ILLUSTRATION B
Alexandrianism is a somewhat difficult term to pin down. It can include a broad range of cultural phenomena from 323 BC to 31 BC (and even after this). However since Spengler also refers to Western Science in the same breath, he clearly has in mind the scientific aspects of Alexandrianism, which is linked to the first Alexandrine School. Important aspects of this first school are provided below
the Mouseion (dedicated to the 9 Muses) of Alexandria.
founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (309–246 BC), supported by the royal patronage of the Ptolemies. Modelled on Plato's Academy, it was a home for music, poetry, a philosophical school & library, a storehouse of texts. It had rooms devoted to anatomy & astronomical observations; it brought together the best scholars of the Hellenistic world, analogous to the modern Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Over 1,000 scholars lived in the institution; they received a salary from the Mouseion, paid no taxes & received free room, board & servants. They conducted scientific research, published, lectured & collected literature from the known world (Greek works, foreign texts). see illustration
The Great Library of Alexandria.
The idea of a universal library was proposed as early as 300 BC by Demetrius of Phalerum; it was built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The library was part of the Mouseion & was one of the largest & most significant in the Apollonian world, it was it was well funded & acquired between 40,000 to 400,000 papyrus scrolls at its height. It even included a zoo for research. see illustration
Scholars.
The Great Library & Mouseion made Alexandria the Hellenistic attractive to many important & influential scholars,some of whom worked in the library during the 3rd & 2nd centuries BC. The most notable scholars of Alexandria were:
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Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 BC) Greek astronomer & mathematician, who developed the first known heliocentric model; he died in Alexandria.
Euclid (lived 300 BC), or Euclid of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician, the "founder of geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC).
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Archimedes (287-212 BC) who as a youth may have studied in Alexandria with Conon of Samos and Eratosthenes of Cyrene (see below). Although his mathematical writings were little known in antiquity, mathematicians from Alexandria read and quoted him.
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Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276 -195 BC) Greek polymath, famously a geographer: first to calculate the circumference of the Earth, first to calculate the tilt of the Earth's axis, first to create a map of the world using parallels & meridians; he also calculated the distance from the Earth to the Sun & invented the leap day. He was a mathematician, poet, astronomer, music theorist & the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria.
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Apollonius of Perga (late 3rd- early 2nd centuries BC) Greek geometer & astronomer known for his theories on conic sections. He lived, studied and wrote in Alexandria
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Medicine was also advanced in Alexandria.
Herophilos (335-280 BC), a Greek physician who spent the majority of his life in Alexandria. He was the first scientist to systematically perform scientific dissections of human cadavers.
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Erasistratus (304-250 BC), Greek anatomist who with Herophilus founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where anatomical research was performed. He also helped found the methodic school of teachings of medicine in Alexandria which opposed the traditional humoral theories of Hippocratic ideologies.
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Serapion of Alexandria (3rd century BC) so extended & improved the Empiric school of Philinus of Cos, to the extent that its creation is sometimes attributed to him.