61. Astronomical Games: June 2001 by the Greek philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician eudoxus of cnidus (c . Eudoxus proposed that the weird loopthe-loop motion of Mars could be http://astro.isi.edu/games/kepler.html

Astronomical Games: June 2001 Music of the Ellipses Our understanding of the solar system took some unplanned detours Mankind is not a circle with a single center but an ellipse with two focal points of which facts are one and ideas are the other. Victor Hugo, A SEMI-RECENT survey [ ] showed that about a quarter of American adults believe that the Sun goes around the Earth. You can imagine the uproar that rose up in educational institutions around the country. (Actually, it was pretty subdued, and if you were of a cynical bent, you could draw some pretty depressing conclusions about what higher education thinks of the American mandatory educational system. But let's not get into that.) How is it possible that so many Americans could believe such a thing? Well, they believe it for the same reason that the ancient Greeks and everyone else up to about the 16th century believed it. All you have to do is look up, and if you have the common sense God granted the garden snail, it is plain to see that the Sun goes around the Earth. After all, astronomers claim the Moon goes around the Earth, and no one laughs at them for that Granted, appearances were not all that mattered to the Greeks. They had their theory, too. Aristotelian physics held that the Earth was all that was base and ignoble, and it therefore sank to the very center of the universe. The celestial objects, howevereverything up in the skywere good and noble, and therefore light and airy, and they all travelled in great circular arcs around the lowly center, maintaining a cordial distance at all times.

62. Hipparchus On A Poem eudoxus of cnidus (c. 390c. 340 BC) produced a work known as the Phenomena, inwhich he described a calendar with references to the risings and settings of http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/hipppoem.html

Links Hipparchus Tour (Next) Previous Hipparchus Pages Hipparchus Astrology Calendars and Weather Prediction Mathematical Techniques ... Index Hipparchus on a Poem Title page of Aratus and Eudoxus Image by kind permission of the Master and Fellows of Trinity College Cambridge. Large image (78K). Very large image (4.2M). The sole surviving work of Hipparchus (who flourished during the second half of second century BC) is known as the Commentary on the Phenomena of Aratus and Eudoxus. Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 390-c. 340 BC) produced a work known as the Phenomena, in which he described a calendar with references to the risings and settings of constellations. Aratus (c. 315 - before 240 BC) produced an enormously popular poem, also known as the Phenomena , which utilised Eudoxus' work. Although he wrote many other poems, Aratus' Phenomena is his only extant work. The Phenomena quickly became one of the most widely read poems in the ancient world, after the Homeric poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The popularity of Aratus' Phenomena was widespread and long-lived. Various Roman writers translated the work into Latin and it was one of only a very few Greek poems translated into Arabic.

63. Lives Of The Hellenistic Poets For eudoxus of cnidus wrote a book called Phaenomena, as did Lasus of Magnesia (notLasus of Hermione, but a different writer with the same name), http://www.attalus.org/translate/poets.html

Lives of the Hellenistic Poets These short biographies were attached to the ancient commentaries ( Scholia ) on the poets. In most cases, the lives have been preserved in several different versions in the manuscripts. In their final form, they all date from the Byzantine period, but their content is derived from earlier biographies. There are lives of Apollonius of Rhodes Aratus of Soli Lycophron Nicander and Theocritus As well as the lives translated here, there are entries in the Suda , an "encyclopaedia" which was compiled in the 10th century A.D., for the following writers: Alexander of Aetolia Anaxippus Apollodorus of Gela Apollodorus of Athens ... Zenodotus APOLLONIUS OF RHODES Apollonius wrote the Argonautica , the only epic poem to survive from Hellenistic times. The lives are translated from the Greek text in C.Wendel's edition of the Scholia. The family of Apollonius, the poet who wrote the Argonautica The family of Apollonius, the poet who wrote the Argonautica , lived in Alexandria, and belonged to the Ptolemais tribe. He was the son of Silleus, or according to some of Illeus. He lived at the time of the third Ptolemaeus [246-222 B.C.]

64. Models Of Planetary Motion -- McConnell eudoxus of cnidus (c. 390 c. 337 BC) envisioned a system of spheres whosecombined uniform motion would resemble a hippopede, a figure eight. http://faculty.fullerton.edu/cmcconnell/Planets.html

Models of Planetary Motion from Antiquity to the Renaissance Craig Sean McConnell Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies California State University, Fullerton Contents Introduction Retrograde Motion of the Planets The Eudoxan Solution From Hippopede to Retrograde Loops ... For Further Study Introduction Since antiquity, astronomers have attempted to explain the motions they observed in the heavens with geometrical models. This web site has been designed to help students in history of astronomy courses who are encountering these models for the first time. Often, students struggle to visualize how the static drawings in their textbook relate to the complex motions of the planets. By animating these images, I hope students will be able to more completely "see" how combinations of circles and spheres produced the distinctive retrograde motions exhibited by the planets. These images are not drawn to scale; they are meant only to serve as an aid to understanding how these models account for the motions in the heavens. Though this site includes a narrative description of the elements of these astronomical models, it is not intended to serve as a complete introduction to the history of ancient astronomy. For such an introduction, please consult one of the texts recommended

65. FILLING THE SKY - Constellation History Five hundred years later eudoxus of cnidus wrote about 43 constellations (or 45or 48 depending on one s interpretation) which survive today. http://www.fillingthesky.com/id8.html

Filling the Sky Constellation History Home Constellation History September 2005 Constellation Monthly Constellation Index ... About me Very Short History of the Constellations The study of celestial objects is an ancient one. Knowledge of the sun, moon, and stars, and their associated mythology, was passed from generation to generation but few conclusive records of prehistoric observations survive. Constellations were part of the historical record in Mesopotamian culture around 4000 BC. In the 9th century Homer mentioned a few now familiar constellations in his epic poem, the Odyssey. Five hundred years later Eudoxus of Cnidus wrote about 43 constellations (or 45 or 48 depending on one's interpretation) which survive today. Eudoxus' original work was lost but his ideas were kept alive by Aratus in a poem called Phaenomena Many of our present day constellations can be found in a book called the Almagest , written circa 150 AD. by Ptolemy, an Alexandrian astronomer. Ptolemy

66. NOTES ON ARISTOTLE'S HEAVENLY SPHERES EudoxusAristotle refers here to eudoxus of cnidus who lived from 408 to355 BCE.Like Aristotle, Eudoxus had studied under Plato at the Academy. http://condor.stcloudstate.edu/~physcrse/astr106/spheresn.html

Notes on Aristotle's Heavenly Spheres 1.movements: Astronomy from Aristotle's time through the time of Copernicus largely concerned itself with the movements of celestial objects - the daily rotation of the sky that caused the sun, moon, and stars to rise and set, as well as the motion of the sun, moon, and planets through the Zodiac in a manner different for each body. 2. substance which is perceptible but eternal: Aristotle classified substances by their natural movements. Every thing under the sphere of the moon, that is, in the earth environment was composed of a mixture of the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. These elements had the property of heaviness or lightness , whereby there natural motions were either falling down towards the center of the earth or rising upwards towards the heavens. Since the natural motion of the heavens was circular motion rather than straight up or straight down, the heavens had to be composed of a fifth element, termed aither, was thought to be eternal, perfect, and unchanging 3.more than one movement: The sun, moon, and planets share with the stars the daily rotation of the sky, which makes these objects rise and set. But in addition to the western rotation of the sky, the sun, moon, and planets also move eastward through the zodiac.

67. Ian Ridpath’s Star Tales – Sources And References written the previous century by the Greek scientist eudoxus of cnidus.No copies of the book by Eudoxus have been preserved; we have only Aratus’s poem. http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/sources.htm

F or anyone entering the field of Greek mythology, the two volumes by Robert Graves entitled The Greek Myths (Penguin) are a masterful synthesis, with copious references. Another useful summary, with many notes and references, is A Handbook of Greek Mythology by H. J. Rose (Methuen). For other background information I consulted the Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford University Press) and the Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal (Blackwell); the latter, in particular, contains a fund of references. The starting point for all studies of Greek star lore is a poem called the Phaenomena Appearances ), written c.275 BC by Aratus of Soli. The Phaenomena Aratus: Phaenomena by Douglas Kidd (CUP, 1997). The Latin adaptation of Aratus that was reputedly written by Germanicus Caesar in the early part of the first century has been translated by D. B. Gain; see The Aratus Ascribed to Germanicus Caesar (Athlone Press, 1976). A Latin work with many echoes of Aratus is

68. The Geocentric Hierarchy The geocentric school of astronomy began with eudoxus of cnidus (409356 BC), aneminent resident at the academy of Plato (427-347 BC), several decades http://www.neo-tech.com/neotech/zero/part3.html

NT Home Page Neotech Related Items Neotech: The Philosophical Zero Search WWW Search neo-tech.com Neotech Home Page The Ultimate Leverage for Riches Next Page Contents ... Previous Page 3. THE GEOCENTRIC HIERARCHY History reveals that around 200 B.C, less than five decades after Aristarchus' exquisite formulation of the celestial system, the geocentric concept of the universe, despite its inherent theoretical difficulty, became more and more adopted by the power structure of the Western world by the master neocheaters operating through their governments. The geocentric concept achieved prominence over the heliocentric system not because it was superior theoretically but because it was more expedient politically. It was not a scientific decision but a political strategy that made the geocentric system the "official" picture of the universe. The geocentric school of astronomy began with Eudoxus of Cnidus (409-356 B.C.), an eminent resident at the academy of Plato (427-347 B.C.), several decades after Philolaus had postulated his distinctively non-geocentric theory. Eudoxus' theory was further developed by Callipus (c. 325 B.C.), Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Apollonius (c. 220 B.C.), Hipparchus (190-120 B.C.), and finally Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria (A.D. 85-165).

69. THE PUZZLE MORPHED BY The Candy Miser Without The Solution To eudoxus of cnidus (cited above) developed a theory of proportions (in Book IIIof Euclid s Elements of Geometry) which permitted irrational numbers such as http://members.fortunecity.com/jonhays/puzzle.htm

web hosting domain names photo sharing THE PUZZLE MORPHED BY "The Candy Miser" Without the solution to this puzzle, we would be living in medieval villages; with technology more primitive than that of the Amish of Pennsylvania; slavery AND semi-slavery wouldbe widespread; women and girls would be repressed, often abused, superstitution widespread. Whatwas the puzzle? The SQUAREGATE PUZZLE seemed to say, "You can apply ARITHMETIC to the SIDES of THE SQUARE, butyou cannot apply ARITHMETIC to its DIAGONAL. So only GEOMETRY describes THE SQUAREGATE." The term, magnitude ,was created by the great Greek mathematician, Eudoxus of Cnidus (c.408-355 B.C.), a pupil of Archytas of Tarentum (c. 425-350 B.C.), a follower of Pythagoras.As a teacher in the Academy of Plato (427-327 B.C.), Eudoxus applied the notion of magnitudeto the composition of lines, angles, volumes in geometry and also to time. This restriction of time to geometry led to the notion that "motion is geometry set to time". Hence, the four beliefs developed in the Academy: the diagonal of the square (in geometry) is not a magnitude describable by number (in arithmetic);

70. Eudoxus Of Cnidus (ca. 400-ca. 347 BC) -- From Eric Weisstein's World Of Scienti Caria Greek CoinsIt was the home of eudoxus of cnidus (c. 408 BC - c. 347 BC), a Greek astronomer,mathematician, physician, scholar and friend of Plato. http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/bios/Eudoxus.html

Branch of Science Astronomers Branch of Science Mathematicians ... Greek Eudoxus of Cnidus (ca. 400-ca. 347 BC) Greek philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who accepted Plato's notion of the rotation of the planets around the Earth on crystalline spheres, but noticed discrepancies with observations. He tried to adjust Plato's model by postulating that each crystalline sphere had its poles set to the next sphere. His model contained no mechanical explanation; it was simply a mathematical description. There were problems, however, with his model. First of all, each "hippopede" produced by the superposition of the motions of two spheres produced the same curve, yet the retrogressions of planets were observed to exhibit differing shapes. Secondly, although his models predicted tolerable retrogressions for Jupiter and Saturn and not for Mars or Venus Thirdly, his model in no way accounted for the observed differences in the lengths of the seasons Finally, the model failed to account for variations in the observed diameter of the Moon or changes in the brightness of planets, which were correctly interpreted to indicate that their distances were changing. Eudoxus was the first Greek to make a map of the stars.

71. IMSS - Multimedia Catlogue - In Depth - Astronomical Systems eudoxus of cnidus (1st half 4th CBCE), one of the greatest mathematicians ofantiquity, developed the first geometrical theory of celestial motions, http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/catalogo/genappr.asp?appl=SIM&xsl=approfondimento

72. Vitrum: The Crystalline Celestial Spheres Mathematician eudoxus of cnidus (IV century BC) conceived a series of geometricmodels to explain the complex motions of the planets with respect to the http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/vitrum/emodello_09.html

SEARCH: in Vitrum entire site INFO INSTITUTE MUSEUM ENGLISH Vitrum Models Gallery The crystalline celestial spheres Mathematician Eudoxus of Cnidus (IV century B.C.) conceived a series of geometric models to explain the complex motions of the planets with respect to the Earth, considered immobile at the centre of the Universe. Each model employed three or four spheres concentric to the Earth, and uniformly revolving one inside the other. Callippus of Cyzicus (IV century B.C.) made these models more faithful to the phenomena observed, increasing the number of spheres up to four or five per planet. The models of Eudoxus and Callippus were probably mere geometric constructions. And yet, when he laid out the physical architecture of the Cosmos, the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) decided to join these models into a single celestial machine. Movement was propagated by contiguity and progressively decreased from the outer regions of the World towards the inner regions. It began in the highest and fastest of the stars, and was passed in order to the spheres of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus and the Sun, finally reaching the lowest and slowest sphere, the Moon. In order to connect the models of Eudoxus and Callippus, Aristotle introduced a consistent number of additional spheres, up a total of 55 ( Metaphysics , XII, 8). All of the celestial spheres were formed of crystalline matter, innate, eternal, incorruptible, imponderable and perfectly transparent (

73. The Planet Mars: A History Of Observation And Discovery. Chapter 1: Motions Of M One ingenious scheme was introduced by eudoxus of cnidus, a mathematician andcontemporary of Plato (indeed, he stayed two months in Athens as a pupil at http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/mars/chap01.htm

The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery William Sheehan Chapter 1 Motions of Mars For thousands of years it was only a blood-red dot among the starry host-a nameless denizen of the trackless night. Sometimes, when it veered closer to the Earth and shone like a burning coal in the darkness, it must have roused terror among primitive sky watchers, only to fade away into relative obscurity and be forgotten once more. By the time the Egyptians settled their civilization along the banks of the Nile, it had become familiar enough to receive a name-Har décher, the Red One. The Babylonians referred to it as Nergal, the Star of Death, and the Greeks too associated it with warfare and bloodshed-it was the Fiery One, or the war god, Ares-one and the same with the Roman god Mars. The Babylonians made careful astronomical observations and developed a sophisticated system of arithmetical computations for predicting astronomical phenomena such as eclipses. Their purposes were strictly calendrical and religious, however, and they never attempted to explain the reasons for any of the movements they observed. Superstition was widespread, and many astronomical events were regarded as ominous-not just eclipses but even the risings of Venus were viewed as omens. It is among the early Greeks that we must look for the first stirrings of a more rational perspective. They identified Mars as one of the five "wandering" stars, or planets, which move relative to the "fixed" stars. Two of the planets-Mercury and Venus-always remain close to the Sun in the sky; their distances never exceed 28° and 47°, respectively, and they may pass between the Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) or behind the Sun (superior conjunction). This behavior, as we now know, is due to the fact that their orbits lie inside that of the Earth.

74. 46 Lessons In Early Geometry, Part 4/10 This would be done for them by eudoxus of cnidus ; they were not, however tosuppose that it was this the god desired, but rather that he was ordering http://www.seshat.ch/home/geom04.htm

46 Lessons in Early Geometry, part 4/10 / provisional version in my own freestyle English / a corrected version will follow in March, April or May (hopefully) / Franz Gnaedinger / February 2003 / www.seshat.ch early geometry 1 early geometry 2 early geometry 3 / early geometry 4 / early geometry 5 early geometry 6 early geometry 7 early geometry 8 ... early geometry 10 Lesson 15 The Babylonians used an excellent value for the square root of 2, found on the clay tablet YBC 7289 from around 1650 or 1700 BC: YBC 7289 exact value How did the Babylonians possibly find this value? Divide 1393 by 985 and you obtain 1;24,51,10,3,2... Leave out the small numbers ...3,2... and keep the value 1;24,51,10. Archimedes used the ratios 265/153 and 1351/780 as boundaries for the square root of 3. Lesson 16 Victor J. Katz, A HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS, Addison-Wesley 1998, page 46, The Beginnings of Mathematics in Greece 'A report from a visit to Egypt with Plato by Simmias of Thebes in 379 B.C.E. (from a dramatization by Plutarch of Chaeronea (first/second century C.E.)): "On our return from Egypt a party of Delians met us ... and requested Plato, as a geometer, to solve a problem set them by the god in a strange oracle. The oracle was to this effect. The present troubles of the Delians and the rest of the Greeks would be at an end when they had doubled the altar at Delos How did Eudoxus solve the problem? He is known for a ladder of numbers that allows to double the square:

75. Washingtonpost.com: The Mystery Of The Aleph: Mathematics, The Kabbalah, And The of antiquity eudoxus of cnidus (408355 BC) and Archimedes of Syracuse (287-212BC). In mathematics, Eudoxus used the idea of a limit process. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/mysteryaleph.htm

Home Register Web Search: News Home Page Photo Galleries Politics Nation ... News Index Style Toolbox On the Site: Visitors' Guide Children's Activities Dining Guide Museum Tours ... Internet Airfares The Mystery Of The Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity By Amir D. Aczel Four Walls Eight Windows. 304 pp. $24.95 Thursday, November 16, 2000 Chapter One Ancient Roots Sometime between the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., the Greeks discovered infinity. The concept was so overwhelming, so bizarre, so contrary to every human intuition, that it confounded the ancient philosophers and mathematicians who discovered it, causing pain, insanity, and at least one murder. The consequences of the discovery would have profound affects on the worlds of science, mathematics, philosophy, and religion two-and-a-half millennia later. We have evidence that the Greeks came upon the idea of infinity because of haunting paradoxes attributed to the philosopher Zeno of Elea (495-435 B.C.). The most well-known of these paradoxes is one in which Zeno described a race between Achilles, the fastest runner of antiquity, and a tortoise. Because he is much slower, the tortoise is given a head start. Zeno reasoned that by the time Achilles reaches the point at which the tortoise began the race, the tortoise will have advanced some distance. Then by the time Achilles travels that new distance to the tortoise, the tortoise will have advanced farther yet. And the argument continues in this way ad infinitum. Therefore, concluded Zeno, the fast Achilles can never beat the slow tortoise. Zeno inferred from his paradox that motion is impossible under the assumption that space and time can be subdivided infinitely many times.

76. Lecture 6 Eudoxus' Proof That The Ratio Of Circles Is The Ratio Of Diameter Squa The most important was eudoxus of cnidus (408 - -355), who invented the Methodof Exhaustion , the Greek version of limits. At the end of this period, http://www.maths.uwa.edu.au/~schultz/3M3/L6Euclid.html

Lecture 6: Eudoxus' proof that the area of a circle is a constant times diameter squared. Classical Greek mathematics The century after Plato -320 - -220 was the classical age of Greek mathematics. There were 20 or 30 mathematicians whose names have been recorded, although their writings don't all survive. The most important was Eudoxus of Cnidus (-408 - -355), who invented the "Method of Exhaustion", the Greek version of limits. At the end of this period, the major achievments were put in textbook form by the great teacher Euclid of Alexandria, whose dates are uncertain probably around -300, (Alexander -356 - -323). His "Elements" of 13 books was in use for 2000 years, and is the second most translated book. Books 16: plane geometry Books 79: number theory Books 10 : magnitudes Books 1113: solid geometry. For a more detailed index to Euclid, click here. These books contain definitions, postulates, theorems etc, much like today's mathematical texts, which are all descended from them. Euclid did not record the names of the discoverers, but his commentators did. The text Euclid Book XII, Proposition 2.

77. PSIgate - Physical Sciences Information Gateway Search/Browse Results eudoxus of cnidus Born 408 BC in Cnidus (on Resadiye peninsula), Asia Minor (nowKnidos, Turkey) Died 355 BC in Cnidus, Asia Minor (now Turkey) Show http://www.psigate.ac.uk/roads/cgi-bin/search_webcatalogue2.pl?limit=425&term1=b

78. Marmaris: Historical Overview Knidos (Cnidus) has lots of history and is great fun to wander around. home of several influential thinkers including eudoxus of cnidus credited with http://www.hitit.co.uk/places/Marmaris/History.html

The early history of Marmaris is a bit of a mystery. Under the romans it was a village called Physcus, attached to the city of Lindus. By the 4th Century BC it was Rhodian. Suleyman the Magnificent's naval assault on Rhodes was launched from Marmaris and the fleet that gathered here in 1522 was composed of 700 ships the 60,000 men they carried met Suleymasn's army of 140,000 who had marched from Istanbul. In 1798 Nelson's fleet also assembled here before sailing to Egypt. Sites The most obvious piece of old stuff in Marmaris itself is the castle, dating from 1522 and the reign of the above mentioned Suleyman, it's good for half an hour or so and houses the ethnography museum. North of the town on Asar tepe you can find some bits and pieces of Physcus in the form of Clasical and Hellenistic fortifications. The more picturesque things to see are located on the Loryma peninsula, south of the town and are best visited by boat. The sites you may see include: Amos - an hour by boat, a hellenistic wall with some towers. Foundations of a small temple and a nice theatre. Loryma - Boat access only, main feature of this ancient city is the fort. Loryma served as a harbor for various naval commaders including Conon the Athenian (oh yes) and a Demetrius who was trying to capture Rhodes - he failed.

79. List Of Scientists By Field Translate this page eudoxus of cnidus. eudoxus of cnidus. Euler, Leonhard. Euler, Leonhard. Euler,Leonhard. Euler, Leonhard. Euler-Chelpin, Hans Karl August Simon von http://www.indiana.edu/~newdsb/e.html

East, Edward Murray Easton, Cornelis Easton, Cornelis Eaton, Amos Eaton, Amos Eaton, Amos Ebel, Johann Gottfried Ebel, Johann Gottfried Eberth, Carl Joseph Eberth, Carl Joseph Eckart, Carl Henry Eckart, Carl Henry Eckert, Wallace John Eckert, Wallace John Eddington, Arthur Stanley Eddington, Arthur Stanley Edelman, Cornelis Hendrik Edinger, Johanna Gabrielle Otillie Edison, Thomas Alva Edwardes, David Edwards, Austin Burton Egas Moniz, Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire Egorov, Dimitrii Fedorovich Ehrenberg, Christian Gottfried Ehrenfest, Paul Ehrenhaft, Felix Ehresmann, Charles Ehret, Georg Dionysius Ehrlich, Paul Eichenwald, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Eichenwald, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Eichler, August Wilhelm Eichwald, Karl Eduard Ivanovich Eichwald, Karl Eduard Ivanovich Eigenmann, Carl H. Eijkman, Christiaan Eijkman, Christiaan Eimer, Theodor Gustav Heinrich Einstein, Albert Einthoven, Willem Eisenhart, Luther Pfahler Eisenstein, Ferdinand Gotthold Max Ekeberg, Anders Gustaf Ekeberg, Anders Gustaf Ekman, Vagn Walfrid Elhuyar, Fausto d' Elhuyar, Fausto d'

80. Universal Library 42b) and eudoxus of cnidus (DL 8. 8690). It may be relevant, at this point tocite the example of Eudoxus, whose subsequent influence seems to have had http://www.greece.org/alexandria/library/library1.htm

The Ancient Library Home A Universal Library Alexander the Great the Conquests as a source of knowledge The Founding of the Library and the Mouseion ... References The Modern Library BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINAThe revival of the Ancient Library of Alexandria Back to Alexandria Home Page The institution of libraries and archives was known to many ancient civilisations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Asia Minor and Greece; but all and sundry were of a local and regional nature, primarily concerned with the conservation of their own respective national tradition and heritage. The idea of a universal library, like that of Alexandria, had to wait for historic changes that would help to develop a new mental outlook which could envisage and encompass the whole world. We owe it primarily to the inquisitive Greek mind, which was impressed by the achievements of its neighbours and which led many Greek intellectuals to explore the resources of Oriental knowledge. This mental attitude among the Greeks, and the emergence of the concept of a universal culture, was given full expression in due course when Alexander embarked on his global expedition. We are familiar with a Greek literary tradition that preserved a vague memory of eminent Greeks - both legendary and historical - who made the journey to Egypt in the quest of learning (Diod. I. 98. 1-4). In many cases, the accounts are either fictitious or exaggerated, but during the century prior to Alexander's campaign, there is concrete evidence of Greek individuals visiting Egypt in particular, to acquire knowledge; this is reflected in the surviving writings of, for example, Herodotus, Plato (esp.

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