2011/05/04 by Matthew Nicholls · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Classical Antiquity Studies #Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies #Byzantine Studies and History
paper · doi:10.1017/s0075435811000049
openalex publication_date 2011/05/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Abstract This article examines the implications of Galen's newly-rediscovered Peri Alupias (On Consolation from Grief) for our understanding of the function and contents of public libraries in late second-century a.d . Rome. As a leading intellectual figure at Rome, Galen's detailed testimony substantially increases what we know of imperial public libraries in the city. In particular, the article considers Galen's description of his use of the Palatine libraries and a nearby storage warehouse, his testimony on the contents, organization, and cataloguing of the books he found there, and his use of provincial public libraries for the dissemination of his own works.