Library of Alexandria, the most famous library of Classical antiquity. It formed part of the research institute at Alexandria in Egypt that is known as the Alexandrian Museum (Mouseion, “shrine of the Muses”).

Library of Alexandria Illustration of the ancient Library of Alexandria, Egypt. Fine Art Images/Heritage-Images/age fotostock

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Libraries and archives were known to many ancient civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece, but the earliest such institutions were of a local and regional nature, primarily concerned with the conservation of their own particular traditions and heritage. The idea of a universal library, like that of Alexandria, arose only after the Greek mind had begun to envisage and encompass a larger worldview. The Greeks were impressed by the achievements of their neighbours, and many Greek intellectuals sought to explore the resources of their knowledge. There is literary evidence of Greek individuals visiting Egypt especially to acquire knowledge: e.g., Herodotus, Plato (particularly in Phaedrus and Timaeus), Theophrastus, and Eudoxus of Cnidus (as detailed by Diogenes Laërtius in the 3rd century ce).

Against that background of avid hunger for knowledge among the Greeks, Alexander launched his global enterprise in 334 bce, which he accomplished with meteoric speed until his untimely death in 323 bce. His aim throughout had not been restricted to conquering lands as far from Macedonia as India but had been to also explore them. He required his companions, generals, and scholars to report to him in detail on regions previously unmapped and uncharted. His campaigns resulted in a “considerable addition of empirical knowledge of geography,” as Eratosthenes remarked (as reported by Greek geographer Strabo). The reports that Alexander had acquired survived after his death, and they motivated an unprecedented movement of scientific research and study of the Earth, its natural physical qualities, and its inhabitants. The time was pregnant with a new spirit that engendered a renaissance of human culture. It was in that atmosphere that the great library and Mouseion saw the light of day in Alexandria.

The founding of the library and the Mouseion is unquestionably connected with the name of Demetrius of Phaleron, a member of the Peripatetic school and a former Athenian politician. After his fall from power in Athens, Demetrius sought refuge at the court of King Ptolemy I Soter (c. 297 bce) and became the king’s adviser. Ptolemy soon took advantage of Demetrius’s wide and versatile knowledge and, about 295 bce, charged him with the task of founding the library and the Mouseion.

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The “Letter of Aristeas” of the 2nd century bce reveals that the institution was conceived as a universal library:

Demetrius…had at his disposal a large budget in order to collect, if possible, all the books in the world;…to the best of his ability, he carried out the king’s objective. (Letters 9–10.)

The same claim was reiterated more than once: Irenaeus spoke of Ptolemy’s desire to equip “his library with the writings of all men as far as they were worth serious attention.” Undoubtedly, however, the largest amount of material was written in Greek. In fact, judging from the scholarly work produced in Alexandria, it seems likely that the whole corpus of Greek literature was amassed in the library.

One of the major acquisitions for the library was the “books of Aristotle,” concerning which there are two conflicting accounts. According to Athenaeus, Philadelphus purchased that collection for a large sum of money, whereas Strabo reported that Aristotle’s books passed on in succession through different hands, until they were later confiscated in 86 bce by Sulla, who carried them away to Rome. The two accounts perhaps deal with two different things. Athenaeus may be referring to the collection of books that Aristotle had amassed at his school in Athens, which Philadelphus was able to purchase when his former tutor, Straton, was head of the Lyceum. Strabo’s account may be dealing with the personal writings that Aristotle had bequeathed to his successors as heads of the Lyceum, until they were confiscated by Sulla. In support of the latter understanding is Plutarch’s remark that “the Peripatetics no longer possess the original texts of Aristotle and Theophrastus, because they had fallen into idle and base hands.”