Library of Alexandria Essay example -- essays research papers

HOW WAS THE GREAT LIBRAY OF ALEXANDRIA ORGANIZED AND OPERATED? WHO OR WHAT CAUSED ITS dying?     For the extra credit assignment I obtain decided to calm as essay describing the coarse depository library of Alexandria. The library itself is wrapped up in a great mystery that has had galore(postnominal) historians and archeologists heavily raise 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 as well believed to be one of the biggest libraries in tender-hearted history. Its significance is of invaluable knowledge. The mammoth size of such a colossal monument for the period of time that is existed is phenomenal. Even though it was significant in its time, the destruction of such a beautiful collection of thoughts, novels and other writings is nearwhat 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 saint of the Muses modeled after the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens. The Museum was a place of get wind which included lecture areas, gardens, a zoo, and shrines for each of the nine muses as sanitary as the Library itself. It has been estimated that at one time the Library of Alexandria held everywhere half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations. Over atomic number 6 scholars and scribes lived at the Museum full time to perform research, write, lecture or interpret and copy documents (Hertzke 2004). The library got so large it actually had another pegleg 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 someoneal accounts that were put onto historical text a good deal later on reveal clues to its possible 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 tire and consequently must be seen as biased. Probably everyone mentioned above had some hand in destroying some part of the Librarys 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 wedded 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 t he far daughter library at the Temple of Serapis continued on. Many writers come out to equate the Library of Alexandria with the Library of Serapis although technically they were in two contrastive parts of the city. The real tragedy of course is not the uncertainty of well-educated who to blame for the Librarys destruction but that so much of ancient history, literary productions and learning was lost forever. Its importance and significance will never be resurrected, but will forever lay in a mystery. plainly 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 force have been.