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IN THIS ISSUE
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* Gemini, the Overlooked Space Program

* The Burning of the Library of Alexandria

* Because It's There

* HistoryList of the Month

* Historical Quote

* Writers Wanted

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THE BURNING OF THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA [By Preston Chesser ]
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The loss of the ancient world's single greatest archive of knowledge, the Library of Alexandria, has been lamented for ages. But how and why it was lost is still a mystery. The mystery exists not for lack of suspects but from an excess of them.

Alexandria was founded in Egypt by Alexandria the Great. His successor as Pharaoh, Ptolomy II Soter, founded the Museum or Royal Library of Alexandria in 283 BC. The Museum was a shrine of the Muses modeled after the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens. The Museum was a place of study which included lecture areas, gardens, a zoo, and shrines for each of the nine muses as well as the Library itself. It has been estimated that at one time the Library of Alexandria held over half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations. Over 100 scholars lived at the Museum full time to perform research, write, lecture or translate and copy documents. The library was so large it actually had another branch or "daughter" library at the Temple of Serapis.

The first person blamed for the destruction of the Library is none other than Julius Caesar himself. In 48 BC, Caesar was pursuing Pompey into Egypt when he was suddenly cut off by an Egyptian fleet at Alexandria. Greatly outnumbered and in enemy territory, Caesar ordered the ships in the harbor to be set on fire. The fire spread and destroyed the Egyptian fleet. Unfortunately, it also burned down part of the city - the area where the great Library stood. Caesar wrote of starting the fire in the harbor but neglected to mention the burning of the Library. Such an omission proves little since he was not in the habit of including unflattering facts while writing his own history. But Caesar was not without public detractors. If he was solely to blame for the disappearance of the Library it is very likely significant documentation on the affair would exist today.

The second story of the Library's destruction is more popular, thanks primarily to Edward Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". But the story is also more complicated. Theopholis was Patriarch of Alexandria from 385 to 412 AD. During his reign the Temple of Serapis was converted into a Christian Church (probably around 391 AD) and it is likely that many documents were destroyed then. (The Temple of Serapis was estimated to hold about ten percent of the overall Library of Alexandria's holdings.) After his death, during the reign of his nephew, mass riots caused much destruction and death including the death of Hypatia, a female philosopher and daughter of the "last member of the Library of Alexandria".

Some regard the death of Hypatia as the final destruction of the Library. Others blame Theopholis for destroying the last of the scrolls when he razed the Temple of Serapis prior to making it a Christian church. Still others have confused both incidents and blamed Theopholis for simultaneously murdering Hypatia and destroying the Library though it is obvious Theopholis died sometime prior to Hypatia.

The final individual to get blamed for the destruction is the Moslem Caliph Omar. In 640 AD the Moslems took the city of Alexandria. Upon learning of "a great library containing all the knowledge of the world" the conquering general supposedly asked Caliph Omar for instructions. The Caliph has been quoted as saying of the Library's holdings, "they will either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, so they are superfluous." So, allegedly, all the texts were destroyed by using them as tinder for the bathhouses of the city. Even then it was said to have taken six months to burn all the documents. But these details, from the Caliph's quote to the incredulous six months it supposedly took to burn all the books, weren't written down until 300 years after the fact. These facts condemning Omar were written by Bishop Gregory Bar Hebr�us, a Christian who spent a great deal of time writing about Moslem atrocities without much historical documentation.

So who did burn the Library of Alexandria? Unfortunately most of the writers from Plutarch (who apparently blamed Caesar) to Edward Gibbons (a staunch atheist or deist who liked very much to blame Christians and blamed Theopholis) to Bishop Gregory (who was particularly anti-Moslem, blamed Omar) all had an axe to grind and consequently must be seen as biased. Probably everyone mentioned above had some hand in destroying some part of the Library's holdings. The collection may have ebbed and flowed as some documents were destroyed and others were added. For instance, Mark Antony was supposed to have given Cleopatra over 200,000 scrolls for the Library long after Julius Caesar is accused of burning it.

It is also quite likely that even if the Museum was destroyed with the main library the outlying "daughter" library at the Temple of Serapis continued on. Many writers seem to equate the Library of Alexandria with the Library of Serapis although technically they were in two different parts of the city.

The real tragedy of course is not the uncertainty of knowing who to blame for the Library's destruction but that so much of ancient history, literature and learning was lost forever.

Selected sources:

"The Vanished Library" by Luciano Canfora

"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbons

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GEMINI, THE OVERLOOKED SPACE PROGRAM [By Thomas R. Long, Jr.]
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With the life of the U.S. space shuttle program ending in the next 10-15 years, much attention is being given to a replacement. Designers are building on the lessons learned from previous manned space programs, including the shuttle program, the Apollo program, and the previous, but one of the most important manned space programs, Gemini.

Overshadowed and bookended by the Mercury and Apollo programs, Gemini was instrumental in the success in all subsequent space flights. The objectives of Gemini were several: first, to see how long a crew could stay and work in space; second, to develop methods for rendezvousing and docking vehicles in space; and third, for training astronauts in the rendezvousing and docking procedures.

Gemini 3, the first of the manned Gemini missions, launched on March 23, 1965. Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young blasted off five days after the Soviets made the first-ever space walk. The capsule for Gemini was a larger version of that used in the Mercury program and capable of sustaining two men for at least two weeks. The rocket used for liftoff was a Titan 2 with two stages.

Gemini 4 launched a few months later on June 3, 1965, with James McDivitt and Edward White onboard. This time it would be the Americans' first venture into EVA (extra vehicular activity) when White left the Gemini capsule for 23 minutes.

Gemini 4 was also the longest American space flight up to that time, lasting just over four days. In August 1965, Gemini 5 would break the record, spending eight days in space. One of the goals of Gemini 5 was to rendezvous with a remote-controlled vehicle, but when the rocket carrying the second vehicle blew up on launch, that part of the mission was scrubbed.

Gemini 7 was the next mission, leaving earth on December 4, 1965. Gemini 6 blasted off on December 15. On December 18, Gemini 6, piloted by Wally Schirra and commanded by Thomas Stafford, successfully maneuvered to a rendezvous with Gemini 7 (Frank Borman and James Lovell). The linkup between the two Gemini capsules was the first-ever rendezvous between two space vehicles.

Five more Gemini Missions were launched, all successfully docking with other vehicles. The program ended on November 15, 1966, after proving beyond any reasonable doubt that space crews could spend an extended period of time in space living and working without adverse effects.

Check out our HistoryList on the Gemini Program:

http://www.ehistory.com/world/ListList.cfm?TRKID=1&EID=2#LID34

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BECAUSE IT'S THERE [By Larry Gormley]
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Those famous words were spoken by British climber George Mallory in 1924 when he was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. In August of that year Mallory and his partner Andrew Irvine disappeared on the way to the summit. The large scope of public grief over their demise marked the beginning of Everest's allure and fascination. On May 16, 2002, 54 climbers successfully reached the top of the mountain, a new single day record. Does this record mark the beginning of the end of Everest's mystique and attraction?

Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest the British Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843. In 1852, Everest's successor Andrew Waugh declared that Peak XV was probably the highest point on Earth (he computed an elevation of 29,002 feet which is very close to the current elevation estimation of 29,035 feet.) Peak XV was renamed Mount Everest in 1865.

From 1921 to 1952, about a dozen organized expeditions attempted to conquer the mountain. Before 1950, the climbing missions used the southern route via Tibet. When Tibet fell under China's rule in 1950, the northern route was blocked and the expeditions moved to the southern route via Nepal. It was from the southern route that Tenzing Norgay (from Nepal) and Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) successfully climbed Everest on May 29, 1953. (To this day, neither man will state who was first.)

The 1953 expedition, led by Colonel John Hunt, was sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society and the Joint Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club. It consisted of eleven climbers (including Tenzing) and numerous Sherpas (Sherpa is defined as a member of Tibetan people living in northern Nepal). Climbers Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon almost became the first men to climb Everest. On May 26, during the expedition's first summit attempt, Evans and Bourdillon climbed to 28,750 feet -- less than 300 feet from the top. Unfortunately, strong winds and faulty oxygen gear forced the two men to turn back. Three days later history was made.

Today, it's getting a lot more crowded on Mount Everest. From 1953 through the 2001 climbing season, 1,493 people have reached the summit of Everest. While this may not seem like a large number, a closer look reveals a startling trend.

Number of Summits by Decade
1950s 6
1960s 18
1970s 78
1980s 183
1990s 881
2000s 327 (2000 and 2001 only)

In addition, these numbers must be mapped onto the short Everest climbing season which is generally a few weeks in May. The conclusion: it's getting crowded at the top of the world.

While climbing Everest is still an incredible and dangerous feat (60 people died trying to climb the mountain in the 1990s) the mystique of conquering the highest point on Earth is certainly waning. At the moment, the only throttle on the number of climbers appears to be the short climbing season. According to Reuters, Edmund Hillary himself is not pleased with the crowds: "I personally, if I were a younger man, would not wish to be on an expedition with so many people around. Climbing Everest now is no longer the big challenge it was, but just a walkway with ladders and fixed ropes all along the route ..."

Sources
Encyclopedia Britannica
National Geographic Society
Reuters
everesthistory.com
PBS

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HISTORICAL QUOTE
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"In a few years there will be only five kings in the world -- the King of England and the four kings in a pack of cards."
Farouk I, April 10, 1950

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WRITERS WANTED
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Are you interested in writing for The eHistory Explorer newsletter? It's a neat way of sharing your knowledge plus we'll provide a link back to your site within your article. Please send an email to historyexplorer@ehistory.com to learn more about this opportunity.

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Thanks to this weeks contributor(s):
Preston Chesser
Thomas R. Long, Jr.

Larry Gormley, Editor
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