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ivy and the library of alexander

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pcpoet:
was thinking about the burning of the library of alexander.....my question is was the burning of the library of alexander caused by the oblivion war.

Kindler:
I mean, sure, I could see that. Why not?

I should point out that it was burned mostly by accident. Julius Caesar burned his ships at the port, and the fire spread. That burned a bunch of the scrolls there, but not all of them (in fact, like twenty years after that, there are rumors that Marc Antony hooked up Cleopatra with thousands of scrolls from it). We don't know that it was totally destroyed, in fact, just that, if it still existed in the 270s AD, it would have been destroyed by Roman Emperor Aurelian when he sacked Alexandria and destroyed that part of the city. Basically, Rome lost interest in that particular library over the course of a couple of centuries, to the point that scholars simply stopped mentioning the library.

In other words, the "burning of the Library of Alexandria" is one of those events in history that has been blown out of proportion to the actual damage that occurred.

But I could totally buy that those particular tens of thousands of scrolls were burned on the order of the Archive.

Yuillegan:
Or, alternatively, the Archive is the Library of Alexandria. And many other libraries too - but that event was the catalyst for the creation of the Archive. While we are not sure who created the Archive, it was someone (or a group of someones) with extraordinary power and foresight. Considering Merlin did save knowledge from that event, set up the Catholic Church and founded the White Council - it is not inconceivable that he (and perhaps others) created the Archive. We are not even sure how long the Archive has existed, but I believe it was during ancient times. Perhaps this is why.

Even if my theory is wrong, and the Archive is that old (I believe there used to be something about the Oracle at Delphi associated with her) I don't think she would have ordered the Library's destruction. Why would Merlin go and rescue knowledge if that were the case? Unless it was collateral damage or he wasn't as much of a good guy as we think...

Bad Alias:
The way I hear it is that the proper response to your question would be "which burning of the Library of Alexandria?" Because it happened more than once. Like a lot more.

@Yuillegan: Merlin may not have known about the Oblivion War. Wizards are typically kept out of it. However, Merlin wasn't a typical wizard, and Demonreach may be an important part of the Oblivion War. I'll quote the section that makes me think that.
(click to show/hide)DEITIES AND DEMIGODS
Ancient beings once worshipped and feared. Creatures of myth and legend. More gods and demigods exist than are in your philosophies. Some are so long-lived that the world no longer knows their names, and others still walk about, free, exuding unnatural authority and asserting influence over the mortals they encounter. Too many exist to detail here or, in truth, in a bookcase full of heavy tomes, so I will warn you to take one thing to heart: these beings draw strength from worship of them, from mention of them, from the emotions they evoke. A few are encased in a prison to prevent their mischief from being again unleashed, but the rest are in this plane, in almost every nation, like nuclear warheads waiting for the best place to detonate. That's from Dresden Files Accelerated. It's a "briefing" to Marcone from Ivy.

g33k:

--- Quote from: Kindler on August 26, 2019, 02:49:23 PM --- ... I should point out that it was burned mostly by accident ...
--- End quote ---
Never expect that mere historical fact will limit what JB makes canonical in the Dresdenverse!  It wouldn't surprise me if JB decided that the entire war was a roundabout way of getting an arsonist into place in Alexandria... 


--- Quote from: Yuillegan on August 26, 2019, 10:38:11 PM --- ... something about the Oracle at Delphi associated with her ...
--- End quote ---
  The "Pythia" (oracle) at Delphi was the Archive.  At least, that's the White Council's information, which I'll assume to be correct until/unless other canon contravene's it.

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