250 BCE
Arts & CultureLibrary of Alexandria at Work
About this moment
The 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, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the library, but the library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
Gallery
People
- Ptolemy II Philadelphus · 308 BCE – 246 BCE
- Ptolemy I Soter · 365 BCE – 282 BCE
- Demetrius of Phalerum · 350 BCE – 283 BCE