The Destruction of the Alexandrian Library

Abstract

The Alexandrian library of the Ptolemies was destroyed by fire during the war with Caesar in 48 BC. No other destruction is mentioned in ancient sources and theories about later destructions must be rejected. The story about the transferral of the Pergamene library to Alexandria must also be rejected. The evidence for a second, smaller library is late and unreliable; it also should be rejected. The notion that there was a library in the Serapeum appears to be a Christian elaboration of a Jewish legend. The ecphrasis of Aphthonius, which is frequently cited to support it, can more plausibly be read as a description of another sanctuary.