Ptolemy I Soter rivals after Alexander's death. For example, Arrian's account of the fall of Thebes in 335 BC ("Anabasis" , a rare section of narrative explicitly attributed to Ptolemy by Arrian) shows several significant variations from the parallel account preserved in Diodorus Siculus (17.11–12), most notably in attributing a distinctly unheroic role in proceedings to Perdiccas. More recently, J. Roisman has argued that the case for Ptolemy's blackening of Perdiccas and others has been much exaggerated. Ptolemy personally sponsored the great mathematician Euclid. He found Euclid's seminal work, the "Elements", too difficult to study, so he asked if there were an easier
Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the Library of Alexandria Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the Library of Alexandria Ptolemy Philadelphus in the Library of Alexandria is an 1813 oil on canvas painting by Vincenzo Camuccini. It is now in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples. The work was commissioned by Napoleon I along with "Charlemagne Ordering Italian Scholars to Found the University of Paris", both for the central hall of Rome's Palazzo del Quirinale. It shows Ptolemy II Philadelphus in red robes among several philosophers in the Library of Alexandria. The artist had recently returned to Italy from Paris and decided to accept the commission. "Ptolemy" was then moved