Alexandria, the capital of Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty and the major Hellenistic and Roman city of the eastern Mediterranean, offers a striking contrast with Pergamon. Most significantly, few remains of the ancient city have come to light. A large modern city lies on top, always an impediment for archaeological knowledge, but much had already been destroyed even before Alexandria was revived in the nineteenth century as a seaport to connect modern Egypt with rich Europe. Our knowledge of ancient Alexandria comes principally not from archaeological remains but from written sources, especially from the detailed description of Strabo, the geographer and traveler from Asia Minor who visited Egypt in 25 BC at the beginning of Roman rule. The topography offers a second contrast: Alexandria lies on flat ground. Lastly, while Greek Pergamon grew within the Hellenized world of western Asia Minor, the Ptolemies controlled a land with its own distinct and deeply rooted civilization. While not blending particularly well — rather like mixing oil with water — at least Greeks and Egyptians cohabited without too much friction.
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great, the first of many cities he created along his route of conquest. Alexander laid out the basic plan of the city, but the Macedonian architect Deinokrates is credited with arranging the details (Figure 18.8). For this newly founded settlement on flat land, a grid plan seemed appropriate and practical. But the many parks and gardens and the use of broader streets helped soften the severity of the traditional grid plan and made
Figure 18.8 City plan, Alexandria
It more appealing. Two main streets crossed at the center of the plan. In addition, a causeway 1.5km long was built, the heptastadion, to connect the small island of Pharos with the mainland; harbors thus lay on either side. The city was linked with the Nile via Lake Mareotis to the south, and canals. Notable Hellenistic buildings included the palaces and gardens of the Ptolemies; the Mouseion, a research center in the palace complex that included the great Library; the Sema, which sheltered the tombs of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies; the Pharos, the monumental lighthouse that took its name from the island on which it stood; the Serapeion, a temple to Serapis (see below) with accompanying shrines to the Egyptian goddess Isis, among others; and the cemeteries. Except for the cemeteries and fragmentary remains of the Serapeion and the Pharos, all the above have disappeared.
World History
