The word 'museum' has its roots in Ancient Greece, derived from the word 'mouseion,' which means a 'shrine to the Muses.' The Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus who presided over the arts and sciences. The most famous early museum was the Mouseion of Alexandria, founded in the 3rd century BC. Unlike modern museums, which focus primarily on displaying objects, the Mouseion of Alexandria was more like a research institute or university, housing the famous Great Library. It was a place where scholars like Archimedes and Euclid gathered to study and create. The transition to the modern definition—a building for the display and preservation of artistic and historical artifacts—began during the Renaissance, when wealthy families like the Medicis began to showcase their private 'cabinets of curiosities.' The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, opened in 1683, was the first museum to be open to the public, setting the standard for the institutions we visit today.