Revived Alexandrian Library, Egypt. History of the Alexandrian Library

In 48 BC. BC), and auxiliary, in the temple of Serapis (Serapeum), where publicly accessible funds and educational literature were kept.

The main collection of the library ceased to exist during the fighting in 273 - Emperor Aurelian completely destroyed Brucheion. Since the 18th century, a version has spread that part of the library stored in the Serapeum was destroyed during clashes in 391 between Christians and pagans, but it is not clearly confirmed by ancient sources. According to legend, the destruction of the library collections ended during the Arab conquest in the first half of the 7th century.

Almost all information about the contents and structure of the Library of Alexandria is contained in scattered ancient sources, which strongly contradict each other. Not a single text is known to have come directly from the library; archaeologists with with great difficulty identify its location.

Ancient sources. Terminology

The Library of Alexandria is poorly represented in sources, which mostly date back to the Roman era, when the principles of functioning and acquisition of the library changed. The most ancient source, containing information about the library, is the Letter of Aristaeus, now dated to the 2nd or 1st century BC. e. Fragmentary information is contained in Strabo's Geography, the works of Seneca, Plutarch and Suetonius. Some anecdotal information is presented in the works of the 2nd century physician Galen, as well as in Athenaeus, and a number of other authors. A number of important information is presented in the scholia of the 12th century Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes, but the sources of his information are unknown.

In ancient sources, the Library of Alexandria was called differently. Quite often it is simply called the “Great Library” (ancient Greek. ἡ μεγάλη βιβλιοθήκη ), "royal library", "Museion library", etc.

Library foundation

The Library of Alexandria was founded probably on the initiative of King Ptolemy I Soter, as follows from Plutarch's Morals (Non posse suaviter vivi, 13, 3). A model for the creation of the Library of Alexandria as a state scientific and educational institution, there were apparently meetings at the schools of Plato and Aristotle. When Plato moved the school from the Academus grove to own house, he founded Museyon under him - the temple of the muses; Theophrastus built special classrooms and a library building for the Peripatetic school.

The foundation of the Library of Alexandria was attended by the Peripatetics Demetrius of Phalerus and, possibly, Strato of Lampsacus, but Demetrius could not have appeared in Alexandria earlier than 297 BC. e. By his appearance, the foundation of the library had already been formed, in any case, Epiphanius of Cyprus reported that one day Ptolemy Philadelphus asked Demetrius how many books were collected in the library. He replied that 54,800 scrolls had been collected, but many still needed to be obtained and copied.

The Library of Alexandria was more of an academy than a typical collection of books: scholars lived and worked here, engaged in both research and teaching. The library had a staff of copyists who copied books; a catalog of books was compiled. A significant feature of the Library of Alexandria was that its collections were primarily replenished locally: Alexandria was the main center of papyrus production in antiquity, and the Ptolemaic policy was aimed at creating a cadre of trained specialists - scribes and grammarians-textologists. Aulus Gellius was the first to write about this; he also gave the maximum estimate of the size of the library collection - 700,000 scrolls (“Attic Nights”, VII, 17, 1-3).

The Library and the Museum were created simultaneously and were supposed to complement each other. The museum was a cult institution, but the worship of the Muses was practical nature, in the form of various scientific and literary studies carried out by full-time scientists and writers. The closest analogue of this activity was the staging of tragedies in Athens classical era as an act of cult ritual of the god Dionysus. According to Athenaeus, the initial basis of the library collection was Aristotle's library, purchased by Ptolemy (I, 3 b); however, this fragment can also be interpreted as meaning that the basis of the fund was the works of Aristotle himself. Galen related a characteristic anecdote according to which all ships visiting the harbor of Alexandria were required to give up their books and receive copies in return. Ptolemy III Euergetes borrowed from Athens the state copy of the works of the Athenian tragedians and returned only copies, forfeiting a huge deposit of 18 talents.

The first keeper of the library was Zenodotus of Ephesus (until 234 BC), after him Eratosthenes of Cyrene (from 236 to 195 BC), Aristophanes of Byzantium (185-180 BC). ), Aristarchus of Samothrace (to 146 BC). Other outstanding scientists of the Hellenistic era worked in the library, including Euclid, Heron of Alexandria, Archimedes. Information about this is given in the Byzantine encyclopedia Suda. The Oxyrhynchus papyrus 1241 provides another list of Alexandrian librarians, but, according to V. Borukhovich, it cannot serve as a basis for resolving the issue of succession in library management. Apollonius of Rhodes is named here as the teacher of the first king (instead of the third), and Eratosthenes is named as Apollonius' successor, followed by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus.

Library collections

Library of Alexandria in view artist XIX century O. von Korven

In 1819, F. Hosanne, studying the manuscript of the comedies of Plautus from the 15th century, discovered a Latin scholium containing information about the Library of Alexandria, but it was published much later. Its content is as follows:

(The king) established two libraries, one outside the royal palace, the other in the palace. The outer library contained 42,800 scrolls, and the one in the palace contained 40,000 “mixed scrolls” ( Voluminum commixtorum), “simple and divided” ( Simplicium autem et digestorum) 90,000, as reported by Callimachus, the royal court librarian, who also wrote the titles for each scroll.

Anonymous author The scholium referred to the Byzantine scientist John Tzetzes. It is noteworthy that Tzetzes's Greek text on the Library of Alexandria—part of the scholia to Aristophanes—is preserved in one of the manuscripts from the collection of the Ambrosian Library in Milan. There is a different order of numbers:

The named king Ptolemy Philadelphus... when he collected books from everywhere using the money from the royal treasury for Alexandria, on the advice of Demetrius of Phalerum and other elders, he assigned them a place in two libraries. In the external library the number of books was 42,800. Another library, located inside the palace, had “mixed” books (Greek. συμμίκτων ) - 400,000, “simple” and “unmixed” - 90,000, as Callimachus, who was a courtier of the king, described them according to the “Tables”, later after putting them in order.

It is characteristic that modern researchers tend to trust underestimated estimates of the number of works stored in the library. The concept of “simple”, “mixed” and “unmixed” books stored in the library is also controversial. According to V. Borukhovich, “simple” books in the tradition of Alexandrian scientists were medium-sized scrolls that included one literary work, while “mixed” books were a collection of scrolls bound or enclosed in one box, as if “mixed” with each other - so that it was necessary to search among them for the required part of the monument.

The textual work of the library's curators was inseparable from the cataloging of its contents. Many books were deliberately attributed by their authors to other persons (so-called "pseudepigrapha") or had no author at all. Often the authors had the same names, and in the process of rewriting manuscripts, the texts were distorted, omissions and additions appeared. Therefore, the Alexandrian grammarians, who were engaged in processing the accumulated book collections, were faced with the task of bringing the copies they edited as close as possible to the author's original. The librarians' interests included not only Greek works, but also oriental ones. It was under Museion that the Septuagint was translated, and the Egyptian priest Manetho wrote the “History of Egypt” in Greek. He was also presumably the founder of the library branch at the Serapeum.

Then, for about two centuries, the Library of Alexandria existed in a relatively calm environment. Suetonius's biography of Claudius (42:2) contains a fragment in which he ordered the construction of a new building for copying and public reading at the Museion own compositions Emperor. From this, some authors conclude that the decline of the library has already begun. At the same time, Suetonius reports that after the Roman imperial library was damaged by fire, Domitian sent specialists to Alexandria to copy and verify the lost texts (“Life of the Twelve Caesars,” Domitian, 20). From this, R. Bagnall concluded that in the Roman era the library lost its religious status and was reoriented to the needs of the education system.

In the 2nd century, Alexandria was visited by Emperor Hadrian, who appointed several new members to the Museion. There is reason to believe that this policy was continued by his successors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. However, with the onset of the crisis of the Roman Empire, in 216, Emperor Caracalla gave Alexandria to his soldiers for plunder, which could also damage the safety of the books. Under him, the status of the curators of the Museum and Library decreased, they lost a number of privileges dating back to the era of Alexander the Great.

The main library most likely died in 273, when Emperor Aurelian destroyed and burned the Brucheion during the capture of Alexandria, suppressing the rebellion of Queen Zenobia; part of the library kept at the temple of Serapis was lost, probably later. The time of the final destruction of the library has not been precisely established.

In 391, there was unrest and conflict between pagans and Christians in Alexandria. There are different versions of the origin and course of the conflict. Eventually, Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria received permission from Emperor Theodosius I to destroy pagan temples, which entailed the destruction of the Serapeum. Church historian Socrates Scholasticus described it this way:

Relying on such authority, Theophilus used everything to cover the pagan sacraments with disgrace: he tore down the Mithrian temple, destroyed the temple of Serapis... Seeing this, the Alexandrian pagans, and especially the people called philosophers, could not bear such an insult and added even greater ones to their previous bloody deeds. ; inflamed by one feeling, they all, according to the agreement made, rushed at the Christians and began to commit murders of all kinds. Christians, for their part, paid the same...

It is likely that the books in the temple were lost during these events. The pagan author Eunapius of Sardis also wrote about the events. Both Socrates and Eunapius reported the destruction of pagan temples, but there is no mention of the destruction of books specifically. Moreover, it is unknown how many books were in the Serapeum at that time, or whether they were there at all. Orosius (VI, 15, 32) reports that bookcases could be seen in various temples of Alexandria. It is known that the Museion and the library existed in some form even after the events of 391; in particular, one of the last famous intellectuals to work there was the mathematician and philosopher Theon of Alexandria, who died around 405 (information about this is given in the encyclopedia Suda).

At work Chronicon Syriacum The 13th-century Syrian bishop Gregory Bar-Ebrey reported that the surviving remains of the manuscripts perished in the 7th-8th centuries under the rule of the Muslim Arabs, but there is no reliable information about this. The following legend is widely known: Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab in 641 ordered the commander Amr ibn al-As to burn Library of Alexandria while saying: “If these books say what is in the Koran, then they are useless. If they say anything else, then they are harmful. Therefore, in both cases they must be burned.”. Russian Arab historian O. G. Bolshakov commented on it this way:

Experts are well aware that this is just a pious legend that attributes to Umar the “virtuous” act of destroying books that contradict the Koran, but in popular literature this legend is sometimes presented as historical fact. However, neither John of Nikius, who reports much about pogroms and looting during the Arab conquest, nor any other Christian historian hostile to Islam mentions the fire of the library.

Thus, it is difficult to attribute the loss of the library to a specific event or to blame it solely on pagans, Christians or Muslims. Disputes about this are a centuries-old tradition. In particular, Plutarch blamed Caesar, Edward Gibbon blamed Christians, Gregory Bar-Ebrey blamed Muslims, and the authors of the modern Encyclopedia Britannica laid the main blame on Aurelian. From the point of view of R. Bagnall, the decline and death of the Library of Alexandria was a long process, natural at its core. With the decline of classical philology and the lack of interest among the authorities, there were no means to restore the dilapidated scrolls, which required constant update. In antiquity, papyrus book-scrolls older than 200 years were considered very rare.

Historiography. Archaeological evidence

Despite the extremely small amount of reliable information about the Library of Alexandria, over the centuries it has become an archetypal symbol of the repository of knowledge and culture, as well as a symbol of the transience of existence. This image arose during the Renaissance and began to be passed on to subsequent generations almost unchanged. The theme of the Library of Alexandria acquired a new dimension in the monumental work “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1776-1789) by Edward Gibbon, in which he blamed Christians, not Muslims, for the destruction of the library.

The countdown of modern scientific historiography of the Library of Alexandria dates back to 1823, when a small monograph by Gerhard Daedel was published in Leiden Historia critica bibliothecae Alexandrinae. In 1838, a similar book was published by F. Ritschl, and since then publications on the topic of the Library of Alexandria have become more or less regular. A significant contribution to library research was the monograph by American researcher E. Parsons, published in 1952. In 1986, L. Canfora's study The Vanishing Library was published and became a bestseller, but it was criticized for confusing facts with literary fiction and “foggy” conclusions. However, since the book contains almost all ancient sources and describes modern research, the book has been translated into many languages ​​and is regularly republished. In 1990, a large study by Mustafa al-Abbadi was published, considered the most fundamental of those published so far.

From an archaeological point of view, the Library of Alexandria is poorly localized. From Strabo's description it follows that the library did not have a separate building at all (at least it is not mentioned). The head of the excavations of the royal quarter of ancient Alexandria, Jean-Yves Empereur, was generally skeptical about the possibility of discovering the remains of the Library building. One of the traces of the Library’s material existence is a stone box discovered in 1847. It is assumed that it served to store books; it is now in the collection of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum. Based on the results of excavations of the Alexandrian Serapeum, it is generally accepted that a suite of 19 rooms measuring 3 × 4 m, located in the courtyard behind the southern portico, was used to store books.

In popular culture

Since the 1980s, the fate of the Library of Alexandria has interested authors of historical and adventure fiction. Novels by Steve Berry, Clive Cussler, mathematician and historian of science have been published Denis Guezha, astronomer and writer Jean-Pierre Luminet .

The Library of Alexandria plays a role in the plot of at least two films. antique theme. In the historical drama "Cleopatra" (1963) Egyptian queen calls Caesar a “barbarian” for the library that was destroyed during the fighting - its fire is shown in the film. In 2009, the film “Agora” was released, dedicated to the fate of Hypatia, who, according to the plot, worked in the Library of Alexandria. The film generated a lot of criticism regarding its portrayal of historical reality, including criticism from professional historian Faith Justice.

Modern Library of Alexandria

Notes

1. , With. 152.
2. Mostafa El-Abbadi. The life and fate of the ancient Library of Alexandria. - 1990. - P. 78.
3. Angelika Zdiarsky. Bibliothekarische Überlegungen zur Bibliothek von Alexandria. - 2011. - S. 162, 166.
4. Rudolf Bloom. Kallimachos. The Alexandrian Library and the Origins of Bibliography. - University of Wisconsin Press, 1991. - P. 104-105.
5. Uwe Jochum. Kleine Bibliotheksgeschichte. - 2007. - S. 34.
6. Elgood P. G. Les Ptolémées d'Egypte. - P., 1943. - P. 7.
7. , With. 153-154.
8. , With. 153.
9. Library of Alexandria// Great Russian Encyclopedia / S. L. Kravets. - M: Large Russian encyclopedia, 2005. - T. 1. - P. 447. - 768 p. - 65,000 copies.
10. - ISBN 5-85270-329-X.
11. , With. 154.
12. , With. 157.
13. , With. 159.
14. , With. 161. Ritschl F.
15. Die alexandrinischen Bibliotheken. - Breslau, 1838. - S. 3. Keil H.

Ioannis Tzetzae scholiorum in Aristophanem Prolegomena // Rheinisches Museum. - 1847. - No. VI. - P. 108. The Library of Alexandria was one of the largest in the Ancient World. Founded by the successors of Alexander the Great, it maintained the status of an intellectual and educational center back in the 5th century. However, throughout it

long history

time after time the powers that be tried to destroy this beacon of culture. Let's ask ourselves: why?

Chief Librarians

Demetrius of Phalerum appeared in Athens in 324 BC as a tribune of the people and was elected governor seven years later. He ruled Athens for 10 years: from 317 to 307 BC. Demetrius issued quite a lot of laws. Among them was a law that limited the luxury of burials. In his time, Athens had 90 thousand citizens, 45 thousand admitted foreigners and 400 thousand slaves. As for the personality of Demetrius of Phalerum himself, he was considered a trendsetter in his country: he was the first Athenian to lighten his hair with hydrogen peroxide.

He was later removed from his position and went to Thebes. Demetrius wrote there great amount works, one of which, which has a strange name - “On a beam of light in the sky,” is believed by ufologists to be the world’s first work about flying saucers. In 297 BC, Ptolemy I persuaded him to settle in Alexandria. That's when Demetrius founded the library. After the death of Ptolemy I, his son Ptolemy II exiled Demetrius to the Egyptian city of Busiris. There the creator of the library died from the bite of a poisonous snake.

Ptolemy II continued to work in the library and was interested in the sciences, mainly zoology. He appointed Zenodotus of Ephesus as the keeper of the library, who performed these functions until 234 BC. The surviving documents allow us to extend the list of the main custodians of the library: Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus of Samothrace. After this, the information becomes vague.

Over the centuries, librarians expanded the collection, adding papyri, parchments and even, according to legend, printed books. The library contained simply priceless documents. She began to have enemies, mainly in Ancient Rome.

The first plunder and secret books

Thomas Cole, The Way of Empire. Destruction" 1836

The first plunder of the Library of Alexandria was carried out in 47 BC by Julius Caesar. By that time it was considered a storage facility secret books, giving almost unlimited power. When Caesar arrived in Alexandria, the library contained at least 700 thousand manuscripts. But why did some of them begin to inspire fear? Of course there were books on Greek, which were treasures of classical literature that we have lost forever. But there shouldn't have been any dangerous ones among them. But the entire legacy of the Babylonian priest Berossus, who fled to Greece, could well have alarmed him. Berossus was a contemporary of Alexander the Great and lived into the Ptolemaic era. In Babylon he was a priest of Bel. He was a historian, astrologer and astronomer. He invented the semicircular sun dial and created theories of the addition of solar and lunar rays, anticipating modern works by light interference. But in some of his works Berossus wrote about something very strange. For example, about the civilization of giants and either about aliens, or about an underwater civilization.

The library of Alexandria also kept the complete works of Manetho. The Egyptian priest and historian, a contemporary of Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II, was initiated into all the secrets of Egypt. Even his name can be interpreted as “the favorite of Thoth” or “the one who knows the truth of Thoth.” This man maintained relations with the last Egyptian priests. He was the author of eight books and collected 40 carefully selected scrolls in Alexandria, which contained hidden secrets. Egyptian secrets, including, probably, the “Book of Thoth”. The Library of Alexandria also contained the works of the Phoenician historian Mocus, who is credited with creating the atomic theory. There were also extremely rare and valuable Indian manuscripts.

Not a trace remains of all these manuscripts. It is known that before the destruction of the library: there were 532,800 scrolls. It is known that there were departments that could be called “Mathematical Sciences” and “Natural Sciences”. There was also a general directory, which was also destroyed. All these destructions are attributed to Julius Caesar. He took some of the books: he burned some, and kept others for himself. There is still no complete certainty about what exactly happened then. And two thousand years after the death of Caesar, he still has both supporters and opponents. Supporters say he did not burn anything in the library itself; Perhaps a number of books burned in the port warehouse in Alexandria, but it was not the Romans who set them on fire. Caesar's opponents, on the contrary, claim that a huge number of books were destroyed deliberately. Their number is not precisely determined and ranges from 40 to 70 thousand. There is also an intermediate opinion: the fire spread to the library from the quarter where the fighting was taking place, and it burned down by accident.

In any case, the library was not completely destroyed. Neither Caesar's opponents nor supporters talk about this, nor do their contemporaries; stories about the event that are closest to it in time are still two centuries away from it. Caesar himself does not touch upon this topic in his notes. Apparently, he “removed” individual books that seemed most interesting to him.

Coincidences or “men in black”?

Emperor Diocletian, who destroyed alchemical manuscripts

The most serious of the subsequent depredations of the library was most likely carried out by Zenobia Septimia, queen of Palmyra, and the Emperor Aurelian during their war for dominance over Egypt. And again, fortunately, things did not come to complete destruction, but valuable books were lost. The reason why Emperor Diocletian took up arms against the library is well known. He wanted to destroy the books that contained the secrets of making gold and silver, that is, all works on alchemy. If the Egyptians were able to produce as much gold and silver as they wanted, then, the emperor reasoned, they were capable of arming a huge army and defeating the empire. The slave's grandson Diocletian was proclaimed emperor in 284. He seems to have been a born tyrant, and the last decree he signed before abdicating on May 1, 305 ordered the destruction of Christianity. A major rebellion broke out in Egypt against Diocletian, and in July 295 the emperor began the siege of Alexandria. He took Alexandria, however, according to legend, the emperor’s horse stumbled while entering the conquered city. Diocletian interpreted this incident as a sign from the gods commanding him to spare the city.

After the capture of Alexandria, a frantic search for alchemical manuscripts began, and all those found were destroyed. Perhaps they contained the main keys to alchemy, which are now missing to comprehend this science. We do not have a list of destroyed manuscripts, but legend attributes some of them to Pythagoras, Solomon, and even Hermes Trismegistus himself. Although this, of course, should be treated with a certain degree of skepticism.

The library continued to exist. Despite the fact that it was destroyed over and over again, the library continued to work until the Arabs completely destroyed it. And the Arabs knew what they were doing. They have already destroyed both in the Islamic Empire itself and in Persia many secret works on magic, alchemy and astrology. The conquerors acted according to their motto: “No other books are needed except the Koran.” In 646, the Library of Alexandria was set on fire. The following legend is known: Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab in 641 ordered the commander Amr ibn al-As to burn the Library of Alexandria, saying: “If these books say what is in the Koran, then they are useless.”

The French writer Jacques Bergier said that books perished in that fire, possibly dating back to a pre-civilization that existed before the current human one. Alchemical treatises, the study of which would have made it possible to truly achieve the transformation of elements, perished. Works on magic and evidence of the meeting with aliens that Berossus spoke about were destroyed. He believed that this whole series of pogroms could not have been accidental. It could have been carried out by an organization that Bergier conventionally calls “men in black.” This organization has existed for centuries and millennia and strives to destroy knowledge of a certain kind. The few remaining manuscripts may still be intact, but are carefully preserved. secret societies from the world.

Of course, it may very well be that Bergier simply allowed himself to fantasize, but it is possible that behind all this there are some real, but difficult to rationally interpret, facts.

There is an opinion that in ancient times people were uneducated and ignorant - there was no desire for knowledge, the main activities were constant wars, feasts with abundant food and drink. Almost everyone had an indifferent attitude towards health. As a result, life expectancy was very low. The fact that refutes this opinion is the Library of Alexandria. It is called the wisdom of ancient eras and the storehouse of all achievements throughout the existence of civilization.

The foundation date of the library is considered to be the beginning of the 3rd century BC. e. The greatest repository of knowledge of the ancient ancient world contains thousands of different scrolls and manuscripts written in several languages: Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew. Among these treasures were many works of outstanding people of that time: Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles and many others.

An interesting fact is that the library was not hidden from human eyes, being accessible only to its crowned owners. Anyone who wanted and thirsted for knowledge could always enter its spacious, cool halls and read the priceless parchment scrolls offered by library employees. Any person could be a visitor here, regardless of his material wealth or religion. The Library of Alexandria was free, and its maintenance was paid for from the royal treasury. This important fact, proving that even in ancient times people placed knowledge at the highest level.

People with education in those eras were revered, everyone treated them with special respect, their advice and recommendations were asked and then followed. The great philosophers of that time are still known throughout the world; our contemporaries still quote them, marveling at their great wisdom. It is possible that most of these outstanding people might not have existed if it were not for the Library of Alexandria, in which they could then draw the necessary knowledge.

Who do people owe when they receive a priceless masterpiece? The future of the Library of Alexandria was indirectly influenced by the great conqueror Alexander the Great, when in 332 BC. e. founded the city of Alexandria, appointing it as the capital. And, although it was not he who built and conceived the library, however, in fairness it is worth noting that if there were no city of Alexandria, the library would not exist.

After the death of the conqueror, parts of his empire went to his comrades. The Egyptian lands went to one of them - Ptolemy Lagus, who became the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which replaced the eras of the pharaohs and lasted three hundred years. Queen Cleopatra was the last representative of this dynasty. The Library of Alexandria owes its existence to the first Ptolemies.

King Ptolemy Lag was sensitive to education and tried to provide it for his children, inviting famous philosophers at that time as teachers. At the school they organized there was a small library containing a few manuscripts. The philosophers Strato the Physicist and Demetrius of Phalerius, who at one time studied with the great men Aristotle and Plato, had a good understanding of the work and structure of such an institution. From them Plato Lag received the idea of ​​​​creating huge library in Alexandria.

The Tsar wanted to build a whole museum, which would have a botanical garden, anatomy classrooms and even an astronomical tower. The library was conceived as an addition to this museum. But the dreams of Ptolemy Lagus remained dreams; he soon died before he could bring this magnificent project to life.

The construction of the Alexandria Library and Museum, in accordance with the wishes of his father, was continued by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, who inherited the throne. Historians have been unable to figure out where the library's original location was or the exact time it opened when the first visitors, thirsty for knowledge, walked through its doors. It is only known that the construction was completely completed in the second half of the 3rd century BC. e.

The replenishment of the Library of Alexandria was carried out using a unique method: all the scrolls and manuscripts that were available were taken from all ships that visited the port of Alexandria. If these scrolls were not important or useful, they were returned back to the ship. The reigning house also bought scrolls from the population, in philosophical schools and small libraries. There is even a legend that the ruler Ptolemy III made a huge deposit (15 talents) to Athens for the manuscripts of Euripides, Sophocles and Aeschylus, taking these tragedies to copy for the library. The scrolls subsequently never returned to Athens.

The museum and library together constituted the first university, thanks to which many people made their great discoveries outstanding people. Aristarchus expressed the idea of ​​the Earth rotating around the Sun, Euclid gave the world geometry, Herophilus proved that the human mind is not in the heart, as was then believed, but in the head. Eratosthenes named the exact circumference of our planet.

The first custodian of this unique university was Zenodotus of Ephesus. The ancient Greek philosopher gained the highest respect from King Ptolemy Philadelphus, which is why he was appointed to such a responsible post. He resolved all organizational issues, of which the newly opened library had a great many.

The keeper of the library personally examined all manuscripts entering the library and was the arbiter of their value and veracity. In addition, Zenodotus classified all the scrolls to make it easier for readers to find the material they were interested in. The philosopher also carefully ensured that the manuscripts were stored properly: moisture was not allowed in the premises, the scrolls were always checked for insects, and, if necessary, restored.

For three hundred years royal dynasty The Ptolemies maintained and developed the Library of Alexandria free of charge at their own expense. Under one of the kings, Ptolemy III Evergetes, the library even had its own branch in the Temple of Serapis. The guardian at this time was the famous scientist Eratosthenes of Cyrene. He translated the book " Old Testament» into Greek. His translation is still used today. Under this curator, the library received an “Astronomical Catalog”, in which the coordinates of more than one thousand stars were placed.

Alexandria became a source of knowledge and wisdom, so people came here educated people from all over the world to improve in various scientific fields. In those days, in many countries there was a ban on anatomy human body, and medical scientists did not have the opportunity to expand their knowledge. But in Egypt there was a completely different view of these things. Many ancient doctors were able to give the world their discoveries in medicine thanks to the amazing first university of Alexandria.

In 48 BC. e. the great and unique educational institution suffered due to the struggle of Queen Cleopatra for the throne, which she tried to take from Ptolemy XIII. Then Julius Caesar intervened in this war and set fire to Ptolemy’s navy. The fire spread to the Library of Alexandria. There was chaos everywhere, people were trying to save their property, and there was no one to help the small number of curators remove priceless manuscripts from the fire. Scrolls about origin and existence were forever lost to humanity ancient civilization, great medical treatises and reference books on geography, geometry and astronomy. Everything died in a merciless fire. The Library of Alexandria, with its three-century knowledge, was completely burned down.

Subsequently, Queen Cleopatra, having received all power into her own hands, tried to restore the library by rebuilding it. But everyone is great unique knowledge, stored under the arches of the old library-university could no longer be returned. Those few manuscripts that the queen herself and her next lover, Mark Antony, tried to deliver to the library, could not cover even a small fraction of the loss.

After the death of Cleopatra, the days of the Ptolemaic dynasty ended. The prosperity of Alexandria ceased, and it turned into one of the Roman provinces. There was no one left to take care of the library. The Library of Alexandria lived in a state of neglect and oblivion for another three hundred years. During another war between the Roman Empire and the Palmyran kingdom, the city of Alexandria was again set on fire. The Library of Alexandria burned down along with it, ending its existence forever.

The miracle of the revival of the Library of Alexandria occurred in our century, in 2002. Great historical world value soared into the sky with its original modern architecture, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Glass, granite and concrete became the basis of the new building. Dozens of countries, under the leadership of UNESCO, helped rebuild new library in Alexandria.

The main hall of the library is flooded most of the time sun rays, as it is located under a glass roof. The huge area of ​​the library includes not only many storage rooms and reading rooms, but also museums with priceless exhibits. About eight million books are stored under its vaults. Now future great scientists - modern students of many universities and institutes - come here for knowledge. The Library of Alexandria again hospitably welcomes its visitors.

1. Secrets of the Library of Alexandria
The city of Alexandria was founded in 332 BC. Alexander the Great, it was said that Alexander, when founding Alexandria, inscribed on the plan given to him the first five letters of the alphabet: ABGDE. It meant: “Alexandros Vasileve Genos Dios Ectis” - “Alexander the king, the offspring of Zeus, founded...” This was an omen that the city was destined to become famous for the verbal sciences.

Fresco of ancient Alexandria as a center of wisdom

Alexander the Great (Great) (356-323 BC)
Alexandria was the largest city Greek world. It was built scientifically, the streets intersected at right angles, the main one was 30 meters wide; surrounded by a colonnade, it stretched for a whole hour's walk, from the Gate of the Sun to the Gate of the Moon. At the central intersection there was a square, and on the square there was a gigantic mausoleum with the body of Alexander the Great. Standing closer to the sea royal palace, and with it - a house dedicated to the Muses: Musey. The Museum was not a museum in our sense of the word: the Greeks did not like to store the fragments of ancient cultures. It was a place where work on living culture was going on, something like an academy of sciences and a university. The idea of ​​Musaeus was given to King Ptolemy by Demetrius of Phalerum; here, with the royal money, the same development of all sciences was carried out at once, which Demetrius’s teacher Aristotle dreamed of in his Lyceum.


Ptolemy I Soter (367-283 BC), supervised the construction of the Library of Alexandria.


Plan of the Library of Alexandria
King Ptolemy himself invited the best scientists and poets from all over the world to Alexandria. One irreverent philosopher called Musya “the chicken coop of the Muses.” There was a courtyard for walks, a hall for conversations, rooms for classes with students, laboratories, observatories, and a dining room for common meals. And most importantly, there was a library.
Archimedes was educated and worked here, the wonderful mechanic Heron worked for many years, who built the first automatic devices (gear jack, blower, etc.), the creator of geometry Euclid, the pioneer of surgery Herophilus, the famous ancient geographer Strabo.


Vincenzo Camuccini (1771-1844). Ptolemy II studies a papyrus scroll. Alexandria Library.
It’s strange for us to imagine, but Athens did without books or almost without books. In small towns, where everyone knew everyone, culture was learned through voice: those who did not know asked, those who knew answered. Anyone who wanted to have, say, the works of Plato, went to the Academy and himself copied them from his students. Now, after Alexander, everything has changed. The world has expanded, people have moved away from their homes, asking “how to live?” Now no one had it - only smart books. People rushed to read, buy, and collect books; In response to demand, workshops appeared where books were copied for sale. The largest book workshop was Egypt: papyrus grew here, and books were written on papyrus scrolls. And the largest collection of books was the Library of Alexandria.

Papyrus.
The lines were lined with a lead wheel, written with a reed pen, the ink was made from black cuttlefish juice or from “ink nuts” - growths on oak leaves. Mistakes were washed off with a sponge or simply licked off with the tongue. Titles and capital letters were written in red—hence the expression “from the red line.” If a book was made for sale, then the scribe wrote in neat capital letters: letter under letter, as if in boxes (“printed,” we would say); if for yourself, then in cursive, haphazardly. They wrote without separating words, and to make it easier to read, sometimes they placed accent marks above the line. Pauses were marked with a vertical line. Many centuries later, our comma came from this dash.

Copyist of books in the Library of Alexandria.

Alexandrian scholars tried very hard to obtain the oldest, most reliable manuscripts for their library. King Ptolemy gave the order: a book search should be carried out on all ships that enter the port of Alexandria; if one of the travelers has a book with him, select it, make a copy and give this copy to the owner, and leave the book for the library. The most reliable manuscripts of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were kept in Athens, in the archives of the Theater of Dionysus. Ptolemy asked for these manuscripts on a large deposit in order to compare the books of his library with them. The Athenians gave it, and, of course, the king sacrificed the deposit, returned the copies, and left the manuscripts in Alexandria. About 700 thousand scrolls were collected in the Library of Alexandria. Everything that was ever written in Greek was kept here. The list of these books itself (with information about the authors and content) occupied 120 scrolls; it was compiled by the same Callimachus who said: “ Big Book- a great evil." In addition to the main book depository at Musaeus, it was necessary to build a second one at the Temple of Serapis. They stood for six more than centuries.

In the Library of Alexandria.

Alexandria was the most cosmopolitan city of the Hellenistic East. Its population consisted of several groups: descendants of the indigenous inhabitants, settlers from Kanopus, Greeks and Macedonians, Jews, and from the 2nd century BC - Romans and Italians. Religious life The city in the Hellenistic and early Christian eras was very colorful: local cults of Sarapis and Isis flourished here, numerous Egyptian pagan gods were identified with Greek ones. Through Alexandria, oriental cults began to spread throughout the Mediterranean. In the first centuries after the birth of Christ in special group The Egyptians, the Copts, who converted to Christianity, stood out. Here, according to legend, the holy Apostle Mark preached. From the first years of Christianity, the Bishop of Alexandria enjoyed special respect, eventually taking on the titles of patriarch and pope and becoming the head of one of the ancient Patriarchates - the Alexandrian Patriarchate. Orthodox Church. At the turn of the era, the population of Alexandria grew rapidly: if at the beginning of the 1st century BC it was 300 thousand, then after 100 years it reached, according to some estimates, 1 million. And despite all the diversity of cultures and beliefs, relative peace reigned here for more than six centuries. The decline began in the 4th-5th centuries AD due to the rise of Constantinople, the capital of Christian Byzantium. What was once considered beautiful and worthy was now being rebuilt or destroyed - the struggle of Christianity against paganism acquired the first signs of violence. A terrible bloody drama led to the end of the era of prosperity of Alexandria.

2. Hypatia (Hypatia)

At the turn of the 5th century, the pride of Alexandria became the first woman in history - scientist, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer Hypatia (370 - 415). Her father was Theon, a famous mathematician, astronomer and mechanic of that time. Not far from their house was the famous Library of Alexandria. From the early childhood the girl enthusiastically listened to her wise father, who taught her older brother, absorbing knowledge like a sponge, and very soon brilliantly solved those problems that her brother could not do. The girl was distinguished by her amazing intelligence and, what was especially rare, showed extraordinary mechanical abilities. She spent a long time watching the artisans work. Imitating Theon, she made simple tools needed for astronomical observations. Thanks to her outstanding scientific works, the fame of Hypatia spread far beyond the borders of Alexandria. She was called the smartest, most modest and best of philosophers. Hypatia spent many years reading the books of ancient philosophers. Her breadth of interests, amazing capacity for work, sharpness of mind, deep understanding of Plato and Aristotle earned her the respect of the professors at Museion. She was still very young when she had her first students. Hypatia was different extraordinary beauty, but instead of the usual clothes of a young girl, she began to wear the dark cloak of a philosopher.

Meanwhile, peace-loving Christianity in Alexandria fought against paganism. The most beautiful pagan temple, the Serapetum, was destroyed and plundered, and “at the same time,” the nearby Library of Alexandria. Frightened, Theon locked his daughter in the house so that she would not rush to the useless defense of the abode of knowledge. Hypatia cried for several days in a row and for a long time could not return to ordinary life. She wore mourning for a very long time, and when she took it off, she went into science the way others go into a monastery, devoting herself entirely to mathematics, astronomy, mechanics, and philosophy. Except scientific works Hypatia, as before, was engaged in teaching. More and more students flocked to listen to her lectures.
After the defeat of the Serapeum, many leading scientists left Alexandria forever. But Theon and his daughter remained. It is permissible for a money changer, not a scientist, to refer to the proverb “The homeland is where it is good.” A true scientist will not leave his homeland in times of trial.
Theon and Hypatia's school continued to operate. Hypatia achieved perfection in the difficult art of stargazing. She not only developed the ideas of the great astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy, many years of observations allowed her to make a number of amendments to his work. She compiled more accurate astronomical tables. The daughter surpassed her father in astronomy. The glory of Hypatia eclipsed the glory of Theon.

Hypatia amazed me with its versatility. She became widely famous for her teaching of philosophy and mathematics. However, with no less brilliance she read about Homer or. about Greek tragedians. Hypatia knew books very well Christian writers. One of her favorite students, Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais, did not dare to publish his theological work without Hypatia's approval.
The Hypatia school was attended by people from different countries. Pagans sat next to the Christians. Her former students could be found both at the episcopal see and at the court in Constantinople. It was a pleasure to listen to Hypatia. It became fashionable to visit Hypatia's house. The whole flower of learned Alexandria gathered around her. The prefect of Alexandria himself, Orestes (a Christian), was often her guest.

The new bishop of Alexandria, Cyril, was haunted by the glory of the wisest. Pagan! Woman! Genius! Being not a very smart person himself (albeit a prolific writer), he preferred to deal with force with someone whom he could not deal with with words. Kirill set religious fanatics against his “rival.” Hypatia was dragged into a Christian temple and there she was stoned to death. The remains were burned at the stake. Her students fled the city or were killed. Alexandria as a scientific and cultural center ceased to exist. Kirill devoted the rest of his life to “removing from circulation” the scientific works of the talented woman. He succeeded in this. Almost none of Hypatia's works have survived to this day. But her glory, the wisest of the wise, overcame centuries-old barriers and we know that she existed. At the time of her death, Hypatia, according to the most conservative estimates, was about fifty years old.

The fame of Hypatia was too loud, and it was not so easy to portray this wonderful woman as a fiend of hell. The Church chose a different path. Hypatia was made almost a Christian martyr. In the “Life of St. Cyril of Alexandria” everything already looks like this: “In Alexandria there lived one girl named Hypatia, the daughter of the philosopher Theon. She was a believing and virtuous woman and, distinguished by Christian wisdom, spent her days in purity and chastity, observing virginity. From her youth, she was taught philosophy by her father Theon and was so successful in philosophy that she surpassed all the philosophers who lived in those days. She did not even want to get married, partly out of a desire to freely practice philosophy and study books, but in particular she preserved her virginity. love for Christ." She was killed by "peace-hating rebels"
The collision of the defender of the ancient worldview, “cheerful and bright,” with the approaching “darkness of the Middle Ages” is a fertile topic for novelists, especially if they are not too burdened by the love of historical authenticity. Lecomte de Lisle saw in Hypatia a symbol of the perishing Hellenic culture, last incarnation"the spirit of Plato and the body of Aphrodite." Two novels dedicated to Hypatia have been translated into Russian by Fritz Mautner and Charles Kingsley.
What's the result? Knowledge of history is useful because we see in this history both good Christians - such as Prefect Orestes, and Greek philosophers, such as Hypatia. They pitted conscience against violence - but lost. They lost when violence was the main language. But history repeats itself, it’s not for nothing that the new Alexandria is now considered...the Internet is a place where the most contradictory opinions coexist and heated but peaceful discussions arise. How long will this last? Six and a half centuries?

Wikipedia materials were used; bubligum9000; popular science sites on the Internet.