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The Mouseion of Alexandria (; ), which arguably included the
Library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, ...
, was an institution said to have been founded by
Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; , ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'', "Ptolemy the Savior"; 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt. Pto ...
and his son
Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the G ...
. Originally, the word ''mouseion'' meant any place that was dedicated to the
Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
, often related to the study of music or poetry, but later associated with sites of learning such as
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's
Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
and
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
's
Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
. The
Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...
reputedly established their Mouseion and Library with the intention of bringing together some of the best scholars of the
Hellenistic world In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...
and collect all the books known at the time. Although it did not imply a collection of works of art, the word ''mouseion'' is the root for the modern usage of the word
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
.


History

According to Johannes Tzetzes, the Mouseion was an institution founded by Ptolemy I Soter (c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC) in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, though it is more likely that it took shape under
Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the G ...
(309–246 BC).The earliest sources ascribe the Mouseion and Library to the Ptolemies without providing dates or historical details. Roger S. Bagnall notes in "Alexandria: Library of Dreams", ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 146.4 (December 2002: 348-362) that the most complete account for the Library is
Tzetzes John Tzetzes (; , Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancien ...
' remarks in an introduction to Aristophanes, more than a thousand years after the fact. As a community gathered together under the protection of the Muses, the Mouseion remained supported over the centuries by the
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of the royal family of the Ptolemies, and later by that of the Roman emperors.Entr
Μουσείον
at
Liddell & Scott Liddell is a surname. Notable people with this name, also Lidell, include: * Alan Liddell (1930–1972), English cricketer, son of Allan Liddell * Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse" * Allan Liddell (1908–1970), English cricke ...
 Unlike the modern
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
in the sense that has developed since the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, the Mouseion of Alexandria did not have a collection of sculpture and painting presented as works of art, as was assembled by the Ptolemies' rival
Attalus Attalus or Attalos may refer to: People *Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon **Attalus I, ruled 241 BC–197 BC **Attalus II Philadelphus, ruled 160 BC–138 BC **Attalus III, ruled 138 BC–133 BC *Attalus, father of Ph ...
at the
Library of Pergamum The Library of Pergamum () is an ancient Greek building in Pergamon, Anatolia, today located nearby the modern town of Bergama, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. It was one of the most important libraries in the ancient world. The ci ...
. Instead, it was an institution of learning that attracted some of the best scholars of the
Hellenistic world In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...
, as
Germain Bazin Germain René Michel Bazin (24 September 1901 – 2 May 1990) was a French art historian, curator at the Louvre Museum from 1951 to 1965.ené Michel">Bazin, Germain ené Michel/nowiki>, ''Dictionary of Art Historians'' Life Germain Bazin was b ...
puts it, "analogous to the modern Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey">Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
or to the Collège de France in Paris." It is uncertain how many scholars lived in the Mouseion at any given time, as surviving reports are few and rather brief. Nonetheless, it appears that scholars and staff members were salaried by the State and paid no taxes. According to
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
, they also received free room and board, and free servants. Based on extant works of scholars associated with the Mouseion, it seems likely that
literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
and other similar activities took place there. In addition to Greek works, some foreign texts were translated from Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian,
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and other languages. Many of the edited versions of the Greek canon that we know today, from
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
and
Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...
forward, exist in editions that were collated and corrected by scholars presumably affiliated with the Mouseion and the Library of Alexandria.


Appearance

In the first century AD, the Greek geographer
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
described the Mouseion as part of a bigger, richly decorated campus of buildings and gardens:
The ''Mouseion'' is also part of the ''Brucheion'' (palace complex), possessing a ''peripatos'' (lobby), an ''exedra'' (columned hall), and large ''oikos'' (dining hall), in which the common table of the ''philologoi'', men who are members of the ''Mouseion'', is located. This ''synodos'' (assembly) has property in common and a priest in charge of the ''Mouseion'', formerly appointed by the kings, but now by Caesar.
According to this description, the Mouseion featured a roofed walkway, an arcade of seats, and a communal dining room where scholars routinely ate and shared ideas. The building may have also hosted private study rooms, residential quarters, and lecture halls, based on similar structures that were built much later in Alexandria. However, it is unclear if the premises provided accommodations for anatomical research or astronomical observations. At a later date another smaller library was housed in the nearby
Serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretism, syncretic Greeks in Egypt, Greco-Egyptian ancient Egyptian deities, deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis (deity), Apis in a humanized form that w ...
(Temple of
Serapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Egyptian Greeks, Graeco-Egyptian god. A Religious syncretism, syncretic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis (deity), Apis, Serapis was extensively popularized in the third century BC on the ord ...
), which may have been open to people other than Mouseion scholars.


Decline

During the reign of
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon (, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphōn'', "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the Opulent"; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon (, ''Physkōn'', "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was t ...
, at a time of territorial losses and political turmoil in Egypt, most intellectuals were either killed or expelled from the city, including the last recorded head librarian of the Library of Alexandria,
Aristarchus of Samothrace Aristarchus of Samothrace ( ''Aristarchos o Samothrax''; BC) was an ancient Greek grammarian, noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the head librarian of the Library of Alexandria and seems to have succeeded hi ...
, who supposedly was forced to resign his position in 145 BC and died in exile a few years later. Johannes Tzetzes and other Byzantine sources do not mention any further directors after him, albeit four obscure 'caretakers' are mentioned in an Oxyrhynchus fragment, and an inscription from the 80s BC speaks of a certain Onesander of
Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...
being appointed to the Library. There are reports that, during the Siege of Alexandria in 47 BC, parts of the library collection caught fire and were destroyed. Despite the fact that the Mouseion continued as an institution under Roman rule, it never regained its former glory. Membership of the Mouseion was not limited to prominent scholars under the Roman emperors but included politicians, athletes, and other people rewarded for their support to the state.Edward Jay Watts, (2008), ''City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria'', page 148. University of California Press Emperor
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
added an additional building in the first century AD,Suetonius, ''Claudius'', 42Edward Jay Watts, (2008), ''City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria'', p. 147. University of California Press and much later the emperor
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...
temporarily suspended Mouseion membership in 216 AD.


Destruction

The last known references to the old Mouseion still functioning occur in the 260s AD.Edward Jay Watts, (2008), ''City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria'', p. 150. University of California Press The Brucheion, the complex of palaces and gardens that included the Mouseion, was probably destroyed by fire on the orders of Emperor
Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...
in 272 AD, although it is not known with certainty how much of the original buildings existed at the time. Scattered references in later sources suggest that another comparable institution was established in the 4th century at a different location, but little is known about its organisation and it is unlikely to have had the resources of its predecessor. The mathematician
Theon of Alexandria Theon of Alexandria (; ; ) was a Greek scholar and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. He edited and arranged Euclid's '' Elements'' and wrote commentaries on works by Euclid and Ptolemy. His daughter Hypatia also won fame as a mathema ...
(ca. 335 – ca. 405), father of the philosopher
Hypatia Hypatia (born 350–370 – March 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt (Roman province), Egypt: at that time a major city of the Eastern Roman Empire. In Alexandria, Hypatia was ...
, is described in the 10th century ''
Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...
'' as "the man from the Mouseion," but it is not clear what connection he actually had with it.
Zacharias Rhetor Zacharias of Mytilene (Ζαχαρίας ό Μιτυληναίος; c. 465, Gaza City, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytile ...
and
Aeneas of Gaza Aeneas of Gaza (; d. ) was a Neo-Platonic philosopher and a convert to Christianity who flourished towards the end of the fifth century. He is considered part of the Rhetorical School of Gaza, which flourished in Byzantine Palaestina in the fif ...
both speak of a physical space known as the "Mouseion" in the late 5th century.


Legacy

The Ptolemies founded the original Mouseion at a time of transition in
Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throu ...
, during the passage from a predominantly oral to a more literary culture. The scholars gathered there included: *
Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...
, a poet and the first to publish a comprehensive book catalogue (the ''
Pinakes The ''Pinakes'' ( 'tables', plural of ''pinax'') is a lost bibliographic work composed by Callimachus (310/305–240 BCE) that is popularly considered to be the first library catalog in the West; its contents were based upon the holdings of th ...
''). * Zenodotos, the first head librarian of the Library of Alexandria, who laid the foundations for Homeric philology. *
Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...
, epic poet and author of the ground-breaking ''
Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...
.'' * Eratosthenes of Cyrene, head librarian under
Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy III Euergetes (, "Ptolemy the Euergetes, Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic ...
and a polymath, who worked on literary criticism, philosophy, geography, and mathematics (e.g., his sieve for prime numbers and his measure of the Earth's circumference). * Aristarchus of Samothrace, arguably the greatest grammarian of antiquity, who invented conventional signs nowadays used in
critical editions Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...
. * Didymos of Alexandria, known as βιβλιολάθας (“Book-Forgetting”), who reportedly composed more than 4,000 commentaries on classical authors. The members of the Mouseion ensured the preservation and production of historical, literary, and scientific works, which would remain part of the Western heritage for centuries, and thanks to their efforts today one can still read Homer and the tragedians. As an institution dedicated to the Muses, the word ''mouseion'' became the source for the modern word ''
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
''. In early modern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, it denoted as much a community of scholars brought together under one roof as it did the collections themselves. French and English writers often referred to these collections originally as a "
cabinet of curiosities Cabinets of curiosities ( and ), also known as wonder-rooms ( ), were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, t ...
." A catalogue of the 17th century collection of
John Tradescant the Elder John Tradescant the Elder (; c. 1570s – 15–16 April 1638), father of John Tradescant the Younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. Life John Tradescant was probably born in Suffolk. On 18 June 1607 he married El ...
and his son
John Tradescant the Younger John Tradescant the Younger (; 4 August 1608 – 22 April 1662), son of John Tradescant the Elder, was a botanist and gardener. The standard List of botanists by author abbreviation, author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he describe ...
was the founding core of the
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. It was published as ''
Musaeum Tradescantianum The ''Musaeum Tradescantianum'' was the first museum open to the public to be established in England. Located in South Lambeth, London, it comprised a collection of curiosities assembled by John Tradescant the elder and his son in a building ...
: or, a Collection of Rarities. Preserved at South-
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
near
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by John Tradescant'' (1656).


References


Further reading

*MacLeod, Roy M., ''The Library of Alexandria: Centre of learning in the ancient world,'' 2000. *El-Abbadi, Mostafa, ''The life and fate of the ancient library of Alexandria,'' 1990. *Canfora, Luciano, ''The Vanished Library: A Wonder of the Ancient World,'' 1987. *Lee, Paula Young, "The Musaeum of Alexandria and the formation of the 'Museum' in eighteenth-century France," in ''The Art Bulletin,'' September 1997. * {{Authority control 3rd-century BC establishments in Egypt Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century BC 3rd-century disestablishments in Egypt Buildings and structures demolished in the 3rd century 270s disestablishments in the Roman Empire Ptolemaic Alexandria Defunct museums in Egypt Former buildings and structures in Egypt History museums in Egypt Museology * Types of museums Museums in Alexandria Library of Alexandria Aurelian Burned buildings and structures in Egypt History of museums Ptolemy I Soter