandria with the Library of Serapis although technically they were in two different parts of the city. The real tragedy of course is not the uncertainty of knowing who to blame for the Library's destruction but that so much of ancient history, literature and learning was lost forever. Its importance and significance will never be resurrected, but will forever lay in a mystery. Only dreams and images can be pondered about what actually existed in such a great library. Scholars, historians and educated individuals can only daydream about what might have been.