The Great Library at

1
The Great Library at

• By Sharon Gibson

2
The Library

• Once the greatest library in the world, the
  destruction remains a mystery.
  
• Possibly made up of many buildings and connected
  to the Temple of the Muses (Museum).
  
• Scholars, housed at the library, made many
  discoveries and achieved major accomplishments.

3
The Beginnings

• Demetrius, an official under Ptolemy I,
  encouraged the collection of scrolls and books
  from other cultures and the people they dealt
  with in trade.
• The chore of overseeing the collection and
  translating it into Greek fell to Demetrius.
  
• Project began with 72 rabbis hired to translate
  the Old Testament into Greek.

4
The Acquisitions

• When they couldnt buy it, they copied it.
• Ptolemy sent letters to people asking to borrow
  manuscripts to copy. Copies were then returned
  and the originals kept for library.
  
• Ships in the harbor were also searched for
  manuscripts. Copies were then returned to ships.

5
The Librarians

• Demetrius is not mention in history as a
  librarian, possibly because buildings not built
  before his death.
  
• Zenodotus of Ephesus was first recorded
  librarian. He held the post from Ptolemy Is
  reign until 245 B.C.
  
• Callimachus of Cyrene created the first subject
  catalog in 120,000 scrolls.
  
• Eratosthenes of Cyrene designed the scheme of
  great bookshelves.
  

6
The Stacks

• Shelves of scrolls wrapped in linen or leather
  filled racks.
  
• Later parchment skins were used.
• In Roman times manuscripts were in book form and
  kept in armaria (chests).
  
• Materials divided in the subject catalog by
  Aristotles division of knowledge (astronomy,
  medicine, mathematics, geometry, etc.).
  

7
The Destructiontheories

• Burned when Caesar set fire to ships in the
  harbor. This was probably copies stored in
  warehouses near the harbor, because library is
  mentioned in writings after this occurred.
• Destroyed during civil wars. This probably did
  cause public to lose interest in the upkeep of
  the library.
  
• Destroyed during the destruction of Alexandrias
  temples in the late 4th century by Christians.
  This is the most acceptable theory based on
  writings that mention the library and Temple of
  the Muses during this time.

8
New Findings

• In May, 2004, archaeologists discovered the
  possible site of the Library of Alexandria.
  
• Thirteen lecture halls have been uncovered.

9
Bibliography

• "About the Supreme Council of Antiquities."
  Eternal Egypt. Eternal Egypt. 06 Nov. 2005
  b/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_keyaction.display
  .aboutlanguage_id1link_key0.
• Ashmawy, Alaa. "Alexandria." Alexandria, Egypt.
  21 January 2004. 06 Nov. 2005 du/pharos/Alexandria/index.html.
  
• Alexandrian Library, The." The Advent. Catholic
  Encyclopedia Online. 06 Nov. 2005
  .
  
• Hannam, James. "Mysterious Fate of the Library of
  Alexandria." Bebe's . 22 July 2005. Wikipedia,
  the Free Encyclopedia. 06 Nov. 2005 Alexandria." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 06
  Nov. 2005.
• "Library of Alexandria." Wikipedia, the Free
  Encyclopedia. 06 Nov. 2005 g/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria.
  
• "Library of Alexandria Discovered." BBC News. 12
  May. 2004. BBC News. 06 Nov. 2005
  .