The Library of Alexandria: What We Lost When It Burned
If you’ve watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you probably remember Wan Shi Tong’s library—that giant archive of the world’s knowledge, buried in the desert. Now imagine that in real life.
That’s essentially what the Library of Alexandria was supposed to be. But unlike Aang and friends, we don’t get to stroll its halls, because much of it burned down, and the rest simply faded with time.
As a history nerd, I feel the deepest pain when I accept that vast knowledge has vanished, leaving us with nothing to access or learn from. Forever. Apart from the usual distortions of history, the tragedy is in the silence.
We’ll never know exactly what was lost.
That’s the central question scholars wrestle with: What did humanity lose when the greatest library of the ancient world disappeared? What kind of knowledge could we have possessed today if we were able to access the library’s contents?
Some believe it housed works of philosophy we’ll never quote, scientific theories that might’ve accelerated progress by centuries, and literature that could’ve reshaped culture as we know it.
Today, we’ll try to explore why the legend of the Library of Alexandria lingers.
The Library of Alexandria: A Brief Background
Being an academic and a former student of the philosopher Aristotle, Alexander the Great envisioned the world’s first “universal library,” a place that gathered all human knowledge in one location. However, it was only after his death that the library was constructed.[1]
The Library of Alexandria was founded in the 3rd century BCE under Ptolemy II. Yep, the same Ptolemys who were the ancestors of Queen Cleopatra.
The mission was ambitious: collect every text from every known civilization.
To do this, officials seized scrolls from trader ships docking in Alexandria. Scribes transcribed and translated these works into Greek, while hired book hunters scoured the Mediterranean for manuscripts they couldn’t acquire through trade.[2]
The library’s reach was vast. Thanks to the exchange of embassies between the Indian emperor Ashoka and Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Buddhist writings made their way into Alexandria. It was a true crossroads of civilizations.
Of course, that kind of collection came with a very practical problem: how do you keep track of it all? Callimachus of Cyrene came to the rescue. He created the Pinakes, a 120-volume catalog that was basically the first library database in history. Without it, good luck finding your way through those scrolls.
So, What Happened to the Library?
If this library was so great, where is it now?
Here’s the thing: in 48 BCE, Julius Caesar of Ancient Rome laid siege to the city of Alexandria, and scholars believe the flames spread to parts of the library.[3] But contrary to the dramatic one-and-done burning story, the library probably didn’t vanish overnight.[3]
Instead, it faded bit by bit, dismantled by waves of new rulers who often viewed its contents as dangerous, blasphemous, or simply unnecessary.
By the 5th century CE, that hostility turned bloody. In 415 CE, Christian zealots brutally murdered Hypatia, a brilliant scholar of math and astronomy connected to the library’s holdings.[4] By then, the world had lost not just scrolls, but also one of its brightest minds.
If the scrolls hadn’t already disappeared, that moment marked the symbolic death of Alexandria’s intellectual heart—with Hypatia herself embodying the danger of defying ignorance through knowledge.
What We Think Was Inside
Historians admit we’ll never have a catalog of the lost works. Yet by piecing together hints, we can sketch what may have been held inside its walls.
According to historian Garrett Ryan,
all “the most important [works] were widely disseminated elsewhere. What perished with the library were, overwhelmingly, lesser-known works of literature and philosophy, commentaries and monographs: all the residue and introspection of an extremely sophisticated literary culture.”
Greek Works Beyond What We Know
The library likely contained plays from the great tragedians—Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides. Today, we only have seven of Sophocles’ plays out of more than 120, and works like Aeschylus’ Achilleis are known only by name.[5]
Lost philosophical writings may have included Democritus’ theories of atoms, early Stoic thought, and explorations of mathematics by figures now half-forgotten. Imagine if those ideas had reached later Europe intact.
Egyptian Histories
The Library was, after all, in Egypt. Scholars believe it may have preserved native dynastic records, engineering methods behind the pyramids, and religious texts explaining Egypt’s spiritual life. Think of temple scrolls describing rituals at Karnak or manuals on pyramid construction now gone forever.
These voices were often overshadowed by Greek and Roman accounts, so their disappearance deepens the silence of Egypt’s own storytellers.
Indian and Babylonian Science
Texts on ayurvedic medicine, astronomy, and mathematics could have crossed into Alexandria through trade. Imagine Babylonian star charts, or Indian treatises on surgery and the concept of zero, centuries before these ideas reached European scholars.
Knowledge of planetary cycles or precise medical techniques may have existed earlier than we think, now erased by time.
Chinese Inventions and Writings
It’s possible that early Chinese records of papermaking, compasses, or state governance made their way west. Some speculate that treatises like the Book of Silk—one of the earliest Chinese texts on astronomy—could have been stored in Alexandria. If such exchanges had been preserved and shared, global history could have advanced along entirely different paths.
Considering the vast information it once held, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Library of Alexandria was once the common denominator that connected the whole world.
Modern Efforts for Preserving Knowledge
Centuries after the ancient Library of Alexandria disappeared, the idea of reviving it resurfaced.
In 1972, Professor Mostafa El-Abbadi of Alexandria University proposed rebuilding the legendary institution. The Egyptian government supported the vision, and with UNESCO’s backing, the project gained international momentum.[6]
A site was chosen next to Alexandria University, close to where the ancient library once stood. The result was the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a truly global collaboration.
The Greeks contributed antiquities, the French established a science museum, the Americans developed the computer and catalog systems, while Italians and Egyptians worked together to preserve rare manuscripts.
The project produced not just a modern building, but a symbolic effort to recreate the spirit of the ancient library: a hub where many nations could preserve and share knowledge. At the risk of sounding too cliché, one can’t help but think that this proves that the dream of Alexandria never faded from existence.
What We Can Learn From the Loss
The story of the Library of Alexandria is a reminder that knowledge has always been fragile. Think about it—so much of human history was written on papyrus, parchment, and paper, all too easily destroyed by fire, war, or simply time.
But maybe the real fragility isn’t in the materials at all.
Maybe it’s in us; in our fear of knowledge, our tendency to see education as a threat, and in the greed that drives us to hoard rather than share it. After all, it’s harder to fool and control an educated person.
And that’s where our responsibility comes in. The real challenge isn’t just preserving knowledge; it’s making sure people can access it. Don’t let censorship, gatekeeping, or fear stop us from learning with and from each other.
If Alexandria taught us anything, it’s this: knowledge is only as strong as our will to protect and share it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What destroyed the Library of Alexandria?
The Library wasn’t destroyed in a single fire but likely suffered multiple incidents over centuries, from Julius Caesar’s siege in 48 BCE to later political and religious conflicts. Changing regimes also saw its contents as dangerous or blasphemous, which hastened its decline.
Does anything from the Library of Alexandria still exist?
No confirmed texts survive directly from the Library. However, some works may have been copied and preserved elsewhere, passed down through other libraries and translations.
Why was the Library of Alexandria important?
Yes, it symbolized humanity’s first great attempt to collect all knowledge in one place. Even if its exact contents remain unknown, its legacy continues to inspire how we think about knowledge and preservation.
How many books were lost in the Library of Alexandria?
Scholars estimate that anywhere from 40,000 to 400,000 scrolls were stored there, but the exact number is impossible to confirm.[7] What matters is that countless works of philosophy, science, and literature likely vanished forever.
References:
[1] University of Nebraska – Lincoln
[2] The Rise and Fall of the Great Library of Alexandria: An Animated Introduction | Open Culture
[4] Mathematician and Philosopher Hypatia Is Killed in Alexandria | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
[5] Library of Alexandria – World History Encyclopedia
[6] Bibliotheca Alexandrina | History & Facts | Britannica[7] The Burning of the Library of Alexandria | OSU eHistory
