Slashdot Mirror
Library at Alexandria Discovered?
dustmote writes "According to the BBC, a Polish-Egyptian team believes they may have discovered the Library at Alexandria, including ancient lecture halls or auditoria, in the Bruchion region of the city. It's said by some that the burning of the library set civilization back as much as a thousand years."
they just had to smash through the big Roman numeral 10 on the floor.
:)
Troy had the same problem. Took us centuries to find it too. There's a lot of ancient mysteries yet to be rediscovered.
So maybe it's more like this:
The Burning of Alexandria is to the Development of Technology, as licensing is to computing technology.
*whew* I'd hate to live at a time when machines controled my every move, from who and how I interact with people, to the work that I do, to the only thing I see all day.
While the burning of the Library of Alexandria set back science for 1000 years, the Catholic church set back science for another1000 years. Since the Library was burned down about 48 B.C.E., its amazing what only 52 years of science has gotten us (makes me wonder which Greek master first wrote the general theory of relativity)!
It's not as if the Romans were on some strange bookburning spree. The library was accidental damage from the attack on the city--given the chance, Caeser would have picked up all the goodies as additional loot.
Okay.
.. Arab doctors were busy doing medicine when Christian doctors were busing being butchers. Take your blinkers off. Look around you. And when you've recovered from that, look behind you to see the damage that was done to others in the Churches history.
I'm going to be gerenal here as my SPLUTTERING RAGE is making it hard to type.
The Catholic Church has done these things, and they were the major force in doing these things not because they're wonderful, all-singing, all-dancing modern thinkers. They did it because they wiped out their competition.
We would have vastly more and wider knowledge within collective civilisation if the Church (and not just the Church, true enough, but this is a response) did destroy modes of thinking that clashed with their own. From the crusaides to the witch-hunts.
Oh, one last point
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom. On reading that previous comment, I have a bad taste in my mouth.
Robert Anton Wilson
Uhh.. it was the Arabs who preserved the knowledge of the ancient world through the dark ages. The Cathlolic church was too busy persecuting people like Galileo for finding truth to preserve much of anything.
As another poster pointed out, they were pretty much the only game in town. The Cathlic church hardly deserves credit for doing the little they did. Also, it's hardly the invention of Christianity to believe the world is understandable. The Cathlolics can't lay claim to that any more than we can.
AccountKiller
Of all of the modern and current libraries that are around, the Vatican Library (yes, the Pope's own book stack) is probabally the most comprehensive collection of medeval and ancient texts that is in existance. For more technical volumes there are other places that are more extensive, but if you are trying to study history or philosophy, this is the place to go.
To suggest that Christians deliberately burn books simply to hide knowledge is totally wrong. That from time to time bullheaded idiots sometimes get control of ecclesiastical authority and abuse that same political and spiritual power to evil ends is not disputed. This happens in most religions (including atheism) or even political movements. (This is in response to the grandpartent article. I agree with you dasunt.)
The problem that happened at Alexandria, and what caused the "Dark Ages" was a total breakdown of the political & social framework of Europe due to the collapse of the Roman Empire. It didn't burn down earlier simply because the Roman Legions would have massacred anybody that tried to challenge Roman authority. By 400 A.D. the Roman government had all but stopped existing in any form, and the citizens of Rome itself were fighting off invaders into the city itself from the Vandals, Goths, and other germanic tribes that routinely sacked Rome for what was left of wealth from being an imperial capital. This was almost like the "Mad Max" movies by Mel Gibson in terms of a total lack of control by governments, except in silly irrelavent symbolism that doesn't keep my neighbor from raping my wife and killing my kids.
Go drink some milk, or have a Martini, or
... Christian ... butchers,"
something. If you want to find someone to hate
and demonize and blame for the evils of the
world, it's all too easy. There are plenty of
myths that can help you blame the Catholic
Church, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or
blacks, or any other group you arbitrarily
decide to go into a sputtering rage about.
A prime example is the myth that crazed
Christian fanatics destroyed the library. That
story has about as much historical credibility
as the Bible.
The fact is, it's pretty hard to make a sound
case that the Christians held back science or
civilization. The Greek scholars went into
decline centuries before Christianity even
existed, and continued without much interference
from the Church. If anything, the Muslim
conquests were more disruptive than any action of
the Church I'm aware of.
Making sense of the contribution of the Church
to civilization is a very complex business.
As for "Arab doctors
yeah, yeah, yeah.
I had a black friend once who was fond of
saying, "The Chinese were inventing civilization
when our ancestors were still running around in
grass skirts." He liked to clump Africa and
Europe together like that. He was a good guy,
but like everyone he had his faults, and he
was a little too obvious about his bitterness.
The fact is, the Chinese did not invent
civilization and don't have a particularly ancient
civilization compared to Europeans. Nor do the
Arabs make Christians look like butchers.
Why don't you go read up a little about exactly
what the Arabs did and what the Europeans and
Christians did. You might stop hating people
if you knew a little more.
I absolutely agree that being a US ally isn't something to be proud of.
/aren't really human/ so there's no human rights violatin' going on!)
Why? Who is a good nation to be an ally of? France? Oops... looks like they're involved in their latest little genocide matter in Africa. Hey, what's a few million dead anyway when they're black or jew as long as a Frenchman is making a buck?
Germany? My friends in Germany worry me with their desire to blame the Holocaust on the Jews. These are some deep rooted issues that are beginning to crop up again. This has long been a popular middle eastern view, but now it's taking a mainstream role in Germany (the code phrase is "we've dealt with this guilt long enough" which is the dominant attitude in German generations under 50 years of age). Is this what Hitler meant by a 1,000 year Reich?
China? The same government takes first place for total tens of millions exterminated in the 20th century. Oh, they now let you shop for consumer goods before they exterminate your family for religious or political beliefs. Unless you're Tibetian, and then you just get to die.
So who's the great nation? Lichtenstein? Switzerland? Hans Blix's Sweden? Appeasing and abstaining from taking a part in countering evil is not an ingredient in greatness (nobody ever nominated the "Hear No Evil, See No Evil" monkeys for a leadership post outside of the UN!). Canada comes up at the top of this unfortunate list.
Ah... the Sudan! Yes, nominated to the UN human rights council. Must be a great nation recognizing individual liberty and all (oh sure, as long as your Muslim - those other people
Marillion, here's a suggest that'll make your life much more enjoyable (not to mention the life of those that have to put up with you). How about PROposing rather than OPposing? Quit bitching about those you're envious of and either decide to outdo them in good works, or accept that you're a parasite and deal with the consequence.
Per former eastern Europe allies of the US, they deserve our greatest respect. Nations like Latvia fought and died for freedom throughout the 20th century, only to be oppressed repeatedly. No wonder they can tell right from wrong, while a western will surrender his life and liberty at the slightest threat.