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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line
21 - 27 December 2000
Issue No.513
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
Current issue | Previous issue | Site map
A very bookish phoenix
By Rehab Saad
By June next year the fabled great library of Alexandria will return to life on
almost the same site as the ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina, destroyed by fire more
than 2,000 years ago. President Hosni Mubarak will host a string of international
celebrities, VIPs and dignitaries when he opens the $200 million library.
In January, as Higher Education Minister Mufid Shehab explained, there will be an
"experimental" opening in which the library's systems and equipment will be put to
the test.
According to Alaa El-Qott, an on-site engineer, final touches have already been
added to about 95 per cent of the landscape. Areas of the library's floors and roof,
as well as the immediate land surrounding the building, have been planted. The
boundary of the library grounds is marked by a pool that almost surrounds the
building.
The idea of the new library, the brainchild of Alexandria University professors, was
first conceived in the 1970s, though in a less grandiose form than has eventually
emerged. They simply wanted a library for their university that would meet
international standards.
The idea later assumed an international dimension when in 1988 UNESCO issued an
international appeal to governments, organisations and individuals to support the
project. In the same year President Mubarak laid down the foundation stone.
This was followed by a meeting in Aswan on 12 February 1990 in which members of an
International Honorary Commission signed the Aswan Declaration for the revival of
the ancient library.
The new library occupies a 40,000 square metre site alongside the University of
Alexandria's Faculty of Arts in Shatbi, overlooking the Mediterranean, not far from
the site of the ancient library-museum complex within the Royal Quarter, in the
district then known as the Brocheum.
Built in the 4th century BC by Ptolemy Soter, the original library provided a home
for scholars drawn from across the ancient world, including Euclid, Erastosthenes,
Heron and Archimedes.
SHELVING THE PAST: The new Alexandria Library is nearing completion and its
innovative design will, it is hoped, prove a major attraction, not just to scholars,
but to all the city's visitors.
Scheduled to be officially opened in June next year, the library will undergo an
experimental opening next month to test that the systems and procedures already in
place can cope with the expected demand
photo: Antoune Albert
The ancient library possessed about 700,000 volumes. Its modern descendant will
begin life with 500,000 volumes, though within five years of its opening it is
expected to house more than eight million. Moreover, there will be 50,000 maps,
100,000 manuscripts, 30 data bases, 10,000 rare books, 100 CD ROM titles, 200,000
musical tapes and 50,000 video tapes.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is intended not simply as a repository of books but as a
centre of enlightenment. It includes three main buildings, the library itself,
together with a conference centre, operational since 1992, and a spherical
planetarium built of steel, concrete and fibreglass. A museum devoted to the history
of science and the underwater monuments discovered in the eastern harbour lies
beneath the planetarium.
The library design comprises a simple circle inclined towards the sea and partly
submerged in a pool of water. The inclined roof lets in daylight indirectly and
allows for an uninterrupted view of the Mediterranean. The building is surrounded by
a wall clad with Aswan granite engraved with calligraphy and inscriptions
representative of the world's civilisations.
The design of the reading space inside the library consists of seven interconnected
levels. Each level is devoted to a different subject, starting from religion and
ending with high technology.
The entrance hall, which Library officials call the grand space, affords an open
view of all the levels. "It will be something like an open buffet of knowledge where
you can pick up any topic you like, whether history, geography, science, all in one
place," El-Qott said.
"A special fire and security system has been installed. In the case of fire, a
certain type of gas will be released to prevent the books from igniting. Smoke
curtains will also isolate the location of the fire," El-Qott added, while entries
and exits are to be monitored by 100 video cameras.
Mohsen Zahran, the project manager, praised the level of support the project has
received from many countries. "For example, Spain donated copies of the works of the
great Andalusian scholars from the archives in the Escorial and Cordoba, while
Turkey donated some 10,000 volumes and archives on Turkish and Ottoman history.
There were also donations from the Vatican and Italy," he added. "And Italy, through
UNESCO, has established a special lab for the restoration of books and manuscripts."
Zahran believes that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina will be able to compete with other
famous libraries. "It is the content that differentiates us from the others. It is
true that the Library of Congress has millions of books and we only have 500,000,
but where else can you find the facilities that we are providing? Where else can you
find a place where researchers can lock themselves up in special cells and do their
research? Where else can you find the technology that we have?" he asked.
"I believe that this library is not for everyone. There are certain places that can
be open to the public, whereas other places should be kept for specialised people.
The library is not for those who want to read a newspaper or a novel," he said.
Related stories:
Plain Talk
By Mursi Saad El-Din 5 - 11 October 2000
Linked to the past, looking to the future
20 - 26 April 2000
>From rehabilitation to renaissance
30 March - 5 April 2000
Reviving an ancient tradition
30 March - 5 April 2000
Too close for comfort?22 - 28 July 1999
'Linking the past with the future'17 - 23 December 1998
� Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
End<{{
Excerpted from
http://www.messiah.org/p273.htm
}}>Begin
Messiah / H'al_mahshiyach
ha-mashiach ... hamashiach ... ha_mashiach
The Library of Alexandria
Ellen N. Brundige
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
1.The Legend of the Library
2.Foundation
..........1.Demetrius of Phaleron
..........2.Precedents for the Museum
..........3.The Museum
....................1.The Stacks
..........4.Development of the Library
....................1.The Septuagint
....................2.Acquisition of Books
....................3.The First Librarians
3.Organization
..........1.Mathematics
..........2.Astronomy
....................1.Maps of Heaven
....................2.Schemes of the Universe
...........3.Geometry
....................1.Eratosthenes and Spherical Geometry: Calculating the Earth's
circumference
...........4.Mechanics: Applied Science
...........5.Medicine
4.Conclusion
5.Related Sites of Interest
6.Bibliography
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Legend of the Library
"And concerning the number of books, the establishment of libraries, and the
collection in the Hall of the the Muses, why need I even speak, since they are all
in men's memories?"
-- Athenaeus [1]
The library of Alexandria is a legend. Not a myth, but a legend. The destruction of
the library of the ancient world has been retold many times and attributed to just
as many different factions and rulers, not for the purpose of chronicling that
ediface of education, but as political slander. Much ink has been spilled, ancient
and modern, over the 40,000 volumes housed in grain depots near the harbor, which
were supposedly incinerated when Julius Caesar torched the fleet of Cleopatra's
brother and rival monarch. So says Livy, apparently, in one of his lost books, which
Seneca quotes.[2] The figure of Hypatia, a fifth-century scholar and mathematician
of Alexandria, being dragged from her chariot from an angry Pagan-hating mob of
monks who flayed her alive then burned her upon the remnants of the old Library, has
found her way into legend as well, thanks to a few contemporary sources which
survived.[3] Yet while we know of many rumors of the destruction of "The Library"
(in fact, there were at least three different libraries coexisting in the city), and
know of whole schools of Alexandrian scholars and scholarship, there is scant data
about the whereabouts, layout, holdings, organization, administration, and physical
structure of the place.
>>continued at site<<
End<{{
@ http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-socrates.html
}}>Begin
The Life of Hypatia
By Socrates Scholasticus, from his Ecclesiastical History
Reprinted with permission from Alexandria 2
THERE WAS a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon,
who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the
philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus,
she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a
distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self-possession and ease of
manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she
not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she
feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her
extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more. Yet even she fell victim to
the political jealousy which at that time prevailed. For as she had frequent
interviews with Orestes, it was calumniously reported among the Christian populace,
that it was she who prevented Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop. Some of
them, therefore, hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal, whose ringleader was a
reader named Peter, waylaid her returning home, and dragging her from her carriage,
they took her to the church called Caesareum, where they completely stripped her,
and then murdered her with tiles.* After tearing her body in pieces, they took her
mangled limbs to a place called Cinaron, and there burnt them. This affair brought
not the least opprobrium, not only upon Cyril, but also upon the whole Alexandrian
church. And surely nothing can be farther from the spirit of Christianity than the
allowance of massacres, fights, and transactions of that sort. This happened in the
month of March during Lent, in the fourth year of Cyril's episcopate, under the
tenth consulate of Honorius, and the sixth of Theodosius.
Notes
* The Greek word is ostrakois, literally "oystershells," but the word was also
applied to brick tiles used on the roofs of houses.
End<{{
@ http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-john.html
}}>Begin
The Life of Hypatia
By John, Bishop of Nikiu, from his Chronicle 84.87-103
Reprinted with permission from Alexandria 2
AND IN THOSE DAYS there appeared in Alexandria a female philosopher, a pagan named
Hypatia, and she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of
music, and she beguiled many people through (her) Satanic wiles. And the governor of
the city honored her exceedingly; for she had beguiled him through her magic. And he
ceased attending church as had been his custom. But he went once under circumstances
of danger. And he not only did this, but he drew many believers to her, and he
himself received the unbelievers at his house. And on a certain day when they were
making merry over a theatrical exhibition connected with dancers, the governor of
the city published (an edict) regarding the public exhibitions in the city of
Alexandria: and all the inhabitants of the city had assembled there (in the
theater). Now Cyril, who had been appointed patriarch after Theophilus, was eager to
gain exact intelligence regarding this edict. And there was a man named Hierax, a
Christian possessing understanding and intelligence who used to mock the pagans but
was a devoted adherent of the illustrious Father the patriarch and was obedient to
his monitions. He was also well versed in the Christian faith. (Now this man
attended the theater to learn the nature of this edict.) But when the Jews saw him
in the theater they cried out and said: "This man has not come with any good
purpose, but only to provoke an uproar." And Orestes the prefect was displeased with
the children of the holy church, and Hierax was seized and subjected to punishment
publicly in the theater, although he was wholly guiltless. And Cyril was wroth with
the governor of the city for so doing, and likewise for his putting to death an
illustrious monk of the convent of Pernodj [1] named Ammonius, and other monks
(also). And when the chief magistrate [2] of the city heard this, he sent word to
the Jews as follows: "Cease your hostilities against the Christians." But they
refused to hearken to what they heard; for they gloried in the support of the
prefect who was with them, and so they added outrage to outrage and plotted a
massacre through a treacherous device. And they posted beside them at night in all
the streets of the city certain men, while others cried out and said: "The church of
the apostolic Athanasius is on fire: come to its succour, all ye Christians." And
the Christians on hearing their cry came fourth quite ignorant of the treachery of
the Jews. And when the Christians came forth, the Jews arose and wickedly massacred
the Christians and shed the blood of many, guiltless though they were. And in the
morning, when the surviving Christians heard of the wicked deed which the Jews had
wrought, they betook themselves to the patriarch. And the Christians mustered all
together and went and marched in wrath to the synagogues of the Jews and took
possession of them, and purified them and converted them into churches. And one of
them they named after the name of St. George. And as for the Jewish assassins they
expelled them from the city, and pillaged all their possessions and drove them forth
wholly despoiled, and Orestes the prefect was unable to render them any help. And
thereafter a multitude of believers in God arose under the guidance of Peter the
magistrate -- now this Peter was a perfect believer in all respects in Jesus Christ -
- and they proceeded to seek for the pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the
city and the prefect through her enchantments. And when they learnt the place where
she was, they proceeded to her and found her seated on a (lofty) chair; and having
made her descend they dragged her along till they brought her to the great church,
named Caesarion. Now this was in the days of the fast. And they tore off her
clothing and dragged her [till they brought her] through the streets of the city
till she died. And they carried her to a place named Cinaron, and they burned her
body with fire. And all the people surrounded the patriarch Cyril and named him "the
new Theophilus" for he had destroyed the last remains of idolatry in the city.
Notes
1. The Coptic word for the desert of Nitria.
2. This is apparently wrong. It should be "Cyril."
End<{{
@ http://phanes.com/alexan2.html
}}>Begin
ALEXANDRIA 2
Cosmology, Philosophy, Myth, and Culture
Edited by David Fideler
CONTENTS
Introduction: Cosmopolis, or the New Alexandria by David Fideler
The Museum at Alexandria by Edward Parsons
A Note on the Muses by Adam McLean
Bibliotheca Alexandrina: The Revival of the First Universal Library. A Report from
UNESCO
Alexandria: Past, Present, and Future by Eric Mueller
Hypatia of Alexandria: Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher by Nancy Nietupski
The Life of Hypatia from The Suda. Translated by Jeremiah Reedy
The Life of Hypatia by Socrates Scholasticus
The Life of Hypatia by John, Bishop of Nikiu
Psychedelic Effects and the Eleusinian Mysteries by Shawn Eyer
The Science and Art of Animating Statues by David Fideler
The Alchemical Harp of Mechtild of Hackeborn by Therese Schroeder-Sheker
The Fish Bride by Jane Thigpen
An Introduction to the Monochord by Siemen Terpstra
A Note on Ptolemy's Polychord and the Contemporary Relevance of Harmonic Science by
David Fideler
Mysticism and Spiritual Harmonics in Eighteenth-Century England by Arthur Versluis
Mentalism and the Cosmological Fallacy by Joscelyn Godwin
Printing, Memory, and the Loss of the Celestial by Arthur Versluis
Gerhard Dorn's Monarchy of the Ternary in Union Versus the Monomachia of the Dyad in
Confusion. Translated by Daniel Willens
Imago Magia, Virgin Mother of Eternity: Imagination and Phantasy in the Philosophy
of Jacob Boehme by Hugh Urban
The Castle of Heroes: W. B. Yeats' Celtic Mystical Order by Peter Cawley
The Availability of the One: An Interpretive Essay by Michael Hornum
The Magic of Romance: The Cultivation of Eros from Sappho to the Troubadours by
Christopher Bamford
Seating Arrangements in Plato's Symposium by Robin Waterfield
All Religions are One by William Blake
The Dolphin in Greek Legend and Myth by Melitta Rabinovitch
Sacred Geography of the Ancient Greeks by Christine Rhone
The Cosmological Rorschach by David Fideler
Psalm by Carolyn North
Orphic Hymn to Artemis. Translated by Shawn Eyer
Reports from Hyperborea by John Henry
Book Reviews
Books in Brief by David Fideler
Notices
About the Contributors
List of Subscribers
Alexandria 2
Paperback, 440 pages, ISBN 0-933999-97-6, $25.00
Published by Phanes Press
End<{{
A<>E<>R
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960)
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The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The libertarian therefore considers one of his prime educational
tasks is to spread the demystification and desanctification of the
State among its hapless subjects. His task is to demonstrate
repeatedly and in depth that not only the emperor but even the
"democratic" State has no clothes; that all governments subsist
by exploitive rule over the public; and that such rule is the reverse
of objective necessity. He strives to show that the existence of
taxation and the State necessarily sets up a class division between
the exploiting rulers and the exploited ruled. He seeks to show that
the task of the court intellectuals who have always supported the State
has ever been to weave mystification in order to induce the public to
accept State rule and that these intellectuals obtain, in return, a
share in the power and pelf extracted by the rulers from their deluded
subjects.
[[For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, Murray N. Rothbard,
Fox & Wilkes, 1973, 1978, p. 25]]
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