Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon, The: The History of the Most Important Libraries in Antiquity

In the Middle Ages, the lack of libraries in the West helped contribute to the popular imagination of the ancient Library at Alexandria, and all the myths and legends that have come to be associated with it, but the Library of Alexandria deserves its reputation. Before medieval times, Greek scholars carefully collected and inventoried books and other written materials in the Library of Alexandria, which truly made it a sort of precursor to all modern libraries. In fact, the Library of Alexandria proved to be one of the greatest institutions created in the ancient world because it influenced the minds of countless people in profound ways for centuries. The Library not only inspired the imaginations of artists but gave birth to new research methods, which proved to provide the basis for many considered common-place today. The Library of Alexandria was one of the few libraries in the ancient Greek world, which helped ensure that mathematicians, scientists and other scholars from across the Mediterranean traveled to Egypt to study there, and it was so impressive in its size and influence that it left an indelible mark on the world that still reverberates today. The Library of Pergamon was established slightly later than the Library of Alexandria, during the reign of king Eumenes II, but Eumenes embarked on a program to stock the Library of Pergamon with some of the greatest works of Greek literature in order to rival the Library of Alexandria. For example, a complete set of Demosthenes’ works was among the classics that graced the shelves in the Pergamon collection. This competition seems to have been the basis for the papyrus ban, as the Ptolemies intended to halt academic work in Pergamon, such as editing new editions of the classics. While the Ptolemaic ban on papyrus may have slowed operations at the Library of Pergamon, the introduction of parchment as a medium of writing helped re-stock Pergamon’s Library.