The ancient library of which Mediterranean city, founded under the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt around 300 BCE, was the largest and most famous repository of scholarship in the ancient Greek world?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Library of Alexandria
- Step 1: Conceived by Demetrius of Phalerum under Ptolemy I Soter and built under Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Mouseion of Alexandria aimed to collect a copy of every scroll in the world.
- Step 2: Housing an estimated 400,000 to 700,000 papyrus rolls, it employed leading polymaths including Eratosthenes (who calculated Earth's circumference), Euclid, and Archimedes.
Answer
Library of Alexandria
Why not the others: 'Library of Pergamum' The Library of Pergamum in Asia Minor was Alexandria's chief Hellenistic rival, famous for popularizing parchment; 'Library of Celsus' The Library of Celsus was an ornate Roman library built in Ephesus in 110 CE to honour Tiberius Julius Celsus; 'Library of Ashurbanipal' The Library of Ashurbanipal was a Mesopotamian royal archive of cuneiform clay tablets in Nineveh, Assyria.
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