Library of Alexandria

One of the most important questions for any student of the ancient world to address is 'how do we know what we know about antiquity?' Whether we're thinking about urban architecture, or love poetry, or modern drama, a wide range of factors shape the picture of antiquity that we have today. This free course, Library of Alexandria, encourages you to reflect upon and critically assess those factors. Interpreting an ancient text, or a piece of material culture, or understanding an historical event, is never a straightforward process of 'discovery', but is always affected by things such as translation choices, the preservation (or loss) of an archaeological record, or the agendas of scholars.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Approaching the Library of Alexandria
• 1 Approaching the Library of Alexandria
• 2 The universal library?
• 2 The universal library?
• 2.1 Assessing the evidence
• 3 The destruction of the library
• 3 The destruction of the library
• 4 Reimagining the library
• 4 Reimagining the library
• Conclusion
• Readings
• Andy Potts, ‘The internet’s librarian’
• Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night
• Plutarch, Life of Caesar 49
• Dio Cassius, Roman History 42.38.2
• Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories 22.16.13–14
• Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• Gregory Bar Hebraeus/Abu’l Faraj, Chronicum Syriacum
• References
• Further reading
• Acknowledgements