Institutionalization of Literate Culture

Early Libraries

Periodization:

Successor Wars - struggle for control of the parts of Alexander’s empire after his death in 323 BC

Hellenistic era - 323-31 BC, from death of Alexander to the start of the Roman empire (Augustus effectively takes control in 31 BC)

Library of Alexandria

Key people, terms, episodes

    -Museum (museion)

    -Ptolemy I

    -Lycophron’s Alexandra

    -Zenodotus

    -Callimachus

    -Eratosthenes

    -Apollonius

For each of these early Alexandrian scholars, be prepared to give one or two details of their special contribution to the early Library

  

Brief Essay

    -where was the library and museum located in Alexandria, and why/in what ways is that important?

    -how does the narrative of the origins of the library connect to the narrative of the School of Aristotle?

    -be prepared to discuss how the origins of the library may connect to anxieties about Greek culture and identity

    -be prepared to discuss how the origins of the library connects to the view of certain early Greek texts as “classical” or canonical texts

    -be prepared to discuss the various narratives for how the library was destroyed, including both earlier accounts and Bagnall’s theory; and to comment on the plausibility of these narratives

    -how would you situate historically the development of technical scholarly writings like commentaries, word lists, grammatical treatises? what factors give rise to (1) the development of these activities and (2) the privileging (i.e. approval and high status) of these activities?