The Library of Alexandria was by far and away the greatest collection of literary and scientific works in the history of the world before the modern era when science and literature became a politcal tool . To understand this collection one must understand the city of Alexendria itself.
      Alexandria was founded where the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea by Alexander the Great after he conquered Egypt. The city was used first by the Hellenistic world and then the Romans to exploit and spread the riches of Egypt throughout the respective empires. These riches, of course, had been aquired in the preceding centuries by the plundering armies of the Egyptian Pharaohs. So the city was a center of trade with ships from throughout the Mediterranean world docking every day. Thus Alexandria became the first true cosmopolitan city in world history. There was an unprecedented collection of different cultures represented in the population with native Egyptians making up a relatively small part of the city. Never before in world history had so many cultures lived in such close contact.
      The Greek rulers of Egypt, the Ptolemies, had the legendary Hellenic respect for and love of learning and wisdom that was unique in the Ancient world. The zealous and passionate acquisition of manuscripts described in the Library of Alexandria web site is an almost predictable phenomenon to the Scholar of the pre-christian world.