Burning of Books at the Library of Alexandria

There are so many differing and varied versions of the burning of the Alexandrian library, that one wonders whether anyone really knows what happened at all. However it does seem that there were a number of fires - possibly three, but more reliably one - at different times in history. One informative and relevant website that I came across on this topic, worthy of recommendation due to its content, was that of James Hannam - check out his website: ...so to the library at Alexandria...

The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great, and after his death in 323BC his generals fought amongst themselves for pieces of his empire. One of the more successful was Ptolemy I from Macedonia, who thereby founded the Ptolemy dynastyat Alexandria. The early Ptolemy's were intellectual men and were very supportive of the libraries development and Ptolemy I, having his own intellectual interest, did what he could to attract intellectuals to the city. It seems that the early development of the library came about through one of these scholars, known as Demetrius of Phaleron, supported by Ptolemy I and subsequently Ptolemy II. The Ptolemy's apparently had a habit of borrowing original copies of books in order to have copies made, but neglected to return them. They also borrowed originals, had copies made and then returned the copies to Athens or wherever they had borrowed them from. Books onboard ships that came into the port were seized, copied and returned to the ships, but kept more often than not. So, by varying ways and means the library grew and brilliant intellectual and scholarly work was carried out there in a 'golden age' lasting for around three centuries.
Further information on the Library of Alexandria itself is available on these videos from Youtube:

Dr Carl Sagan on the Library at Alexandria


The Library of Alexandria


Again, reports vary as to what was actually held in the library, but it seems to have had around 400,000 scrolls in its holdings in 47/48 BC, when Julius Caesar, attacking Alexandria in a battle to take control of it, realised he was about to be cut off by the Egyptian fleet. Realising this would leave him trapped, Caesar ordered his soldiers to clear the wharves with fire and sent fire ships into the harbour. By doing so he was able to reduce the Egyptian fleet to ashes, however the fire spread to the nearby land and subsequently the great library caught fire. Other reports say that there were warehouses housing some 40,000 books at the docks and that these were what caught fire. Possibly these scrolls were new acquisitions for the library that had come into port and were awaiting delivery to the library.

There is little unanimity amongst historians and scholars as to finer details of events regarding the disappearance of this library, due largely to the fact that litte remains to tell the tale and that surviving references in literature appear to contracist one another. However, late in the third century AD somewhere around 391, it seems that the Emperor Theodosius and the patriach Theophilus successfully incited a mob to attack and burn the library. Their motives were Christian as they had been able to convert most of the subjects to Christianity and the contents of the library threatened those of the Bible. Likewise, they encouraged dictatorship and the eradication of ideas by burning books. Other sources say that this is not true and that it was the sister library at the Serapeum that was attacked and destroyed at this time, and that the main library at Alexandria was destroyed in 48 BC.

The story of the final fire at the library did not appear until the thirteenth century, which gives it credit as legend only, but runs along the lines of the Arab conqueror of Alexandria 'Amr' was approached by an unfrocked Christian priest who asked for the books of wisdom, given that they could be of no use to the Arabs. Amr wrote to the Caliph Omar, who replied that the books should be destroyed. The books were sent to the bath houses of Alexandria to fuel the baths and were still being burnt six months later.

Between 320 and 1303, according to Fernando Baez in his A Universal History of the Destruction of Books, there were at least twenty three earthquakes in Alexandria. In the summer of 365, he says that there was a very powerful tremor. Apparently hundreds of objects and pieces of column have been found in the port, by the team from Institut Europeen d'Archeologie Sous-Marine led by Franck Goddio, proving that parts of Alexandria sank and he offers this as one possible hypothesis on the disappearance of the Great Library.

Overall, an unrewarding week for me. For every piece of information that I located, I found another that disproved it and/or dismissed it as legend. It seems that we, the readers, find the legend and myth of the burning of a great library, housing all the knowledge of the world, quite enthralling and possibly it is our imaginations that fuel the whole story. Added to that the youtube video's would not upload. Screams.

REFERENCE LIST:

BOOKS:
Baez, F 2008, A Universal history of the destruction of books: from ancient Sumer to modern Iraq, Atlas & Co, New York.
Macleod, R 2000, The Library of Alexandria: centre of learning in the ancient world, I.B Tauris, London
Canfora, L 1994, The Vanished library, Hutchinson Radius, London.

WEBSITES:
Direct links available in text.