On 1/5/07, Ritu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Rich said: > > > Let's also not forget the great Hellenistic centre of learning at > > Alexandria, which included the famous library. > > I sometimes wish I can forget it...thinking of what happened still makes > me feel like crying... > > Ritu
Not to be a party pooper here, but I feel compelled to point out some things. >From the EB: "The museum and library survived for many centuries but were destroyed in the civil war that occurred under the Roman emperor Aurelian in the late 3rd century AD; the daughter library was destroyed by Christians in AD 391." <http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9005631> Or, from Wikipedia "Ancient and modern sources identify four possible occasions for the destruction of the Library: 1. Caesar's conquest 48 BC; 2. the attack of Aurelian in the 3rd century; 3. the decree of Theophilus in 391; 4. the Muslim conquest in 642 or thereafter. Each of these has been viewed with suspicion by other scholars as an effort to place the blame on particular actors. Moreover, each of these events is historically problematic. In the first and second case, there is clear evidence that the library was not in fact destroyed at those times. The third episode has had some strong supporters, including Edward Gibbon, but still many dispute this. The fourth episode was not documented by any contemporary source, although some maintain that the final destruction of the Library took place at this time." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria#Destruction_of_the_Library> ~maru _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
