Homer as Model for The Ancient Library: Metaphors of Corpus and Cosmos
§1. This essay treats the ancient library not so much as a place or institution but as an idea or concept – a Classical model, conveyed primarily by metaphors of comprehensiveness, completeness, and universality. Hence the words Corpus and Cosmos in my title. The focus is primarily on the Library of Alexandria in Egypt and secondarily on the Library of Pergamon in Asia Minor. I will argue that the Classical… Read more