The Burning of the Library of Alexandria

More Than a Bad Bonfire

So It Begins

In this second edition of Flint and Steal, we will be delving into one of the most destructive events in ancient history that has potentially set humanity, or its potential development, back thousands of years. Now, I know what you are thinking, is it a war, a famine, a disease of such proportions that it eliminated at least a third of Europe’s population? No, dear reader, for I am talking about a simple fire. Fire, a discovery that has been more important to the progression of humanity than perhaps any other on Earth (unless you count modern medicine). But what gives, can also take away. Dear reader, today we discuss the Burning of the Library of Alexandria. So come, take a seat around my fire and let’s begin. We will be sifting through the ashes for knowledge that has been lost for nearly 2000 years. Let’s get to work.

Knowledge is as Knowledge Does

First and foremost, let us begin with what the Library of Alexandria actually was. Well, it was a library. Don’t worry dear read, the story doesn’t end here. It was one of the, if not the, largest library of the ancient world. The building of the library is said to date all the way back to the 3rd Century B.C. when Ptolemy II ruled Ptolemaic Egypt as a Pharaoh. To put this in further perspective, these are still the days of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire had not yet been established when manuscripts first came to inhabit the halls of this library. However, one of the most interesting things to note about this time period is that this library was not the only one of its kind to exist or at least it would not be the only library to be considered operational in antiquity. There were other ancient libraries spread throughout the world, like the Library of Celsus or even the Imperial Library of Constantinople (Yes, I know this was a Byzantine library but it’s still old enough), that helped curate the knowledge of the ancient modern day. 

Now, dear reader, I know what you are thinking, what knowledge was exactly lost? Well, it actually seems like that point may be up for debate as this event is certainly more complicated than one might think. As you can imagine, the Library was burned. (Now, there is a question as to how much of it was burned but that will be covered in the next paragraph.) Simply put, you cannot bring back texts that have been burned. However, it is also said that copies of some of these texts may have been made and much of the knowledge was saved and stored in other great libraries, like the Library of Celsus, as previously mentioned. Although, it would be prevalent to say that most sources point to around 40,000 scrolls worth of knowledge being lost. In a world where many cultures and civilizations did not have systems of writing, this was a devastating blow to the ancient world. Books today are a dime a dozen but in the ancient world, finding someone who could read or write was rare, unless they were quite wealthy, and such wealth was rare.

There is also a question as to what exactly was included in the scrolls, but we, unfortunately, do not know because we cannot know. The scrolls are lost and will continue to be lost as they have been for nearly 2,000 years. It is said that works authored by Strabo, Euclid, and Archimedes were entombed within the library when it burned. Strabo was an ancient Greek philosopher and historian, who would “outlive” the library and see the Roman Republic transition in to the Roman Empire. Euclid was a mathematician who brought forth works of geometry, while Archimedes was also a mathematician who tended to focus on engineering and how things worked. Now dear reader, let us ask ourselves, how do we know who these people are and what they studied if their works burned in the Library of Alexandria. I will, once again, point back to the other ancient libraries and even other, more private locations or people, that may have been in possession of copies of their texts. However, there is a potential that the Library of Alexandria may have housed other, lesser known texts from these authors, that may have proved valuable to up and coming cultures.

You had heard of at least one, if not all of these great ancient age thinkers, but you will most certainly be more familiar with Homer, Socrates (seen above), and Plato. These merry gentlemen are among the most famous philosophic thinkers of the ancient age and for good reason. The Socratic Method is among one of the best ancient traditions that is still used today, especially in our age of democracy and reason. Quite sadly, it is to be believed that works and ideas from these men were also lost at the burning of the Library of Alexandria. An unprecedented amount of ancient philosophy may be forever lost to the annals of time. Although we will be forever wondering what their scrolls contained there, we take heart in knowing their philosophical teachings are still being used and referenced.

Julius Goddamn Caesar

We now, unfortunately, come to the burning. It gives me no satisfaction to report on such a disastrous turn of events but it is my duty as a student of history to do so. The blame for the burning of the library seems to lie at the feet of Julius Caesar (he can be seen below, accepting the surrender of Vercingetorix after the Battle of Alesia). In the year 48 BC, he was fighting a rather bloody civil war against his main rival Pompey. In doing so, he was forced to cut across vast swaths of Egypt and eventually arrived in the city of Alexandria where The Library was located, hence the name Library of Alexandria. Now, before we continue we must give credit where credit is due. Julius Caesar was and continues to be a rather impressive Roman figure of antiquity credited with many outstanding political and military triumphs. However, dear reader, the day he arrived in Alexandria was nothing like that. Outnumbered and seemingly cut off by an Egyptian fleet allied with Pompey, he was forced to retreat but not before setting fire to the ships in the harbor. Julius’ retreat would prove successful, as himself and his men would live to fight another day and eventually win the campaign, but the fire from these ships spread into the library and gave birth to the dreaded disaster we call the Burning of the Library of Alexandria. Now, dear reader, I hope you will forgive me and permit me to continue the story. There is so much more to Julius Caesar’s life and his campaigns but I cannot explain it all here. However, do not be disheartened, we will most certainly come back to him another day.

Now, dear reader, there are many substances on this Earth that are flame retardant, unfortunately papyrus is not one of them. The fire would have burned very fast and very hot, leaving all but destruction in its wake. Another important point that I should mention is that it is still rather unclear as to how much of the physical library was destroyed in this inferno. Some sources point to anything and everything burning to the ground, while others say only parts of the library were burned and the library simply faded into time as the Roman Empire fell. The second category of thought is deemed to probably be more accurate, as some scholars argue that the library no longer housed importance by the 3rd Century AD. However, they both agree that there was a fire that damaged at least parts of the library and, therefore, scrolls being burned.

Hide and Seek

Although the library has been burned to the ground, some sources today though say that there was truly no knowledge lost. I am inclined to agree with them. Now, before we have a disagreement, allow me to elaborate. I agree with them only in the sense that we, as a society, know much more than people of antiquity did. Their knowledge cannot help us now because we are much more technologically advanced than our forefathers were. People today simply know more. I mean there are people in space right now. While that may be true, it still begs the question as to what else other ancient peoples may have learned from these texts. Perhaps even some of history's events may have been changed or altered. Empires and people may have developed more quickly or differently if this ancient knowledge had been intertwined with their societies. In the end, we simply cannot know what we do not know. Today, there are multitudes of discoveries being currently unearthed that help tell the stories of the past. Although sometimes the answers only lead us to more questions. Perhaps, on some distant day, we will come upon a discovery that will tell us all the secrets of the past and we can finally stop seeking the lost, hidden knowledge of the Library of Alexandria.

Unfortunately, dear reader, it seems our time has once again come to the end. Although, I will leave you with a warming thought. There is currently, a new, modern Library of Alexandria, seen above, that holds all the knowledge of the present day. Unfortunately, the books in this library are still made of paper and paper is no less fire retardant than papyrus, but we are thankful that we have Julius Goddamn Caesar running around on campaign no longer. Stay tuned for my next publication, detailing an invasion that would first shape a country and then shape continents.

-Flint