Alexandria, the first Renaissance

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 to be 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 2^nd 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.