The term
Hellenism is often interchanged with Greek, especially in art. Classical Greek
art almost unnoticeably merged with Hellenistic art, and we owe it all to Alexander. In the wake of
his conquests, Greek culture and language spread all over the ancient world,
from Greece to India. Thanks
to the common use of the Greek language, trade developed as merchants were
always looking for business opportunities. Talking to buyers and sellers in the
same language was a considerable asset.
After the wars
among Alexander’s
successors were settled, peace returned in one form or another. Traffic and
exchanges between East and West soon blossomed to reach a level never achieved
before.
Greek knowledge
and culture mixed and blended with the learning of Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and India.
In this context, Alexandria
became the new center of the ancient world.
It was in Alexandria that the
first Library was created. In today’s words, this could be compared to a
university. Ptolemy I Soter,
initially founded a Museum inside the Temple
of the Muses (hence the name Museum), where all art and sciences were brought
together.
It seems that
the Library was, in fact, an extension of the temple built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus,
his son. Like every other building in Alexandria,
we only have a slight idea of what it looked like as, to this day, very few
remains have been unearthed. An outstanding effort to visualize the great
Library was made by Kevin Kok, Senior Level Artist at
Ubisoft Montreal, to recreate the complex as it would or could have
been (see: The Library of Alexandria).
In time, the terms Museum and Library were used interchangeably.
The Library of Alexandria certainly
met Alexander’s
own desire to create a research center where knowledge from East and West would
be collected to be shared by all. The very concept existed already in the
Academy and the Lyceum of Athens,
but at Alexander’s
death in 323 BC, the ancient world had grown into another dimension. We must
credit Ptolemy for
understanding Alexander’s
vision and executing his ambition.
Eventually,
great scientists flocked to Alexandria, exchanging and
discussing their understanding and perception of the world. Much research was
done at the Museum which held an astronomical observatory and rooms for anatomical
dissections and where all sorts of experiments were carried out. The site also
included botanical and zoological gardens. How modern is that!
It is generally
accepted that Dimitrios of
Phaleron was responsible for the Library organization. With the budget
made available by Ptolemy II,
he collected all the books he could, including the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus. Ptolemy III continued this
trend, and the Library could boast of having half a million parchment rolls.
Among them were all the great Greek works from Homer onward!
After the death
of Dimitrios, Zenodotus of Ephesus took
over, assisted by Callimachus
of Cyrene. This Callimachus
is credited with being the first to classify 120,000 works of prose and poetry,
sorting them by author and subject. Eratosthenes of Cyrene was appointed around 235 BC
as the new head of the Library. He concentrated on mathematics, astronomy, and
geography. We’ll remember Eratosthenes’
contribution to calculating planet Earth's size after Pythagoras had declared
that the earth was a sphere (see: Alexander missed Eratosthenes by less than a century).
Great scientists
widely contributed to the Library. Euclid
wrote his Elements of
Geometry, which is still used today, and also a book on astronomy
and one on perspective, the Optica.
Archimedes, a
native of Syracuse,
probably studied in Alexandria.
He is best known for his theory of calculating the volume, which he discovered
while bathing. He was so excited about his discovery that he ran out of his
house, stark naked, shouting “Eureka!”
- I found it! (see: Archimedes,
the most illustrious citizen of Syracuse). The greatest
astronomer of antiquity was Hipparchus of Nicaea, who made great use of the Library of Alexandria. Besides being a geographer and a mathematician,
he also was the inventor of trigonometry, and most famous for discovering the
precession of the equinoxes in the late 2nd century BC.
Lesser known but
equally important is Ctesibius of Alexandria, the inventor of toys and devices using air under
pressure, i.e., pneumatics. He created automatons such as a water clock, a fire
engine, and even a singing statue. He also invented the first keyboard-wind
instrument, the hydraulis, a recreation of which is exhibited in the Museum of Dion, Greece (see: Close encounter with an ancient Water-Organ).
By 62 AD, Hero of Alexandria even
invented the first steam engine! Imagine our world if this invention had not
been lost.
The list of
scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, physicians, and inventors seems
endless. All their knowledge was born in Alexandria,
from where it spread over the entire antique world for more than three hundred
years! The famous Lighthouse of Alexandria,
the Pharos, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World,
shining its light over a great distance thanks to an intricate system of
mirrors. How it actually worked remains obscure. It was probably damaged by the
catastrophic earthquake that hit the entire coast of North
Africa in 365 AD. Repairs never resuscitated this unique
structure.
Alexandria was also the center where Medical Science was born under Herophilus. He was the
first scientist to systematically perform dissections of dead people, often in
public, to explain his actions to those interested in these matters. His books
are lost but were frequently quoted in the 2nd century AD by the physician Claudius Galenus, better
known as Galen of Pergamon
(see: Hello?
Dr. Galen?)
Other Libraries
were known from antiquity (see: Libraries in antiquity, a short overview), but none surpassed the one in Alexandria.
After centuries
of glory, this great Library succumbed to earthquakes and repeated fires. The
lack of funds to sponsor and maintain the premises was another reason for its
degradation. Eventually, the knowledge was transferred to Antioch,
and with the Arab conquest to Baghdad.
We owe very much to Caliph
Al-Mansur (754-775 AD), who had a vivid interest in Greek science.
He ordered the Greek documents to be translated into Arabic. Over the
centuries, these translations traveled back west to become available in Latin.
In fact, Al-Mansur saved ancient
Greek literature and science for us to enjoy today. This entire process is
developed in detail by John Freely in his book Aladdins’
Lamp. How Greek science came to Europe through the Islamic World.
Another great article!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you link to older articles as I have only been following your blog a couple of years. This way I can retrack everything.
Keep it up!
It’s good to hear back from you recently, it has been a while since your last comment earlier this year.
DeleteI’m glad that you are still enjoying my blog and exploring previous posts. Your words are quite encouraging!