Libraries in the Ancient World

Author - Lionel Casson ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Yale University Press was reviewed on 16-Oct-2008.

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1) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. Excellent book describing libraries in the Hellenistic (Greek), Roman and (to some extent) Islamic worlds. Not much about libraries in other civilizations.¤

2) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. In 642 AD the library holdings of the Serapeum at Alexandria supplied the public baths with six month´s supply of kindling. To the city´s Muslim Arab conquerors, these thousands of books and scrolls were clearly worthless: if their contents agreed with the word of the Prophet, they were superfluous; if they disagreed, they were blasphemous. And so the last great collection of antiquity was consigned to the flames.

This account of the end of the second great Alexandrian library is less than established fact - it is equally possible that the collection of the Temple of Serapis was destroyed somewhat earlier, in 391 AD, on the orders of a Christian patriarch. What is not in dispute is the existence of great collections of writings at Alexandria, the first of which was the Library of Alexandria founded by Ptolemy I around 300 BCE. The Library was the foremost of its kind throughout antiquity, boasting a collection of perhaps 490,000 scrolls. It was established as a research library for the first "Museum" - a kind of ancient think tank stocked with intellectuals lured from every corner of the Hellenistic world. Dedicated to the Muses, the Alexandria Museum and its Library were also semi-sacred places associated with religion. To learn and to study was to worship.

The Library of Alexandria was the greatest though certainly not the only literary collection of antiquity. In fact, as NYU classicist Lionel Casson demonstrates in his book-length essay _Libraries in the Ancient World_, widespread literacy and pride in cultural achievement ensured that few cities of the ancient Mediterranean were without libraries of their own. While Alexandria holds a central position in library history and in Casson´s account, his book seeks to cover a far wider scope.

In fact this book sets out to relate "whatever is known" about ancient libraries "from their debut in the ancient Near East... down to the early Byzantine period." Considered in terms of this goal narrowly defined, the book is a success. With modern text search technology and the availability of research assistants, a complete list of references to libraries, scrolls, codices, administration and collection can be readily extracted from the corpus of surviving classical literature. All that remains is to arrange the source material in thematic and chronological order and provide an elegant prose framework on which to hang the pertinent information. This is, I think, a very fair description of the author´s methodology and achievement with _Libraries in the Ancient World_.

The history of ancient libraries begins in the near east with the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. The first library worthy of the name and of which we have direct knowledge belonged to an Assyrian king of the late 2nd millennium BCE. Lacking papyrus, the Mesopotamians had no books or scrolls; records were kept on clay tablets. "Records" is by and large the appropriate term - Assyrian libraries were mainly archive collections, though some literary works have come down to us - the Epic of Gilgamesh is the most significant example.

No library collections survive from ancient Egypt prior to the Hellenistic period. While Casson´s conclusion is that nothing can be known of Egyptian libraries, it seems like the extensive papyrus literature recovered from Egyptian burial sites would suggest something about the kinds of works Egyptian collections contained.

From Mesopotamia the scene shifts abruptly in space and time: to Greece and the Mediterranean world of the 5th century BCE. There is some brief discussion of probable Mycenaean palace archives. However the transition is too abrupt to do justice to the strong eastern influences at work on Greek civilization during the 8th and 7th centuries - that era of ancient Greek history known as the Orientalizing Period. Greek libraries, like Athena, spring full-grown into the light of day. Our knowledge is severely constrained by the fragmentary state of the historical record. But the presentation also suggests perhaps an idealized view of the classical era no longer in fashion.

Certainly Casson shows that great library collections were renowned throughout the classical world. The Library of Alexandria was the centerpiece of the Ptolemaic kingdom´s cultural identity and its agents were famous for their acquisitiveness. Aristotle´s library, said to be the inspiration for the Ptolemies, was sought out and seized by Sulla in the Mithridatic Wars of the 1st century BCE. Through the Republican period Roman generals and proconsuls included the library collections of conquered Hellenistic kingdoms among the spoils of war. In fact Casson suggests that Rome´s first significant library collections were not home-grown but carted back as loot from newly conquered provinces in Greece and Asia Minor.

Substantial library resources existed at Rome by 150 BCE; by the imperial period, public and private library collections were widespread. As early as the time of Julius Caesar, libraries were seen as prestige projects by Rome´s absolute rulers. Tiberius, Vespasian and Trajan each contributed large libraries for the betterment of the capital city. It turns out that Trajan´s Column was flanked by the Greek and Latin wings of a giant three-level library facility - lending a new dimension of interest to an already impressive monument.

The segregated layout of Trajan´s Library was typical of Roman libraries - Greek on one side, Latin on the other. The body of works in Greek was vastly larger than the Latin literature, but the Romans improbably allotted equal space to both, in a physical layout not necessarily conducive to serious research. All of this suggests something about the Roman approach to literature and Roman culture in general.

Casson´s short book is conceived and executed as a strictly "just the facts" approach to the subject of ancient libraries. That is more than fair, but one can´t help but think that there is more to explore here. What do the architectures of Greek and Roman libraries say about their respective societies? How did the library function within the carefully plotted urban plan of the Hellenistic city, or the Roman town? Questions such as these go unexplored here, but this carefully researched and nicely crafted work will no doubt serve as a valuable aid to future scholars.
¤

3) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. While Casson´s study is short, only 169 pages includes endnotes, it is well written for a general audience or an undergraduate audience. Beginning with the Near East and ending with Late Antiquity, Casson describes the surviving evidence, both literary and archaeological, about libraries, books, and book making/selling. By refering to specific anicent authors and evidence I think Casson demonstrates a good historical approach to the question of when libraries began and how they functioned in their respective cultures. Thirty illustrations or photographs help show his reader some of the evidence and in a very visional world this is very important. Certainly not the final word on these issues but a good, easily accessible introduction.¤

4) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. Libraries in the ancient World is a honest introduction to the argument of book collection and text transmission in the ancient classical and pre-classical world.

It tells the story of ancient libraries from their very beginning (the royal libraries of the Ancient Near East) down to the first Christian monastic institutions of the Middle Age, focusing on the topic of library, both as building and institution.
As far as the analysis of archaeological data is involved, Casson is able to build a strong argument with detail and precision of analysis: he reviews all the relevant evidence and is able to balance and present the different hypotheses and the sources of his study.
Exposition is far weaker when it comes to take into consideration the extant literary testimonies and appraise the place of libraries in the larger context of literacy and books in the Greek and Roman Civilization.

Graeco-Roman Philology is a fascinating field, since it is open to almost unending surprises.
It is also a field that can command enormous appeal as well as almost infinite boredom, depending on how it is presented. This is due to the distance - both temporal and cultural - from our world and that society.
It is natural that when we think about a library, a bookshop, a writer, a book - we ask for the help of everyday experience. A bookstore is a bookstore. A book a book... like in everyday experience. .
And yet, under the surface of apparent similarity, we come to discover a far different truth.

This truth is unendingly announcing the miracle of historical, literary, medical, philosophical, ... texts, most of them dating back about 2500 years that have been able to reach us in adventurous and often incredible ways.
The strong archaeological approach, is probably responsible for the difficulty to present is a comprehensive analysis of libraries, books, literacy in the larger context of a far different society and the problems of text transmission in an age still far from Gutenberg.

Ancient World was different from our own (and different as well the Latin World from the Greek)
Just to name some differences that are not considered in the exposition:
- Problems in reading and spelling - contrary to our books, the ancient rolls and codices were written in almost exclusively in capital letters, and with no spacing between words. This presented insurmountable difficulties for people with low literacy and asked for far better knowledge of language and language skills than we have today. Besides it made text corruption far easier.
- Reading aloud - today reading conveys the idea of a quiet space and of silence. Actually one of the most astonishing differences between us and them is signalled by Augustine, when he writes in the "Confessions" that his master Ambrose (bishop of Milan) was capable to read "without emitting any sound nor moving the tongue".... that is: reading in the classical times consisted only in reading aloud... in turn the act of making a copy of a text is to be more properly described as being dictated, and libraries were not the silent sanctuaries we know today, but rather different noisy places more similar probably to modern Koranic schools.
- Spreading of illiteracy. In this, Greek and Latin world were probably different. In the west, literacy resented early of a progressive decline, that coupled with the passage from roll to codex created a momentous phenomenon of deterioration, especially in some fields (not just many technical and scientific books were lost, but as well many less read writers (it is funny that a technical innovation ended speeding the process of decadence). This phenomenon of progressive narrowing of scope was further aggravated by the spreading of illiteracy during the early Middle Age: in many mosaics of this period painters end up to represent books as closed, both because unable themselves to write and because people around them are no more able to read. Illiteracy, difficulty in text reading, all coupled with a worsening of Latin and Greek knowledge (specially in the West), had big impact on the transmission of texts.

There is also a second trait of the account I do not agree.
This is the over-simplification according to which we have a Greek and Latin Culture in total opposition to other "barbarian" (i.e. of lesser species) cultures, that contributed more or less to the decline into the Middle ages.
Actually this is not so.
And especially so for the main opposition presented: that between Greek Byzantine Empire and "Eastern" cultures.
There´s an implicit assumption (sometimes annoyingly made explicit) according to which Arabs erased all sign of Greek culture in the newly conquered lands - a newly presented argument for a learned and cultured West versus inferior and unsophisticated East.
Actually there are strong indications this is far from correct and that an osmosis between Greek culture and "Eastern" cultures was well established at least since the reign of emperor Justinian. Not only does the contemporary historiographer Agatia tell us the story about translations into Persian commissioned by Corsoe I, king of Persia (Historiae, B28.1), but the same king did give sanctuary to many philosophers of the School of Athens, after this pagan institution was forcibly closed by order of the emperor.
As for the Arabs, since the very beginning of their rule, there was a momentous activity of translation (at least three great waves are recorded of this phenomenon) from Greek to Arab (often through Syriac) that in turn caused a new osmosis from Arabic lands to the Byzanthine empire since the IX century and from Arab Spain and Sicily to the Latin West as far as XII Century, well before the fall of Byzantium and the looming of European Renaissance (the Salernitan School, St Tomas Aquinas,...).
We must thank all these Arab scribes, philosophers, booksellers, translators and enlightened rulers if we can enjoy today so much of the Greek literature.

One of my passion (if you did not guess already) is the history of the transmission of books - specially in the larger context of classical western culture.
If anyone does share this interest, could be interested in a few books I had the chance to read in the past about this argument:
- "The Vanished Library" by Luciano Canfora (possibly the most authoritative story of the Royal Library in Alexandria),
- "Scribes and Scholars" by L.D. Reynold & N.G. Wilson, still unsurpassed introduction to classical philology. One of the few books in which academic and poetical are not incompatible adjectives
- "Greek Thought and Arabic Culture" by Dimitri Gutas, a very interesting survey of the continuous exchanges from East to West and back from the rise of the Persian Empire to the advent of Islamism
- "A History of Reading" by Alberto Manguel, brilliant and entertaining, written by a disciple - and in the dense style -of Borges
- "A Gentle Madness.Bibliophiles Bibliomanes and the Eternal passion for books" by Basbanes, a mine of anecdotes that is both fascinating and witty¤

5) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. In this amazingly complete 150-page volume, renowned author Lionel Casson, takes us on a wonderful journey of discovery of the role of libraries in the ancient world, from their origins in the Near East in 3000 BC through their evolution until the fall of Roman Byzantium in 1453 AD.
Written in a lively prose, this well-researched, fact-filled book explains when, where, why, and how the forerunners of today´s modern libraries were created and developed, treating in detail topics such as:
*How did they acquire their materials?
*How were they physically organized?
*Which, if any, system of cataloguing they used?
*Who had access to their holdings?
*How they solved problems like theft and damage of their collections?
*What was their connection with the rise and fall of education?
The author also presents a concise account of the history of books from clay tablet to papyrus roll to parchment codex to our modern day volumes. He shares fascinating insights into the development of writing and the evolution of writing technology, including:
*What was the purpose of writing?
*Which topics were more commonly written about?
*Which materials were used and why?
*Who did the writing?
The best part of this book is the entertaining and charming way in which the author illustrates his exposition. By employing captivating anecdotes from sources contemporary to the facts, literary sources that have survived to this day, and archaeological finds combined with modern technology that make possible the reconstruction of ancient library buildings, he makes what would otherwise be a very boring topic feel like a true adventure.
As a bonus, the book also explains where many modern words related to libraries and books come from, and includes many drawings and pictures, which perfectly illustrate the points being made, and a thorough bibliography that is an excellent starting point for further exploration.
If you are at all interested in the history of writing, books, and libraries this pleasurable and compact volume is definitely a must-read.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar¤

6) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. This work tells the story of Ancient libraries from their very beginnings, when "books" were clay tablets and writing was a new phenomenon. Classicist Lionel Casson takes us on a tour from the royal libraries of the Ancient Near East, through the private and public libraries of Greece and Rome, down to the first Christian monastic libraries. He explains what books were acquired and how, who read them, how they were organized, and more.¤

7) Paperback Book Libraries in the Ancient World by Yale University Press. The Dewey decimal system of cataloguing and its modern successors are relatively new, and they sometimes seem inadequate as ways of organizing knowledge in ever-changing fields of study. But the idea of bringing order to collections of written material is an ancient one, as Lionel Casson writes in this lucid survey of bibliophilia in the ancient Mediterranean. Among the earliest examples of written material that we have are lists of library holdings, clay tablets from Mesopotamia that archive commercial inventories, scholarly texts, and a surprising number of works on witchcraft and remedies against it.

Ancient libraries grew, Casson writes, by many means: by peaceful trade, as when book-hungry Romans spent extravagant sums on Greek texts made in southern Italy; by conquest, as when the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal looted the libraries of his ancient rival Babylon, carting the contents to his capital of Nineveh; and by fiat, as when the Egyptian pharaohs appropriated private collections to round out their own. Those libraries nourished the great philosophers and writers of old, shaping world culture into our own time. But, as Casson ably shows, the enemies of books are many, among them floods, fires, insects, and intolerance. As it is today, so it was in the past, and contending empires and ideologies too often expressed themselves by sacking and burning the collections of their enemies--by reason of which we have only a few of the works that engaged readers in the distant past.

Casson´s slender book enhances our understanding of the role of books and their collectors in the ancient world, and bibliophiles and historians alike will find much of value in its pages. --Gregory McNamee¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 13-Nov-2008, 03000972129780300097214, 120-920-440-530-430-441-8

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