Library of Alexandria discovered

I heard that Muslims destroyed the scrolls of the Alexandria library and used them as fire fuel since they were un-Islamic in nature. It’s not too far fetched to think that is the case; fundamentalists still do that today to destroy history that is not Islamic. Also I read long ago that the Egyptian pyramids were covered in shiny marble inscribed with all the secrets of the pyramids and history but the Muslims used the slabs to build decorations in the mosques they built up. This is just what some have said but I would not put that theory too far off. They still do that with finds in Israel and throw away any historial Jewish history in the skips without even looking into it.

Originally posted by The time lord
They still do that with finds in Israel and throw away any historial Jewish history in the skips without even looking into it.

That's just plain sad. And it shows that we haven't changed that much since those times.

Originally posted by lunarminer
At least that is the official historical account. I doubt that the Romans really burned all of the books. The Romans were not fools and they would have known the value of the maps that the library contained. I would bet that the maps were hauled back to Rome.

I feel the same way. We may never know where these things are now but I seriously doubt with all the work that was clearly put into that building, they would stand back and let it be burned or whatever. I think a large chunk of the literary work (at the very least) had to have been moved somewhere. Am I correct in saying they had many scholars? It's possible that in a fervor if they knew something was happening or going to happen would have grabbed up whatever they could to take with them. So really the possibilities of where these things are now are endless, and I don't believe for one second that a fire destroyed ALL of that work.

I wish I could volunteer to help study with these archeologists. What I would give to be up close and personal with these discoveries... One day!

Originally posted by Quiintus

Originally posted by The time lord
They still do that with finds in Israel and throw away any historial Jewish history in the skips without even looking into it.

That's just plain sad. And it shows that we haven't changed that much since those times.

We all saw on TV what they did with the Buddhist statue carving being blown up by fundimentalists, at least that is some exposure of their nature.

The fundamentalist Islamic Taliban destroyed 1,700 year old Gigantic Buddhist Statues that had been carved into the side of a mountain



[edit on 26-12-2008 by The time lord]

I have been told by several Catholic priests that there are "a great many books in the Vatican library that the public will never see." When I questioned them, they just shrugged, and gave the standard, prgrammed "It's not relevant to the Mother Church." Which means it IS relevant in some way.
I am not anti-papist, but I resent anyone telling me I have no need to know something because it's not relevant. It is my decision to decide if something is relevant to what, or who I believe in spiritually.
There is much that even he priests who live and work at the Vatican are denied access to.
Just as the destruction of the Library at Alexandria makes me angry, so does the withholding of ancient documents which may shed light on the the spiritual or geo-political history of the world. I have a feeling it would make "National Treasure" pale in comparison.
I can only hope that more information from Alexandria will be forthcoming soon.

We're starting to stray folks.

Remember "Library of Alexandria discovered"

Carry on...

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


I tell ya what, if there ever were a plague that wiped out 98% of humanity, the survivors could spend lifetimes just searching out the things that have been hidden from public scrutiny by the governments and religious bodies of the world. One can only imagine what they would find.

On another note, I was thinking about this Library of Alexandria, and that got me thinking about ice ages, as unrelated as the two might seem. The point was, if there were another ice age, the oceans would recess, yes? Think of all the archeological sites that lie underwater, and all the things that would be uncovered. I suppose there is a silver lining to both reality warping scenarios.

Chrono

I believe a couple of misconceptions need to be cleared up.

* According to ancient sources Caesar did NOT burn the Library of Alexander. A warehouse of books burned during his taking control of the city.

* the library would NOT have contained unique texts, but rather copies of famous books. Unique copies of someone's work would have stayed with them and their family... libraries don't accept everything they're offered. It worked much like a modern library with an acquisitions and cataloging department and was the first library to collect works from outside the country.

* As to the discovery, someone jumped the gun on this one, announcing it as THE Library.

* THE Library was destroyed about 400 AD (some 450 years after Caesar hit Egypt), and most of the ancient historians say a mob of Christians did it:
en.wikipedia.org...

What hasn't seemed to be discussed, yet, is that at some point in ancient times the majority of the works of accumulated Human knowledge, after being located into one location, were subsequently burned as the city was under siege, from an invading Army.

You've gotten a wrong impression, actually.

Rome was a rival for Greece, but it was a point of status in Rome to have a Greek tutor. They would not have destroyed The Library although they may have looted it. The fire at the Alexandrian wharf was started during the riots, when Caesar's troops were burning the Egyptian naval fleet and the fire spread to other areas from there.

But The Library was not destroyed. The Roman historian, Strabo, reported working in it some 25 years later.

During times of danger, the books were moved to and from other locations such as the Serapium in Serapis (according to ancient sources.)

Valued books were copied and passed around to royal libraries across the Mediterranean. The collection itself was unique, but there were copies of these books around...they were the basis of the flourishing of the arts and sciences in Greece (because Alexandria might have been on Egyptian soil but it was a Greek city) and Rome.

I'll see if I can find some ancient sources for you... a lot of the modern material on this library was made up by people who didn't bother to read Plutarch and Strabo.

Originally posted by The time lord
I heard that Muslims destroyed the scrolls of the Alexandria library and used them as fire fuel since they were un-Islamic in nature. It’s not too far fetched to think that is the case; fundamentalists still do that today to destroy history that is not Islamic. Also I read long ago that the Egyptian pyramids were covered in shiny marble inscribed with all the secrets of the pyramids and history but the Muslims used the slabs to build decorations in the mosques they built up. This is just what some have said but I would not put that theory too far off. They still do that with finds in Israel and throw away any historial Jewish history in the skips without even looking into it.

Got to be religion or the muslins...hehe. Remember the muslin invented much of our math and other non religious things, so I do not see them burning everything that was not religious based.

Actually, the pyramids were covered in marble but it was pilfered by the "locals" for 1000s of years, and their religion had nothing to do with it.
One great lost of knowledge by religion that I know of was the Aztec and Mayan round tablets. This was a tremendous lost by ignorant people.


[edit on 27-12-2008 by Xtrozero]

reply to post by The time lord


Do you have an education system in your nation?

The Islamic Caliphate was respectful and nonchalant on converting the population to Islam. Ancient historical sites and governmental systems were not altered drastically- Sharia Law was very liberal in Egypt. Just like Jerusalem, the Islamic government protected religious sites.

It was the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, which damaged ancient temples and hieroglyphs. Then the British occupation from 1804 was destructive when the population was forcefully converted to Christianity.

Did you know, Thomas Jefferson had his own personal Qu'ran?

Originally posted by infinite
reply to post by The time lord

 

Do you have an education system in your nation?

The Islamic Caliphate was respectful and nonchalant on converting the population to Islam. Ancient historical sites and governmental systems were not altered drastically- Sharia Law was very liberal in Egypt. Just like Jerusalem, the Islamic government protected religious sites.

It was the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, which damaged ancient temples and hieroglyphs. Then the British occupation from 1804 was destructive when the population was forcefully converted to Christianity.

Did you know, Thomas Jefferson had his own personal Qu'ran?

I was thinking the same thing but am somewhat new here. Napoleon would not have intentionally destroyed any monuments on purpose. He loved Egypt and he is the father of Egyptology. I know you weren't exactly saying he did it on purpose, but still I thought I might mention it.

reply to post by Quiintus


Napoleon, of course, did not give orders but French soldiers carved their own names into the stone walls and pillars. I agree with the premise though, Napoleon was a keen admirer of Egyptian culture and history.

look i know it would be great to discover the library , or whats left of it

but heres my problem, i havent seen any proof

and a few greek looking auditoriums or speaking halls isnt gonna convinceme that this IS THE SPOT of the LIBRARY wonder of the ancient world!!

i just dont see it happening sorry

u found a few greek ruins great, but DONT call it the library based on such rediculously vague evidence

now if shown detailed evidence perhaps i could be a believer too

reply to post by muzzleflash


Greek?

The Library of Alexandria is in Egypt.

reply to post by infinite




Cool eh?

Carl Sagan and his "Cosmos" programme certainly taught me a few things.

[edit on 27/12/2008 by nerbot]


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[edit on Sat Dec 27 2008 by Jbird]

reply to post by Byrd


Yes, all ships docking in the harbour were searched upon arrival. Not for contraband and such, but for books! They were taken to the library, copied and returned.

Let's face it, if you're going to do something, you might as well do it properly.

They did forget to leave us a map though!

Originally posted by infinite
Greek?

The Library of Alexandria is in Egypt.

Yes, Greek. After their conquest by Alexander (the feller who, funnily enough, founded Alexandria) the Egyptians were part of the Greek world, and remained so until the coming of Islam (though they became part of the Roman empire in time). Their kings and queens were of Greek blood: Alex put one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, on the throne of the pharoahs. The redoubtable Cleopatra was Ptolemy's descendant.

History. It gets complicated, no?

[edit on 27-12-2008 by Astyanax]

Originally posted by Eleleth

Socrates never wrote anything.

[edit on 25-12-2008 by Eleleth]

That's quite a bold statement.

Interesting find though, I read about the Library in Carl Sagan's book 'Cosmos".

This is fascinating, after all we thought all the documents were lost. In 2004 and no follow up? There is something going on. They found something. Something BIG. We should know about this. The World's first generation of history was contained there.

Did they find out about some highly advanced pre-history civilization?

We may never know.

Originally posted by Astyanax

Originally posted by infinite
Greek?

The Library of Alexandria is in Egypt.

Yes, Greek. After their conquest by Alexander (the feller who, funnily enough, founded Alexandria) the Egyptians were part of the Greek world, and remained so until the coming of Islam (though they became part of the Roman empire in time). Their kings and queens were of Greek blood: Alex put one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, on the throne of the pharoahs. The redoubtable Cleopatra was Ptolemy's descendant.

History. It gets complicated, no?

[edit on 27-12-2008 by Astyanax]

Exactly right!

What I found interesting is an ancient claim (by Soter, I think) that the library contained 30,000 scrolls and Anthony gave Cleopatra another 20,000 scrolls as a love gift.