Poets Posidippus of Pella and Callimachus of Cyrene, writing during Ptolemy II’s reign, actively construct a new Mediterranean geography in which people and luxury goods, even divinities, move from the Northern and Eastern Mediterranean to the new city of Alexandria. The building of the Library of Alexandria provides a more concrete demonstration of that same trend, as the Ptolemies under the influence of both Greek thinkers, such as Demetrius of Phaleron, and of Egyptian cultural practices, such as the great temple libraries strive to move the center of Greek learning from Athens to Alexandria.
The lecture will be delivered by Susan Stephens, Professor of Humanities and Classics at Stanford University.