THE HEART OF ANTIQUE SCIENCE: THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA

The heart of the Mediterranean is a city in Egypt... This city is the most famous science center of the ancient world... Here is the Library of Alexandria, one of the most famous libraries of the ancient world.

Alexandria... It is a port city in Egypt, which we mostly hear about in history lessons, named after Alexander the Great, famous for its lighthouse, but also an important science center of the time, hosting famous scientists of the period, and has a very important place in the history of science.

In this article, we want to briefly provide information about how Alexandria became a science center, the scope of the Library of Alexandria and its museum, the fields of science studied here, and how the library was burned.

Centuries ago, with the rise of Alexander the Great, a powerful period began in the Mediterranean, and Alexandria, founded by him, became an important port city. Ptolemy I Soter, who took over the administration after the death of Alexander the Great, made this port city a science city by first establishing a library and museum in Alexandria. When we look at history, the emergence of scientific developments is largely dependent on societies' approach to science and the support of rulers for science. It is quite interesting that Soter established a library and museum in Alexandria to support the development of science.

The library and museum of Alexandria became the most famous center of that period. Imagine a library; let there be an example of all animals and plants known in that period in this library and its affiliated museum, let there be an observatory and a botanical garden, and let there be houses where different branches of science are taught. When considered in this way, we can say that the library and museum formed a large complex structure. What made Alexandria, a city where the foundation of Hellenistic culture was laid, popular at that time was this library and museum.

The Library of Alexandria Had The Largest Collection of Manuscripts in The Ancient World

It is stated that the library, which has approximately 900,000 manuscripts, had a large working staff. It is stated that the works were written on papyrus and stored in the form of rolls.

It is rumored that the library, supported by the king, also served as a publishing house. Greek translations and copies of many manuscripts belonging to civilizations such as Greece, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Iran were prepared here. The development of the library's collection was given great importance, and large amounts were paid to obtain a manuscript from a distant place when necessary.

Thanks To The Library of Alexandria, The Development of Science

Thanks to its geographical location and library, Alexandria became the center of famous scientists of the period. The science houses located in the complex we call the library hosted many scientists from different branches and played an important role in the development of science.

If we give some examples of these scientists; the first name we need to mention is Euclid. Euclid is the name who established the largest mathematics school in the library and prepared the work called "Elements" (Stoikheia), which laid the foundation of geometry education in the West.

Apollonius was also an important member of the mathematics school. In his book called "About Conics", Apollonius, who examined ellipses and parabolas, has an important place for later periods with this work. In addition, he was interested in irrational numbers, was interested in astronomy, and especially worked on the moon.


Archimedes established the Mechanics school and invented the "Archimedes screw", a device with helical cylinders used for water lifting. Archimedes, who was known as a mechanical genius, is said to have built celestial spheres and a type of planetarium to depict celestial bodies. He was also a mathematical genius who discovered the "pi" number used to calculate the area of a circle. Ktesibios, who invented water clocks, and Hero, who was more interested in mechanical toys, were also important representatives of the Mechanics school. The presence of tools such as the "Odometer" used to measure road length and the "Dioptra" used for land measurement in this school is quite important.

The Library of Alexandria also hosted important names in the field of medicine. Herophilus is the first name that comes to mind among these names. Herophilus is a well-known general practitioner and teacher. His examinations of cadavers in Alexandria, as well as his studies on the brain, nervous system, pulse, and diet, are important. After Herophilus, Erasistratus, who claimed that autopsies were necessary to determine the cause of death after suspicious deaths and conducted research on respiration, became another important name in the field of medicine.

If we talk about astronomy and the scientists working in this field within the Library of Alexandria, we can say that the first name is the Chief Librarian Eratosthenes. Eratosthenes' observations on the earth's sphere and his work on the sun are important. His book "Geography" was used as a basic work for a long time. Hipparchus, an important observer astronomer, and Ptolemy, another important representative of the astronomy school, were also important names. Ptolemy's work on optics, and his book "Almagest", which is a summary of Greek astronomy, are important in the history of science. He also made important contributions to the field of geometry.

Thanks to all these studies and scientists, the Library of Alexandria also hosted different groups from other regions from time to time. The schools within the library were also institutions where outsiders were taught.

The Unfortunate Event In The History of Science; The Burning of the Library of Alexandria

Books have always been the source of knowledge throughout history and the most valuable materials, but they are also the first to be damaged in an adverse situation. Although encountered in different geographies throughout history, similar situations are noteworthy. The end of the great science center of antiquity, the Library of Alexandria, was tragic; the library was burned down. Most of the manuscripts in the library were destroyed in this way.


Various claims have been made about the burning of the library. The most well-known of these is that the library was damaged when Julius Caesar besieged Egypt in 47 BC, and many works were lost. It is also stated that the surviving sources were destroyed after the conversion to Christianity because they were of a nature that spread paganism. The date of this event is stated as 391 AD, and it is said that all the remaining works in the library were burned in the city's baths.

Although there is no clear information about the burning of the Library of Alexandria, it shows an important similarity with what was done in later centuries to prevent the spread of knowledge in different cultures. The spread of knowledge was attempted to be prevented by eliminating sources of information.

Today, the Library of Alexandria has been rebuilt in the area believed to be the location of the old library and opened in 2002. Although the library, built in a size similar to the old library, dazzles with its magnificence, unfortunately, it can never replace the old library because it does not have a similar manuscript of the valuable manuscripts lost.

Source: RONAN, C. A. , Wikipedia