This article originally appeared on Conversation.
If you went to visit a library in the ancient world, what would it be like?
You don’t just have to imagine it. Ancient Roman writer Aulus GelliusWho lived in the second century AD, gives us a number of descriptions of his adventures in libraries. in Single laneHe describes an encounter in Rome he was visiting with a poet friend:
I happened to be sitting in a library in Sigillaria with the poet Julius Paulus […] There were for sale there annals Painter Quintus Fabius In a valid copy of undoubted age, preserved by the merchant and free of errors.
Gellius then tells us that while they are sitting there, another customer enters the store. The new customer has a dispute with the merchant. He complains that he “found one error in the book.” The dealer says this is impossible. The customer then brings evidence proving the merchant’s mistake.
in Different passageAulus tells us about some bookstalls he found when he arrived on a ship at a port Brundisium On the Adriatic coast. He records that the books were “in the Greek language, full of wonderful tales, and things never heard before, and unbelievable […] The writers were old and had little authority.”
However, the volumes themselves were filthy from neglect, in poor condition and unsightly. However, I went ahead and asked for it. Then, attracted by their exceptional and unexpected cheapness, I bought a large number of them for a small sum.
Aulus goes on to describe in passionate language all the strange facts he has gleaned from these books—such as how people in Africa can “work spells with voice and tongue” and through this magic cause the death of people, animals, trees, and crops.
Principles of writing
This kind of story brings us closer to how ordinary people in ancient Greek and Roman times acquired books and handled books. But if we read stories like this it might lead us to want to know more. How did books and writing come into existence? How were the books written and produced?
Many people in the ancient world believed that writing was invented by gods or heroes. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed in a god Thoth He was the first to create signs representing spoken sounds.
The origins of writing are certainly obscure. It is not clear when writing began and who invented it.
The oldest written text is a radiocarbon wood tablet dated to before 5000 BC. This is known as Dispilio discBecause it was discovered in a Neolithic lakeside settlement at Despilio in Greece. It is carved with strange calligraphic marks. It has not been deciphered, but most scholars believe it to be a form of writing.
Evidence of writing appears early in various parts of the world. In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the oldest texts, e.g Kish limestone tablet In Uruk or Narmer painting In Hierakonpolis, it dates back to before 3000 BC. In the Indus Valley, Harappan textwhich is still undeciphered, appeared at about the same time. In China, the oldest figures, Dawinco chartsalso dating back to about 3000 BC.
One of the most interesting aspects of early writing is the presence of a variety of different texts. For example, the oldest known texts in Greek are written in Greek Linear text bwhich was used from about 1500-1200 BC, and was not deciphered until 1952. The B script is not an alphabet, but a syllable made up of more than 80 different signs. A Sectional It is a type of writing system where each sign represents a syllable.
By about the 8th century BC, most Greeks had begun using the alphabet rather than syllabic letters. Unlike syllabic letters, each letter in the alphabet represents a vowel or a consonant. The Greeks adapted their alphabet from Phoenician alphabetPerhaps through interactions with Phoenician traders. The Phoenician alphabet had only 22 letters, making it much easier to learn than the 80-plus syllabic signs in the B line.
Our English alphabet comes from the Romans, who in the 8th and 7th centuries BC also got their alphabet from the Phoenicians, via the Greeks.
Origins of books
People in ancient times used many different things as writing materials.
Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) He tells us That the oldest people in the world
It was used to write on palm leaves and then on the bark of some trees, and later folded lead sheets began to be used for official relics, and then also linen sheets or wax tablets for private documents.
However, the most popular writing material in the ancient Mediterranean was… papyrusFrom it we get our word “paper”.
To make papyrus, you get the pulp of the papyrus plant (Cyprus papyrus), cut them into thin slices, then press them together. Once dried, it forms a thin sheet of paper that you can write on.
Papyrus sheets are usually glued together in rolls. These lists can be very long. Some of the most luxurious Egyptian papyrus rolls were more than 10 meters long, such as the one recently discovered Minister Bardia Contains parts of the Book of the Dead.
When papyrus is rolled, it is stored in racks or boxes. Labels were affixed to the handles of the papyri so that you could identify their contents. In his play Linus, a Greek playwright Alexis (c. 375-275 BC) One character tells another how to do it See through A bunch of twists to find what he wants:
Go and pick any papyrus scroll you like from there and then read it… and examine it quietly, at your leisure, on the basis of the labels. There are Orpheus, Hesiod, tragedies, Corylus, Homer, Epicharmus, prose letters of every kind…
Papyrus appears flimsy to the eye, but it is a durable writing material, stronger than modern paper. Many papyri have survived thousands of years stored in urns, coffins, or buried under sand.
The oldest surviving papyrus text is the so-called Mirer’s diary (Which you can listen to here), recorded by a man named Merir, who was an inspector during the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. This papyrus, dating from about 2600 BC, gives a day-by-day account of how Merer and his team of about 200 men spent time moving and transporting stones and doing other work.
Papyrus was susceptible to being eaten by insects or mice. But there were ways to prevent this. Pliny the Elder, for example, It is recommended Papyrus leaves soaked in citrus oil will not be eaten by moths.
How to make papyrus
https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0
How to write a book on antiquity
If you lived in ancient Greece or Rome and wanted to write a book, how would you do it?
First, you need to buy sheets or rolls of papyrus to write on. If you cannot afford them, you will have to write on the verso or in the margins of the papyri you already own.
If you don’t already have any papyrus, you’ll have to write on other materials. according to Greek historian Diogenes Laertius (third century AD), philosopher Cleans (c. 331-231 BC) “He wrote lectures on oyster shells and the bones of bull blades due to lack of money to buy papyrus.”
Second, you will get your ink. In the ancient world there was Many types of ink. Ordinary black ink was made from soot of burnt resin or pitch mixed with vegetable gum. When you purchase ink, it comes in powder form, and must be mixed with water before using it.
Third, you will get your pen. It is made of reed, and that is why it is called “Clamos“By the Greeks and Romans (“Clamos“It’s a Greek word that means cane.) To sharpen your pencil you’ll need a knife. If you make a mistake, you’ll wipe it away with a wet sponge.
Now you have all the materials you need. However, you do not need to use pen and papyrus yourself. If you want, you can hire a writer to write your words for you.
Greek orator Dio Chrysostom (c.40-110 AD) until It is recommended Writers not using the pen themselves:
I do not advise you to do writing by hand, or very rarely, but to dictate to a secretary.
If you need to consult other books while writing, you can get your friends to send them to you or ask book dealers to make a copy for you. In a papyrus from the second century AD found in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and written in Greek, the writer says he asks Let his friend find the books he needs and copy them. Otherwise, you’ll go to a bookstore, although the best ones in Alexandria, Rome and Athens may be far away.
When you’ve finished drafting your book, you’ll need to revise and proofread it. You can then publish it by having many copies made by scribes and delivering these copies to friends and booksellers.
When all this is done, your book will be available to the public. Someone like Aulus Gellius might have stumbled upon it in a crowded Roman library. Maybe he’ll even buy it.
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