The Library of Alexandria: What Did We Lose?

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  • Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
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Комментарии • 563

  • @decodingtheunknown2373
    @decodingtheunknown2373  22 дня назад +26

    👟 Embrace Summer cool splash with Vessi! Discover comfort and versatility at vessi.com/dtu for an instant 15% off your first order upon checkout!

    • @DneilB007
      @DneilB007 22 дня назад +6

      I can always tell when Vessi is sponsoring the podcast by the enraptured look in Simon’s eyes.

    • @marcbeebee6969
      @marcbeebee6969 21 день назад

      You did make a video about this library in the past 😂

    • @harleysons-zg4xy
      @harleysons-zg4xy 21 день назад +1

      Papyrus paper Simon👍

    • @mitchelldurward8863
      @mitchelldurward8863 9 дней назад +1

      You can totally tell the sponsor by the level of excitement in your voice as you begin the ad read. Honestly, if it was viable to buy them in Australia, I would, purely based on your ads.

    • @griffinwaldrop6840
      @griffinwaldrop6840 5 дней назад

      😮😮😮 😅

  • @MinAgust
    @MinAgust 22 дня назад +376

    Rest in peace library of Alexandria, you would’ve loved wattpad and ao3 :(

    • @Sleuth23
      @Sleuth23 22 дня назад +15

      Y'all better like this, this is fucking funny.

    • @Sleuth23
      @Sleuth23 22 дня назад +11

      "Give me all of your dead dove don't eat"

    • @ocean-mist
      @ocean-mist 21 день назад +1

      *Giggles as I read an ao3 au

    • @3X3NTR1K
      @3X3NTR1K 21 день назад +21

      Alexandria Of Our Own

    • @timbrwolf1121
      @timbrwolf1121 21 день назад +6

      And urban dictionary

  • @user-pi7gc4wg8k
    @user-pi7gc4wg8k 22 дня назад +214

    Rumor has it there were scrolls among the collection that explained how one could create content on multiple RUclips channels so rapidly that it defies the laws of space and time.....I think they should look into where Simon was around 48 BC!

    • @longtabsigo
      @longtabsigo 21 день назад +13

      Simon isn’t real he is pure A.I.

    • @brianmulholland2467
      @brianmulholland2467 21 день назад +6

      I mean, Simon's secret is pretty well known - he doesn't read any of his stuff in advance. No proofreading. No editing. No rehearsing. Just read it live

    • @charlesmadisonrhea
      @charlesmadisonrhea 20 дней назад +7

      Simonius Maximus

    • @maxbrundle1599
      @maxbrundle1599 19 дней назад

      ​@@brianmulholland2467WE'LL DO IT LIVE! 😂 OGBB! shit wrong channel😂

    • @CashelOConnolly
      @CashelOConnolly 19 дней назад +1

      Then it’s no wonder they burnt it down 😂

  • @christopherlopez4087
    @christopherlopez4087 22 дня назад +116

    I love the Supernatural reference with the Men of Letters. And I love that Simon didn’t even notice lol

    • @djdrack4681
      @djdrack4681 22 дня назад +17

      Simon doesn't believe in ghost; you think he believes in a group of people fighting Jefferson Starships and Werepires?

    • @theUglyGypsy
      @theUglyGypsy 22 дня назад

      It's just a term for educated persons. I'm not sure she was aiming for that reference

    • @roborob4296
      @roborob4296 22 дня назад +6

      i mean it was a fun but god awful show. it ran way too long and the stories were way too representative. just have to always keep upping the stakes because yea.... but then 20+ episode seasons so plenty of time for side quests!

    • @stevejester5658
      @stevejester5658 22 дня назад

      He wouldnt- he's a Mandroid.

    • @PhenomRom
      @PhenomRom 22 дня назад +8

      @@roborob4296I liked it when it was about monsters n demons. I lost interest when it was about him being the devil or god or whatever

  • @manslaughterinc.9135
    @manslaughterinc.9135 22 дня назад +83

    Skipping over Eratosthenes is kind of a disservice. He didn't get "pretty close" to measuring the circumference of the earth. He came up with between 39,060 to 40,320 kilometers. considering the earth is approximately 40,000 km, I'd say he hit the nail on the head.

    • @TheUltimateWriterNZ
      @TheUltimateWriterNZ 21 день назад +13

      The whole piece comes off very dismissive imo

    • @isaiahach
      @isaiahach 21 день назад +6

      i thought they put it that way as a joke. like the petty person pretending they're not impressed that you see in a lot of comedy movies

    • @benthomason3307
      @benthomason3307 20 дней назад +1

      I wish he went into more detail on the guy too. most sources I've read on him say that his nickname of "beta" was intended as a compliment suggesting that he was 2nd best at everything, but Carl Sagan said he was given it by a jealous peer.

    • @tom.m
      @tom.m 17 дней назад +3

      The author seems to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to modern academia (understandable), and has projected it on this piece.
      "These academics didn't study anything useful. But if they did it might have involved vivisection."

    • @clarysstoryboard3317
      @clarysstoryboard3317 16 дней назад +3

      If my intro to surveying professor didn't use entirely sh!t sources, Eratosthenes' calculation using only an obelisk and a well yielded a result that was less than 1% off of the actual circumference of the Earth.
      I feel like many of those watching would've appreciated that factoid.

  • @maxwirt921
    @maxwirt921 22 дня назад +100

    Simon “Birds are still in existence”.
    Me “Ha! You idiot; birds aren’t real!”😂

  • @justinbuergi9867
    @justinbuergi9867 22 дня назад +37

    “These were the early days before they started hunting down the knights of hell”
    Good lord Simon. You really just skipped right past that supernatural reference without noticing a thing wrong with that sentence

  • @hellokittysays6333
    @hellokittysays6333 22 дня назад +53

    This wasn't just a library as we'd think of in modern terms. If it hadn't burned, we might know the secrets of Greek fire, Roman concrete, and whatever the hell the antikythra mechanism is or was.

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 22 дня назад +2

      do you have any evidence that these were all stored in the library? Or are you just assuming that they were there without evidence.

    • @wingerding
      @wingerding 21 день назад +11

      ​@@MrChickennugget360 your answer is literally in his comment when he said "might".

    • @phaedrapage4217
      @phaedrapage4217 21 день назад +1

      Isn't the recipe for Greek fire in the Anarchist's Cookbook? Could've sworn I read it in there as a teenager. At the time, you could find all the ingredients at Menards.

    • @captainspaulding5963
      @captainspaulding5963 21 день назад +3

      ​@phaedrapage4217 you may be thinking of napalm. Greek fire, much like Roman concrete and REAL Damascus steel have yet to be replicated

    • @mj.ray0898
      @mj.ray0898 21 день назад +7

      Can't speak for Greek fire, but didn't they recently discover the secret to Roman concrete was the seawater they used to mix it? That it basically made it self-repairing, but it's too soft for many modern applications, something like that. They also have been able to use non-destructive imaging to see inside the antikythera machine and clear up a lot of the mystery. Take it with a grain of salt, I'm not sure where I saw this info, but it was within the last year or two (probably) and it very likely was one of Simon's channels 😂

  • @powwowken2760
    @powwowken2760 21 день назад +80

    I feel like the writers dismissal of how easily high end knowledge could be lost in the ancient world is a colored way too much by our modern view of the world.
    Very few people in the ancient world could even read, let alone read multiple languages, and those few people would all have their own interests and biases. It is absolutely possible and extremely likely for knowledge to completely disappear because the original book was lost or destroyed... Yes, "People who studied aerospace wouldn't forget it if they lost the book", but does that really matter if there were only 4 people interested and educated enough to study it? Would that knowledge really survive?

    • @TheUltimateWriterNZ
      @TheUltimateWriterNZ 21 день назад +20

      Yes this irked me. Even a library that was moderate by modern standards WOULD be a wonder thousands of years ago.

    • @Scheherazade-wq1ve
      @Scheherazade-wq1ve 21 день назад

      I imagine the ancient herbs/treatments lost due to the burning of the library. Imagine if one rare tribe found a way to treat cancer and cure it. A war hits them so they are reduced to 5 members and within one more generation they are now all dead. Their cure was written down only once and placed on an obscure shelf in the very back of the library, forgotten but safe, and then the library burns and it is lost forever. Or the lost plants and animals we will now never know about(if something went extinct 3000 years ago not likely many people would know of it today...same idea)....I also loath the vatican for committing nearly the same thing. The vatican has who knows what books/papyri/ancient medical texts/botany texts/engineering marvels of the ancient world....someday we, humanity as a whole, needs to pass a what ever it takes to make them share each and everything hidden away in their vaults, etc.

    • @AArdW01f
      @AArdW01f 21 день назад

      Especially since artifacts like the Antycathera Mechanism are proof that the extreme high end of speculation and mythos of what Archimedes was able to achieve in his lifetime is likely real. The device alone is proof they had sophisticated clockwork technology nearly 2000 years before it was rediscovered.
      Had the knowledge accumulated during that time been recorded and heavily distributed it's entirely possible the moon landing could have happened during the Roman age.
      But it wasn't knowledge that was particularly relevant to their day to day lives and so it was lost.

    • @ItsHyomoto
      @ItsHyomoto 21 день назад +12

      There's perhaps a missing link here: if the Greeks were so focused on the knowledge as described, it wouldn't have been full of secret technologies, it would have been full of the arts and history. A loss for sure, but not of how to farm or build rocket engines. As was said, not everyone could read and trade knowledge was passed down through individual training, not study. It's possible some math or recipe was lost, but it's just not likely it was of the substance to have stymied human progress by a thousand years.

    • @Skelath
      @Skelath 21 день назад +9

      We still have books of ancient Roman technology, such as the autonomous vehicle that could move by itself for 10 minutes and their mechanism for automatic doors that involved lighting a fire that after 2 hours would proceed to open a door.
      We also still have books of their math equations, their study in medicine, how they exercised, and the fasting diets they used to get in shape for the Olympics.
      Even when it comes to the guy (Marcus Manilius) who invented the method for extract horoscopes from the zodiac signs using math and diagrams we still have his books in which is still used today for creating horoscopes.
      The "24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 seconds" in a day and "365 days" in the year, and our calender is all from Romen books.
      Our greatest knowledge of Socretes comes from the written works of Xenophon a Spartan General.
      Our only knowledge of Epictetus is the discourses written down by Arrian a Roman General.
      Another thing to add is in these books the authors also mention hundreds of other books that no longer exist.
      Here we are today still confused about how the pyramids were built.
      However the political structure in the US is all based on the political structure in Athens 2,400 years ago in which both Xenophon, Diodorus, Plato, Aristotle, and others wrote about.

  • @jackvos8047
    @jackvos8047 22 дня назад +25

    Alexander the Great named 70 cities after himself and one after his horse.
    The only field that may have been set back thousands of years by the "destruction" is Egyptology due to the possibility of Greek - Egyptian dictionaries that could have made the discovery of the Rosetta Stone a moot point.
    Edit spelling.

  • @rentonfreak
    @rentonfreak 22 дня назад +22

    Im surprised there was no mention of the Modern Library of Alexandria as a bonus at the end

  • @Bubbaist
    @Bubbaist 22 дня назад +39

    You should do a DTU about Carlos Castaneda and his cult, the members of which disappeared the day after he died. It would also be interesting to decode what a fraud he was.

    • @nmd33
      @nmd33 22 дня назад +4

      Yes, please!

    • @shawnnewell4541
      @shawnnewell4541 20 дней назад +1

      Yes. This dude was my high school English teacher's favorite literary figure. I was less impressed.

  • @RRbattlefield
    @RRbattlefield 21 день назад +30

    I think the destruction of the house of wisdom in Baghdad by the Mongols was a bigger blow to humanity than what happened to the library of Alexandria.
    The destruction of the library of Alexandria by fire was an accident and its destruction was over exaggerated by some sources.
    The destruction of the house of wisdom of Baghdad was very intentional, and by all sources was utterly complete.
    Makes me sad to think what was lost in the destruction of the house of wisdom 😢

    • @Rednecknerd_rob9634
      @Rednecknerd_rob9634 17 дней назад +3

      Library of Ashurbanipal, Library of Alexandria, House of Wisdom, and these are just ones we know of or about.

    • @vulcanfeline
      @vulcanfeline 16 дней назад

      simon mentioned records on the building of pyramids. today we're still trying to figure out how they were built, unless, of course, it was aliens

    • @user-vv8ve4px5j
      @user-vv8ve4px5j 14 дней назад +1

      I mean we have a lot of amazing technology now, internet, smartphones, planes, trains, cars etc. I don't think we really lost anything, i would say our modern world is just fine compared to the ancient world.

    • @Rednecknerd_rob9634
      @Rednecknerd_rob9634 14 дней назад

      @@user-vv8ve4px5j I agree. Speaking for myself I ain't mystifying, etc. those 3 libraries I mentioned. I just find it pretty cool.

    • @SEAZNDragon
      @SEAZNDragon 9 дней назад

      There were reports of the Tigris and Euphrates running black with ink from the books thrown it. Still sticks with me today.

  • @michaelpipkin9942
    @michaelpipkin9942 22 дня назад +76

    Fuckin kids smoking in the back....probably tried to hide a roach in the trash.

    • @djdrack4681
      @djdrack4681 22 дня назад +5

      "The Past was the Worst" example 465: Builds library in a semi-arid desert next to the sea...It burns down: nobody had invented 'firefighting' in the last 2mil years since hominids 'discovered' how to use fire.

    • @Maxtyur
      @Maxtyur 21 день назад +1

      "CRINGE"

    • @Phobos_Anomaly
      @Phobos_Anomaly 19 дней назад

      @@Maxtyur Like your comment.

    • @Maxtyur
      @Maxtyur 19 дней назад +1

      @@Phobos_Anomaly CRINGE.

    • @Phobos_Anomaly
      @Phobos_Anomaly 19 дней назад

      @@Maxtyur EGNIRC

  • @jrmckim
    @jrmckim 22 дня назад +59

    Whoa... whoa... wait a minute... where did the bookshelf go? I only watch this for the bookshelf!

    • @benzomanic2972
      @benzomanic2972 22 дня назад +14

      He's probably still making videos at his house. There was construction at the office, lol

    • @jonschreiners5006
      @jonschreiners5006 22 дня назад +2

      This could make an episode unto itself

    • @valolafson6035
      @valolafson6035 22 дня назад +8

      ​@@benzomanic2972 I thought he got a ''shared workspace'' for that. It would be tough to record that much with kids around.

    • @klaatunecktie7906
      @klaatunecktie7906 22 дня назад +7

      It got burned down

    • @personzorz
      @personzorz 22 дня назад +12

      The Library of Whistleria, lost to the ages.

  • @OlyChickenGuy
    @OlyChickenGuy 22 дня назад +18

    Your home office makes a pretty good, nicely aesthetic backdrop. I'm especially loving the soft light from the door. :3

    • @marieseaman7855
      @marieseaman7855 21 день назад +1

      Pretty sure that's a fake background

    • @OlyChickenGuy
      @OlyChickenGuy 21 день назад +2

      @@marieseaman7855 Possibly, but Simon did mention somewhere in the episode that he's working from home and, "that's why the background looks different." It COULD be edited in, but I also know Simon takes pride in designing his backdrops to fit specific channels, so I wouldn't put it passed him to build up his home office to also be generally aesthetic.

  • @dramoth64
    @dramoth64 20 дней назад +9

    Fun fact, a lot of the people copying the scrolls couldn't even read. But they could draw and copied the letters by drawing them instead of writing them.

    • @vulcanfeline
      @vulcanfeline 16 дней назад +3

      i never even considered that but it could very well happen that way sometimes... "and hence, mistakes were copied and recopied without correction" -- me pretending to be on the history channel

    • @dramoth64
      @dramoth64 15 дней назад +1

      @@vulcanfeline Nice one :D

  • @goober5713
    @goober5713 22 дня назад +13

    Keith Richards lit a joint and accidentally threw it on some hay, and it burned down. I thought everyone knew this.

  • @Luzarioth
    @Luzarioth 22 дня назад +44

    Man of Letters ? Fighting Knights of Hell ? I miss Supernatural...

    • @nharber9837
      @nharber9837 22 дня назад +6

      Me too! I just really wish they hadn’t spent so much time on the boring Christian stuff.

    • @quantum861
      @quantum861 21 день назад

      😂 Simon didn’t even question that the men of letters are fighting the nights off hell. Love supernatural

    • @skyless_moon
      @skyless_moon 12 дней назад

      Oh so thats what the knights of hell was lol. I was so confused, thinking they meant the templars or something

  • @bboops23
    @bboops23 22 дня назад +59

    A historian I enjoy put it really nicely in a video. The Library of Alexandria wasn't lost to fire, but instead was lost to time, neglect, and lack of maintenance. It was a different sort of tragedy than we want to think of and the story is not as romantic. But it's very possible that when whatever remained of the library was finally gone, no one really cared about its loss.

    • @bryanvigue8779
      @bryanvigue8779 22 дня назад

      Idk if you're referring to Esoterica or not but this was what I got out of his episode on this. At least, I'd never really considered this perspective before seeing that episode

    • @SoManyRandomRamblings
      @SoManyRandomRamblings 21 день назад +5

      Kinda the way we are quietly letting accuracy die nowadays. 😔

    • @bboops23
      @bboops23 21 день назад +1

      @@bryanvigue8779 I believe it was Lady of the Library. Similar content though.

    • @ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem
      @ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem 21 день назад +2

      ​@@SoManyRandomRamblings Accuracy? As in accurately giving the truth, accurately using a weapon, or some other definition? You're being too vague, unless you mean in all uses of the word.

    • @SoManyRandomRamblings
      @SoManyRandomRamblings 21 день назад +2

      @@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem all they lying that is allowed, even praised.

  • @Sagewinds
    @Sagewinds 21 день назад +3

    I never know if I should laugh or cry listening to Simon trying to piece the eras of history together 😂

  • @Mikkelltheimmortal
    @Mikkelltheimmortal 20 дней назад +5

    We use the Dewey decimal system in Canada and the "Tables" sounds like a basic level precursor to what we now use. Quite interesting to me.

  • @brianne8258
    @brianne8258 21 день назад +5

    Common joke among book lovers: "You can measure the level of bibliophile you are by how pissed/butt hurt you still are about the Library of Alexandria" 😅

  • @janzibansi9218
    @janzibansi9218 22 дня назад +5

    This is why we need the internet archive!

  • @jaymckeown7601
    @jaymckeown7601 17 дней назад +2

    I like that Ilsa throws in a Supernatural reference and Simon glosses past it without even realises it was a reference at all lol

  • @LilyGrace95
    @LilyGrace95 22 дня назад +12

    I think there's a lot of the "known" ancient world (aka Eurasia) that was in the library, like the plans for the Colussus of Rhodes, statue of Zeus in Olympia, and I _think_ descriptions of pyramid building and ancient cities like Persepolis, that wasn't kept elsewhere. That's the knowledge I'm desperately sad we lost. Yes it's sad we lost early versions of the Illyad, but it's so much worse that we lost any and all contemporary depictions of these incredible feats of human ingenuity....

    • @1313stjimmy
      @1313stjimmy 19 дней назад +4

      That's the thing isn't it? Simon and his channels tend to be pretty science focused which is fine don't get me wrong. But it means that things like this are ignored or their importance not recognized. Is it earthshaking that we don't know exactly how the pyramids were designed and built? No. Did it badly damage human progress that we only have three complete plays by Sophocles who apparently cranked out plays the way James Patterson spins out novels? Not really, but it's a shame nonetheless that these things didn't survive the passage of time.

    • @Ffootagefetish
      @Ffootagefetish 18 дней назад

      I believe alot of these "lost" knowledge and history has not entirely been lost, but has been hoarded and collected by the catholic church and likely exsist in some form in the Vatican secret archives. The fact that more pressure towards the Vaticans gatekeeping of knowledge and history in order to protect the religious narrative, surprises me that there are not more of humanity uprising against the church for locking away miles of possible ancient knowledge

  • @RedwoodTheElf
    @RedwoodTheElf 21 день назад +2

    20:30 This is known in modern business parlance as "Brightsizing" - That's when incentives designed to lower workforce numbers cause all the smart people to leave, leaving the workforce with halfwits and Stooges in charge.

  • @baden8674
    @baden8674 22 дня назад +17

    I remember as a kid whenever I was asked what super power I wanted I would say something along the lines of knowing everything that had ever been written down,, and sometimes I don’t realize how amazing that would be and how bad I want that :,(

    • @captainspaulding5963
      @captainspaulding5963 22 дня назад +9

      You would have to be VERY careful with that one, depending on which wish granting situation you were in! You would indeed get all the important stuff, but you would almost certainly be overloaded with things like "do you like me, circle yes or no" notes!! 😂😂😂

    • @honestkyn718
      @honestkyn718 22 дня назад +2

      You'd be filled with useless knowledge as much as profound.

    • @baden8674
      @baden8674 22 дня назад +3

      @@captainspaulding5963 oh my I never thought of this😂you have given me lots to think about

    • @baden8674
      @baden8674 22 дня назад +1

      @@honestkyn718 maybe getting everything written down that could be categorized as factual ? I would say scientific,, but I would always want spiritual, philosophical, whatever you would call stuff like Gilgamesh&gods

    • @goofoffchannel
      @goofoffchannel 22 дня назад

      ​@@captainspaulding5963A UNIVERSES' WORTH OF TERMS OF SERVICE DOCUMENTS

  • @Atowntrekkie
    @Atowntrekkie 22 дня назад +7

    Tangent time with Fact Boy, let's goooooo!

  • @tophers3756
    @tophers3756 22 дня назад +20

    I feel the video seriously underplayed the likely works lost. Maybe there weren't incredibly technologies in the works, but surely many ancient writings that now only survive as passing references or titles were lost. In addition to those we know about how many histories or early mathematics and scientific works of which we know nothing about faded into history? Especially when the Christians came along.
    To say any knowledge was widespread and preserved simply ignores the repeated fact that every copy was handwritten . There may only have been a handful of copies of a particular work ever created and disseminated. One place where such precious copies were likely to be stored was Alexandria.
    Many of the ancient works of the Greek world that come down to us are thanks to Muslim scholars. And they only preserved the ones that were considered useful and not in conflict with their religion. How many of the rare gems of our heritage were lost when the library was?

    • @RandomGuy-lu1en
      @RandomGuy-lu1en 21 день назад +3

      na not really. very important works would have likely been transferred to other libraries as it's status declined

    • @skyless_moon
      @skyless_moon 12 дней назад

      ​@@RandomGuy-lu1enexactly

  • @mar71n32n0v1lLL0
    @mar71n32n0v1lLL0 21 день назад +3

    Historians *from the past* letting bias permeate all of their works... Simon, my friend, that still happens today...

  • @SpikeRazzor
    @SpikeRazzor 22 дня назад +22

    One of the greatest tragedies, years of collective knowledge, destroyed.

    • @edeliteedelite1961
      @edeliteedelite1961 19 дней назад

      Does knowledge bring happiness? Does progress create fulfillment or endless possibilities for more and more suffering?

    • @vulcanfeline
      @vulcanfeline 16 дней назад

      @@edeliteedelite1961 the debate and answer to that question was also lost, condemning humanity to still not get it

  • @reesbritton6623
    @reesbritton6623 21 день назад +3

    Unless I’m missing something… a cricket is not a bird… 🤔

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny 21 день назад +1

    This reminds me several years ago i was in my local library using their wifi and they had the HSE doing a check of the place looking for anything dangerous. After a while he bursts through the doora from the main library into the reception/sitting area and declares "this place is a fire hazard, everythibg in therebis flamable"
    The head librarian without missing a beat looks up from his desk and replies "well this is a library what did you expect"

  • @mariefrancke6868
    @mariefrancke6868 21 день назад +2

    Maybe the real library is the friends we made along the way. 🙂

  • @jennaxoxox4821
    @jennaxoxox4821 15 дней назад +1

    The Supernatural reference went right past Simon. 😂

  • @indigonadler8694
    @indigonadler8694 8 дней назад

    🤣 🤣 in reference for the librarians with OCD's worst nightmare had me dying

  • @shinkicker404
    @shinkicker404 11 дней назад

    I’ve always like the idea that the “Library of Alexandria” refers to the city as a whole rather than just one building, like some sort of academic city. Always thought that was an interesting possibility.
    Also, on losing knowledge, apparently we don’t know how to make things like battleship canons anymore. That knowledge was lost or destroyed. A few other bits of military history from WW2 was similar that when restoring something they had to go find survivors and hopes they remembered how.

  • @Writesparky
    @Writesparky 22 дня назад +1

    Thanks for the complete history. i love the story about it, i even did a fantasy story about it.

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny 21 день назад +1

    I'd tell you what we lost but unfortunately the library's inventory list was also lost in the fire (couldn't resist)

  • @chadfanton9994
    @chadfanton9994 22 дня назад +6

    Simon is a legend!!

  • @Backatitagain14742
    @Backatitagain14742 22 дня назад +4

    Waiting for this one for a long time

  • @djdrack4681
    @djdrack4681 22 дня назад +15

    All those lost sandy memes and papyrus porn...lost forever. All those cooking recipes from before the invention of the mandolin and George-Foremen grill. All those great medical procedures before discovery of penicillin. All those records of riveting debates between the Ibex Party vs Aurochs Awaken. XP

  • @travismurtland3257
    @travismurtland3257 21 день назад +1

    Supernatural references in a story about the Library of Alexandria wasn't on my bingo card this year.

  • @jwhitely7
    @jwhitely7 21 день назад +1

    " That was so dumb that was so long much before this "

  • @user-wm1ro6bj9q
    @user-wm1ro6bj9q 18 дней назад

    You should know more about this? What a great start!

  • @86wezza88
    @86wezza88 20 дней назад

    Gotta love how the Supernatural reference went straight over Simon's head and he didn't even blink at it (Men Of Letters and hunting the Knights of Hell).

  • @kenyonmoon3272
    @kenyonmoon3272 22 дня назад +3

    What the loss should really be seen as is a delay of massive proportions. Once western Rome collapsed, the Church was the only game in town in terms of a commonly shared influence or power, and they were very anti-academic in any question that did not advance the interests of the pope or the bishops at a given moment. Once that political shift was complete, it wasn't just Alexandria but academics everywhere. That level of brain drain effectively brought inquiry and innovation to a halt. Well, dragged it to a glacial pace.
    It wasn't until the late medieval that political and financial support for thinkers and tinkerers would become a societal expecation again rather than a one off curiosity of some lord or king.
    What if we had never had that long pause of nearly a millennium?

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 22 дня назад

      philosophy had generally always been connected to religion. The idea of them being separate is a modern concept. It was not only during the Middle Ages that "academic" became popular again it was well recorded during the early Middle Ages.

    • @MrChickennugget360
      @MrChickennugget360 22 дня назад +1

      The reality was the fall of the Western Roman Empire was not simply political but also economic. This is both due to the fall of Rome but also due to rise of Islam. Because Christianity and Islam were ideologically opposed the region that had encompassed the Roman Empire (specifically its trade routes) would never be reunited. This slowed the recovery of Western Europe, as Islamic trade routes tended to be antagonistic toward Europeans. Generally speaking, the richest parts of the Roman Empire would be captured by Muslims over time, (Carthage, Alexandria, Asia Minor and ultimately Constantinople)
      Western Europe's rise to world dominance as well as the scientific revolution were the result of circumnavigation of the globe and the following trade dominance that followed.

    • @kenyonmoon3272
      @kenyonmoon3272 21 день назад

      @@MrChickennugget360 Islam did not even exist for another two hundred years after the fall of the western Empire, and it was a bit longer before the concept of a Caliphate could be acted on.
      What are you talking about?
      Also, I very specifically said that academics on any topic *not of immediate interest to the church leadership* was eschewed if not harassed. Not that there was no academics at all. Some exceptions for daily life, obviously, but a feudal lord sponsoring a better beer brewer or sword technology is not on the same level with putting steam engines to work, for instance. The former you can do if you have an estate, but the latter requires a society.

    • @kenyonmoon3272
      @kenyonmoon3272 21 день назад

      @@MrChickennugget360 it is also worth pointing out that many of the results of Alexandria and other Classical era institutions like it were preserved by the eastern and, later, Islamic worlds but in a much less curious way. More rote than inquisitive or experimental. And eventually, of course, Islam entered a period similar to that of the Christian world in which advancement of any non-theologocal esoterics or academia was persecuted.
      The west in some sense began to try and awaken a few times, but it didn't take off until the late Medieval period. I would point to Charlamagne as one example of an attempt, Oxford was founded after the Norman invasion, and so on but it wasn't really until the 12th century that the ice began to thaw into what we might start to recognize as efforts at modern ways of viewing the world.

  • @kyshreckengost
    @kyshreckengost 21 день назад +1

    Glad to know Ilsa likes Supernatural, great reference

  • @s4-bf6vp
    @s4-bf6vp 22 дня назад +2

    Dating us with that Kinkos reference there Simon

  • @Makem12
    @Makem12 22 дня назад +2

    After like the third destruction of Alexandria by Roman emperors and their enemies, I'm pretty sure there was basically nothing left of the one's Great library. After that point, I think it's pretty futile to assign guilt to the further sacks and destruction of the city.

    • @vulcanfeline
      @vulcanfeline 16 дней назад

      *once
      cause i'm a reincarnated spelling cop and care about spelling and not spreading faulty facts

  • @BenRollinsActor
    @BenRollinsActor 21 день назад +2

    Why have a silent P? So that you don't wake anyone up in the middle of the night.

  • @poletooke4691
    @poletooke4691 17 дней назад

    8:30 I mean, hey, they WERE "from the ships" 😂

  • @EmilyPucker
    @EmilyPucker День назад

    Before I met Simon Whistler, I believed the British school system was a classical one, full of Latin and Greek and knowledge of history and religion and all the things that make human thought what it is. Now I know better.

  • @corujariousa
    @corujariousa 21 день назад

    Thanks for another interesting video! We can speculate about what was lost from that library but in the end we'll never know. With that reality any opinion is valid. All make for a fun conversation. 🙂

  • @LostInDub
    @LostInDub 22 дня назад +1

    "Birds still exist" 🙄😂 Haven't you heard...?

  • @any0n378
    @any0n378 12 дней назад

    Love the videos. What about backing in the tractor and using it to lift the tailgate into place? Also makes it easier to drop tailgate and drive off the truck bed and trailer.

  • @ateamfan42
    @ateamfan42 17 дней назад +1

    @32:43 You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!

  • @AcademicMenace804
    @AcademicMenace804 9 дней назад

    Gotta love the subtle SPN reference....😂

  • @crwydryny
    @crwydryny 21 день назад

    When Alexander conquered Egypt it was during what we call "ancient Egypt" Cleopatra for example was a descendant of one of his generals and would last for another 300 years (he conquered it in about 331BC and it fell in 30BC)

  • @michaelmayhem350
    @michaelmayhem350 22 дня назад +3

    1:45 birds aren't real you know this Simon you've done a video on it before.

  • @brooksiepNZ
    @brooksiepNZ 3 дня назад

    I'm surprised the story of Nero Playing his fiddle while he watched the library burn wasn't mentioned at all.

  • @julieb8730
    @julieb8730 22 дня назад

    I aways look forward to decoding the unknown videos :) Is there a discord server for this channel?

  • @Crioten
    @Crioten 21 день назад

    Starfishes in the stratosphere, love you

  • @captainhoratiobungleiii7147
    @captainhoratiobungleiii7147 22 дня назад +1

    If you want to know about Hypatia, you could do worse than watch Agora. Great film.

  • @kellylynn83
    @kellylynn83 20 дней назад

    Lmfao its a super old beautiful library. 😂 I still love your sarcastic and knowledge about all historical facts.😂

  • @ShepherdsCreek
    @ShepherdsCreek 20 дней назад

    I like the idea that Alexander started the building of the library as a petty F U to Aristotle and as a symbol of his own galaxy brain

  • @onemorechris
    @onemorechris 22 дня назад +1

    it turns out is was a small shelf of scrolls in a really good cafe

  • @sarahcoleman5269
    @sarahcoleman5269 21 день назад

    Simon: "Maybe you [audience] should know more about this."
    Me: "Simon, I'm watching these videos to see if you remember anything about the topic. Usually one you already did a video on at some point. Starting by questioning if Alexander burned down the library that was named after him isn't a great start."

  • @savannahshepherd2283
    @savannahshepherd2283 21 день назад +2

    The book of Lucretious on Atoms shows there was some set back 😮

    • @ConfessorCromwell101
      @ConfessorCromwell101 11 дней назад

      Even those who are not dedicated Children of Atom may bask in his Glow.

  • @the-scamp
    @the-scamp 21 день назад

    Lol@Simon: "AlexaRndria"

  • @RedwoodTheElf
    @RedwoodTheElf 21 день назад

    There was no single Library. The stories combine 3 separate libraries in different eras as if it was one large library. The "Books" in the libraries were actually Papyrus Scrolls, which don't last all that long historically speaking anyway.

  • @Zeppelin2401
    @Zeppelin2401 20 дней назад

    It took me a solid 5 seconds to catch that Supernatural reference 😂👀

  • @marywright8612
    @marywright8612 21 день назад +1

    Love the Supernatural reference!

  • @user-zl5bf9lu1m
    @user-zl5bf9lu1m 21 день назад

    Big Qyburn energy in Alexandria 😂

  • @SecretMoose
    @SecretMoose 20 дней назад

    14:45 haha I think Simon missed that jab at Hadrians wall

  • @williampippy1317
    @williampippy1317 22 дня назад +1

    The start of the mech bird replacement

  • @ashleybowles7732
    @ashleybowles7732 21 день назад

    Fireworks and a new video happy Canada Day

  • @enlightendbel
    @enlightendbel 18 дней назад +1

    Supernatural reference that was utterly lost on Simon XD

  • @RPrice_OG
    @RPrice_OG 21 день назад

    Simon is so lucky he has a great research and writing team.

  • @Eternalduoae
    @Eternalduoae 21 день назад

    The lunch room thing is totally understandable. I recently visited the uk and went to a number of churches. They were all beautiful but what we spoke about to everyone we recounted the tale to was how they all had cafes....
    People mention the unusual, not the mundane.

    • @staceyn2541
      @staceyn2541 14 дней назад +1

      My local university library is at least 6 stories tall and has over 6 million books or related media. It also has a really convenient food court in the bottom floor. It's sad that I never visited the stacks, but I used that food court many times. It was also built through a hill, so it was super convenient to enter through the ground floor and exit through the bottom floor food court. I love a good library, but shortcuts are far more useful.

  • @andrewwatson1690
    @andrewwatson1690 22 дня назад +5

    Alexander burnt down the library of Alexandria? You didn't think through that one, aye fact boy 😅

  • @Turdfergusen382
    @Turdfergusen382 21 день назад

    Get ready for Round two folks. We’ve forgotten our history

  • @markmorris7123
    @markmorris7123 21 день назад

    Its not just alexandria..Persias libraries, the library of Carthage etc etc...The wonders that have gone up in flames

  • @jammer2isme
    @jammer2isme 21 день назад +1

    SIMON'S NEXT CHANNEL: Simon Drinks Gin & Tonic and Reads Stuff
    yeah it's not doing lines while reading but should be fun anyway.

  • @punxdoinstuff
    @punxdoinstuff 22 дня назад +7

    There's a heavy thunderstorm, perfect weather for a dtu!

  • @andrewwright64
    @andrewwright64 9 дней назад

    The greatest loss was arguably in literary works, hundreds if not thousands of plays and poems including almost everything by Sappho.

  • @kimwelch4652
    @kimwelch4652 22 дня назад

    Copying was done with two or more people. One person would read the scroll out loud while one or more scribes would write what was read onto new rolls. This way they could multiply the copying process (as well as the errors) as quickly as possible.

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 22 дня назад

    23:50 COULD HAVE?!?
    ...
    🤣

  • @scubasteveny
    @scubasteveny 19 дней назад +1

    I LOVED Wayward Pines.

  • @ShepherdsCreek
    @ShepherdsCreek 20 дней назад

    I wonder if the library's lunch room just had one hell of a chef that overshadowed the library itself? That, or the guy who raved about the lunch room was just more of a foodie than an academic

  • @lucyst8
    @lucyst8 22 дня назад +1

    One minute ago - perfect for bedtime!

  • @buddyzilla4557
    @buddyzilla4557 22 дня назад +8

    5:28 -I mean..no..its ancient greece..pay attention to what you are actually saying..the ancient Egyptians are split into dynastic periods but what Alexander the Great conquered was still considered ancient Egypt. Ptolemy was one of his generals amd close friends who was left behind to rule. He embraced the culture in many regards including the religion, so it was still considered Egypt in ancient periods long after he even died. His lineage Co tinued to rule bit there was that class devide between Greek heritage Egyptians and native Egyptians with the Ptolemys embracing the pharonic tradition if keeping it in the family. That's why Cleopatra would ahve had very little of any actual native Egyptians blood in her and would likly be less physically attractive than we belive. It's theorized that it was how she presented herself and acted that was considered attractive and she was spiritually Egyptian, embracing the mythological beliefs even more than her ancestors but was still heridtarily Greek. She also as the LAST ruler of the Ptolemeic lineage and died during the Roman age..so yes. Still ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt is a very broad term that typically is followed by some form of qualifier (like year range or dynasty) unless it is in leave your brain at home style Hollywood media.

  • @brandonmoreo
    @brandonmoreo 5 дней назад

    I love how brain blaze Simon is slowly seeping into the other channels

  • @YuNherd
    @YuNherd 21 день назад

    the library might be gone, but i request data hoarders to get all simon's yt videos and that would be the new Alexandria Library of the Future. All hail the fact boi!

  • @mistywolf312
    @mistywolf312 21 день назад

    When I was a teenager we'd discuss what if's (like u do) , one of the ones was What would you do if you could travel back in time, most said kill Hitler (we were teenagers and not really thinking through), I would say save the great library at Alexandria, either got told I was a weirdo or they'd never heard of it :)
    I think I still stand by that decision.

  • @NB-ir1me
    @NB-ir1me 12 дней назад

    This is so insane, I never knew Virginia had so much history 🤯

  • @brs690
    @brs690 21 день назад

    I literally have employees that count ever changing numbers everyday. They are inventory control folks and they don't know what materials come and go but I do.

  • @douglasnichols6116
    @douglasnichols6116 20 дней назад

    Whatever the library had it’s gone and no snicker will bring it back

  • @vulcanfeline
    @vulcanfeline 16 дней назад

    this episode reminds me of "the name of the rose" (1986) with sean connery