Greek - Leaning Muse, Probably Polyhymnia - Walters 2390

The Musaeum or Mouseion of Alexandria ( grc, Μουσεῖον τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας; ), which arguably included the Great Library of Alexandria, was an institution said to have been founded by

Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedon ...

and his son

Ptolemy II Philadelphus ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gol ...

. Originally, the word ''mouseion'' meant any place that was dedicated to the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

, often related to the study of music or poetry, but later associated with sites of learning such as

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

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. Generally in that type of school the th ...

. The

Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...

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 Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

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 ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

History

According to

Johannes Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine poet and Speculative grammarians, grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantino ...

, the Mouseion was an institution founded by Ptolemy I Soter (c. 367 BC–c. 283 BC) at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, though it is more likely that Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309–246 BC) saw to its completion.There is no ancient source for the founding either of the Library or the Musaeum, Roger S. Bagnall notes, in "Alexandria: Library of Dreams", ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 146.4 (December 2002:348-362) p. 348. We rely instead on the self-confident but unreliable Byzantine scholar

' remarks in an introduction to Aristotle. As a community gathered together under the protection of the Muses, the Mouseion remained supported over the centuries by the patronage 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 the surname include: * Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse" * Allan Liddell (1908–1970) * Alvar Lidell (1908–1981), BBC radio announcer and newsreader * Andreas Lidel (1740s–1780s), co ...

Unlike the modern

in the sense that has developed since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, 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 at the

Library of Pergamum The Library of Pergamum in Pergamum, Asia Minor or Anatolia (present day Turkey). It was one of the most important libraries in the ancient world. The city of Pergamum Founded sometime during 3rd century BC, during the Hellenistic Age, Perga ...

. Instead, it was an institution of learning that attracted some of the best scholars of the

, 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.Bazin, Germain ené_Michel">Bazin,_Germain_[René_Michel/nowiki>,_''Dictionary_of_Art__...

_puts_it,_"analogous_to_the_modern_

ené_Michel">Bazin,_Germain_[René_Michel/nowiki>,_''Dictionary_of_Art__...

_puts_it,_"analogous_to_the_modern_Institute_for_Advanced_Study">ené_Michel/nowiki>">ené_Michel">Bazin,_Germain_[René_Michel/nowiki>,_''Dictionary_of_Art__...

Appearance

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 found in Alexandria, though it is unclear if the premises provided accommodations for anatomical research or astronomical observations. In addition to the Great Library, another smaller library was housed in the nearby

Serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were seve ...

(Temple of

Serapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...

), 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 ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphon'' "Ptolemy the Benefactor; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon ( "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemai ...

, 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 Great Library,

Aristarchus of Samothrace Aristarchus of Samothrace ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σαμόθραξ ''Aristarchos o Samothrax''; c. 220 – c. 143 BC) was an ancient Greek grammarian, noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the h ...

, who supposedly was forced to resign his position in 145 BC and died in exile a few years later.

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 ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

being appointed to the Great Library. Despite the fact that the Mouseion continued as an institution under Roman rule, when

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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

gave his description of it, it never regained its former glory. According to

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

,Suetonius, ''Claudius'', 42 the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

added an additional building.Edward Jay Watts, (2008), ''City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria'', page 147. University of California Press Under the emperors, membership of the Mouseion was not limited to prominent scholars but included politicians, athletes, and other people rewarded for their support of the emperor.Edward Jay Watts, (2008), ''City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria'', page 148. University of California Press 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. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

temporarily suspended membership in the Mouseion in 216 AD, Butler, Alfred,
The Arab Conquest of Egypt – And the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion
', p. 411. and it appears that by this time the center of learning in Alexandria had moved to the

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'', page 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 ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

in 272 AD, although we do not know for sure how much of the original buildings still existed at the time. Scattered references in later sources suggest that another ''mouseion'' 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 (; grc, Θέων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; 335 – c. 405) was a Greek scholar and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. He edited and arranged Euclid's '' Elements'' and wrote commentaries on works ...

(ca. 335– ca. 405), father of the philosopher

Hypatia Hypatia, Koine pronunciation (born 350–370; died 415 AD) was a neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker in Alexandria wher ...

, is described in the 10th century ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

'' as "the man from the Mouseion," but it is not clear what connection he actually had with it.

Zacharias Rhetor Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered repo ...

and Aeneas of Gaza both speak of a physical space known as the "Mouseion" in the late 5th century.

Legacy

The Ptolemies founded their Mouseion at a time of transition in Greek history, 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 in a wide variety ...

, a poet and the first to publish a comprehensive book catalogue (the ''

Pinakes The ''Pinakes'' ( grc, Πίνακες "tables", plural of ) 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 hold ...

''). * Zenodotos, the first head librarian of the Great Library, who laid the foundations for Homeric philology. *

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

, epic poet and author of the ground-breaking ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason a ...

.'' *

Eratosthenes of Cyrene Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria ...

, head librarian under

Ptolemy III Euergetes , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hiero ...

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 of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

. * Didymos of Alexandria, known as βιβλιολάθας (“Book-Forgetting”), who 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, and thanks to their efforts today one can still read Homer and the tragedians. As an institution dedicated to the Muses, the name ''mouseion'' became the source for the modern word ''

''. In early modern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 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." 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. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She had bee ...

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 author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he described. Biography Son of John Tradescant the ...

was the founding core of the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, 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 of ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. 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 c ...

: or, a Collection of Rarities. Preserved at South-

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by John Tradescant'' (1656).

History

Appearance

Decline

Destruction

Legacy

References

Further reading