1. CLAS 1120Q / ARCH 1707 THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD MWF 12 – 12:50 p.m. Rhode Island Hall 108 Prof. John Cherry Class 3 September 14, 2015 LISTS

2. 9 th -century AD manuscript (codex) now in Heidelberg Philo of Byzantium (ca. 280-220 BC): engineer and writer, lived in Alexandria Seven Wonders probably written by a man of the same name in 4 th -5 th century AD

3. Jorge Luis Borges and the wonder of lists

4. In the Chinese encyclopedia known as the Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge animals are divided into: (a)belonging to the Emperor (b)embalmed (c)tame (d) suckling pigs (e) sirens (f) fabulous (g) stray dogs (h) included in the present classification (i) frenzied (j) innumerable (k) drawn with a very fine camelhair brush (l) et cetera (m) having just broken the water pitcher (n) that from a long way off look like flies

5. Sumerian Lexical Lists Cuneiform writing (Latin: cuneus (wedge)

7. BM 116625: proto-cuneiform lexical list from Jemdet Nasr

10. Mycenaean (Greek) Palaces 14 th -13 th centuries BC List-making in Linear B script, an early form of the Greek language

11. A Mycenaean Greek Linear B tablet listing sheep and goats

12. Linear B “page” tablets — lists summarizing other shorter (disposable) lists

13. Cities of the Delian League …which by the 430s BC were paying annual tribute to Athens — recorded on the “Tribute Lists” Athens Delos

14. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens

15. The Athenian Tribute Lists Mid-5 th century B.C.

17. Modern-day Alexandria-by-Egypt

18. Aristotle the polymath : political science ethics music medicine astrononomy optics magnets forms of rhetoric forms of poetry experimental zoology visitors at Delphi commentary on Homer Alexander’s role in the growth of libraries and the circulation of texts …teaches Alexander, gives him a lasting interest in Greek literature (especially Homer) (by Raphael, 1511) Alexander founds Alexandria in Egypt The Great Library at Alexandria established under Ptolemy I …teaches pupils such as Theophrastus, interested in systematization of knowledge Masses of botanical, zoological, and geographical data brought back from the Eastern expedition A rival library set up at Pergamum in western Asia Minor RESULT: In the Hellenistic world… — possession of books and fine libraries became a matter of prestige — keen competition to get copies of books (e.g., by confiscation at Alexandria!) — knowledge began to be classified and catalogued (as in modern libraries)

19. Ancient writing materials Classical-era bookroll or scroll — Papyrus, used for long works, such as literary texts or government records The Byzantine-era bookroll (4th-7th centuries AD) was written and read vertically The codex — usually on parchment. Replaces the bookroll in late antiquity. Strongly associated with Christian writings.

20. The Library at Alexandria The old… …and the new (2001)

21. How to find that darn scroll? Make a list of them! How to order such a list?

22. Location of the scroll within the library Date of acquisition of the scroll Language in which written Author Title Genre (e.g., drama, poetry, history, oratory) Head Librarian Callimachus, author of the (now lost) A Collection of Wonders in Lands Throughout the World, developed what is usually regarded as the first library catalog

23. Qualities of Lists Is the list fixed in number (David Letterman’s Top 10), or indefinitely extendable? What gives coherence to the list? How is the list ordered? — by time (a king-list, a genealogy) — by order of alleged significance — by priority of importance (e.g. a to-do list) — by geography (e.g. places on a pilgrimage route, taxable towns) — what else?