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00:00Encounter the lost treasure of the Alexandria Library.
00:10It's one of the stories of the ages, one of the ancient mysteries.
00:14Before we unlock the future, we must find the keys to the past.
00:19I'm Leonard Nimoy.
00:20Join me and open the door to ancient mysteries beginning now.
00:23Over 2,000 years ago, this stark, sprawling ruin was probably the most important center for learning in the world.
00:36Here, men first figured out the size of the world and the number of stars in the sky.
00:42There were laboratories, gardens, a medical school, and over half a million books.
00:49The ancient library in Alexandria, Egypt, educated some of the most brilliant minds ever known.
00:57These corridors may hold the secrets of centuries of knowledge.
01:01The seeds of our present-day culture were sown in these old gallery rooms in Alexandria.
01:07Perhaps the most surprising thing about the library at Alexandria is that it lasted for over six centuries.
01:15And yet, this may be all that remains.
01:19The founding of the library in Alexandria has been called the beginning of modern history.
01:32More than just the library, it was the first world research center.
01:38For hundreds of years, Alexandria invited dignitaries from around the world to study in its library halls.
01:44Residence scholars could live, eat, learn, and work with visitors who brought important new information to Alexandria.
01:52Apparently, all that is left of the legendary library is this modern excavation called the Serapium.
02:05A secondary structure built when the original library began to overflow with books and people.
02:13The Serapium exists only to tease us with a glimpse of the library's illustrious past.
02:19The amazing thing about the library at Alexandria is that it was the most important place of learning in the ancient world.
02:28And we don't know where it was or where it is now.
02:33We don't know what it looked like.
02:35We don't know the details of what books did it have.
02:38We don't know everybody who was there.
02:41There's more that we don't know than we do know.
02:44Yet it was the most important event, perhaps, in the intellectual history of man.
02:55Over three million people live in present-day Alexandria, mostly followers of the Islamic faith.
03:01The old streets are crowded with shops and apartments, built up alongside ancient ruins.
03:10130 miles northwest of Cairo, Alexandria is Egypt's second largest city and home to her main port.
03:18In the 4th century BC, this fine open harbor and its island of Pharos attracted the illustrious conqueror, Alexander the Great.
03:34When Alexander founded the city in 332 BC, he chose it for location.
03:41The Mediterranean Sea, the island of Pharos, and proximity to the river Nile, made for a good naval base.
03:50The natural harbor allowed easy access to all the nations in the fast-growing Mediterranean.
03:57Widespread trade and other civilizations were accessible.
04:01Alexandria was ideally suited to be the world's new center of thought, culture, and activity.
04:07As Alexander the Great looked out into the empty harbor, what did he envision as the future for the city that would bear his name?
04:17And why would the warrior Alexander even care about a library?
04:26Long before Alexander entered Egypt, generations of Greeks struggled with early riddles of existence.
04:32It was the beginning of man's understanding of the natural world.
04:40Investigation of everything was important.
04:44Athens, Greece became the brainpower center of the old Greek world.
04:48Conversation and debate were common pastimes.
04:52Public speaking produced public scholars who became celebrities.
04:55In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, men like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were working in Athens.
05:09They were the popular and controversial policy makers of the day.
05:14Their early teachings are the foundation for modern thought.
05:17But what did these early intellectuals have in common with one of history's finest generals, Alexander the Great?
05:29The tradition is that Alexander was taught by Aristotle.
05:34And Aristotle, of course, was taught by Plato, who in turn was taught by Socrates.
05:39Plato and Socrates believed that the senses mislead you, that if you can see it, you shouldn't really believe it.
05:45They believed in eternal, unchanging truths, which are known by the mind, not by the senses.
05:52Aristotle turned this around.
05:54Aristotle said, no, nothing enters the mind except through the senses.
05:58And he, in turn, taught Alexander the Great.
06:04Alexander was born to the ruler of Macedon, the most rapidly expanding state in the Greek world.
06:10Naturally, King Philip wanted the best tutor in the land for his royal son.
06:16So at age 13, Alexander, the soon-to-be great, was turned over to Aristotle of Macedonia.
06:24The philosopher filled the young warrior with a passionate love of learning.
06:28Educated men are as much superior to uneducated men as the living are to the dead.
06:37The fate of empires depends on the education of youth.
06:43Aristotle, the philosopher, 4th century B.C.
06:47Alexander valued knowledge as a tool for power.
06:54On his quest to conquer the world a decade later,
06:58Alexander carried Aristotle's copy of Homer's Iliad with him into battle.
07:03The warrior was also a poet.
07:08Working his massive Greek army across Asia to western India,
07:13the gifted young commander inspired admiration.
07:15His campaign to fend off Persian rule shot like a spear through the ancient world,
07:22winning Alexander the support of armies, kingdoms, and countries.
07:30In the fall of 332 B.C.,
07:33Alexander crossed into Egypt early in his world campaign.
07:37Egypt was then a Persian province.
07:39Egypt hailed Alexander as a liberator from Persian oppression.
07:48Welcomed as a ruler, Alexander was crowned pharaoh of Egypt.
07:55For almost 3,000 years, Egypt had been ruled by godlike pharaohs.
07:59Those ancient pharaohs were the link between their mortal subjects and the gods themselves.
08:07Egyptian pharaohs were thought to be gods in life and after death.
08:12But Alexander was Greek, not Egyptian.
08:19He had no guarantee of an afterlife.
08:22Where would Alexander the Great find immortality?
08:25Deep into the desert at Siwa,
08:34Alexander sought the oracle of the Hidden One,
08:37the great Egyptian god Amun.
08:41Legend says Alexander had a mysterious secret.
08:45Was he the offspring not of mortal king Philip,
08:48but son of the god Amun himself?
08:50He went to Siwa and asked the oracle of god Amun if this was true.
09:01And in a dream, he saw that the god Amun embraced his mother.
09:07So this was an assurance, a confirmation of the claim.
09:12And then he asked his father, god Amun,
09:16if he would require him to do anything.
09:18And the answer came also in a dream.
09:22King, I am god Amun speaking to you.
09:27Go and found an illustrious city at the site of the island pharps.
09:35He immediately carried this out.
09:38In the dream, the god Amun embraced Alexander's mother,
09:46while in reality, Alexander embraced Egypt and founded Alexandria.
09:54In 332 B.C., he decreed his city would be the source of learning in the known world,
10:00cultural magnet drawing on talent from afar.
10:03At the heart of the city would be a teaching institute on which other empires could be built,
10:13a warehouse of science and literature.
10:16The library would be a self-contained universe of mental stimulation.
10:24Architects laid out the plans for the new city,
10:26while after only six months in Egypt,
10:29Alexander continued his aggressive adventures elsewhere.
10:34It seemed as though he would conquer the world.
10:37But in 323 B.C., weakened by wounds and fever, possibly poisoned,
10:43Alexander the Great suddenly died.
10:45What would happen to his fair city?
10:52Would new rulers share Alexander's lust for knowledge?
10:57The library at Alexandria had yet to be built.
11:00When his namesake died,
11:02would the world ever see his vision?
11:04With the founding of Alexandria,
11:14a bright new period of Greek history began.
11:17It was a dawn of new leadership and a new way of thinking.
11:25When Alexander the Great died,
11:27his Egyptian kingdom was taken over by Ptolemy,
11:30Alexander's most trusted general,
11:33who would build the library Alexander envisioned.
11:38Ptolemy I started a dynasty,
11:41a series of kings from the same family,
11:43who would rule Egypt for almost 300 years.
11:49Ptolemy I made Alexandria the capital of Egypt.
11:53But still, the city faced powerful competition
11:56from ruler generals of other countries.
12:00They competed with one another
12:04in power, in wealth, and grandeur.
12:10One field of competition was culture.
12:16And Ptolemy wanted his city
12:19not to be only a capital of a powerful country,
12:23but a center of enlightenment,
12:27of knowledge, and of learning.
12:30The original Alexandrian citizens
12:34were local Egyptians,
12:36the Macedonian guard,
12:38a large Jewish community,
12:39and streams of Greek immigrants.
12:44Thanks to Ptolemy,
12:46Alexandria immediately began
12:47to attract influential scholars
12:49from around the Greek world.
12:51Ptolemy I was a man of iron will and intelligence.
12:58He surrounded himself with a circle of important men,
13:01advanced in the fields of literature,
13:03philosophy, and science.
13:09The architect, Demetrius of Phaleron,
13:11helped Ptolemy lay plans for the new center.
13:14Bricks, broken temples, and battered sphinxes
13:18lay atop the only surviving portion
13:20of the ancient institution.
13:23The Serapium, or daughter library,
13:25is thought to have been built inland
13:27from the main library and museum.
13:29But where was the main part of the structure located?
13:35The Library of Alexandria
13:37now offers more questions
13:39than it does answers.
13:42One of the great mysteries
13:43of the Library of Alexandria
13:45is where was it?
13:46Nobody's sure where it was.
13:49We think it was by the water,
13:50and that's a good bet for where it is now,
13:52under the water.
13:54We also don't know what it looked like.
13:55There are no contemporary accounts
13:57that really give a description
13:58of what the library was like.
14:00So we really wonder,
14:01what did the thing look like?
14:02Did it have two stories?
14:03Did it have three stories?
14:04Was it dark?
14:05Was it well-lit?
14:06There are a lot of things
14:07we don't know about the library.
14:11The main library was probably built
14:13close to the harbor,
14:14in the Royal Greek section of Alexandria.
14:17It was thought to be in or near the palace
14:20called the Broussillon, or museum.
14:25Its research was royally funded,
14:27many local scholars
14:29were on the king's payroll.
14:31The Ptolemies were understandably
14:33proud of their library.
14:35There was a strong sense
14:37of obligation on the part of the Ptolemies
14:40to foster learning,
14:41which is quite remarkable in a way.
14:44It always is,
14:45when their real concerns
14:47were with power,
14:48security of the dynasty,
14:49and the problems of Egypt,
14:51which are immense.
14:52One of the things Ptolemy did
14:53was collect books,
14:55a very Greek thing to do.
14:57Collect as many books as possible.
14:59And he did it with a vengeance.
15:05Visitors arrived with their versions
15:06of famous older literary texts.
15:09Sometimes agents were sent abroad
15:11to bring back new works.
15:14On occasion,
15:15manuscripts were donated.
15:17Even Aristotle's library
15:18was willed to the Library of Alexandria.
15:21We are told also that
15:26there was a law
15:27that any traveler
15:29who set sail into this
15:32and into the harbor of Alexandria
15:34was searched for books.
15:37Not for drugs,
15:38but for books.
15:40And if a book was found,
15:42it was taken to the library.
15:44If there was no copy of it,
15:46it was confiscated,
15:47and the traveler
15:49was compensated.
15:51So they did wonderful things
15:53in order to acquire books.
15:57But the normal method
15:59of acquiring books
16:00was of course
16:01by purchasing them.
16:03And there were marts
16:04and markets for books.
16:07So in this way,
16:09Alexandria acquired
16:11the largest collection of books
16:14ever existed in antiquity.
16:21How many scrolls
16:22were eventually contained
16:24within the libraries
16:25at Alexandria?
16:27Ptolemy's goal
16:28was to have every existing
16:30written work
16:30in the Greek world and beyond.
16:34The secondary collection,
16:36located in the Serapium alone,
16:38was said to hold
16:39300,000 books.
16:42But over the course of history,
16:43the collection grew even larger.
16:49We don't know
16:50how many books there were.
16:51The best authority
16:52I know of says
16:53about 400, 500,000,
16:55which is an awfully big library
16:57by anybody's standards.
16:58But counting books
17:00is a very inexact science.
17:05Countless ancient manuscripts
17:07were not just stored away
17:09at the Alexandria Library.
17:11They were used
17:11as research and reference
17:13for other, newer scholars.
17:15And priceless books
17:16were copied
17:17by local scribes
17:18and traded
17:19for books
17:20from other parts
17:21of the ancient world.
17:23Some of the most significant work
17:25in history
17:25could have been lost forever
17:27were it not for scrolls
17:29copied in Alexandria.
17:30The main significance
17:34of the library
17:35and the museum
17:36in Alexandria is
17:37that it did what
17:39a great library does.
17:40It disseminates knowledge.
17:42When you go in
17:43and take a book
17:43out of the library,
17:44you're performing
17:45one of the great
17:46basic cultural functions
17:47and the library
17:48is doing its job.
17:52Each piece
17:53had to be cataloged,
17:55perhaps cross-referenced
17:57and put away.
17:59Librarians had to be able
18:00to retrieve the works
18:01easily
18:02and scores of new works
18:04were coming in
18:04all the time.
18:08Along with more material
18:10for the library
18:11came more visitors.
18:13Scholars were drawn
18:14to Alexandria,
18:15which in turn
18:16enhanced its reputation
18:17as a cutting-edge center
18:19for learning and knowledge.
18:20Herophilus,
18:24the anatomist,
18:25established an in-house
18:26medical school
18:27at the Bruxion.
18:29Before Alexandria,
18:31doctors used animals
18:32to research human anatomy.
18:34Long before
18:35anesthetized operations
18:36were performed,
18:38it was rumored
18:38that scientists
18:40in Alexandria
18:41operated directly
18:42on living men.
18:44No evidence
18:45for this charge exists,
18:47but Herophilus
18:48was among the first
18:48to perform
18:49medical examinations
18:50on humans
18:52after their death.
18:57The Greeks
18:58were prohibited
18:59from doing dissection
19:00by tradition.
19:02It was prohibited
19:03to cut the human body.
19:05It was almost
19:05a sacrilege
19:06for the Greeks.
19:07But on Egyptian soil,
19:09you had the tradition
19:10of the Egyptian embalmers
19:11who for 3,000 years
19:13had been dissecting bodies.
19:15So at the medical school
19:16in Alexandria,
19:17for the first time,
19:18physicians could practice
19:20on human cadavers.
19:22And in Greece,
19:23in Athens, for example,
19:24there were physicians
19:25who often said,
19:26I wish I had studied
19:27at Alexandria
19:28because they could do
19:29human dissection.
19:30So the library
19:31in Alexandria
19:31was in a sense
19:32more free
19:33than any other place,
19:34especially the medical school,
19:36and this was
19:36an important feature of it.
19:37besides literature
19:42and medicine,
19:43the Alexandrian research
19:45under the Ptolemy's
19:46favored mathematics.
19:48The founder of geometry
19:49lived in Alexandria.
19:51Euclid published
19:52a textbook
19:52that replaced
19:53all previous efforts,
19:55and he also opened
19:56a school.
19:56The geometry
19:59you studied
20:00in the grade school
20:00is, of course,
20:01from the Alexandria Library,
20:03Euclid,
20:04who codified
20:05the results
20:06of the basic theorems
20:08that others had made.
20:09And you will still see
20:10in an ordinary,
20:11everyday paperback
20:13introduction to geometry
20:14the name of one of the men
20:16who worked and studied
20:17at the library.
20:21Little is known
20:21personally about Euclid,
20:23but one legend remains.
20:25When Euclid showed
20:27his new work
20:27to King Ptolemy,
20:29the king asked
20:29if there was an easier way
20:31to do geometry.
20:33Euclid was said to reply,
20:35there is no royal road.
20:44Ptolemy worked tirelessly
20:45to build the library,
20:47but as he grew older,
20:49he looked to his son
20:50to govern the land
20:51of the pharaohs.
20:52And when Ptolemy died
20:54in 283 B.C.,
20:56Ptolemy II became
20:57the sole ruler of Egypt.
21:00The great Ptolemaic dynasty
21:01would continue
21:02almost 300 years
21:04until Cleopatra's death.
21:08How would the Ptolemies
21:09leave their mark
21:10on the library of Alexandria?
21:13The second Ptolemy fulfilled
21:20the wishes of his father
21:22and Alexander the Great.
21:24And the library of Alexandria
21:25flourished in the 3rd century B.C.
21:30Ptolemy II ruled with his sister,
21:33and under their reign,
21:34the library and museum
21:36grew and prospered.
21:37It was the golden age
21:39of Alexandria.
21:39Besides expanding the library
21:47and museum,
21:48Ptolemy II built the last
21:50of the seven wonders
21:51of the ancient world,
21:52a mammoth lighthouse
21:53on the island of Feras.
21:58Today, the foundation
22:00of the ancient lighthouse
22:01is buried beneath this
22:03comparatively modern
22:04Islamic structure,
22:06the military fort,
22:07Kayad Bay.
22:14But in Ptolemaic times,
22:16travelers to Alexandria
22:17viewed the first
22:19architecturally designed
22:20lighthouse in history,
22:22a three-tiered marvel
22:24of construction
22:25over 400 feet tall.
22:29It took vast amounts of fuel
22:31to fire up the lighthouse.
22:33The ancients may have burned
22:34animal dung to send
22:36a powerful beacon of welcome
22:37out to the world
22:38from Alexandria.
22:46Sailors guided by the lighthouse
22:48were drawn into the library.
22:51What treasures would they find
22:53in its bounty of scrolls?
22:55The history of Egypt
23:00would be typical
23:02of the kind of thing
23:03that would be in the library.
23:05Histories and records
23:07and literature
23:08would be an example
23:11of the kind of records
23:13necessary for a scholar
23:14to do research with.
23:16The difficulty was, of course,
23:17that there were two languages involved,
23:19Egyptian and Greek,
23:20but the basic language
23:22of the libraries
23:23was almost completely Greek,
23:25for this was a Greek ruler,
23:27a Greek court,
23:28a Greek culture imposed
23:30on the incredibly old
23:32civilization of Egypt.
23:39The library was a storehouse
23:41for all types of literature.
23:43All the great Greek philosophers
23:45must have been represented,
23:47including the writings
23:48of Diogenes.
23:52Diogenes had been inspired
23:54by a young peasant
23:55to live in simplicity.
23:58Like the young man,
23:59Diogenes even discarded
24:01his drinking cup
24:02in favor of using
24:03just his hands.
24:05Diogenes then stripped himself
24:06of all worldly goods.
24:09He gathered a group
24:10of like-minded thinkers
24:11known as the cynics
24:12and documented their critical views
24:15of ancient Greek society.
24:18Diogenes believed
24:21that no man could be trusted.
24:24Legend tells us
24:25of his lifelong unsuccessful search
24:27for an honest man.
24:29Diogenes looked all over town
24:31in broad daylight
24:32with a lantern
24:33to prove his cynical point.
24:41The philosophy of Diogenes the cynic
24:43was but a fraction
24:45of the library's immense collection.
24:48The library in Alexandria
24:51was really unique
24:52in an important way.
24:54It was eclectic.
24:55They wanted everything.
24:57It wasn't just Greek culture
24:58that they were collecting.
25:00They wanted Babylonian texts.
25:01They wanted Turkish texts.
25:03They wanted everything
25:05they could get.
25:05They wanted the Hebrew Bible.
25:06Were parts of the Bible
25:11written at Alexandria?
25:14According to legend,
25:15the earliest Greek translation
25:17of the Old Testament
25:18was written in Alexandria
25:19under the guidance
25:21of Ptolemy II.
25:23He is said to have requested
25:2470 Jewish scholars
25:26to simultaneously translate
25:28and copy the Hebrew books of law.
25:31The text was in Hebrew.
25:36But in Alexandria,
25:39there was a great
25:40and very large
25:42Jewish community.
25:45It seemed that
25:45that community
25:47was very quickly Hellenized
25:49and that Hebrew
25:51was no longer
25:52comprehensible to them.
25:55So a Greek version
25:57was required
25:58and it was made
26:00in Alexandria.
26:04Named for the number
26:05of scholars
26:05who copied it,
26:07the Septuagint
26:08made the Old Testament text
26:10accessible
26:10to a wide range of people
26:12and formed the basis
26:14for countless other
26:15translations of the Bible.
26:16The Bible
26:22and all of the books
26:23in those ancient times
26:24were written
26:25on papyrus scrolls.
26:27The word paper
26:28comes from the Egyptian papyrus,
26:30the plant
26:31from which scrolls were made.
26:33Papyrus grew along
26:35the banks of the Nile.
26:37The ancients pressed
26:38wet strips of reeds
26:39side by side.
26:41They were pounded flat
26:42and when dry
26:43could be written on
26:44with early pen and ink.
26:46It took a long time
26:53for a scribe
26:53to finish a book
26:54and I don't think
26:55they looked on labor
26:56of course the way we do.
26:58We would go crazy
26:59trying to copy another book
27:00in longhand
27:02on papyrus
27:02but it was
27:04a famous profession
27:05and some scribes
27:07rose to be important
27:08people.
27:10Of course,
27:10in those days
27:11to be able to read
27:12and write
27:12was almost magical.
27:13astrology and astronomy
27:20were popular sciences
27:21throughout the existence
27:22of the library
27:23in Alexandria.
27:25Many ancients believed
27:26in the influence
27:27of the stars and planets
27:28on daily life.
27:30the belief was of course
27:35that as above
27:36so below
27:36what happened
27:37in the heavens
27:38influenced what was on earth.
27:40So astrology
27:41was part of astronomy
27:42and astronomers
27:43were astrologers
27:44and astrologers
27:45were astronomers.
27:46In order to predict
27:47what happened on earth
27:48you had to accurately
27:49observe what happened above.
27:50In Alexandria
27:54Aristarchus
27:56first figured out
27:57that the earth
27:58revolves around
27:59a stationary sun.
28:02About a hundred years later
28:04Hipparchus
28:05was the first
28:06to chart
28:06over 1,000
28:07individual stars.
28:09He even figured out
28:10the length
28:11of the solar year
28:12correct to within
28:13seven minutes.
28:18The library
28:18must have been
28:19an exciting place
28:20to be at.
28:20I mean
28:21this was the closest
28:22you had
28:22to a government grant
28:23where you could
28:24just do what you wanted
28:25to do
28:25and be supported.
28:27In the air
28:27was the sense
28:28that study everything
28:29for its own sake
28:31and just try
28:32to put everything
28:33together
28:34for figuring out
28:35the mysteries
28:35of the universe.
28:39Even as scholars
28:41in Alexandria
28:41solved the mysteries
28:43of the universe
28:44the Romans
28:45were encroaching
28:45on the east.
28:47Would this royally funded
28:49oasis of knowledge
28:50survive?
28:50in a rapidly
28:52changing world?
28:58In Alexandria
28:59another Ptolemy
29:00was crowned king
29:01of Egypt
29:02in 246 B.C.
29:04Ptolemy III
29:05was a conqueror.
29:07He traveled the world
29:08and returned
29:09to Alexandria
29:09with priceless
29:11Egyptian treasures
29:12stolen by the Persians
29:13300 years before.
29:15This act of restoration
29:18earned the third Ptolemy
29:19the title of benefactor.
29:25Under his reign
29:27the tradition of learning
29:28thrived in Alexandria
29:30for another generation.
29:31about 235 B.C.
29:36the honorable position
29:38of chief librarian
29:39was filled
29:39by Eratosthenes.
29:41In keeping
29:42with tradition
29:43the influential scholar
29:45also served
29:45as tutor
29:46to the royal family.
29:4940-year-old Eratosthenes
29:51was skilled
29:52in a variety
29:52of subjects
29:53from poetry
29:54to science.
30:01Eratosthenes
30:02is the first one
30:03to figure out
30:03the circumference
30:04of the earth.
30:05Now, it's important
30:06to note
30:06that we were all taught
30:07in school
30:07that Columbus
30:08is the one
30:08who showed
30:09that the earth
30:09was round.
30:11Educated Greeks
30:11knew that the earth
30:12was round
30:12well before Columbus.
30:14Even in one
30:14of Socrates' dialogues
30:16he says
30:16when we describe
30:17the earth
30:18we know
30:18that it's a sphere
30:19suspended in the heavens.
30:20So it was known
30:21that the earth
30:21was round.
30:22The question is
30:23how big was it?
30:29By observing shadows
30:30cast in Alexandria
30:32and in the south
30:33of Egypt
30:34at noon
30:34on the same day
30:35and calculating
30:37the difference
30:37between the size
30:38of each shadow
30:39and the distance
30:40between the two
30:41ancient cities
30:42Eratosthenes
30:44was able to figure out
30:45the circumference
30:46of the earth.
30:49He said the earth
30:50was 24,650 miles around.
30:54Amazingly,
30:55he was accurate
30:56to within roughly
30:57200 miles.
31:05A contemporary
31:06of Eratosthenes
31:07called Archimedes
31:09was a visitor
31:10to Alexandria.
31:12Perhaps the most
31:13celebrated
31:13of ancient mathematicians
31:15Archimedes
31:16studied weights
31:17and measures
31:17in what we now
31:18call physics.
31:22Archimedes' principle
31:23on water displacement
31:24is still referred to today.
31:28On discovering
31:29this ancient clue
31:31to modern science,
31:32Archimedes is remembered
31:33for his cry of
31:35Eureka,
31:36meaning
31:36I have found it.
31:38Archimedes' principle
31:39to be found
31:39to be found
31:40in the world
31:40in the world
31:41in the world
31:42of the world
31:42of the world
31:42of the world
31:43of the world
31:43of the world.
31:44On leaving Alexandria,
31:46Archimedes returned
31:47to his homeland
31:47in Syracuse, Sicily
31:49to continue
31:50his studies
31:51and inventions.
31:53When Syracuse
31:53was conquered
31:54in 212 B.C.,
31:56Archimedes was killed
31:57by Roman soldiers.
32:01He was said
32:01to be in the midst
32:02of a math problem
32:03when he was taken
32:04away to die.
32:18The library
32:19in Alexandria
32:20was thriving
32:21around 250 B.C.,
32:22while the rest
32:24of the world
32:24was making landmark
32:25strides as well.
32:31In the mid-3rd century B.C.,
32:33the Mayan calendar
32:34was perfected
32:35in the Mexican region
32:37of Yucatan,
32:39while in Rome,
32:41the public witnessed
32:42the first competition
32:43of gladiators.
32:46And in Rhodes,
32:48another ancient wonder
32:49was built
32:50as construction
32:51was completed
32:52on the 100-foot statue
32:54Colossus.
33:01At the height
33:02of its popularity,
33:03scores and scores
33:04of high-level minds
33:06came through Alexandria.
33:08But over time,
33:09the luster
33:10of the library
33:10began to fade.
33:12The reign
33:13of the 4th Ptolemy
33:14marked the beginning
33:15of the decline
33:16of the dynasty
33:17and of the library.
33:23Other world centers
33:24of knowledge
33:25emerged as replacements.
33:27Near the Aegean Sea,
33:29the library at Pergamum
33:30was a rival to Alexandria
33:32in culture and splendor.
33:35And as the influence
33:36of the Romans
33:36spread out through the world,
33:39even Egypt's
33:40great Ptolemaic dynasty
33:41came under the threat
33:42of Roman rule.
33:47In 48 B.C.,
33:49when the Roman general
33:50Julius Caesar
33:51came to Egypt,
33:52the ruler of the land
33:54was 19-year-old
33:55Queen Cleopatra.
33:59Cleopatra is perhaps
34:00the most famous
34:01and fabled
34:02of all the Ptolemies.
34:04The mythology
34:05surrounding Cleopatra
34:06begins with her
34:08very heritage.
34:11We often think
34:12of her as an Egyptian.
34:13No, she was
34:13a pure-blooded Greek.
34:15She was the direct
34:16descendant of that Ptolemy
34:17who was one of Alexander's
34:19field commanders.
34:20She was the undoubted
34:22pharaoh,
34:23the god-queen
34:23of Egypt.
34:24She had high intellect
34:26and was quite an
34:27extraordinary person
34:28by any standards.
34:33Cleopatra faced
34:34Julius Caesar
34:35without fear.
34:37Although Caesar
34:38came to conquer Egypt,
34:40Queen Cleopatra
34:41instead claimed
34:42Caesar's heart.
34:45On their first meeting,
34:47she was said to have
34:48emerged naked
34:49before him
34:49and disarmed
34:51the brilliant Roman
34:52with her charming manner
34:53and political savvy.
34:56For beyond
34:56her seductive nature,
34:58Cleopatra possessed
34:59admirable military skills
35:00and a keen intelligence.
35:06The important thing
35:07is that Cleopatra
35:08was really an intellectual.
35:10Of all the Ptolemies,
35:11Cleopatra was the only one
35:13who could speak Egyptian.
35:14It was known
35:14that she could greet
35:15the people who came
35:16to her court
35:17in their own languages
35:17and probably
35:19when Caesar came
35:20and when Antony came,
35:22she could talk to them
35:23in Latin.
35:24So Cleopatra would have
35:25had an active interest
35:26in the library,
35:27almost certainly,
35:28as an intellectual.
35:29There are even traditions
35:30that Cleopatra wrote works
35:32which might have been
35:33in the library.
35:38It was during the reign
35:39of Cleopatra
35:40that we may discover
35:41the first clues
35:42to the beginning
35:42of the destruction
35:43of the great library
35:45at Alexandria.
35:49When Cleopatra struggled
35:51for rulership of Egypt
35:52against her co-ruler
35:53and brother,
35:55Caesar sided with Cleopatra
35:56and found himself
35:58embroiled in an
35:59Alexandrian civil war.
36:02But Caesar's navy
36:03was no match
36:04for the fine
36:05Alexandrian vessels.
36:07And soon he was
36:07surrounded in the harbor.
36:09Caesar found himself
36:14encircled,
36:16resorted to the use
36:17of fire.
36:19And he set fire
36:20in the enemy's ships.
36:23The fire destroyed
36:25ships at sea
36:26and in the docks.
36:29And here,
36:29the account of Caesar
36:31himself stops.
36:32A century later,
36:35we have more details
36:36that the fire
36:37was not limited
36:38to the ships
36:39but extended
36:40to the closer
36:42parts of the city
36:43near to the harbor.
36:46And Plutarch,
36:48who knew
36:49Alexandria very well
36:51and who visited
36:52Alexandria,
36:54says that the fire
36:55extended from the
36:56docks
36:57to the
36:59great library
37:01of Alexandria.
37:06According to the
37:07ancient historian
37:08and Plutarch,
37:09the library
37:09was accidentally
37:10destroyed
37:11by a fire
37:12which spread
37:13from the harbor.
37:16But some modern
37:17historians believe
37:18the fire destroyed
37:19warehouses
37:20containing only a portion
37:22of the Alexandrian
37:23scroll collection.
37:25Did the library
37:26of Alexandria
37:27rise from the ashes
37:28to continue
37:29its tradition
37:30of teaching?
37:31after Caesar's death
37:36in 44 B.C.,
37:38his successor,
37:39Mark Antony,
37:40offered Queen
37:41Cleopatra
37:42thousands of books
37:43purchased from the
37:44rival library
37:45at Pergamum.
37:46This offering
37:47was perhaps made
37:48to replace the books
37:49burned by Caesar.
37:53Mark Antony,
37:55like Caesar before him,
37:56sided with Cleopatra
37:57against the opposition
37:59in Alexandria.
38:00But in 31 B.C.,
38:02the two were defeated
38:03at the sea battle
38:05of Actium.
38:06Mark Antony
38:07committed suicide,
38:08and his lover,
38:09Queen Cleopatra,
38:10soon followed suit.
38:13Legend tells us
38:15she placed a snake
38:16to her breast
38:16and soon after
38:18being bitten
38:18by the asp,
38:20succumbed to its poison
38:21and died.
38:26More probably,
38:27Cleopatra drank
38:28a poison
38:29which killed her.
38:30But whatever the cause,
38:32the Ptolemaic dynasty
38:33which had founded
38:34and funded
38:34the library
38:35of Alexandria
38:36ended with the death
38:38of Cleopatra
38:39in 30 B.C.
38:45If civil war
38:46in Alexandria
38:47and the demise
38:48of a dynasty
38:49could not destroy
38:50the tremendous library,
38:53what could?
39:01With the end
39:02of Ptolemaic rule
39:03in 30 B.C.,
39:04Alexandria became
39:05the capital
39:06of a Roman province
39:07claimed by the grand-nephew
39:09of Julius Caesar,
39:11Augustus Caesar,
39:12who was the first
39:13Roman emperor.
39:14By then,
39:20Alexandria was home
39:21to more than
39:21300,000 people.
39:24The city itself
39:24enjoyed a resurgence
39:25of energy
39:26which had been absent
39:27in the last half century.
39:29But under Roman influence,
39:31the library
39:32did not flourish
39:33as it had in the past.
39:38The Romans
39:39had a different concept
39:40of learning
39:41than the Greeks.
39:41They weren't into it
39:44for its own
39:44intellectual enterprise
39:46for the sensuousness
39:47of just pure learning
39:48of pure reason.
39:50So the Romans,
39:51when they come in,
39:52they love the trappings.
39:53They like being mummified.
39:55They love the idea
39:55of immortality.
39:56But supporting the library
39:58is another thing.
40:03But still,
40:04the library of Alexandria
40:06continued to produce
40:07scholars bent on discovery.
40:08Claudius Ptolemy,
40:11a Roman of Greek descent,
40:12was born around the end
40:13of the first century A.D.
40:16He was educated
40:17at the library and museum
40:19and published books
40:20on world geography
40:21and science.
40:26Using the work
40:27of Hipparchus before him,
40:29Claudius wrote volumes
40:30of works on astronomy
40:32and astrology.
40:34Claudius promoted the idea
40:35that the Earth
40:36was the center
40:37of the solar system.
40:39This became known
40:40as the Ptolemaic system
40:41of astronomy
40:42and was used
40:43up through the 16th century.
40:47I know that I am mortal
40:49and ephemeral,
40:51but when I scan
40:52the circling spirals
40:53of the stars,
40:55no longer do I touch
40:56Earth with my feet,
40:58but sit with Zeus himself
40:59and take my fill
41:01of the ambrosial food
41:02of the gods,
41:04Claudius Ptolemy.
41:11Claudius Ptolemy lived
41:12during a relatively peaceful time
41:14in Roman history,
41:16but by 200 A.D.,
41:18Alexandria faced invasion
41:20and plunder from abroad.
41:22The most important days
41:24of learning and knowledge
41:25had passed
41:25from the great city forever.
41:31The story
41:32of what precisely caused
41:34the overall destruction
41:35of the library
41:36may be lost to time.
41:39Accounts from various sources
41:40conflict with one another
41:42and with modern historians.
41:44The subject remains controversial.
41:52By 400 A.D.,
41:53paganism was outlawed
41:56and Christianity prevailed
41:58as the official religion
41:59of the Roman Empire.
42:01The emperor Theodosius
42:03ordered the destruction
42:04of all monuments
42:05and temples
42:05which did not honor Christianity.
42:09Pagan scholars
42:10were murdered in the streets.
42:12During a time
42:13of constant ethnic confrontation
42:14and rebellion,
42:16the library may have been destroyed
42:18by the Christians.
42:19In 616,
42:28Alexandria was overtaken
42:29when the Persians
42:31conquered Egypt.
42:32That same century
42:33then brought Arab conquest
42:35to the land of the pharaohs
42:36and with it
42:37the Islamic religion
42:39of Mohammed.
42:41Was this the point
42:42in history
42:42the library
42:43was finally destroyed?
42:44I think most people today
42:50who have studied
42:51the problem
42:51would say
42:52that the real destruction
42:54came when the great Muslim
42:55army
42:56crossed the delta
42:58took and sacked the city.
43:05Alexandria surrendered
43:06to the Arabs
43:07who decreed
43:08that if the library's contents
43:10contradicted
43:10the Islamic faith
43:11the book should be destroyed.
43:13And if they supported
43:16the Islamic faith
43:17the books were unnecessary
43:19and should be destroyed.
43:22Either way
43:23legend tells us
43:24that the Arab rulers
43:25ordered all of the books
43:26in the Alexandrian collection
43:28to be burned.
43:35All of the stories
43:36surrounding the decline
43:38and destruction
43:38of the Alexandrian library
43:40may combine
43:41to provide the truth.
43:43perhaps the great institution
43:45died by degrees.
43:48Caesar's fire here
43:50the lack of funding there
43:52the Christian revolution
43:53Muslim invasion
43:55and finally
43:56the coastal climate
43:58the fine port city
44:00may have contributed
44:01to the loss
44:02of the largest collection
44:03of scrolls
44:04in antiquity.
44:06Whatever may have remained
44:08could have just disintegrated.
44:14Perhaps what is important
44:15is not how the library
44:17disappeared
44:18but that it ever existed.
44:23I think the wonderful thing
44:24about the library
44:25of Alexandria
44:25is that they did it.
44:27That the Ptolemies
44:28were willing to support
44:29this group of scholars
44:31that didn't do anything
44:33for the Greek economy.
44:35They didn't bring in money.
44:36they didn't make any
44:37contribution to
44:38the Ptolemies lifestyle
44:40but they still supported it.
44:42It was a sense of
44:43learning for its own sake
44:44and that's wonderful.
44:49The legacy of the library
44:50in Alexandria
44:51is our modern day
44:53world research center.
44:56There
44:562,000 years ago
44:58scholarship was a shared endeavor
45:00in which great minds
45:02from all over
45:03could work together
45:04to solve the mysteries
45:05of the age.
45:07The legacy of Alexandria
45:08is tied into the very origin
45:11of modern thought.
45:12considered.
45:21Yeah.
45:21The image of the library
45:22was a shared —
45:22Mr.
45:23Herb
45:26is not the only thing
45:28before the library
45:28was a shared environment
45:29that God
45:30was a shared environment
45:31of the library
45:31as a shared environment
45:33to build theondern
45:41I'll see you next time.
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