The Ptolemaic Legacy
The Mouseion / Library
The Ptolemaic
Legacy
The Mouseion /
Library
When Ptolemy
Soter assumed power, he asked
Demitrius
Phalerus, a follower of
Aristotle,
to found a library system at Alexandria that would rival that of Athens. The
Alexandrian
Mouseion, however, far superseded its
Greek prototype to become an intellectual and scientific institution; a
university system rather than a bibliotheca. It was here, in the third century
BC, that
Archimedes
invented the pump still in use today and known as
Archimedes'
screw, and, in the second century
BC, that
Hypsicles
first divided the circle of the zodiac into 360 degrees. Ancient historians
claim that the library's 500,000 book collection was so comprehensive that no
manuscript was available in any library worldwide that was not available in
Alexandria.
Mathematics
Have
you ever heard of Euclidean Geometry? Did you know that
Euclid
lived, developed his theories, and wrote
Elements
at the Alexandria Mouseion during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus? In his
Elements,
Euclid provided a comprehensive analysis of geometry, proportions, and theory of
numbers. His other notable contribution,
Optics,
is a treatise of geometrical optics.
In the Mouseion, the
first
studies of conic sections (Ellipse,
Parabola, and Hyperbola) were carried out by
Conon of
Samos and
Appolonius of
Perga. Later,
Pappus
wrote his
Collection,
Menelaus
studied spherical triangles, and
Sporus,
Heron,
Diophantus,
Theon,
and his daughter
Hypatia,
taught
mathematics.
Geography and
Astronomy
Have you ever
heard of the Alexandrian astronomer
Eratosthenes?
Do you know that he measured the Earth diameter more than 15 centuries before
Copernicus
and
Galileo
were even born? Eratosthenes was born in Cyrene in 276 BC, and, upon the death
of Callimachus, was offered the post of "Chief Librarian of the Mouseion", a
most highly respected position. His measurement of the Earth diameter was the
most exciting of his achievements, although not the only one. He believed the
Earth is round, and knew that shadows cast by the sun in Alexandria and Aswan
(Syene) were unequal. He took measurements inside a deep well in Syene and
along an obelisk in Alexandria a year apart, on the same day of the year.
Knowing the distance between both cities, and using simple calculations, he
estimated the Earth diameter at 7,850 miles. Today, we know that Eratosthenes'
estimate was only about 0.5% off.
The great Alexandrian
geographer and astronomer
Claudius
Ptolemy was born in AD 100. The
work he developed was a product of the knowledge compiled in the Mouseion
during the Ptolemaic period. He wrote many books including
Geography,
Almagest,
Handy
Tables, and
Planisphaerium.
He proposed the "Ptolemaic" Theory which states that Universe revolves around
the Earth. The theory was adopted by scientists until the sixteenth century.
Aristarchus
of Samos, Eratosthenes' co-worker
in Alexandria, had suggested in the third century BC the heliocentric
hypothesis, which states that the Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun.
Ironically, fifteen centuries later, people were still arguing whether or not
the earth is flat. Unfortunately, very little is known of Aristarchus' work and
writings which perished along with the
Library.
The
Monuments
The
Lighthouse
The
construction of the
Lighthouse of
Alexandria was completed during the
reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. It ranked as one of the
Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World. In fact, it was the
only Wonder that had a practical secular use. This blend of beauty and
scientific practicality was exclusive to the Ptolemies and their culture. Its
architect, Sostratus, was a contemporary of Euclid. The full design of the
Pharos and its accessories was carried out at the Mouseion. It stood
approximately 150 meters high (a 50-storey modern building). Most impressive,
was the mysterious "mirror" that was installed at the building summit. It was
capable of detecting ships in the sea that were invisible to the naked eye and
was used to magnify the intensity of the light emitting from the "lantern" at
the top. A statue of
Poseidon
decorated the summit of the building.
The
Palace
The Ptolemaic
Palace system covered the promontory of Silsila, and stretched south and west.
Recent archeological evidence suggests that the buildings reached as far west as
today's Raml Station,that is, about
a mile along the
shores of the Eastern Harbour. The
palace system was connected to the Mouseion, and the
Caesarium
which was built later by
Cleopatra
in honor of Julius Caesar. An Island Palace, called Antirrhodus, was erected off
of Alexandria's mainland in the Eastern Harbour. In later periods, water levels
rose, and the Island subsided; remains of the Island Palace are submerged
underneath the water of the Harbour.
The Temple of
Serapis
Built in honor
of the Egyptian God, Osiris, the temple was home to worshippers of all sects.
Osiris, Zeus, Pluto, Apis, and others all lived in harmony there. It was the
last stronghold of Paganism against Christianity. Built along the lines of
Greek architecture, the temple is located in Kom-El-Dikka, site of the ancient
town of Rhakotis.
The Heptastadion
Dyke
Connecting the
Island of Pharos with Egypt's mainland was part of Alexander's plan. A dyke,
the Heptastadion (seven stades long) was completed during the Ptolemaic period,
and provided not only easy access to Pharos, but a double harbor to the city.
Later on, the area around the Heptastadion silted and formed the isthmus known
today as Mansheya.
The
Founding
The Ptolemaic
City
The Roman
City
The Arab
City
The Modern
City
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Last modified
Wednesday, January 21,
2004
Copyright
© 1995, 1999, 2004 by
Alaa K.
Ashmawy. All rights
reserved.
From:
History of Alexandria: The Ptolemaic
Legacy
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/Alexandria/History/legacy.html
Posted: Sun - April 25, 2004 at 05:04 PM