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The Vanished Library: A Wonder of the Ancient World by Luciano Canfora, Translated by Martin Ryle. DESCRIPTION: Softcover (205 pages). Publisher: University of California Press (1990). Dimensions: 9 x 6½ x ¾ inches; ¾ pound. The Library of Alexandria was one of the wonders of the Ancient World, and it has haunted Western culture for over 2,000 years. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt – successors of Alexander the Great – had a staggering ambition: to house all of the books ever written under one roof. The idea of the universal library and its destruction still has the power to move us. But what was the library, and where was it? Contemporary descriptions are vague and contradictory. Luciano Canfora resolves these puzzles in one of the most unusual books of classical history ever written. He recreates the world of Egypt and the Greeks in brief chapters that marry the craft of the novelist and the discipline of the historian. Anecdotes, conversations, and reconstructions give “The Vanished Library” the texture of a novel, yet Canfora bases all of them on historical and literary sources in this elegant piece of historical detective work. As the chilling conclusion to this elegant piece of historical detective work he establishes who burned the books. CONDITION: VERY GOOD. Unread (and in that sense “new”) but “shopworn” oversized softcover. University of California (1990) 205 pages. Clearly unread, but the lower open corner of both the front and back covers are have a small (about 1 inch measured diagonally) impact crease, and most of the pages in the book have an echoing crinkle at the bottom open corner. It looks like someone either hit the book against a bookshelf edge while hurridly (and carelessly) re-shelving the book, or possibly dropped it while shelving it. Not uncommon “shopwear” in open-shelf bookstores where books are subject to constantly being shelved, re-shelved, and shuffled about. Except for that, the inside of the book is pristine. The pages are clean, crisp, unmarked, (otherwise) unmutilated, tightly bound, unambiguously unread. From the outside excepting the crinkled lower cover corners already described, the book on balance only evidences faint edge and corner shelfwear, principally in the form of very faint crinkling to the spine head, heel, and the two upper open cover corners. And when we say “faint”, we mean just that, literally (and yes, we’re nitpicking). However it is our duty (in the interest of full disclosure) to describe any blemish, regardless of how faint it is. But to discern the shelfwear you have to hold the book up to a light source and scrutinize it quite intently to discern the faint crinkling. The condition of the book is entirely consistent with new (albeit “shopworn”) stock from a traditional brick-and-mortar shelved bookstore environment (such as Barnes & Noble, Borders, or B. Dalton, for instance) wherein otherwise new books might evidence minor injuries due to routine handling and the constant ordeal of being shelved and re-shelved. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Meticulous and accurate descriptions! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 30 days! #1647.1b. PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK. PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW. PUBLISHER REVIEW: REVIEW: The Library of Alexandria, a “Wonder of the Ancient World”. What was it? Where was it? Did it exist at all? Contemporary descriptions are vague and contradictory, but Luciano Canfora resolves these puzzles in one of the most unusual books of classical history ever written. Recreates the world of ancient Egypt, describes how the Library of Alexandria was created, and speculates on its destruction. Luciano Canfora teaches at the University of Bari and is the editor of the journal Quaderni di Storia. A specialist in ancient literature, he has published a history of Greek literature and studies of Thucydides. REVIEW: The Library of Alexandria, one of the wonders of the Ancient World, has haunted Western culture for over 2,000 years. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt, successors of Alexander the Great, had a staggering ambition: to house all of the books ever written under one roof, and the story of the universal library and its destruction still has the power to move us. But what was the library, and where was it? Did it exist at all? Contemporary descriptions are vague and contradictory. The fate of the precious books themselves is a subject of endless speculation. Canfora resolves these puzzles in one of the most unusual books of classical history ever written. He recreates the world of Egypt and the Greeks in brief chapters that marry the craft of the novelist and the discipline of the historian. Anecdotes, conversations, and reconstructions give “The Vanished Library” the compulsion of an exotic tale, yet Canfora bases all of them on historical and literary sources, which he discusses with great panache. As the chilling conclusion to this elegant piece of historical detective work he establishes who burned the books. REVIEW: Luciano Canfora teaches at the University of Bari and is the editor of the journal Quaderni di Storia. A specialist in ancient literature, he has published a history of Greek literature and studies of Thucydides. TABLE OF CONTENTS: The Pharaoh’s Tomb. The Sacred Library. The Forbidden City. The Fugitive. The Universal Library. ‘I leave my books to Neleus’. The Symposium. In the Cage of the Muses. The Rival Library. Reappearance and Disappearance of Aristotle. The Second Visitor. War. The Third Visitor. The Library. The Fire. The Dialogue of John Philoponus with the Emir Amrou Ibn el-Ass While Amrou Prepared to Burn the Library. Part 1- References. Gibbon. The Dialogues of Amrou. Resvisions of Aristeas. Aulus Gellius. Isidore of Seville. Livy. Conjectures. Hecataeus. The Elusive Library. The Soma of Rameses. Kadesh. Strabo and Neleus. Library Traditions. Conflagrations. Epilogue. PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS: REVIEW: Canfora, an expert in ancient literature and a professor at the University of Bari (Italy), has created a loving, anecdotal ramble through that fabled store of classical learning, the Library of Alexandria, its history and destruction, probably not, in Canfora’s opinion, during Caesar’s campaign but some 300 to 400 years later, as the Arab world began to encroach on a crumbling Roman Empire. The author stops along the way to consider some germane (and some tangential) subjects: the fate of Aristotle’s writings, the rival library at Pergamum, Ramses II’s victory over the Hittites at Kadesh, the creation of the Septuagint. Nonetheless Canfora makes clear the importance of the Library. No matter how much was destroyed, far more was conserved–or created–by the scholars and copyists who worked within its confines. REVIEW: Canfora guides us through the labyrinth of traditions about the library, reawakening for us the myth of the world’s memory safeguarded in a single place for an elite of intellectuals. This mystery has awaited, for a long time, a historian with the temperament of a writer as well as that of a scholar, and it has found its ideal match in Luciano Canfora. REVIEW: “The Vanished Library” is an extraordinarily innovative work of ancient history. It is not just that the book engages with cultural debates outside the field of Classics. Canfora is also experimenting with new ways of writing the history of the Classical world. “The Vanished Library” is staking a claim for the reintegration of ancient history into the contemporary cultural agenda. In the Anglo-American context such reintegration is definitely overdue. [London Review of Books]. REVIEW: Canfora, an expert in ancient literature and a professor at the University of Bari (Italy), has created a loving, anecdotal ramble through that fabled store of classical learning, the Library of Alexandria, its history and destruction, probably not, in Canfora’s opinion, during Caesar’s campaign but some 300 to 400 years later, as the Arab world began to encroach on a crumbling Roman Empire. The author stops along the way to consider some germane (and some tangential) subjects: the fate of Aristotle’s writings, the rival library at Pergamum, Ramses II’s victory over the Hittites at Kadesh, the creation of the Septuagint. To avoid further distractions on this peripatetic journey, Canfora reserves the exegesis of historical sources to the second half of the book. An admittedly murky subject, Canfora nonetheless makes clear the importance of the Library. No matter how much was destroyed, far more was conserved–or created–by the scholars and copyists who worked within its confines. [Publisher’s Weekly]. REVIEW: An immensely fascinating book. Instead of trying a literary fiction or a pure biography, Mr. Canfora has opted to string together a number of anecdotes from various early sources to tell the story of the Library of Alexandria. I would highly recommend this short book to anyone learning or teaching about the reality behind the legend of both the library and the city of Alexandria. REVIEW: This is a clever reconstruction of the probable history of the scholarly community that we describe as the “Library at Alexandria” generally regarded as the focus of Hellenistic scholarly activity. There is a historical sketch of its provenance and a reasoned history of its survival until its likely dispersal and destruction. The Author has also provided a lengthy discussion of the various references to the library and the reasons why the various authors recorded the information they have passed to us. It is a clever and informative discussion. there is also discussion of the rivalry with the library at Pergamum. This book is definitely a keeper. REVIEW: A somewhat unusual history, in that it consists of a series of rather loosely connected episodes relating to the famous library of Alexandria, starting with a visit by Hecataeus of Abdera to the tomb of Rameses II and ending with the caliph Omar’s command to burn the contents of the library on the grounds that if the books contradicted the book of the Prophet, they deserved to be destroyed, and if they were in accordance with the book of the Prophet, they were superfluous and therefore deserved to be destroyed. The final episode in the series, “The Dialogue of John Philoponus with the Emir Amrou Ibn el-Ass while Amrou prepared to burn the Library”, could easily have been a story written by Borges. REVIEW: Fascinating and well researched work on the library in Alexandria. REVIEW: Everything you ever wanted to know about the lost Library at Alexandria. A fascinating read. REVIEW: This mystery has awaited, for a long time, a historian with the temperament of a writer as well as that of a scholar, and it has found its ideal match in Luciano Canfora. REVIEW: A fluid, distinctive, and highly intelligent portrait of Caesar in his times READER REVIEWS: REVIEW: This is far more than the story of the mysterious library at Alexandria, and more than merely a fascinating literary and historical detective story. Herein one learns about such things as the competition between the libraries at Alexandria and Pergamum, and how the latter was forced to develop parchment technology which despite its apparent relative crudity produces a more durable product. The analysis of the fire which Caesar set, burning up 70,000 books which were apparently just commercial products, is another fascinating subtext – I mean, who knew that there were commercial publishing houses in Egypt which were selling books to the Romans? Most importantly, one can begin to follow the manner in which literary and historical scholars transited the Mediterranean, how the conquest of Egypt by Alexander and the subsequent reign of the Ptolemies fostered the accumulation of the library, how the contents thereof including the writings of Aristotle which lie at the very core of Western civilization transited from Greece to Egypt to Rome…and all of that in the first 100 page section of this remarkable book. The second section of the book, which details the historical sources for the author’s analysis, is nearly beyond the reach of anyone other than a specialist in ancient history. But it provides yet another fascinating subtext much akin to trying to solve a centuries-old murder with only traces of hearsay information. For any given claim, such as the actual location of the library, the author gathers together the claims of the available testimonials and the timelines in which they were made, and then tries to extract therefrom which authors used what earlier sources. Then he looks for how the claims and descriptions can be reconciled to each other, even considering differences in language. It is hard for me to imagine how one could accumulate the necessary knowledge to even attempt such a task… But somehow he manages, and the verdict does seem clear, despite the efforts of later apologists – including Gibbon, who does not acquit himself well on this issue despite his reputation for profundity – to whitewash the facts and transfer the blame. The Library, which apparently was not an actual separate building as anyone would expect, but just a collection of scrolls piled on shelves in a long hallway – although there were tens if not hundreds of thousands of them – were burned up by the Moslem conqueror of Egypt, Amrou el-Ass (and I am not making that up) on the orders of the second Caliph, Omar, who – and this bigoted quality of thought will sound very familiar to anyone familiar with our contemporary Taliban – said that since all knowledge is contained in the Koran, if the books in the library agreed with the Koran they were superfluous, and if they disagreed they were heretical, so they should be destroyed in either case. And so, el-Ass used them to heat the 4,000 baths of Alexandria, requiring several months to burn them all – which, as they say in the FBI, “sounds like the moose-head truth” – i.e., it is a combination of details that *nobody* could have fabricated. REVIEW: I found this book both informative, as well as, a joy to read. That is because most of it reads more like a novel than a formal academic study. This is done to put the reader into the overall cultural mindset of Alexandria and the library at various points in it’s almost 1000 year history. Having done my own research on this topic in college I can vouch for the accuracy and completeness of the author’s research. The truth is that there is very little surviving hard data about this institution (and absolutely no surviving archeological evidence.) There is however an original revelation that the layout of the Museum may very well have imitated that of the Ramesseum at Thebes. This is due to the fact that the Greek rulers of the Ptolemaic period adhered closely to classical Egyptian forms, at least in a superficial and material manner. This book clears up some popular misconceptions. First of all, there was no “library” as a separate institution or structure. It was always an inseparable part of the overall Museum. Secondly, the Museum was in no sense a secular institution. It was truly a temple to the Muses, and Holy Wisdom, with sacred functions. Even under Roman control it continued to be administered by a priest. Finally, it would seem that the Romans had nothing to do with the burning of the Museum, indeed there was no damage during the Roman conquest. The greatest damage is shown to have been done in late antiquity at the hands of Christian fanatics. Like so many similar of cases of the mindless destruction of our classical heritage. REVIEW: Almost certainly, no other ancient institution has caught the modern imagination so much as has The Library of Alexandria. Begun around 300BC, this remarkable establishment became the center of learning and scholarship in the Mediterranean world for hundreds of years thereafter. Our debt to the great library is incalculable; to it we owe the Septuagint (the Greek translations of the Old Testament), the standardization of Homer and Hesiod to their final forms, and the survival of the great Greek thinkers (Plato, Aristotle) to modern times. The beginnings of modern thought; science, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, can all be traced to this unique collection and the people who were a part of its scholarly society. It was the home to writers and thinkers that we are familiar with (Polybius, Appollonius Rhodius) and to far more that we are not but should (Theophrastus, Neleus). And its demise ranks as one of the greatest tragedies in Western history. In “The Vanished Library” Luciano Ganfora gives a popular account of the history of the Library, from its founding and shadowy beginnings, all the way up to its decline and destruction centuries later. But what makes this book interesting is that Ganfora resists the temptation to slip into the academic spouting of facts, figures, and theories at every opportunity. Rather, his aim is to not only show the reader the library, but to give one a feel for what it was like to be there, to work among the thousands of scrolls, and to live the life of the ancient Greek scholar. Ganfora’s research is grounded firmly in the original sources, many of which he discusses at length in the book’s appendix and several of which he quotes at length. The book sometime feels like a novel, because Ganfora frequently adopts a storyteller’s tone in order to illustrate some aspect he wishes us to explore. Occasionally, Ganfora also digresses into some of the more controversial areas of the Library’s history; he argues, for instance, that Caesar’s sacking of Alexandria during the Roman Civil Wars did not destroy the library as many scholars insist, but rather destroyed an annex that was used to house finished scrolls meant for export across the Mediterranean (the Library being also a major source for the dissemination of literary works across the known world). But none of this detracts from the book itself. It does a very good job of introducing one to the subject of the Library and what we know about it, and makes for a rather delightful read along the way. Ganfora’s book is easy to read for the layperson. One could read it cover-to-cover in literally a single sitting. And I think Ganfora does a great job of evoking the sense of just what the Library was like. For this reason I would recommend this book along with “The Shores of Wisdom” Both work as complementary pieces and are mutually complimentary as well as each covering subjects the other does not. REVIEW: Three hundred years before Christ the Ptolemy dynasty of Egypt used their enormous wealth to undertake a breathtaking enterprise, the creation of a great library to contain every book ever written. An immense “museum” was constructed in Alexandria, stuffed with millions of scrolls, the vast wealth of human literature of every type. Scholars translated the scrolls into Greek, and then later into Latin. These included religious texts from Judaism, Zoroastroism, plays, poetry, histories, epics, speeches, philosophy. Humanity’s greatest achievements were archived deep within the Ramses II sarcophogous, next to the famous statue of Ozymandius. In the year 48 AD Alexandria was sacked by Julius Caesar. The fire from burning ships in the harbor spread to the town and burned the great library, incinerating the great treasure of human writings. Luciano Canfora teases threads from the many accounts of the almost mythical story to arrive at an unorthodox conclusion, that the most valuable papyrus scrolls remained within the dilapidated tomb for another six centuries. Ultimately the final 54,000 surviving books were burned at the order of Muslim conquers in order to heat the town’s baths. Today we possess only a few scraps, copied from the few moth-eaten and almost unreadable scrolls that escaped destruction. Canfora’s beautiful story blends fictional re-enactment with careful research to create a compelling and magical account of what may be civilization’s greatest catastrophe. REVIEW: I honestly enjoyed this book. At first it seems quite disjointed and jumpy, more a series of random anecdotes than any sort of linear history. However, it builds as it goes along. The anecdotes become engrossing and amusing, and eventually a lot of it fits together to make some important points. It refutes the idea that the library was burned by Caesar, or that it even contained its original collection by the time it was burned by conquering Moslems. It also gives a picture of how and where the library was housed within the palace walls, which has often been a subject of confusion. The topic is overall fascinating, so that even those of us who aren’t familiar with the many classical names that flit in and out of these chapters can get something out of it all. This may not be the definitive book on the subject, but it is well worth perusing. REVIEW: I just couldn’t put it down. The first chapters are puzzling and one wonders why Canfora chose this unusual structure for his book. But like a suspense writer, he gives the reader one clue after another and suddenly everything makes sense. In retrospect one even beliefs that this study could not have been written in a more succinct and lucid way. I finished the 200 pages in five hours and felt like I had read a whole library. REVIEW: This is not a work for the person who likes watered-down beer. It is a critical examination of some aspects of the history of the Library of Alexandria, its strengths and weaknesses, its destruction, its relation to other libraries in Egypt and beyond. Along the way, Canfora offers a solution to the riddle of the library of Ramses II, and he roughs up some historians who badly need it, like Diodorus Siculus and Gibbon, and he offers imaginative reconstructions of events. Several interesting points are explored: the political tilt of Hecataeus (accounting for his view that ancient law-givers of Greece got their laws from Egypt); the fabrications of Diodorus Siculus; etc. Diodorus is revealed as the scamp he was. Though claiming a methodology from Polybius (he even cadged Polybius’ introduction, word for word), Diodorus never made any of the trips he claimed to have made, with the exception of Egypt. There, he weaves in Hecataeus’ description of Ramses II’s temple (including its vagaries), and presents it as his own observation, based on representations from the Egyptian priests there. Of course, Diodorus’ history is one long cadging, as Pliny pointed out, but this episode brings into question whether he ever used priests as informants. He has the priests telling him that Egyptians colonized all the Mediterranean and even Babylonia, and that Ramses II fought in Bactria (Afghanistan!!). This one-ups Hecataeus’ politically inspired fabrications. The relationship to the more extreme current Afro-centric views is obvious, because Diodorus is one of their linchpins. Even Diodorus’ description of the palace at Alexandria doesn’t contain a description of the Museum (and thus, not the library) — was this because he was relegated to the daughter library of the Serapeum, or because he wanted to obscure the fact that he was writing (contra to his Polybian assertions) a library dissertation built exclusively on the work of others? A real treat, from a first-class scholar. REVIEW: The vanished library is the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. This institution was the most famous library in antiquity. The book is divided into two parts. This first part is a history of the classical world from the 3rd Century BC, when the library was founded, to the 3rd Century AD, when it was destroyed by fire. The second part is Canfora’s commentary of the sources we have on the existence of the library in other ancient documents existing at the present time. The library had originated in the foundation by Ptolemy I Soter of the “Museum”, a community of learned men in Alexandria organised like a religious cult. Ptolemy, a Macedonian, was a general of Alexander the Great who became, after Alexander’s death late in the 4th Century BC, the ruler of Egypt and founder of the so-called Ptolemaic dynasty. Alexandria had always been a centre of Hellenistic influence in Egypt, having had a significant Greek presence since the 6th Century BC. Ptolemy had his library modeled on that of Athens, and in fact hired a former ruler of Athens, Demetrius Phalereus, as its first curator. Thus it reflected the highest literary achievement of the ancient world. The library would obtain any book it could lay its hands on (a good way was to borrow that of traders visiting the city), copy it, and lay it up in its collection. In time it had scrolls from all over the Hellenistic world as well as translations of other important pieces of ancient literature, notably the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of Old Testament. Museum scholars would sometimes specialize in collecting rare works of poetry, gradually establishing a canon of them so that we owe our knowledge of this aspect of Hellenistic culture to the tastes of the Librarians. It is clear that when it was destroyed, a great deal of the thought of people like Aristotle, thinkers affecting the way we live in the late 20th Century, which had been written down and eventually found its way to the Library, went up in flames as well. Had the library survived, Western philosophy may have taken a different turn as the thinking of philosophers was influenced by what has not been lost. The Library thus can be compared to a kind of ancient World Wide Web, in which information in the form of scrolls was available from all over the world, with the president-priest in charge of the Library faculty a classical version of Bill Gates by providing the standards for information exchange. For example, works obtained by the Library, when copied out, would be subjected in the process to a standardized process of division into a number of “Books” , or parts of equal length, and that standards of punctuation and accentuation would apply in the Greek text. New works, like Microsoft’s proprietary software such as the Encarta ’95, would be produced from the scrolls as his disposal, notably a bibliography compiled by a poet named Callimachus which was known to have survived into the Byzantine era (post 476 AD) as a standard reference work on Greek literature. The difference between the Library and the Web is that everyone on the Web is continually backing up their files and that, in our great Information Age, knowledge is not to be found on papyrus but on 3.5 inch disks. There is no one natural calamity which could affect intellectual life like the destruction of the Library because information is so de-centralized now. So, for example, say there is an earthquake which flattens Tokyo. One of the world’s principal stock exchanges is located there. Now, even if the Tokyo Stock Exchange’ own computers are wiped out in the tragedy, somewhere in the world some broker or trader’s computer will have recorded the last sale price for just about every stock traded there, so when the Exchange officials attempt to re-open the market they will be able to re-build their systems using that information which has been preserved. Or the Stock Exchange, forseeing the possibility of such as disaster, could establish backup computer facilities on Okinawa, which they would simply feed into their new computers without having to bother to ask other firms. Thus, we see that the 20th Century equivalent of the fire in Alexandria, caused by the civil war that raged over the Roman world at the time of Aurelian, would have to be a nuclear holocaust which wiped out just about every form of life on earth, not just intellectual life. In which case, having backed up our files will not be much help. REVIEW: Canfora was a Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Bari. He represents a clear strand in Italian academia, deploying a parade of abstruse scholarship to support a big populist argument. His biography of Caesar presents him as a public-benefit patriarch. Here, Canfora tries to investigate the Library of Alexandria – why it was created and what happened to it. There are 200 pages of fairly big text split into 14 small chapters – mostly starting from a quotation from a source or debating a technical point, often supported with reference to German, French or Italian books from a lifetime or two ago. The first half is the story and the second half is an analysis of the ‘sources’ – though it doesn’t feel like there is a huge difference when you read these chapters. The big stories do come across, though they are mainly constructed from these detailed points glued together with bold conjecture. I am a sucker for this kind of thing, and Canfora is one of best writers of this – along with Umberto Eco and Roberto Calasso. I was a pig in clover here. I had read it back in 1991 and recently got another copy. Here’s a fairly typical sentence: ‘A native and inhabitant of Alexandria, Didymus had never felt impelled to visit Rome, and he knew almost nothing of the school of Pergamum’. Marvellous! Some of the library-themed things he wrote about include: – The origin of the word ‘apotheke’ (from the Greek word ‘theke’ meaning a ‘shelf’ – Herodotus first used it in this sense when describing books in the Pharaonic tombs). – The disappearance of Aristotle’s library (most of the works we have are his lecture notes, not his published books) and its reappearance after the Roman general Sulla captured Athens a couple of centuries later (this is a good bit). – The cultural ambitions of various Egyptian Ptolemies (from around 300-50BC). – The setting and the layout of the ‘Temple of the Muses’ (lots of ‘bold conjecture’ here, based upon an attempt at planning it out using Strabo’s description). – The various destructions of the library – though he denies Julius Caesar’s reported destruction of the library actually happened – ending with its final burning after capture by Caliph Omar’s Muslims (‘Aristotle’s books were the only ones spared’). REVIEW: This is the kind of book that makes you want to find out more about this library and the happenings in and around Alexandria Egypt. I liked the style of short chapters, each covering a specific moment in history and the players involved. It reads like an unfolding mystery. Having read the other reviews I realize that there is some speculation and some leaps of faith, but, it definitely held my interest and seemed totally believable. Highly recommended for anyone even casually interested in this period of history. REVIEW: This is history in the form of investigative narrative. The author presents sixteen narratives about the Library of Alexandria constructed from classical sources including Homer, Plutarch and Diogenes. He goes on to present commentaries on sources of information about the Library ranging from Gibbon to a discussion of the archaeologists knowledge of the construction and plan of the library. The combination is both a fascinating and unique approach to the history of one of the wonders of the ancient world. REVIEW: This is two books in one – a historical story which takes up the 1st 100 pages and short historical background on individual topics and historical written references which take up the final 97 pages. The story is easy to read, although unsurprisingly, somewhat jumpy as it spans about 1500 years of history. The second half of the book would be a good starting point for scholarly research, but is more like Cliff Notes written for the non-scholar. REVIEW: I read this book to account for my lack of adequate knowledge of the context of the fate of the Library at Alexandria, as a primer really. I learned a lot, and I can see myself going back and rereading sections to refine and strengthen my sense. I think the overriding impression is the need to always remember how little verifiable definitive history is available to tell the story of what happened and when. There are many threads of active debate surrounding issues that collectively paint the broader picture of this institution’s considerable relevance, and its enduring value as a symbol of mankind’s need to know. REVIEW: A fascinating string of well-researched anecdotes, full of violence and politics and life. Consensus has moved on somewhat from the book’s conclusions about the library’s ultimate fate, but this read is nevertheless awe-inspiring for any book-lover who wonders how books intersected with everything else in ancient European culture. REVIEW: Canfora’s erudition is impressive! Even though the reading is very pleasant, it cannot be described as simple due to the countless references to sources and historiography that were contemporary. The glossary at the end of the book helps reading at many points. In addition to dealing with the library (or libraries) of Alexandria at various points in history, you can learn a lot about book culture and the practice of book production in antiquity. REVIEW: Most history books present a story of what happened. In doing so they often gloss over the uncertainties and minimize the ambiguities. This book, in contrast is the story of the processes of studying history. Lucianoo Canfora presents the pieces of the puzzle of the (possible) burning of the Library of Alexandria, points out the contradictions, and then let the us draw our own conclusions. I wish more history books were written this way. REVIEW: REVIEW: From the beginning of this book, we are treated to historical references [in order of their occurrance] to the famous Library at Alexandria, with an eye toward clearing up the fundamental mysteries surrounding it: where was the Library located? What was its place in ancient culture? And, finally, when and how many times was it really destroyed? An enjoyable and profound read, part history, part mystery; a refreshing change from the dry texts of collegiate studies. A book that engages the imagination as well as the intellect. An excellent piece of detective work. I loved it. REVIEW: “The Vanished Library” is an unconventional book. The subject is discussed scientifically and comprehensively. The first half of the book contains different small chapters that at first sight only connect loosely, but together they make sense and they provide a comprehensive discussion of the fate of the Alexandrine library throughout Antiquity. The second part discusses the sources used in the first part, but in fact it is a continuation of the discussion on a different level. Professor Canfora addresses intelligent and independently thinking readers, he seems to be giving a master class. He puts his readers to work, they have to reflect on the subject themselves, weigh the arguments and draw their own conclusions. Not the easiest reading, but rewarding. Independently of the main subject of the book, on different occasions Canfora shows the common practice of altering, forging and interpolating books in Antiquity, which is an important additional insight. REVIEW: This book falls under poetic history. Although the author is infinitely familiar with the topic there are no footnotes as a far as I can recall, merely the mental reconstruction of the climate and purposes of the Alexandrian library. It was a project of the Ptolemy’s, confusing because they recycle the same names for generations. Alexandria was the site of a Roman intelligence gathering project for militaristic ends-if one can control the memory of a people or their religion victory was certain. This is the site of the Septuaguint, composed by Jewish scholars from an oral tradition and Hebrew documents into Greek. The Letter of Aristeas, falsely named because it is more a novel than a letter, tells the story of the Setuaguint.For anyone who had enjoyed the concept of the Alexandrine library as destroyed by war, as a symbol of the destruction of human efforts by ambition. REVIEW: A concise history of the greatest library in the ancient world containing information on the number of scrolls in its collection, the design of the building and the notable figures who came into contact with it and the story of its ultimate fate allowing the reader to move at a fast page turning novel like pace. REVIEW: I found this to be an excellent resource in dispelling the myths about the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. I also learned about the fate of many of Aristotle’s works of which I was unaware previously. Very informative! REVIEW: A concise history of the greatest library in the ancient world containing information on the number of scrolls in its collection, the design of the building and the notable figures who came into contact with it and the story of its ultimate fate allowing the reader to move at a fast page turning novel like pace. REVIEW: This book is astounding. I came away feeling that I knew way too much about the library at Alexandria. Canfora’s passion for the subject is evident, and he seasons his account of the library and its death with personal intensity. The resultant detail is thorough and masterful. REVIEW: The library of Alexandria was one of the greatest achievements of humanity. And here Canfora documents all the ancient accounts of the library. REVIEW: This book is a history of the library of Alexandria which contained the writings of the ancient world. It is a story that readers cry over. The last chapter is particularly horrifying. How small can man’s mind be? REVIEW: More like a set of individual historical references / discussions on the Library of Alexandria throughout history. Not a bad book if you are interested in the history of the Library and want a better understanding of what it really was and it’s fate. REVIEW: More like a set of individual historical references and discussions on the Library of Alexandria throughout history. A great book if you are interested in the history of the Library and want a better understanding of what it really was and it’s fate. REVIEW: A wonderful book about the lost Library of Alexandria. REVIEW: I’ve read this book several times and always enjoy it. I wish treasures of the ancient world were digitally recorded before lost forever. REVIEW: This is such a great read, it is hard to place it down when you start reading! REVIEW: About the lost library of Egypt. Very well done, and full of facts and history. REVIEW: While not overly scholarly, it still presents some valuable information with decent sourcing. ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA EGYPT: Alexandria is a port city located on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt. It was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It is most famous in antiquity as the site of the Pharos, the great lighthouse. The Pharos of Alexandria was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was not only the lighthouse itself which was famous, it was as well the nearby legendary library. The Temple of Serapis, or the “Serapion”, was also a part of the library complex as well. The city of Alexandria was the ancient world’s pre-eminent seat, as well as once, the largest and most prosperous city in the world. It also became infamous for the religious strife which resulted in the martyrdom of the philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria in 415 AD. The city grew from a its origin as a small port town to become the grandest and most important metropolis in ancient Egypt. After conquering Syria in 332 BC Alexander the Great swept down into Egypt with his army. He founded Alexandria in the small port town of Rhakotis by the sea and set about the task of turning it into a great capital. It is said that he designed the plan for the city which was so greatly admired later by the 1st century (BC) Greek historian Strabo who wrote, “…the city has magnificent public precincts and royal palaces which cover a fourth or even a third of the entire area. For just as each of the kings would, from a love of splendor, add some ornament to the public monuments, so he would provide himself at his own expense with a residence in addition to those already standing…” The palaces and grand homes Strabo mentions did not exist at the time Alexander founded the city. Although he was greatly admired by the Egyptians Alexander left Egypt only a few months after his arrival. Though declared a demi-god by the Oracle at Siwa, Alexander chose not to remain in his new capital city of Alexandria. Alexander instead marched on Tyre in Phoenicia. It was left to his commander Cleomenes to build the city Alexander had envisioned. Cleomenes accomplished a great deal. However the full expansion of Alexandria came under the rule of Alexander’s General Ptolemy and the Ptolemaic Dynasty (332-30 BC) which followed. After Alexander’s death in 323 BC Ptolemy brought Alexander’s body back to Alexandria to be entombed. Following the wars of the Diodachi Ptolemy began to rule Egypt from Alexandria supplanting the old capital of Memphis. Until its destruction by Alexander Tyre had been an important city in the region for trade and commerce. After its destruction by Alexander Alexandria filled the void which had been left. Carthage as well benefited by Alexander’s sack of Tyre, becoming one of the most prosperous cities of the Mediterranean. However Carthage was still a young port town when Alexandria began to thrive. The earth 20th century historian and scholar Mangasar Magurditch Mangasarian wrote, “Under the Ptolemies, a line of Greek kings, Alexandria soon sprang into eminence, and accumulating culture and wealth, became the most powerful metropolis of the Orient. Serving as the port of Europe, it attracted the lucrative trade of India and Arabia. Its markets were enriched with the gorgeous silks and fabrics from the bazaars of the Orient. Wealth brought leisure, and it, in turn, the arts. It became, in time, the home of a wonderful library and schools of philosophy, representing all the phases and the most delicate shades of thought. At one time it was the general belief that the mantle of Athens had fallen upon the shoulders of Alexandria…” The city grew to become the largest in the known world at the time. It attracted scholars, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, artists, and historians. The 3rd century BC Greek mathematician and Astronomer Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth to within 50 miles at Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. The 3rd century BC Mathematician and “Founder of Geometry” Euclid taught at the university there. The 3rd Century BC Greek great mathematician and astronomer Archimedes may have taught there and was certainly studied there. The greatest engineer and mathematician of his day, 1st century Greek engineer and mathematician Heron was born and lived in Roman-era Alexandria. Hero was credited with amazing feats in engineering and technology including the first vending machine, the force-pump, a windmill/windwheel, and a theater of automated figures who danced. The Library of Alexandria was begun under Ptolemy I, who ruled Egypt from 305-285 BC. It was completed by his son and successor, Ptolemy II, who ruled from 285-246 BC. Ptolemy II sent invitations to rulers and scholars around the known world asking them to contribute books. According to historians there was room for up to 70,000 papyrus scrolls. Most of the items were purchased for the library by Ptolemy II. However other means were sometimes used. In order to procure coveted works all ships entering the harbor were searched. Every book found was taken to the Library where it was decided whether to give it back or confiscate it and replace the original with a copy. No one knows how many books were held in the library at Alexandria but estimates have been made of 500,000. It is said that Mark Antony gave Cleopatra 200,000 books for the library but this claim has been disputed since antiquity. The historian Mangasarian wrote, “…after its magnificent library, whose shelves supported a freight more precious than beaten gold, perhaps the most stupendous edifice in the town was the temple of Serapis. It is said that the builders of the famous temple of Edessa boasted that they had succeeded in creating something which future generations would compare with the temple of Serapis in Alexandria.” “…This ought to suggest an idea of the vastness and beauty of the Alexandrian Serapis, and the high esteem in which it was held. Historians and connoisseurs claim it was one of the grandest monuments of Pagan civilization, second only to the temple of Jupiter in Rome, and the inimitable Parthenon in Athens. The Serapis temple was built upon an artificial hill, the ascent to which was by a hundred steps. It was not one building, but a vast body of buildings, all grouped about a central one of vaster dimensions, rising on pillars of huge magnitude and graceful proportions.” “Some critics have advanced the idea that the builders of this masterpiece intended to make it a composite structure, combining the diverse elements of Egyptian and Greek art into a harmonious whole. The Serapion was regarded by the ancients as marking the reconciliation between the architects of the pyramids and the creators of the Athenian Acropolis. It represented to their minds the blending of the massive in Egyptian art with the grace and the loveliness of the Hellenic…” When Carthage rose to the height of her power Alexandria was relatively unaffected as trade had long been established and the city posed no threat to the sea power of the Carthaginians. The fall of Carthage followed the Punic Wars against Rome (264-146 BC). Rome became supreme and Alexandria fell under Roman sway. Still Alexandria city remained prosperous and continued to attract visitors from all over the world. The increasing tensions in Rome between Julius Caesar and Pompey first impacted Alexandria negatively in 48 BC. Though the city certainly experienced its share of problems prior to this date, it remained a stable environment. Following the Battle of Pharsalus at which Caesar defeated Pompey, Pompey fled to Alexandria seeking sanctuary. Pompey was killed by Egypt’s co-regent Ptolemy XIII. Whether real or feigned Caesar arrived in Egypt and claimed outrage at the death of his adversary, former friend and ally. He then declared martial law, took over the royal palace, and sent for the exiled co-regent Cleopatra VII. In the civil war which ensued much of Alexandria was burned. According to some scholars this included the famous library. Of course Julius Caesar and Cleopatra had a notorious and famous relationship. Two children followed, and Cleopatra took up residence in Rome. Caesar was of course assassinated in 44 BC in Rome. His right-hand man Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) became Cleopatra’s consort and left Rome for Alexandria. The city became his base of operations over the next thirteen years. Ultimately he and Cleopatra and their combined Roman/Egyptian forces were defeated by Octavian Caesar and his Roman forces at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The following year Cleopatra and Antony both committed suicide. With the death of Cleopatra VII the Ptolemaic line came to an end. Octavian became the first emperor of Rome and took the title “Augustus”. Alexandria now became merely a province of the Roman Empire under the rule of Octavian Caesar Augustus. Augustus consolidated his power in the provinces and had Alexandria rebuilt. Scholars who argue against Julius Caesar’s role in the burning of the great library point to the fact that there is evidence it was still extant under the reign of Augustus. Visitors were still attracted to the city as a seat of learning. Alexandria was again ruined in 115 AD in the Kitos War. The city was again rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian was a man of learning and naturally then took great interest in restoring Alexandria. According to tradition the Septuagint was composed in Alexandria. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Bible. It is traditionally believed that this was completed in 132 AD.. Thus the Bible could take its place among the great books of the library in the city. Religious scholars were said to frequent the library for research. Alexandria had long attracted people of many different faiths who vied for dominance in the city. Under Augustus’ reign there were disputes between Jews and pagans. As Christianity grew in popularity the Christians added to the degree of public unrest. Eventually the Roman Emperor Constantine passed the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. The edict decreed a public policy of religious tolerance. As a consequence of the edict Christians were no longer liable for prosecution under the law based merely on their faith. The Christian community began to not only demand more religious rights, but more vigorously attack Jews and “Pagans” who subscribed to either the Roman and/or Egyptian religions. From a historical perspective it seems clear that the viewpoint demonstrated by the Christian community was that while Christians were by edict allowed their religious freedom, Jews and Pagans were not. Alexandria had heretofore been a city of prosperity and learning. Instead it no devolved into an arena of religious contention between the new faith of the Christians and the old faith of the pagan majority. The Christians increasingly felt bold enough to strike at the symbols of the old faith in an attempt to topple it. The historian Magasarian wrote, “…It is not so much religion that makes the character of a people, as it is the people who determine the character of their religion. Religion is only the resume of the national ideas, thoughts, and character. Religion is nothing but an expression. It is not, for instance, the word or the language which creates the idea, but the idea which provokes the word into existence. In the same way religion is only the expression of a people’s mentality. And yet a man’s religion or philosophy, while it is but the product of his own mind, exerts a reflex influence upon his character. The child influences the parent, of whom it is the offspring; language affects thought, of which, originally, it was but the tool. So it is with religion. The Christian religion, as soon as it got into power, turned the world about…” Perhaps nowhere more than in Alexandria was this turn-about more apparent. Under the Theodosius I, who reigned as Roman Emperor from 379-395 AD, paganism was outlawed and Christianity encouraged. In 391 AD the Christian Patriarch Theophilus followed Theodosius’ lead and had all the pagan temples in Alexandria destroyed or converted into churches. By the year 400 AD Alexandria was in constant religious turmoil. In 415 AD this resulted in the murder of the Neo-Platonic philosopher Hypatia. According to some scholars, this was when a Christian mob burned down the great Library of Alexandria and completely destroyed the Temple of Serapis. Alexandria declined rapidly after this date. Scholars, scientists, and thinkers of all disciplines left the city for safer locales. After the rise of Christianity the city became steadily impoverished, both financially and culturally. Increasing the city became a battlefield for warring faiths, with little tolerance for differing religions. Alexandria was conquered by the Sassanid Persians in 619 AD. The Christian Byzantine Empire under the Emperor Heraclius reclaimed the city in 628 AD. But Alexandria was again lost to invading Arab Muslims under Caliph Umar in 641 AD. The forces of the Christian Byzantines and the Muslim Arabs then fought for control of Alexandria as well as greater Egypt until the Arabian forces prevailed in 646 AD. Egypt fell under Islamic rule. The churches were destroyed or transformed in mosques. Christian legend claims that it was at this time that the great library was burned by the Muslim conquerors. However the historical evidence contradicts this self-serving whitewash and points to the Christian riots of 415 AD instead. What was not destroyed by war was taken down by nature and, by 1323 CE, most of Ptolemaic Alexandria was gone. The great lighthouse was steadily destroyed by earthquakes as was much of the port. In 1994 the first discoveries were publicized of a number of relics, statuary, and buildings discovered beneath the water in the harbor of Alexandria. These have been steadily excavated by Professor Jean-Yves Empereur and his team who continue to bring to light the lost golden age of Alexandria [Ancient History Encyclopedia]. The Lighthouse of Alexandria (“Pharos)”: The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on the island of Pharos outside the harbors of Alexandria, Egypt roughly between 300 and 280 BC. The construction was during the reigns of the Kings Ptolemy I and II. With a height of over 330 feet (100 meters) the lighthouse was so impressive that it was included onto the established list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Although now lost, it stood for over 1600 years. Its lasting legacy is that it gave its Greek name “Pharos” to the architectural genre of any tower with a light designed to guide mariners. The lighthouse is oftentimes credited with influencing later Arab minaret architecture. It certainly created a whole host of copycat structures in harbors around the Mediterranean. After the pyramids of Giza the lighthouse was the tallest man-made structure in the world. Alexandria in Egypt was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Thanks to its two natural harbors on the Nile Delta, the city prospered as a trading port under the Ptolemaic dynasty and throughout antiquity. The Ptolemaic Dynasty was founded by one of Alexander’s Generals, Ptolemy, and Ptolemy and his successes ruled Egypt from 305 to 30 BC. Alexandria was a cosmopolitan city with citizens from all over the Greek world. The city had its own assembly and coinage and became a renowned center of learning. Around 300 BC Ptolemy I Soter commissioned the building of a massive lighthouse to guide ships into Alexandria. Of course it was also intended to provide a permanent reminder of his power and greatness. The project was completed some 20 years later by his son and successor Ptolemy II. The structure only added to the impressive list of things to see at the great city which included the tomb of Alexander, the Museum (an institution for scholars), the Serapeum Temple, and the magnificent Library of Alexandria. According to several ancient sources the lighthouse was the work of the architect Sostratus of Cnidus. However he may rather have been the project’s financial backer. The structure was located on the very tip of the limestone islet of Pharos facing the harbors of Alexandria. These two natural harbors were the Great Harbor and the whimsically named Eunostos or ‘Harbor of Fortunate Return’. The mainland was linked to the island of Pharos by a causeway, the Heptastadion. This was about three-quarters of a mile long (1.2 kilometers). A written account by someone of the name Poseidippos informs history that the lighthouse was intended to guide and protect sailors. To that end the lighthouse was dedicated to two gods, Zeus Soter (Deliverer). The dedication dedicatory inscription on the tower was made with foot-and-one-half (1/2 meter) tall letters. The second god is uncertain, but it was possibly Proteus. Proteus was the Greek sea god also known as the ‘Old Man of the Sea’. The lighthouse at Alexandria was certainly not the first such aid to ancient mariners. However it was probably the first monumental one. The north Aegean island of Thasos for example was known to have had a tower-lighthouse in the Archaic Period. Beacons and beacons and landmarks were widely used by cities to help sailors across the Mediterranean. Ancient lighthouses were built primarily as navigational aids for where a harbor was located rather than as a warning of hazardous shallows or submerged rocks. However because of the dangerous waters of Alexandria’s harbor the Pharos actually performed both functions. The 1st century (BC) Greek historian Strabo made the following observations on Pharos: “…This extremity itself of the island is a rock, washed by the sea on all sides, with a tower upon it of the same name as the island, admirably constructed of white marble, with several stories. Sostratus of Cnidus, a friend of the kings, erected it for the safety of mariners, as the inscription imports. For as the coast on each side is low and without harbors, with reefs and shallows, an elevated and conspicuous mark was required to enable navigators coming in from the open sea to direct their course exactly to the entrance of the harbor…” The exact design of the lighthouse is unfortunately not made clear by ancient writers. Their descriptions are often vague, confusing, and conflicting. Most sources do agree that the tower was white, making it more visible. Most sources also agree that the lighthouse had three floors. The bottom floor was rectangular, the middle floor octagonal, and the to/p floor round. Most (but not all) sources agree that there was a statue of Zeus Soter on the top. Later Arab writers describe a ramp rising around the outside of the lower part of the tower and an internal staircase to reach the upper levels. Modern historians have debated the height of the tower. Estimates range from 100 to 140 meters (330 to 460 feet). In either case the Pharos would have been at the time the second tallest architectural structure in the world after the pyramids at Giza. A fire was kept at the top of the tower to make it visible at night. However whether this was so from the outset is debated by historians. This is largely because the earliest references to the Pharos in the works of ancient writers make no mention at all of a light. Later sources do describe the Pharos as a lighthouse and not merely a landmark tower useful only during daylight. The flame would likely have been produced by burning oil as wood was scarce, The flame and several other points regarding the lighthouse are mentioned in the following description by the 1st century AD Roman writer Pliny the Elder: “…The cost of its erection was eight hundred talents, they say; and, not to omit the magnanimity that was shown by King Ptolemæus on this occasion, he gave permission to the architect, Sostratus of Cnidos, to inscribe his name upon the edifice itself. The object of it is, by the light of its fires at night, to give warning to ships, of the neighboring shoals, and to point out to them the entrance of the harbor…” According to later Arab sources, there was even a mirror to reflect the flame over a greater distance out to sea. Presumably of polished bronze the mirror may also have functioned as a reflector of the sun. The tower appears on Roman imperial coinage of the city from Domitian to Commodus (81 to 192 AD). The coins clearly show a large, narrow-windowed tower with no light visible. The tower is topped with a monumental statue and two smaller figures of Triton blowing a conch shell. These coins show the entrance to the tower being at the very base while later Arab descriptions have it higher up. The Pharos also appeared in mosaics and sarcophagi throughout antiquity, confirming its wide fame. Some of the monuments of the ancient world mightily impressed visitors from far and wide with their beauty, artistic and architectural ambition, and sheer scale. Their reputation grew as ‘must-see’ (“themata”) sights for the ancient traveler and pilgrim. Seven such monuments became the original ‘bucket list’ when ancient writers compiled shortlists of the most wonderful sights of the ancient world. The writers included such ancient notables as Herodotus, Callimachus of Cyrene, Antipater of Sidon, and Philo of Byzantium. The Lighthouse of Alexandria made it onto the established list of Seven Wonders albeit rather later than the others, because it was such a tall and unique structure. The tower’s design was copied to protect harbors and mariners throughout the ancient world. It became so famous as a lighthouse that the term “pharos” has been applied ever since to any such tower intended to aid shipping. “Pharos” is still the term for a lighthouse in many modern languages. Alexandria continued to prosper as part of the Roman Empire. It was the second most important city in the Roman world and the most important port in the eastern Mediterranean. Earthquakes, especially in 796 AD, 950 AD, 1303 AD, and 1323 AD badly damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria over the centuries. Six years after the earthquake of 950 AD the lighthouse partially collapsed. However there are records of regular repairs and extensions. For example, a domed mosque was added to the top part around 1000 AD. A major reconstruction occurred around 1161 AD under the Muslim Fatimids. Some historians suggest that the tower had an influence on Arab minaret architecture. It is perhaps not coincidental that the Arabic word for minaret and lighthouse is the same: “al-Manarah”. The lighthouse disappears from the historical record after the 14th century, presumably finally toppled by another earthquake sometime in the 1330s AD. The tower’s granite foundations were reused in the Qait Bey Fort, built in the 15th century AD. The sea level has risen since antiquity. The ground upon which the lighthouse stood is now beneath the harbor’s waters. Modern marine archaeology in the area has discovered two monumental figures of Ptolemy I and his queen, Berenice. They may well have once belonged to the tower and its immediate vicinity. Many stone fragments from the lighthouse have also been found. Finally, as an interesting footnote, the Lighthouse of Alexandria might have been a much-copied veritable wonder but it was not always successful in helping mariners. Marine archaeologists have discovered over 40 wrecks in the area of the ancient harbor of Alexandria. On the other hand who can say how many more disasters there would have been without the great lighthouse guiding ships safely into the port [Ancient History Encyclopedia]? The Ptolemaic Dynasty: The Ptolemaic dynasty controlled Egypt for almost three centuries, from 305 to 30 BC. It eventually fell to the Roman Empire. While they ruled Egypt the Ptolemies they never became “Egyptian”. Instead they isolated themselves in the capital city of Alexandria, a city envisioned by Alexander the Great. The city was Greek both in language and practice. There were no marriages with outsiders or to Native Egyptians. Brother married sister or uncle married niece. The last Ptolemaic monarch was Queen, Cleopatra VII/ She remained Macedonian but spoke Egyptian as well as other languages. Except for the first two Ptolemaic pharaohs, Ptolemy I and his son Ptolemy II, most of the family was fairly inept. In the end the Ptolemies were only able to maintain their authority with the assistance of Rome. One of the unique and often misunderstood aspects of the Ptolemaic dynasty is how and why the Ptolemies never became Egyptian. The Ptolemies coexisted both as Egyptian pharaohs as well as Greek monarchs. In every respect they remained completely Greek, both in their language and traditions. This unique characteristic was maintained through intermarriage. Most often these marriages were either between brother and sister or uncle and niece. This inbreeding was intended to stabilize the family. Wealth and power were consolidated. Although it was considered by many an Egyptian and not Greek occurrence, the mother goddess Isis married her brother Osiris. These sibling marriages were justified or at least made more acceptable by referencing tales from Greek mythology in which the gods intermarried. Cronus had married his sister Rhea while Zeus had married Hera. Of the fifteen Ptolemaic marriages, ten were between brother and sister. Two of the fifteen were with a niece or cousin. Cleopatra VII was the subject of playwrights, poets, and movies. She was last Ptolemaic Monarch to rule Egypt. However Cleopatra VII was not Egyptian, she was Macedonian. According to one ancient historian she was a descendant of such great Greek queens as Olympias, the overly-possessive mother of Alexander the Great. However Cleopatra VII was also the only Ptolemy to learn to speak Egyptian and make any effort to know the Egyptian people. Of course Ptolemaic inbreeding was less than ideal. Jealousy was rampant and conspiracies were common. Ptolemy IV supposedly murdered his uncle, brother, and mother. Ptolemy VIII killed his fourteen-year-old son and chopped him into pieces. Rewinding to the origins of the dynasty brings us to the sudden death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. His death brought chaos and confusion to his vast empire. Alexander died without naming an heir or successor. Instead history has him saying instead that the empire was left ‘to the best’. Those commanders who had faithfully followed him from Macedon across the desert sands of western Asia were left to decide for themselves the fate of the kingdom. Some wanted to wait until the birth of Roxanne and Alexander’s son, the future Alexander IV. Others chose a more immediate and self-serving remedy, which was to simply divide Alexander’s empire amongst themselves. The final decision would bring decades of war and devastation. The vast territory was split among the most loyal of Alexander’s generals. They included
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