Editing Culture of Egypt (section)

===Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt===
[[Image:Alexandria Library Inscription.jpg|thumb|200px|Inscription referring to the Alexandrian library, dated AD 56]]

The silk road led straight through ancient Alexandria. Also, the [[Library of Alexandria|Royal Library of Alexandria]] was once the largest in the world. It is usually assumed to have been founded at the beginning of the 3rd century BC during the reign of [[Ptolemy II of Egypt]] after his father had set up the [[Temple of the Muses]] or [[Museum]]. The initial organization is attributed to [[Demetrius Phalereus]]. The Library is estimated to have stored at its peak 400,000 to 700,000 [[Scroll (parchment)|scrolls]].

One of the reasons so little is known about the Library is that it was lost centuries after its creation. All that is left of many of the volumes are tantalizing titles that hint at all the history lost due to the building's destruction. Few events in ancient history are as controversial as the destruction of the Library, as the historical record is both contradictory and incomplete. Its destruction has been attributed by some authors to, among others, [[Julius Caesar]], [[Augustus]], and Catholic zealots during the purge of the Arian heresy, Not surprisingly, the Great Library became a symbol of knowledge itself, and its destruction was attributed to those who were portrayed as ignorant [[barbarians]], often for purely political reasons.

A [[Bibliotheca Alexandrina|new library]] was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the old library.

The [[Lighthouse of Alexandria]], one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]], designed by [[Sostratus of Cnidus]] and built during the reign of [[Ptolemy I Soter]] served as the city's landmark, and later, lighthouse.

====Mathematics and technology====
{{See also|Greek mathematics}}

[[Alexandria]], being the center of the Hellenistic world, produced a number of great mathematicians, astronomers, and scientists such as [[Ctesibius]], [[Pappus of Alexandria|Pappus]], and [[Diophantus]]. It also attracted scholars from all over the Mediterranean such as [[Eratosthenes]] of [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]].

====Ptolemy====
{{Main|Ptolemy}}

[[Ptolemy]] is one of the most famous astronomers and geographers from Egypt, famous for his work in [[Alexandria]]. Born Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαίος; {{circa|85|165}}), he was a [[geographer]], [[astronomer]], and [[astrologer]].<ref>Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", ''Isis'' '''83''' (4), p. 596-607 [602, 606]</ref>

Ptolemy was the author of two important scientific treatises. One is the astronomical treatise that is now known as the ''[[Almagest]]'' (in Greek ''Η μεγάλη Σύνταξις'', "The Great Treatise"). In this work, one of the most influential books of antiquity, Ptolemy compiled the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Greek and [[Babylonia]]n world. Ptolemy's other main work is his ''Geography''. This too is a compilation, of what was known about the world's [[geography]] in the Roman Empire in his time.

In his ''[[Optics]]'', a work which survives only in an Arabic translation, he writes about properties of [[light]], including [[Reflection (physics)|reflection]], [[refraction]] and [[colour]]. His other works include ''Planetary Hypothesis'', ''Planisphaerium'' and ''Analemma''. Ptolemy's treatise on astrology, the ''[[Tetrabiblos]]'', was the most popular [[astrological]] work of antiquity and also enjoyed great influence in the [[Islamic]] world and the [[medieval]] [[Latin]] [[Western world|West]].

Ptolemy also wrote influential work Harmonics on music theory. After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argued for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (in contrast to the followers of Aristoxenus) backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the over-theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans). He presented his own divisions of the tetrachord and the octave, which he derived with the help of a monochord. Ptolemy's astronomical interests appeared in a discussion of the music of the spheres.

Tributes to Ptolemy include Ptolemaeus crater on the Moon and Ptolemaeus crater on Mars.