Library of Alexandria

Epic card · No. 12596

The Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of the library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the library, but the library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The library quickly acquired many papyrus scrolls, owing largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown how many scrolls were housed at any given time at the Library of Alexandria, but estimates range from 40,000 to 700,000. Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning in part because of the Great Library. Many important and influential scholars worked...

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