What was the Library of Alexandria?
Quick answer
The Library of Alexandria was the most famous library of the ancient world, founded in Alexandria, Egypt, under the Ptolemaic kings in the early 3rd century BC. It aimed to collect every book in the known world, perhaps holding hundreds of thousands of scrolls. It wasn’t destroyed in one fire but declined over centuries.
Founded by Alexander’s successors
After Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, his general Ptolemy I took control of Egypt. Ptolemy I or his son Ptolemy II founded the Library as part of the Mouseion, a research institute dedicated to the Muses. Scholars lived there, paid by the king, to study and write.
How it collected books
| Method | How it worked |
|---|---|
| Buying | Agents bought scrolls across the Mediterranean |
| Ships’ books | Books found on ships in the harbor were copied; the library often kept the original |
| Borrowing | It famously borrowed Athens’ official copies of the great plays and never returned them, forfeiting a large deposit |
Everything was written on papyrus; see what papyrus is.
Great minds of Alexandria
- Euclid wrote his Elements, the basis of geometry for 2,000 years.
- Eratosthenes, a chief librarian, estimated Earth’s circumference with impressive accuracy.
- Callimachus created the Pinakes, one of the first library catalogs.
- Scholars produced the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
How did it end?
| Event | Effect |
|---|---|
| 48 BC | Julius Caesar’s fire in Alexandria may have burned some books or warehouses |
| Later centuries | Funding fell and scholars were expelled under some rulers |
| AD 270s | Fighting destroyed the palace district |
| AD 391 | The Serapeum, a daughter library, was destroyed |
Most historians say the Library faded through neglect and conflict, not a single dramatic blaze.
The modern library
Egypt opened the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2002, a huge modern library and cultural center near the ancient site, with a tilted, disc-shaped roof.
For the Egyptian god of writing and wisdom, see the jackal-headed god Anubis, which also covers Thoth.
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