The Atlas Six

The Great Library of Alexandria is estimated to have been established during the third century BC in Alexandria, Egypt. It was one of the largest and most important libraries in the world, and its reputation has endured to this day through countless references in scholarly and popular media.

Originally, the Great Library was part of the Musaeum or Mouseion of Alexandria, an institution dedicated to the nine Muses of Greek mythology. It is thought to have been imagined by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general, historian, and companion of Alexander the Great, and built under the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. At its height, the library had acquired an estimated 40,000 to 400,000 scrolls and many famed scholars came to work at the library.

Although it is widely believed that the Great Library was destroyed in a fire, it actually declined over time, starting under the reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon in 145 BC and ending during the Roman period, probably around the third century AD. Part of the library’s collection did burn accidentally in 48 BC, but the greater part either survived or was rebuilt. Today, the Library of Alexandria has become an almost mythical symbol of academic achievements and lost knowledge.