ancient city of Alexandria

The Ancient Library of Alexandria:

Cultural Interchange and Originality

The founding of the Great Library and Mouseion in Alexandria by Ptolemy I began a period of intensive cultural interchange which coincided with the emergence of a concept of universal knowledge. The original achievements of the Ptolemaic period included the works of Euclid in mathematics, Aristarchus of Samos in the formulation of the heliocentric theory in astronomy, and Eratosthenes’ brilliant measurement of the polar circumference of the earth. And the coexistence of both Greek and Egyptian medical traditions led to a virtual revolution in medical knowledge. Perhaps, as Strabo observed, the natural interchange of diverse backgrounds explains much of the originality of Alexandrian scholarship.