Ancient Libraries

The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. However, books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by an international team of scholars, presents a fundamental reassessment of how ancient libraries came into being, how they were organized and how they were used. Drawing on papyrology and archaeology, and on accounts written by those who read and wrote in them, it presents new research on reading cultures, on book collecting and on the origins of monumental library buildings. Many of the traditional stories told about ancient libraries are challenged. Few were really enormous, none were designed as research centres, and occasional conflagrations do not explain the loss of most ancient texts. But the central place of libraries in Greco-Roman culture emerges more clearly than ever. Contents 7 List of figures 10 Notes on contributors 13 Acknowledgments 20 List of abbreviations 21 Introduction 23 Histories of ancient libraries 23 Alien libraries 27 Libraries and literatures 31 Libraries and the history of the book 35 Libraries and knowledge 39 Part I Contexts 43 1 Libraries in ancient Egypt 45 The library of Alexandria 45 Libraries in ancient Egypt 47 The Tebtunis temple library 48 The cultic literature15 51 The scientific literature 55 The narrative literature 56 Conclusions 58 2 Reading the libraries of Assyria and Babylonia 60 Cuneiform literacies 60 Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh 63 Ezida, another Assyrian royal library 67 Huzirina, a school collection in provincial Assyria 70 Res, a city temple in Hellenistic Uruk 72 Conclusions: the four libraries compared 76 3 Fragments of a history of ancient libraries 79 Introduction 79 Conclusion 103 Part II Hellenistic and Roman Republican libraries 105 4 Men and books in fourth-century BC Athens 107 The cultural background 107 Personal and practical libraries 108 Food for thought: books for intellectual purposes 111 Collating books 114 Towards a new idea of the library 116 5 From text to text 118 Introduction 118 Philology 119 The literary tradition 121 Myth, history and geography 122 Conclusions 128 6 Where was the royal library of Pergamum? 131 The discovery of the royal Attalid library of Pergamum 132 The north-eastern hall: arrangement and function 133 The basis of the identification of the library 140 Conclusions 144 7 Priests, patrons, and playwrights 146 Aemilius Paullus and the library of Macedon 146 Priests and books in Republican Rome 148 Temple libraries in Republican Rome? 151 Book collections and the origins of Latin literature 153 Conclusions 158 8 Libraries in a Greek working life 159 Introduction 159 Publishing in antiquity 161 Antiquitates Romanae, Book I 166 Internationalism 170 9 Libraries and intellectual debate in the late Republic 174 Reading Aristotle at Rome 174 De finibus and the library of Lucullus 179 The library of Sulla 182 Concluding remarks 188 10 Ashes to ashes? The library of Alexandria after 48 BC 189 Introduction 189 Fire and aftermath 190 Beyond the fire: post-Hellenistic intellectual trends 194 The weight of tradition: Didymus and meta-scholarship 199 Conclusions 203 11 The non-Philodemus book collection in the Villa of the Papyri 205 Analysis and discussion of the non-Philodemus collection 206 Descriptive catalogue of manuscripts by authors other than Philodemus that have been found in the Villa of the Papyri 219 12 “Beware of promising your library to anyone” 231 Purchases 231 Gifts and inheritances 238 Miscellaneous acquisitions 241 Losses 244 Patterns of use 249 Conclusions 254 Part III Libraries of the Roman Empire 257 13 Libraries for the Caesars 259 Introduction 259 The libraries 260 The librarians 266 Conclusions 281 14 Roman libraries as public buildings in the cities of the Empire 283 Bibliothecas quas maximas posset publicare 283 Augustus and the Palatine library 287 Location, location, location: some provincial public libraries 289 Libraries as cultural centres: spaces for audiences and visitors 296 15 Flavian libraries in the city of Rome 299 The Domitianic library in the Templum Pacis 300 The library of Apollo as a model for the library of Peace 308 Storerooms, library halls, and books around the Palatine hill 313 Copies and originals 322 AddendumGalen On the avoidance of grief 19: Rome or Antium? 332 16 Archives, books and sacred space in Rome 334 Life in the library 334 The Atrium Libertatis 337 The Temple of Apollo and the Bibliotheca Tiberiana 342 The Templum Pacis 345 Libraries and sacred space 351 17 Visual supplementation and metonymy in the Roman public library 354 Greek and Latin letters in the Palatine library 355 Armaria, visual supplements, and metonymy 358 A portrait for Germanicus 363 Conclusions 367 18 Libraries and reading culture in the High Empire 369 Introduction 369 Fronto, Gellius, and Galen on the libraries of Rome 372 Great men and book collections 378 Emperors and book collections 383 19 Myth and history 386 Background and context of Galen's story 386 The legacy of the Alexandrian library 391 Conclusions 398 20 Libraries and paideia in the Second Sophistic 399 Now you see them, now you don’t 399 Plutarch: library as example 405 Galen and the frail text 411 Conclusions: beware of hardware 420 21 The professional and his books 423 The myth of the universal library 424 Special libraries 425 Special libraries in the ancient world 427 Conclusions 438 Bibliography 440 General index 485 Index locorum 496 Machine generated contents note: Introduction: approaching the ancient library Greg Woolf; Part I. Contexts: 1. Libraries in ancient Egypt Kim Ryholt; 2. Reading the libraries of Assyria and Babylonia Eleanor Robson; 3. Fragments of a history of ancient libraries Christian Jacob; Part II. Hellenistic and Roman Republican Libraries: 4. Men and books in fourth-century BC Athens Pasquale Massimo Pinto; 5. From text to text: the impact of the Alexandrian Library on the work of Hellenistic poets Annette Harder; 6. Where was the Royal Library of Pergamum? An institution found and lost again Gaelle Coqueugniot; 7. Priests, patrons and playwrights: libraries in Rome before 168 BC Michael Affleck; 8. Libraries in a Greek working life: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a case study in Rome Daniel Hogg; 9. Libraries and intellectual debate in the Late Republic: the case of the Aristotelian corpus Fabio Tutrone; 10. Ashes to ashes? The Library of Alexandria after 48 BC Myrto Hatzimichali; 11. The non-Philodemus book collection in the Villa of the Papyri George W. Houston; 12. 'Beware of promising your library to anyone': assembling a private library at Rome T. Keith Dix; Part III. Libraries of the Roman Empire: 13. Libraries for the Caesars Ewen Bowie; 14. Public libraries as public buildings in the cities of the Roman Empire Matthew Nicholls; 15. Flavian libraries in the city of Rome Pier Luigi Tucci; 16. Archives, books and sacred space in Rome Richard Neudecker; 17. Visual supplementation and metonymy in the Roman public library David Petrain; 18. Libraries and reading culture in the High Empire William A. Johnson; 19. Myth and history: Galen and the Alexandrian library Michael W. Handis; 20. Libraries and paideia in the Second Sophistic: Plutarch and Galen Alexei V. Zadorojnyi; 21. The professional and his books: special libraries in the ancient world Victor Martinez and Megan Finn Senseney. Machine generated contents note: Introduction: approaching the ancient library Greg Woolf; Part I. Contexts: 1. Libraries in ancient Egypt Kim Ryholt; 2. Reading the libraries of Assyria and Babylonia Eleanor Robson; 3. Fragments of a history of ancient libraries Christian Jacob; Part II. Hellenistic and Roman Republican Libraries: 4. Men and books in fourth-century BC Athens Massimo Pinto; 5. From text to text: the impact of the Alexandrian Library on the work of Hellenistic poets Annette Harder; 6. Where was the Royal Library of Pergamon? An institution found and lost again Gaelle Coqueugniot; 7. Priests, patrons and playwrights: libraries in Rome before 168 BC Mike Affleck; 8. Libraries in a Greek working life: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a case study in Rome Daniel Hogg; 9. Libraries and intellectual debate in the Late Republic: the case of the Aristotelian corpus Fabio Tutrone; 10. Ashes to ashes? The Library of Alexandria after 48 BC Myrto Hatzimichali; 11. The non-Philodemus book collection in the Villa of the Papyri George W. Houston; 12. 'Beware of promising your library to anyone': assembling a private library at Rome T. Keith Dix; Part III. Libraries of the Roman Empire: 13. Libraries for the Caesars Ewen Bowie; 14. Public libraries in the cities of the Roman Empire Matthew Nicholls; 15. Flavian libraries in Rome Pier Luigi Tucci; 16. Archives, books and sacred space in Rome Richard Neudecker; 17. Visual supplementation and metonymy in the Roman public library David Petrain; 18. Libraries and reading culture in the High Empire William A. Johnson; 19. Galen, Ptolemy III and the Athenians: libraries, perception and history Michael W. Handis; 20. Libraries and paideia in the Second Sophistic: Galen and Plutarch Alexei V. Zadorojnyi; 21. The professional and his books: special libraries in the Roman world Victor Martinez and Megan Finn Senseney. "The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. But books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by an international team of scholars, presents a fundamental reassessment of how ancient libraries came into being, how they were organized, and how they were used. Drawing on papyrology and archaeology, and on accounts written by those who read and wrote in them, it presents new research on reading cultures, on book collecting, and on the origins of monumental library buildings. Many of the traditional stories told about ancient libraries are challenged. Few were really enormous, none were designed as research centres, and occasional conflagrations do not explain the loss of most ancient texts. But the central place of libraries in Greco-Roman culture emerges more clearly than ever"-- Provided by publisher "The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. But books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by an international team of scholars, presents a fundamental reassessment of how ancient libraries came into being, how they were organized, and how they were used. Drawing on papyrology and archaeology, and on accounts written by those who read and wrote in them, it presents new research on reading cultures, on book collecting, and on the origins of monumental library buildings. Many of the traditional stories told about ancient libraries are challenged. Few were really enormous, none were designed as research centres, and occasional conflagrations do not explain the loss of most ancient texts. But the central place of libraries in Greco-Roman culture emerges more clearly than ever"--Résumé de l'éditeur "The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. But books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by an international team of scholars, presents a fundamental reassessment of how ancient libraries came into being, how they were organised, and how they were used. Drawing on papyrology and archaeology, and on accounts written by those who read and wrote in them, it presents new research on reading cultures, on book collecting, and on the origins of monumental library buildings. Many of the traditional stories told about ancient libraries are challenged. Few were really enormous, none were designed as a research centre, and occasional conflagrations do not explain the loss of most ancient texts. But the central place of libraries in Greco-Roman culture emerges more clearly than ever."--back cover