The vanished library. A Wonder of the Ancient World

217 Pages·1990·9.63 MB·English

by  Luciano Canfora

A Wo~~r of the Ancient World
--
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THE
VANISHED
LIBRARY
Luciano Canfora
Translated by Martin Ryle
UNIVERSII'Y OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley • Los Angeles
University ofCalifornia Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
First published by Hutchinson Radius 1989
California Edition (CorrectedTranslation) 1990
1987 Sellerio editore via Siracusa 50 Palermo
©
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Canfora, Luciano.
[Biblioteca scomparsa, English]
The vanished library / Luciano Canfora : translated by Martin Ryle.
p. em.
Translation of: La biblioteca scomparsa.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-520-07304-5 (cloth).-ISBN 0-520-07255-3 (paper)
I. Alexandria (Egypt). Library. 2. Libraries-Egypt-Alexandria
History-to 400. 3. Alexandria (Egypt)-Intellectuallife.
4. Alexandria (Egypt)-Antiquities. 5. Civilization, Classical.
I. Title.
Z722·5·C3513 1990
026'932-dC20
90-11087
CIP
Typeset by Selectmove Ltd, London
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
4 5 6 7 8 9
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences - Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. §
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Contents
..
Chronology
Vll
Part I
The Pharaoh's Tomb 3
I.
2. The Sacred Library 8
3. The Forbidden City 13
4. The Fugitive 16
5. The Universal Library 20
6. 'I leave my books to Neleus' 26
7. The Symposium 30
8. In the Cage of the Muses 37
9· The Rival Library 45
10. Reappearance and Disappearance of Aristode 5I
I I. The Second Visitor 59
12. War 66
13· The Third Visitor 7
I
14. The Library 77
IS. The Fire 81
16. The Dialogue ofJohn Philoponus with the
Emir Amrou Ibn el-Ass while Amrou prepared to
burn the Library 83
Part I - References 100
Part II - The Sources 107
I. Gibbon 109
2. The Dialogues of Amrou IIS
3. Revisions of Aristeas 19
I
4. Aulus Gellius 123
5. Isidore of Seville 126
6. Livy 132
7· Conjectures 137
8. Hecataeus 145
9. The Elusive Library 147
10. The Soma of Rameses 161
Kadesh 166
I I.
12. Strabo and Neleus 173
13. Library Traditions 183
14. Conflagrations 190
IS· Epilogue 194
Index 199
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Chronology
B.c. 335 Aristotle founds his school at Athens.
332 Alexander ofMacedonia enters Egypt.
323 Death ofAlexander the Great. Struggle for power among his generals,
the 'Diadochi': Ptolemy, Seleucus, Antigonus, Antipater and his son
Cassander, Antigonus, Lysimachus, and Eumenes.
Foundation ofhellenic kingdoms, among them Egypt, by the Diadochi.
322 Death ofAristotle.
321 Seleucus in power in Babylon.
317 Demetrius Phalereus, philosopher and governor ofAthens, driven out
ofthe city by Demetrius Poliorcetes, son ofAntigonus. He goes to
Alexandria.
294 Demetrius Poliorcetes becomes king ofMacedonia.
287 Demetrius driven from Macedonia.
285 Ptolemy I, 'Soter' (Saviour), associates his son Ptolemy Oater Ptolemy II
'Philadelphus') to the throne ofEgypt.
284 Lysimachus takes over ail ofMacedonia and consolidates his position in
Greece.
283 Death ofDemetrius Poliorcetes and ofPtolemy I.
The great lighthouse at Alexandria on the island ofPharos is built.
281 Battle ofCOTupedium. Death ofLysimachu!>.
280 Death ofSeleucus IofBabylon and Syria (the last ofAlexander's
generals); Antiochus Isucceeds to the throne ofthe Seleucid or Syrian
empire.
Erection ofthe Colossus ofRhodes.
277-276 Antigonus Gonatas wins the throne ofMacedonia.
274-270 First Syrian War: Ptolemy II against Antiochus I ofSyria.
272 Death ofPyrrhus, king ofEpirus.
VII
The VanishedLibrary
First Punic War: Rome against Carthage.
Second Syrian War: Ptolemy II against Antiochus II and Antigonus
Gonatas.
Peace between Egypt and Syria: Antiochus II marries Berenice,
253
daughterofPtolemy II.
Translation oftheJewish Bible into Greek at Alexandria by the Seventy
(hence known as the 'Septuagint').
246-241 Third Syrian War (Ptolemy III against Seleucus II).
Death ofAntigonus Gonatas.
239
229 Democratic revival in Athens.
227 Democratic reforms ofCleomenes at Sparta.
222 Battle ofSellasia, defeat ofCleomenes by the Macedonian king:
Cleomenes flees to Egypt.
223-187 Antiochus III, 'the Great', on the throne ofSyria.
219-217 Fourth Syrian War.
218-201 Second Punic War.
217 Victory ofPtolemy IV at Raphia over Antiochus.
215-205 First Macedonian War: Rome against Macedonia.
211 Death ofArchimedes.
200 Antiochus III ofSyria takesJudaea from Egypt.
Titus Quinctius Flamininus proclaims the freedom ofGreece
Foundation ofLibrary at Pergamum.
Roman victory over Antiochus III at Magnesia.
Peace ofApamea between the Romans and Antiochus III.
180 ca. Aristarchus publishes his edition ofHomer, dividing the Iliad and
Odyssey each into 24 parts - the basis ofthe modem text.
171- 168 Macedonian war (Roman victory at Pydna): the historian Polybius
becomes a hostage at Rome.
17(}-168 New outbreak ofwar between Egypt and Syria (Ptolemy VI and
Antiochus IV).
Jewish revolt against Antiochus IV, led byJudas Maccabaeus.
Ptolemy VI flees Egypt; division ofthe kingdom between Ptolemy VI
and the future Ptolemy VIII (physcon).
Ptolemy VIII bequeaths his share ofthe kingdom to Rome.
Third Punic War.
Macedonia becomes a Roman province.
VIII