The Kingdom of Pergamon was founded by immigrants from mainland Greece. The ruins of one of the most prominent Hellenistic states in the world can be seen on the outskirts of the city of Bergam in Turkey.
The ancient city of Pergamum, the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum, amazed everyone with its beauty and grandeur. Truly spectacular and grandiose were the temples built in honor of the goddesses Athena and Demeter, the majestic Pergamon Altar and the Asclepium. But world fame and Pergamon gained fame thanks to its unique library.
Library competing with the Alexandria
The Pergamon Library was founded in the 2nd century BC. during the reign of King Eumenes II and was located in the Acropolis. During its heyday, its collections contained more than 200 thousand scrolls. If we take into account that the inhabitants of Pergamon also numbered somewhere around 200 thousand people, then we can say with confidence that for every inhabitant of the ancient capital of the kingdom of Pergamon there was at least one book from the royal book treasury.
At that time, only the Library of Alexandria surpassed the Pergamon Library in the wealth and variety of its collections. Alexandria, not wanting to share the title of world center of culture and science with Pergamon, did everything possible to gain glory Library of Alexandria could not be surpassed by anyone else. Therefore, the Alexandrian ruler Ptolemy V prohibited the export of papyrus from Egypt, which served as the most common and cheap material for writing in Egypt. ancient world. As a result of this, the replenishment of the collections of the Pergamon Library was jeopardized.
Parchment - invention of Pergamon
However, this event not only did not destroy the Pergamon Library, but gave it a new impetus for development. The Pergamon king Eumenes II ordered the urgent invention of an alternative material for writing and creating books. And such material is quite a short time was found. It even got its name, “parchment,” from the name of the city where it was invented. Parchment was made from pieces of the finest, skillfully dressed goat, lamb and calf skin. Of course, this material was much more expensive than cheap papyrus, and it took more time to manufacture and process. But parchment turned out to be much stronger and more durable than its papyrus counterpart.
Unlike papyrus, parchment has stood the test of time with dignity. Subsequently, it was he, before the invention of paper, that became the material most used in the world for writing. Thanks to this invention, the Pergamon Library competed with the Library of Alexandria for about a hundred years. At first, parchment, like papyrus, was stored in the form of scrolls that were wound on wooden sticks. But then they learned to put it in separate notebooks (“fours”), which have a rectangular shape (the so-called “codes”). Later, such notebooks began to be sewn into books in the form as we know them now.
Funds and arrangement
The collections of the Pergamon Library were universal. Manuscripts of ancient Greek authors, scientific and religious works were kept here, but the largest part funds consisted of medical literature. Thanks to this feature of the collections of the Pergamon Library, ancient Pergamon gained fame as a world medical center; thousands of people eager to study the medical treatises stored in the famous library flocked here.
In addition, a temple was built in Pergamon in honor of the god Aesculapius, the patron saint of medicine and doctors. A live serpent was kept in the temple, under the guise of which Aesculapius was revered, and to whom, as a deity, they paid homage. This is where the tradition of depicting a snake entwined on a bowl of poison came from as a symbol of medicine.
The priests of this temple were engaged in healing, and the temple itself in many ways resembled a hospital. Those suffering from illnesses and those wishing to learn the secrets of medicine, the mysterious magical rituals, used by priests to cure ailments.
The Attalaids, rulers of the kingdom of Pergamon, like their crowned Alexandrian brothers, did not skimp on adding to their royal book collection. For example, there is a known fact when for the acquisition of the works of the famous ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, exactly as much gold was paid as the manuscripts themselves weighed.
The Pergamon Library was located in the temple of Athena, who was considered the patroness of the city of Pergamum and the library itself. It was located in fairly spacious rooms that served both as storage facilities and as reading rooms. Manuscripts were kept in strict order in special niches made of cedar wood, since it was believed that this material contributed to the best preservation of books and protected them from insect pests. were located bookshelves in such a way that air could circulate freely between them, which, in the humid, warm climate of Antalya, helped prevent the accumulation of excess moisture in the books.
The Pergamon Library employed a whole staff of curators, scribes and translators. All books were systematized, and a detailed catalog of the manuscripts available in the library was kept.
Both the library premises and the area around it were lined with busts and statues of famous philosophers and writers, and in the center of the main hall stood a majestic statue of the goddess Athena.
In the Pergamon Library there was a school of grammarians, founded by Crates of Mallos, the famous grammarian and Stoic philosopher. He not only headed the Pergamon Grammar School, but was also the head of the famous library. Scientifically and culturally, Pergamum has been rightfully compared to Alexandria and Antioch.
Disappearance
The disappearance of the Pergamon Library is associated with the name of the ancient Roman commander Mark Antony. This happened when the Kingdom of Pergamon lost its independent status and became a Roman province, coming under the authority and control of Rome. Presumably in 43 BC. Mark Antony, madly in love with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, gave his passionately adored queen a grandiose gift - 200 thousand manuscripts, which amounted to main value Pergamon Library. Cleopatra was very happy about the possibility of reviving the greatness of the Library of Alexandria, which was significantly damaged during a large-scale fire. And the Pergamon Library, which became part of the collections of its more famous competitor, disappeared forever as an independent book collection.
Πέργᾰμον listen)) was located in Anatolia, on the western coast of Asia Minor. The site is currently occupied by the modern Turkish city of Bergama. In the III-II centuries. BC e. Pergamum was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum under the Attalid dynasty.History of the library
The Library of Pergamon was founded by Eumenes II and is located in the northern part of the acropolis. It became the second most important (after Alexandria) library of antiquity. According to Plutarch, about 200 thousand books were stored in it. One of the leaders of the library in the 2nd century. BC e. There was Crates of Mallos, a Greek grammarian and Stoic philosopher. He was born in Cilicia, educated in Tarsus, and then moved to Pergamum, and there he lived under the patronage of Eumenes II and Attalus II. There he founded the Pergamon Grammar School; this scientific center was the main competitor of Alexandria. Crates was interested in the works of Homer. Some fragments of his commentaries on the Iliad and Odyssey have been preserved by scholiasts and other ancient Greek writers.
According to Plutarch, the existence of the Pergamon Library was ended by Mark Antony. He gave all 200 thousand books to Cleopatra for the Library of Alexandria as a wedding gift.
There is also unverified information about several ships that sank while transporting the library. Of course, no indexes or catalogs have survived that would confirm or refute this evidence and report on the size and composition of the library.
The Pergamon Library had a large reading room surrounded by numerous shelves. The empty space between the outer walls and shelves served for air circulation. This was done to protect the library from excessive humidity in the warm climate of Anatolia and can be considered as one of the first technologies for preserving manuscripts. In the main reading room there was a statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom.
Parchment
The invention and the very name of parchment are associated with the Pergamon Library. When Ptolemy V banned the export of papyrus from Egypt, Eumenes II ordered that alternative writing material be found. This led to the development of technology for the production of parchment, which was made from thin pieces of sheep or goat skin. Despite its high cost, parchment reduced the dependence of other countries on the export of Egyptian papyri. Subsequently, this invention played a huge role in preserving ancient culture and the spread of European books.
See also
- Libraries of antiquity
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Excerpt characterizing the Library of Pergamon
That same night, having bowed to the Minister of War, Bolkonsky went to the army, not knowing where he would find it, and fearing on the way to Krems to be intercepted by the French.In Brünn, the entire court population packed up, and the burdens were already sent to Olmütz. Near Etzelsdorf, Prince Andrei drove out onto the road along which the Russian army was moving with the greatest haste and in the greatest disorder. The road was so crowded with carts that it was impossible to travel in a carriage. Having taken a horse and a Cossack from the Cossack commander, Prince Andrei, hungry and tired, overtaking the carts, rode to find the commander-in-chief and his cart. The most ominous rumors about the position of the army reached him on the way, and the sight of the army randomly running confirmed these rumors.
“Cette armee russe que l"or de l"Angleterre a transportee, des extremites de l"univers, nous allons lui faire eprouver le meme sort (le sort de l"armee d"Ulm)", ["This Russian army, which English gold was brought here from the end of the world, will experience the same fate (the fate of the Ulm army).”] he recalled the words of Bonaparte’s order to his army before the start of the campaign, and these words equally aroused in him surprise at the brilliant hero, a feeling of offended pride and hope of glory. “What if there is nothing left but to die? Well, if necessary, I will do it no worse than others.”
Prince Andrei looked with contempt at these endless, interfering teams, carts, parks, artillery and again carts, carts and carts of all possible types, overtaking one another and jamming the dirt road in three or four rows. From all sides, behind and in front, as long as one could hear one could hear the sounds of wheels, the rumble of bodies, carts and carriages, the clatter of horses, blows of a whip, shouts of urging, curses of soldiers, orderlies and officers. Along the edges of the road one could constantly see either fallen, skinned and unkempt horses, or broken carts, near which lonely soldiers were sitting, waiting for something, or soldiers separated from their teams, who were heading in crowds to neighboring villages or they dragged chickens, sheep, hay or bags filled with something from the villages.
On the descents and ascents the crowds became thicker, and there was a continuous groan of shouts. The soldiers, sinking knee-deep in mud, picked up guns and wagons in their hands; whips beat, hooves slid, lines burst and chests burst with screams. The officers in charge of the movement drove forward and backward between the convoys. Their voices were faintly audible amid the general roar, and it was clear from their faces that they despaired of being able to stop this disorder. “Voila le cher [“Here is the dear] Orthodox army,” thought Bolkonsky, remembering Bilibin’s words.
City of Pergamon
History of the library
The Library of Pergamon was founded Eumenes II and is located in the northern part of the Acropolis. It became the second most important (after Alexandria) library of antiquity. According to Plutarch, it stored about 200 thousand books. One of the leaders of the library in the 2nd century. BC e. was Crates of Mallos- Greek grammarian and Stoic philosopher. He was born in Cilicia and educated in Tarso, and then moved to Pergamon, and there he lived under the patronage of Eumenes II and Attalus II. There he founded the Pergamon Grammar School; this scientific center was the main competitor of Alexandria. Kratet was interested in the works Homer. Some fragments of his comments " Iliad" And " Odyssey” were preserved by the scholiasts and other ancient Greek writers.
According to Plutarch, the existence of the Pergamon Library ended Mark Antony. He handed over Cleopatra for the Library of Alexandria, all 200 thousand books as a wedding gift. Of course, no indexes or catalogs have survived that would confirm or refute this evidence and would indicate the size and composition of the library.
The Pergamon Library had a large reading room surrounded by numerous shelves. The empty space between the outer walls and shelves served for air circulation. This was done to protect the library from excessive humidity in the warm climate of Anatolia and can be considered as one of the first technologies for preserving manuscripts. There was a statue in the main reading room Athens, goddess of wisdom.
Parchment
The invention and the name itself parchment associated with the Pergamon Library. When Ptolemy V banned the export of papyrus from Egypt, Eumenes II ordered the search for alternative writing material. This led to the development of technology for the production of parchment, which was made from thin pieces of sheep or goat skin. Despite its high cost, parchment reduced the dependence of other countries on the export of Egyptian papyri. Subsequently, this invention played a huge role in the preservation of ancient culture and the spread of European books.
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