We know of the lost library of Alexandria and there has been speculation about possibly a cache between the paws ofEgypts Sphinx, I have heard there are other lost libraries. Can anyone add to this list?
RE: Lost Libraries
How about the Library of Nag Hammadi? Discovered 2 years before the Dead Sea Scrolls. These offer insights into the traditions ofearly Christians. Apparently giving a view of Christianity before it was changed by the Nicean Council and whole pieces of writings were left out. These scrolls contain some missing bits of the bible....or so I read.
RE: Lost Libraries
Thats interesting information, I had never heard of that one.
RE: Lost Libraries
The Mayans had a large library as well. But the spanish preists burnt the majority of it, just like the muslims at alexandria. It is said that the library of Alexandria carried the most magical scripts from all the around the world.
There is a library in England called the Bodleian library. It contains ancient magical scripts from the 15th century. This library was on ofeuropes first they have many interesting things in there [link= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodleian_Library ]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodleian_Library[/link]
RE: Lost Libraries
ORIGINAL: Elyezual
just like the muslims at alexandria. It is said that the library of Alexandria carried the most magical scripts from all the around the world.
Hi Elyezual,
I think it's worth noting that the destruction of the library of Alexandria by "the muslims" is amyth that's rolled out over and over again -but there areno contemporary accounts of it (they turn up hundreds of years later) and the notion has been rubbished by many many historians (yet it survives) -unlike the Christian destruction of all pagan temples ordered by Theodosius (as documented by Socrates and sounds far more credible) - which is never mentioned.
Go figure![sm=scratchchin.gif]
RE: Lost Libraries
I always thought it was down to the Romans!!
RE: Lost Libraries
Oh ok, see I thought it was the christians at first, based on logical guess, but I was told that it was the muslims from someone else on this site.
But it could have very well been either or.
RE: Lost Libraries
ORIGINAL:woodcat
I always thought it was down to the Romans!!
Hi woodcat,
Well I’d agree with that for the earlier destruction too, but Theodosius also was Roman, as he was the Roman Emperor… but that doesn’t mean that the destruction of the remaining libraries of Alexandria was not a Christian act.
Theo ordered it because he was a Christian, and he did it for & in the name of Christianity.
ORIGINAL:Elyezual
Oh ok, see I thought it was the christians at first, based on logical guess, but I was told that it was the muslims from someone else on this site.
But it could have very well been either or.
Hi Elyzual,
There is no real account of the Royal Library existing by even 250 AD, respected visiting historians/geographers don’t mention or map it in or part of the City – and given what it was supposed to house – it’d be a fairly notable landmark don’t ya reckon?
However there were lesser buildings that housed great works, texts and scrolls, but as I say these were destroyed by order of Theodosius and most had churches built over them by 400 AD.
The Muslim destruction is a myth, looking at the Muslim culture and ideology of the time, it is far more likely that they would have done everything they could to preserve, understand and create translations of any works that they’d had access to. In fact even the Bodleian Library that you mention owes something to the Islamic ‘University’ tradition.
It was a myth started by a Bishop about 950 AD who spent nearly all his time making up anti-Muslim stuff – Fact
Sorry, but no, so it could not “very well been either or” – I know it seems like it’s hardly important, but it is one of the things that carries the blame for the supposed “Dark Ages”… the premise being that – “if only the great wisdom of the Library had not been destroyed…we would not have sunk into that stagnant backward stage” – Its rubbish, and largely down to Christian religious and feudal reasons. But then the golden scholarly era of the Muslims eventually came to an end and the Europe’s again began.
And So The Wheel Turns eh!
BTW there’s an new book out where the author claims that the Dark Ages never existed at all…hmmm, gonna be interesting to see how he lays out his evidence