The famous Library of Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the most important repositories of knowledge in the ancient world. Built in the fourth century B.C., it flourished for some six centuries, serving as the cultural and intellectual centre of the ancient Hellenistic world.
It was rumoured to contain half a million papyrus scrolls, the largest collection of manuscripts in the ancient world, including works by Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Herodotus, and many others.
Some of the most brilliant minds of the period worked, studied, and taught at the library, which formed part of the research institute known as the Alexandrian Museum, or Mouseion (the “shrine of the Muses”).
