In praise of the Alexandrian librarians: pioneers in literacy scholarship

Abstract

The article highlights the three librarians of the Library of Alexandria, who pioneered the formal study of literary texts in classical Greece in the third and second centuries B.C. Zenodotus, the first official head of the library in around 282, was the earliest editor of Homer's works including a Homeric glossary and the complete critical editions of Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey." Aristophanes, the third head of the library in around 205-185, was a notable literary scholar credited with the rise of grammar and textual criticism as academic pursuits. Aristarchus, the fourth head of the library in around 175-145, elevated Homeric literary scholarship to a legitimate body of knowledge and helped make his era renowned in the study of language and literature.