Talking about a library in
antiquity, we automatically have – be it abstract – visions of the famous Library
of Alexandria, Egypt.
The library was, of course, not a Greek invention. However, they all kept legal
and administrative documents. It is here that philosophers and occasional
orators held lectures.
The oldest library (2500-2250 BC)
was the one discovered in Ebla, Syria, containing a vast number of
clay tablets. Of more recent dates were the clay tablets found at Mari (1900 BC) and Ugarit (1200 BC), both in Syria. As shown
at Hattusa, Turkey,
the Hittites were not behind, with some 30,000 tablets going back to 1900-1190
BC.
One of Turkey's
more recently constructed libraries was The Royal Library of Antioch (today’s Antakya) founded in the third century BC under Antioch III.
Next comes the Library of Pergamon (modern Bergama),
established by the Attalid kings between 197 and 159 BC. With its 200,000
volumes, it is second only to the Library of Alexandria. When the Ptolemies blocked the import of
papyrus from Egypt, Pergamon started to use fine calfskin
as alternative writing support, creating the first parchment or pergamum.
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built in 135
AD and had close ties with Alexandria and Pergamon.
Aristotle founded the oldest Greek library
in Athens
in the fourth century BC, which contributed widely to the later collection in Alexandria.
Next came the libraries of Cos and Rhodes and the Library of Hadrian in Athens,
all dating from the first/second century AD.The Library of Alexandria has not survived, and
the few descriptions that reached us leave a lot to our imagination. Among the
best-preserved and/or best-restored, we note the Library of Celsus in Ephesus and the Library of Hadrian
in Athens, which will help us to
recreate an overall image of these fascinating structures.
The Library of Celsus
in Ephesus is an inevitable
landmark to every tourist who walks down Curetus Street and is beckoning him from
the onset. It is indeed an imposing building with a carefully reconstructed
façade, yet it is consistent with the grandeur and wealth of Ephesus.
The high Corinthian columns support richly decorated ceiling caissons and frame
the statues of four goddesses on their high pedestal, i.e., Sofia
(wisdom), Arete (virtue), Ennoia (intelligence), and Episteme (knowledge). Consul Gaius Julius Aquila built this
Library around 105-107 AD for his father, a worthy present, no doubt.
Initially, the inside walls were covered with colored marble, and they still
vaguely show traces of the niches meant to hold the papyrus scrolls in
partitioned wooden cupboards (armaria).
The room is quite grand, measuring 11 x 17 meters, and reminds me
of Ptolemy’s library, as shown in Oliver Stone’s movie Alexander.
Hadrian built his Library of Hadrian in Athens circa 132-134 AD as part of his ambitious plans for the city. He erected it
close to the Roman Agora and served as a repository for the city’s official
archives besides its books. The peristyle-shaped building measured 122 x 82 meters, and today it
is still accessible through an impressive propylon with Corinthian columns of
Karystos marble. One hundred columns of Phrygian marble surrounded the large
courtyard, interrupted by several semi-circular seating spaces. A garden and a
decorative pool once occupied the center. Today, we see the ruins of several
basilicas from the 7th and 12th centuries. Opposite the entrance propylon and
at the far end of the courtyard lies the library itself. It was composed of a central
reading room flanked by an auditorium with curved seating resembling a theatre.
Of additional interest are the remains of the small Agios Asomatos sta Skalia
church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, built in between the Corinthian
columns at the entrance and still showing traces of a Byzantine fresco.
With its high surrounding walls,
this Library must have been awe-inspiring – an excellent example to imagine other
libraries elsewhere since the remains are often too scant to prove it.
No comments:
Post a Comment