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Hellenistic Alexandria refers to the city of Alexandria, Egypt during the time between its founding by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE and the annexation of the Ptolemaic Kingdom by the Republic of Rome in 30 BCE. ^[1] This can be considered to be the city's golden age thanks to its status as the capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the royal patronage that came as a result. ^[2] Under the Ptolemies the city received most of its famous ancient landmarks, such as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mouseion with its famed library and the tomb of Alexander the Great ^[3] and grew to be the biggest and wealthiest city in the Mediterranean ^[4]. According to some estimates, as many as 1 million people lived in Alexandria by the end of the Hellenistic period and it was the first ancient city whose organisation resembled that of a modern city. Dimitrios Pandermalis called it the first major urban centre of antiquity. ^[5] It became the center of Hellenistic culture and learning[] and was described in antiquity as "the first city of the civilised world". ^[6] During subsequent eras, the cityscape changed considerably due to demolition and redevelopment projects, natural disasters, wars and revolts. ^[7] As such, describing the Hellenistic Alexandrian cityscape is subject to a number of challenges and a matter of ongoing research and debate.[]

Written Sources

Contemporary

One of the most comprehensive early descriptions of Alexandria came from the historian Kallixeinos of Rhodes who lived in the city during the reign of Ptolemy IV and authored a four-volume work titled On Alexandria. Only small fragments of it have survived in the form of quotes and references in the works of later authors, such as Athenaios of Naucratis and Pliny the Elder. The latter, for example, credits Kallixeinos with an account of the Arsineion, a sanctuary dedicated to Arsinoe II by her brother-husband Ptolemy II, which apparently featured an enormous obelisk. [Polybios, Poseidippos, administrative documents, Diodoros of Sicily, Caesar]

Roman and Byzantine

An important description of the cityscape of ancient Alexandria comes from Strabo who lived in the city during the first decade of Roman rule over Egypt (though the exact dates of his stay there are unknown) which means his observations should largely reflect the state of the city in the late Ptolemaic era. He mentions a number of important structures lining the Great Harbour and gives their rough position in relation to one another. Although his account is widely accepted as credible, the seemingly self-contradictory nature of parts of his description, as well as its ostensible incongruity with some archaeological findings has caused some debate and uncertainty among scholars as to its interpretation. Stefan Riedel has proposed that these issues can be resolved by assuming Strabo's description is given from the perspective of a passenger aboard a moving ship entering and moving through the harbour, rather than that of an observer standing in a fixed spot. ^[8] [Philo of Alexandria]

Islamic

Archaeological Remains

The archaeological remains of Hellenistic Alexandria are generally in a poor state of preservation and difficult to access. Most Hellenistic-era buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged in ancient and Medieval times and their ruins plundered for building materials or torn down to make way for new construction. Some early excavations also damaged archaeological evidence through their lack of scientific methods and their poor record-keeping. Structures in proximity to the ancient coastline, as well as ancient harbourworks, were submerged as a result of natural disasters, soil subsidence and rising sea levels, while the remains of structures located further inland are today covered by the modern city which renders them largely inaccessible to archaeologists.

Some efforts have been made to use geophysics and electronic surveys to overcome this challenge. For example, Hesse et al. used seismic refraction to map the location and orientation of the ancient Heptastadion without the need for a physical excavation. ^[9] Calliope Limneos-Papakosta used soil resistivity measurements to find what could be the remains of a large structure beneath the Old Jewish Cemetery (though it is impossible to identify or date this structure without excavating it). Most significantly, Franck Goddio and the IEASM have been able to reconstruct much of the ancient coastline and harbourworks thanks to a variety of techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance magnetometers. ^[10]

Physical excavations are only possible in undeveloped areas, during construction works or underwater. Due to their poor condition, the exact nature of Hellenistic remains found during these excavations can often be difficult to identify. Several structures have been found over the decades whose precise function and appearance remain a mystery, such as the so-called Chantier Finney building in the Royal Quarter, the T-Building and South Building in the Sarapeion or more recently the foundations of a large public building in Shallalat Gardens.

Temples can sometimes be identified thanks to the ancient Egyptian practice of placing foundation plaques in their corners during construction, a custom which the Ptolemies appear to have adopted at least by the time of Ptolemy III. Such plaques were found in the Sarapeion, the Boubasteion, as well as in a temple dedicated to Sarapis, Isis, Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III found along the main road.

Cityscape

Geography

Ancient Alexandria was located in the northwest of the Nile delta on a narrow isthmus bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the north and Mareotis lake in the south. [ancient dimensions of the isthmus, of the lake, etc.] Off the coast lay the island of Pharos. Hesse has shown that, at the time of the city's foundation, there was a proto- tombolo connecting the island with the mainland about 1-2m below sea level. [cape lochias, antirhodos, reefs, natural harbours,...] [add new sub-heading for pre-Ptolemaic activity at the site?]

Pre-Hellenistic Settlements

[...]

Street Grid and Layout

Alexandria was laid out on a so-called Hippodamian grid with wide lengthwise and widthwise streets running at right angles towards one another, dividing the city into large rectangular city blocks. The grid follows a roughly NW-SE orientation. According to Diodoros of Sicily, it was oriented in this direction to catch the Etesian winds so as to provide its citizens with a cool breeze in the Summer. The actual orientation of the grid as evidenced by archaeological remains is consistent with this assertion. ^[3]

In the 19th century, Mahmoud Bey proposed a reconstruction of the ancient street grid based on his archaeological findings. The remains he encountered largely dated from the Roman and Byzantine periods but it is generally accepted among scholars that most of these later streets were probably built ontop of earlier Ptolemaic ones which is also supported by archaeological evidence. However, some streets do appear to have been added only in late Ptolemaic times, Roman times or Late Antiquity and direct evidence for the Hellenistic street layout in general is quite fragmentary. Nevertheless, Bey's grid is an important tool in reconstructing the Hellenistic cityscape.

According to Bey's findings, the grid divided the city into regular blocks about 330 metres by 270 metres in size. During Hellenistic times, the streets are thought to have possessed a width of around 15 metres. The main lengthwise street, the Plateia (L1 in Bey's grid), measured at least a plethron (100 ancient feet, roughly 30 metres) in width according to Diodoros of Sicily and Strabo. It was lined with colonnades on either side. Excavations by [...] also revealed remains of a roughly 20-metre-wide street which is thought to be the main widthwise street (R1 in Bey's grid) that cut through the royal quarter and ran towards Cape Lochias. Within the blocks there seem to have been smaller irregularly laid-out streets and alleyways.

Starting from the Plateia northwards, Bey labelled the lengthwise streets L1-L4 and the lengthwise streets south of the Plateia L'2-L'4. Starting from the large street leading towards Cape Lochias westwards, he labelled the widthwise streets R1-R9 and the widthwise streets to the east R2bis-R4bis. This naming convention is still in use today. Some documents from the middle of the 3rd century BCE reference contemporary Alexandrian street names, including Arsinoe Our Lady of Mercy, Arsinoe who answers our prayers and Arsinoe of the Brazen House. However, it is unknown which specific streets these names refer to. ^[3]

Based on the limited archaeological evidence for the Hellenistic street network, Abdo suggests that, for the majority of the Hellenistic period, Alexandria's streets may have been mainly surfaced with gravel (viae glareatae) or battered earth (viae terrenae) which would also help explain their elusiveness in the archaeological record. Hard stone pavements only started being introduced to Alexandria's streets in the 1st century BCE, possibly under Cleopatra VII in the aftermath of the Alexandrian War, and then slowly spread across the city throughout the Roman period. ^[11]

According to both Philo and the Alexander Romance (among other sources), ancient Alexandria was divided into five quarters named after the first five letters of the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. It is unknown when exactly this naming convention was introduced, which part of the city bore which of these letters and where exactly their borders lay. ^{[3] [12] [13]} However, according to a papyrus from 13 BCE, the Kibotos harbour was located in the Delta district, meaning it must have encompassed the northwest of the city. ^[14] The Alexander Romance purports that the letters corresponded to the phrase Ἀλεξάνδρος βασιλεύς γένος Δίος ἔκτισε πόλιν ἀείμνηστον (English: "Alexander the king, the Zeus-born, founded an ever-memorable city"). ^[15] As the letter Beta stands for the word king in this phrase, the Beta Quarter is thus sometimes identified with the Royal Quarter. ^[13] Along with the Royal Quarter, an Egyptian Quarter is mentioned in ancient sources which occupied the area around the Sarapeion but it is unknown which of the five letters was assigned to it.[] The area immediately west of the Royal Quarter has yielded evidence of elite Greek residences.[] Philo indicates that Alexandria's Jewish population was scattered throughout the city in Ptolemaic times (thus implying that there was no Jewish quarter as such), though there were apparently two parts of town in which it was particularly concentrated. ^[12]

Water Supply

The city's fresh water came from the Nile via the [...]km long Schedia Canal (also referred to as Canal of Alexandria) which connected Alexandria to the Canopic branch of the Nile. ^{[1] [16]} The route of the ancient canal is thought to roughly match that of the modern Mahmoudiyah Canal ^[17], though in Ptolemaic times it flowed into Mareotis Lake instead of running along its northern shore ^[16]. It fed many smaller, subterranean canals which were cut into the bedrock underneath the city streets to provide the citizens of Alexandria with fresh water. A large number of cisterns were cut into the ground to collect it. During Mahmoud Bey's time an estimated 700 cisterns existed in the city. Though most of these had been either constructed or enlarged during Roman and Byzantine times, Hellenistic examples have been discovered during excavations. Evidence has also been found for underground drains and sewers dating to the Ptolemaic period.[] The island of Pharos was supplied with water via an aqueduct on the Heptastadion. ^[17] [Find the Mathieu Giaime paper on the canal and Kibotos Harbour.] [Talk about the water supply of individual residences]

City Walls and Fortifications

See also: Hellenistic fortifications

According to Tacitus, the city walls were completed under Ptolemy I. ^[3] The exact course and appearance of these original walls is uncertain. ^[17] Mahmoud Bey's proposed wall perimeter is generally thought to be a relatively accurate representation of the city's Roman-era fortifications. [describe them] In how far the course of the Ptolemaic city walls matched that of the Roman ones, however, is uncertain.

Ancient sources suggest that Alexandria possessed two eastern walls by at least 30 BCE. ^[17] Some scholars take this to mean that the city's original eastern boundary was extended at some point after its foundation. The existence of Ptolemaic-era necropoleis in the eastern part of Bey's city perimeter is sometimes seen as further indication of Bey's eastern wall being a later extension as Greeks traditionally buried their dead outside the city walls. Accordingly, Riedel (similarly to Botti and Grimm) suggests that the original eastern wall probably lay between Bey's streets R2bis and R3bis, to the west of those necropoleis. ^[8] However, McKenzie notes that intramural burials did occur in the Hellenistic world, especially in Asia Minor, and that the location of burials can thus not necessarily be seen as proof of a change in city boundaries. ^[17] In his 2nd century CE work Leucippe and Clitophon, Achilles Tatius describes his protagonist entering Alexandria through the eastern gate, walking down the colonnaded Plateia for a few stadia and then setting eyes upon a "second city" and another colonnaded street which cut the Plateia at right angles. ^{[8] [12]}

A small stretch of the old Arab city wall which incorporates an earlier Ptolemaic fortification wall can still be seen in the Shallalat Gardens to the east of street R1. Its original date and function are uncertain but the building technique employed is typically Hellenistic. ^[8] Chugg interprets it as part of the original city wall ^[13], Riedel thinks it too far west for that and suggests it may have been part of a military facility housing the armoury or barracks. Some scholars, such as Pensabene and Adriani, have interpreted it as remains of a fortification wall that encircled the entire royal quarter, though Riedel points out that there is no mention of such a wall in ancient sources. ^[8]

Strabo mentions the existence of an akra (citadel) on Cape Lochias which was part of the royal quarter. Polybius also mentions an akra which apparently included a prison. This is often assumed to be identical with the Lochias akra, though Polybius doesn't specify its location which means he could theoretically be referring to a different, second akra. Remains of a large, fortified gate were found south of Cape Lochias, around 80m north of Bey's street L4, cutting across Bey's street R1. This gate apparently went out of use at some point in the 1st century BCE. It has been interpreted as both a part of the Lochias akra and a part of hypothetical fortifications of the inner palace area mentioned by Strabo (which lay outside the akra), possibly even the chrematistikos pylon mentioned by Polybius. However, at this point there is no hard evidence to prove or disprove any of these theories. ^[8]

[Akra Lochias. Possibility of another Akra. Palace fortifications. Gates.]

Harbours

The Great Harbour

The Great Harbour (Ancient Greek: μέγᾰς λῐμήν, romanised: mégas limḗn; Latin: Portus Magnus) was located in the north of the city and bounded by the Heptastadion and the island of Pharos in the west and Cape Lochias in the east. Thanks to both Strabo's relatively detailed description and the archaeological work done by the IEASM under Franck Goddio, its Ptolemaic layout can be reconstructed with some certainty. In its eastern half lay the royal harbour which, according to Strabo, could be closed off, the Poseidion promontory with a temple to Poseidon upon it, as well as the so-called Timoneion which Strabo attributes to Mark Anthony. West of the Poseidion lay the small island of Antirhodos which had its own small harbour. The island contained a small royal palace measuring roughly 23 by 68 metres and a temple to Isis, both dated to the 1st century BCE.

Goddio places the Hellenistic Emporion opposite the Isle of Antirhodos in between the Poseideion and the later site of the Caesareion (Port IV on the map). ^[18] Riedel follows him in this but suggests that it also continued on the other side of the Caesareion complex. ^[8] However, Abdo argues for a localisation of the Emporion exclusively to the West of the Caesareion and suggests that Port IV was the private royal harbour "dug by the hand of man" described by Strabo. ^[11] This disagreement is caused by Strabo's contradictory description which, on the one hand, suggests that the Emporion was located in between the Caesareion and the ship-houses by the Heptastadion (supporting Abdo's hypothesis) but, on the other hand, also states that the Poseideion projected from the Emporion like an elbow (supporting Goddio's hypothesis).[]

[Western half of the Great Harbour, more detail on the reefs, Pharos island, Eastern harbours in more detail]

Eunostos and Kibotos

[...]

Mareotis

[...]

The Royal Quarter

The Royal Quarter, also referred to as Basileia (Ancient Greek: βασίλεια, romanised: basíleia), Beta Quarter, Broucheion or Palace Quarter was located in and around the eastern half of the Great Harbour in the north or northeast of the ancient city. It included the entirety of Cape Lochias and extended southwards and westwards from its base, though its precise extent is unknown. According to Strabo the Royal Quarter occupied a fourth or maybe even a third of the entire city area. (Riedel suggests that it included the Emporion mentioned by Strabo and that it extended as far west as street R4 or R5 and as far south as the Plateia. ^[8]) The Royal Quarter included a multitude of public, religious, administrative and residential buildings. Strabo mentions a large number of royal residences in the area which had been successively constructed by different Ptolemaic monarchs, though Riedel notes that the majority of royal palace structures were probably completed by the late 3rd or early 2nd century BCE. ^[8] One notable exception being the palace on the island of Antirhodos which has been dated to the 1st century BCE. ^[18]

Large parts of the quarter would have likely been taken up by gardens. Inge Nielsen draws parallels to the vast paradeisos of the Achaemenid palaces which appear to have had a significant influence on Hellenistic palace architecture. ^[19] Some Roman frescoes of "Alexandrian landscapes" show idyllic park-like surroundings. Excavations have found evidence of planting pits in the area of the royal quarter featuring deposits of Nile mud which were presumably placed there as fertiliser. ^[8] These gardens would have included diaitai ( pavilions or gazebos, probably used as private dining rooms) and ornamental water features. ^{[19] [8]}

The Royal Quarter also housed the city's Great Theatre which was connected to the palaces via a vaulted corridor called the Syrinx, the Mouseion with its famous library, the Soma housing the tomb of Alexander, the royal treasury, temples, accomodations for official guests, a zoo, a prison, an artificial stream called the Maiandros (alt. sp. Meandros or Maeandros), the armoury, accomodations for soldiers, fortifications and the royal harbour.

Some Ptolemaic buildings in the royal quarter appear to have been aligned strictly along the cardinal directions, while others were aligned along the orientation of the street grid. Abdo proposes that the entire royal quarter may have initially been laid out along cardinal (i.e. solar) directions due to Alexander the Great's identification as a son of Ra (the Egyptian sun god), while Riedel suggests that these deviations from the street grid may have simply been the result of the quarter's layout being influenced by the coastline. ^{[11] [8]}

The archaeological remains of upper-class residences have been found in areas that either belonged to or were immediately adjacent to the royal quarter. These date from the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE [check that none of them were 2nd century BCE].[] In the 4th century CE, Ammianus Marcellinus remarked that the "Bruchion", which, according to him, was largely destroyed when emperor Aurelian retook the city from the Palmyrenes in 272 CE, "had long been the abode of distinguished men". ^[20]

The major surviving accounts mentioning and describing the Ptolemaic Royal Quarter come from Strabo and Polybius. [...]

The Egyptian Quarter

The Egyptian Quarter, also referred to as Rhakotis, was located in the west of Alexandria. It is unknown how far it extended towards the east. According to Strabo it lay south of the western docks of the Great Harbour. The district would have been dominated by the Sarapeion complex looming above the surrounding town from atop its rocky plateau. South of the Sarapeion stood the Lageion, a large hippodrome or stadium named for Lagos, the father of Ptolemy I.

The Island of Pharos

The island of Pharos lay [...]km off the coast. It was connected to the mainland via the Heptastadion, a long causeway that separated the Great Harbour in the east from the harbour of Eunostos in the west. Bridges at either end of the Heptastadion connected the two harbours. An aqueduct on the Heptastadion supplied the island with water.[] In the Hellenistic period, the island was apparently not considered part of Alexandria proper. ^[8] The most notable structure on the island was the Lighthouse of Alexandria which stood on a rocky outcrop off its eastern tip. It was constructed in the beginning of the 3rd century BCE. According to Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander written in the 2nd century CE, Alexander the Great ordered Kleomenes to build two lavish shrines dedicated to Hephaestion, one on the island of Pharos and one in Alexandria proper. Beginning in the 2nd century BCE there is evidence for a cemetery on Pharos in the area of modern-day Anfoushy. At least by the middle of the first century BCE, the island was also home to a population of [several thousand] people, though the events of the Alexandrian War apparently laid waste to the island. Roman-era coins showing Isis Pharia next to the Lighthouse have sometimes been interpreted as evidence for a temple to Isis existing on the island of Pharos. However, it is unknown whether such a temple really existed and, if so, when it was constructed.

Temples and Shrines

According to Strabo, the city was "full of public and sacred structures". Arrian claims that Alexander himself marked out the locations of many of the city's temples which were dedicated to both Greek and Egyptian gods. He specifically mentions the temple of Isis but it is uncertain which temples exactly traced their construction to the foundation of the city.

The earliest temple found in the archaeological record is the Boubasteion, dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Bastet, which dates to the pre-Ptolemaic period [double-check that] but appears to have been renovated under Ptolemy III. The site of the Sarapeion, which contained temples to Sarapis and Harpocrates (as well as other as yet unidentified buildings), also shows early use for religious purposes that predate its redevelopment by Ptolemy III. Other temples known from the archaeological record include a temple to Sarapis, Isis, Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III, which was apparently located south of the Plateia [more precise location], a temple to Isis located on the isle of Antirhodos and dated to the 1st century BCE and a temple to Poseidon located on the Poseideion promontory.

Historical accounts also mention temples and sanctuaries to Demeter, Isis (presumably distinct from the one on Antirhodos), the Muses, Leto, the Dioskouroi and Tyche (McKenzie and Gibson speculate that the latter may have been a Pantheon of sorts). Later sources also mention a temple to Dionysos which may date back to Hellenistic times (in any case, a Dionysian temple can be assumed to have existed in Hellenistic Alexandria due to the god's status as a Ptolemaic patron deity) and Roman-era coins imply the existence of temples to Athena and Nilos (which, too, may or may not date back to the Hellenistic period).

Additionally, there was a multitude of shrines and altars, such as a shrine to Homer built under Ptolemy IV, a grotto shrine to Pan built beneath a large artificial hill (the Paneion), two shrines to Hephaestion and altars to Alexander and the Agathos Daimon. The Ptolemies also established sanctuaries for their dynastic cult, such as the Arsinoeion dedciated to Arsinoe II, the Berenikeion dedicated to Berenice II and the Sema dedicated to the cult of Alexander. Temples to other gods such as Zeus and Hermes are likely to have existed, though they are not mentioned in historical accounts.

Hellenistic Alexandria would have also housed synagogues which were established by its sizeable Jewish community. In fact, the earliest known examples of synagogues come from Hellenistic Egypt.[] A dedicatory inscription from a synagogue dated to the reign of Ptolemy III was found in the town of Schedia near Alexandria. In Alexandria itself a dedicatory inscription from a synagogue dating to roughly the second half of the 2nd century BCE was found in the Hadra district. ^[3] It is unknown how many synagogues there were in ancient Alexandria and where they were located.[]

Necropoleis

The earliest known cemeteries in Alexandria were established towards the east. These include the tombs at Hadra, Sidi Gaber, Shatby and tombs I and [IV] at Moustapha Pasha. Whether the cemeteries of Hadra and Shatby were located within or outside the city walls at the time of their construction is a matter of ongoing debate (see City Walls and Fortifications). During the 2nd century BCE another cemetery appears to have been established on the island of Pharos at Anfoushy. During the 1st century BCE, the early eastern cemeteries were swallowed up by the growing city and new cemeteries were established to the west at Wardian, Gabbari and Mafrousa. ^{[21] [17]} In Strabo's time the suburb containing these western cemeteries was simply called Nekropolis. According to his description it contained many gardens and groves, as well as embalming houses.[]

Culture

Visual Arts

[intro]

Architecture

Though most buildings in Hellenistic Alexandria were built in a fundamentally Greek style, Alexandrian architecture did display a large array of unique innovations and stylistic idiosyncracies many of which were at least indirectly inspired by the architectures of Achaemenid Persia and Pharaonic Egypt. Among them were unique forms of the Corinthian order and new baroque shapes and arrangements of classical architectural elements which later significantly influenced Roman architecture. Additionally, at least some structures in Alexandria were apparently built in traditional Egyptian or Graeco-Egyptian styles.

The Doric and Ionic orders employed in Alexandria showed little deviation from the established architectural canon of the Aegean and developments elsewhere in the Hellenistic world. ^[22] Surviving architectural fragments show that Alexandrian architects liberally combined Doric and Ionic elements (e.g. mixing Doric and Ionic mouldings on the same entablature) which was common Hellenistic practice. Uniquely Alexandrian is the later combination of the Doric and Ionic orders with the Corinthian order and the inclusion of traditional Egyptian elements. ^[23] For example, Corinthian capitals appear to have been paired with Doric entablatures on a regular basis in Alexandria (a prominent example being Ptolemy III's temple of Sarapis in the Sarapeion), something that was not commonly done elsewhere in the Hellenistic world.

The use of Corinthian capitals on building exteriors was a major innovation of the Hellenistic era. One of the earliest surviving examples of the Corinthian order being employed as a main order on a monumental exterior facade is the propylon of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace which was sponsored by Ptolemy II. The earliest known example in Alexandria is on the aforementioned temple of Sarapis in the Sarapeion. Corinthian columns were used very liberally in Ptolemaic architecture (Evaristo Breccia noted that, among archaeological finds from Alexandria, Corinthian elements far outnumbered those of any other order, especially on smaller edifices ^[24]) and as their precise composition hadn't yet been standardised in the Hellenistic period, Alexandrian architects were free to experiment with it which led to a large variety in the shape and ornamentation of Alexandrian Corinthian capitals which modern historians have divided into four distinct types. Type I of these Alexandrian types appears to represent the first occurence of the so-called Normal Corinthian capital which was later adapted and standardised by the Romans. ^[22]

Alexandrian Corinthian columns sometimes featured acanthus leaf column bases which were inserted above the traditional attic base. These are attested from the 3rd century BCE onwards. McKenzie thinks it likely that these acanthus bases were inspired by traditional Egyptian columns. ^[22]

• 
  Large Type I Alexandrian capital carved from two basalt blocks, 3rd century BCE. Now in Al Khartoum Square.
• 
  Alexandrian Type I Corinthian capital with Egyptian motifs from the area of the royal quarter.
• 
  Example of an Alexandrian acanthus leaf column base from the Roman period.
• 
  Painted Corinthian capitals. Left to right: Type IV, Type II, frieze fragment (?), Type II, Type I. Early Roman period.

One of the most distinctive features of the Alexandrian Corinthian order are its characteristic modillions. These come in two types: flat grooved modillions and square hollow modillions. Flat grooved modillions are narrow cuboids with inclined side faces and a flat groove running along their bottom face. Square hollow modillions are as wide as they are deep but their bottom face is hollowed out, leaving only a narrow border around its edge. Some cornices featured only one of the two modillion types, while others featured both in an alternating fashion. The earliest evidence for these distinctive types of modillions comes from the second half of the 3rd century BCE. ^{[23] [22]} They appear to have been used on a large variety of Alexandrian structures throughout the remainder of the Hellenistic period, as well as during the Roman period. Alexandrian architects frequently used Corinthian capitals and Corinthian cornices with Doric friezes, a combination which was characteristic of the Alexandrian Corinthian and did not occur in the Aegean. ^[22]

By the second century BCE ^[25], Alexandrian architects had developed new, distinct architectural shapes which were uniquely Alexandrian. While Greek architects had started using some structural elements as purely ornamental features (such as engaged columns) as early as the 5th century BCE, they remained relatively conservative in their approach and did not stray too far from the form language of traditional post-and-lintel construction. Shapes and arrangements introduced by Alexandrian architects, such as curved, arched, concave and broken entablatures and segmental, broken, hollow and volute pediments, significantly deviated from this classical approach. As a result, Alexandrian architecture became highly ornamental, divorcing form from structure to a much more extreme degree than traditional Greek architecture. McKenzie suggests that some of these shapes were probably directly inspired by Egyptian architecture while the others may have followed once this initial break with convention had occured. Due to its conceptual similarities with 16th- and 17th-century baroque architecture, this architectural style is also referred to as baroque. Many of these baroque shapes were later adopted across the Roman Empire but the earliest archaeological evidence for them comes from Alexandria. ^[22]

• 
  So-called Treasury in Petra. The tombs of Petra were heavily inspired by Alexandrian baroque architecture.
• 
  The Library of Celsus in Ephesos featuring typical baroque architecture.
• 
  The so-called Canopus at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli lined with a colonnade carrying curved entablatures.
• 
  4th-century-CE mosaic in the Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki showing Alexandrian-style architecture.

While the architecture of the city was predominantly Greek in appearance, the Ptolemies moved large numbers of Pharaonic-era sculpture and obelisks from different sites in Egypt (especially from Heliopolis and Memphis) to Alexandria and also erected statues of themselves sculpted in traditional Pharaonic or Graeco-Egyptian styles to decorate these Greek architectural spaces.[]

However, some temples in Alexandria do seem to have been built in the Egyptian or Graeco-Egyptian style featuring large pylon gates. In the 19th century, remnants of a temple to Sarapis, Isis, Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III south of the Plateia were described as being Graeco-Egyptian in style (though they were not properly recorded). ^[3] A temple to Isis featuring an Egyptian pylon gate is shown on some Roman-era Alexandrian coins.[] The Ptolemaic-era temple of Osiris at Taposiris Magna west of Alexandria combined an Egyptian-style temple enclosure and pylon gate with a Hellenistic temple building.[] Egyptian-style architectural fragments (some dating from Pharaonic times and reused, some sculpted in the Graeco-Roman period) have also been found in Alexandria, such as door jambs and papyriform columns, though it is often uncertain whether these were (re-)erected during Hellenistic or Roman times.[] In the area of the ancient Cape Lochias, the monolithic top half of a small pylon was found underwater. (This has been connected by excavators to a temple of Isis but there's apparently no hard evidence to support that assertion.)[]

The tombs of the Moustapha Pasha necropolis, the earliest of which are generally dated to the 3rd century BCE, replace the pediment in their Doric entablatures with attic walls, a typically Egyptian feature. Moustapha Pasha tomb I also features small Egyptian sphinx statuettes in its court. ^[23]

During the reign of Ptolemy IV in the late 3rd to early 2nd century BCE, Alexandrian architects appear to have begun using Egyptian elements with increasing frequency.[] His palace barge, the Thalamegos, is described by Athenaios (who relies on an account by Kallixeinos) as having had a dining room in what Athenaios calls an Egyptian style, featuring bulbous columns built from alternating black and white drums with Egyptian lotus and palm capitals. McKenzie notes that the interiors of the Thalamegos do not appear to have mixed Egyptian and Hellenistic styles but rather employed one or the other on a per-room basis. ^[1] A similar decorational scheme to that of the Thalamegos' Egyptian dining room survives in the Anfoushy Necropolis where some walls are decorated with a black-and-white chequer pattern (meant to imitate faience tiles), alabaster imitations and traditional Egyptian crown motifs; two pilasters are painted with horizontal black-and-white stripes. ^{[21] [1]} (At Anfoushy, this decorational scheme dates to some time after the 2nd century BCE ^[1], possibly even after the 1st century BCE ^[21] and was applied over an earlier Greek-style layer.)

The "Egyptian oecus" described by Vitruvius with lower aisles, an inner colonnade and a higher nave featuring clerestory windows may have, as the name suggests, also originated in Alexandria following either native Egyptian or Persian examples. ^{[19] [1]} It corresponds with both an ancient description of a banqueting tent erected by Ptolemy II and a room in the Ptolemaic-era Palazzo delle Colonne in Ptolemais [and may have been the ancestor of the Roman basilica]. ^[19]

Materials

Local Alexandrian limestone was used liberally in ancient Alexandrian building projects. However, its grainy, porous texture makes it a poor-quality stone. As a result, Alexandrian limestone structures were usually coated in stucco which was subsequently painted. ^[23] Other stone, such as granite, basalt, alabaster and high quality limestone had to be brought from other parts of the Ptolemaic kingdom, whereas marble had to be imported from other parts of the Hellenistic world. Pink Aswan granite seems to have been a popular choice for columns and architectural elements. Various kinds of marble appear to have been used in the interiors of some palace buildings. Lucan mentions marble walls in the palaces and Athenaios relates that the Thalamegos featured columns made of Indian marble. Alabaster is mentioned as having been used for some floors in the royal palaces and was also used for the interior of an early tumulus tomb made for an unidentified high-status person. Some other surviving tombs such as the ones at Anfoushy feature painted alabaster imitations, as well as imitations of faience tiles. The Roman account of the Alexandrian War mentions roofs of public buildings being constructed of timber beams and terracotta roof tiles have been found during excavations. [types of paints, stucco or plaster, check Riedel, etc. for additional stone types, ivory, gold/silver, mudbrick, types of wood,...]

Residential Architecture

The residences of Alexandria's upper classes appear to have been typically Hellenistic in their layout. Rooms were grouped around a central peristyle (or several adjacent peristyles) which was accessible through the main entrance and which probably contained gardens and possibly water features. Unlike Roman houses, Hellenistic houses did not possess atria. They often featured two stories [with the ground floor mainly housing dining rooms, the kitchen, pantry and slave and servant quarters and the upper story containing bedrooms]. There is no concrete evidence for houses with more than two stories. According to Winter, the peristyle courts of Alexandrian residential buildings were probably mainly built in the Doric order, at least during the early Ptolemaic period (later, in the 1st century BCE, the Palazzo delle Colonne in Ptolemais combined Ionic capitals with a Doric entablature in the lower story of the peristyle and employed the Corinthian order in the upper story). He bases this assumption on the surviving hypogea of Ptolemaic-era tombs which he argues were designed to mirror the residential architecture of the time. [Residential architecture, in turn, probably followed trends set by royal palace architecture.] Archaeological finds at other sites which were under Ptolemaic influence, such as Ptolemais in Lybia and Nea Paphos in Cyprus, further suggest the use of so-called Rhodian peristyles in Alexandrian residential architecture (in which the columns on one or two sides of a peristyle court are taller than the others), which Winter thinks may have actually originated in Alexandria. Vaulted ceilings also seem to have been a common feature. The interiors were decorated with frescoes mimmicking the rich materials used in Ptolemaic palaces, such as alabaster, wood and marble, similar to the so-called First Style of Pompeii. Archaeological evidence suggests that at least some upper-class residences in Alexandria were directly connected to the city's fresh and waste water system. ^[26] [Shops and workshops. Andron/gynaikeion]

According to Winter, large Hellenistic metropoleis such as Alexandria must have possessed an equivalent to Roman insulae, i.e. some form of multi-family housing units, to house their large lower-class populations. However, there is no evidence of these in either the documentary or the archaeological record and so both their existence and their exact nature and appearance are entirely speculative.

Funerary Architecture

Alexandrian tombs were generally subterranean and carved into the bedrock. The earliest examples were simple burial shafts or pits with above-ground funerary monuments ( stelai, altars or naiskoi) placed above them. Starting in the early 3rd century BCE there is evidence for hypogeum tombs. These could either be constructed for a single individual, a single family or be of a communal nature. Monumental tombs can be divided into two general types: the oikos type and the peristyle type. ^[21] The oikos type followed traditional Macedonian examples which were based on the megaron and was defined by a linear layout. The peristyle type appears to have been modelled after Alexandrian residential architecture with its rooms arranged around a pseudo-peristyle court. ^[27] Both types usually featured a small burial chamber containing one or sometimes two stone sarcophagi which were carved and painted to look like klinai according to Macedonian tradition. In front of the burial chamber lay a vestibule whose shape and size could differ considerably from tomb to tomb. The vestibule often contained stone benches along the walls. Open courts were placed in front of the vestibules in both peristyle and oikos tombs but the courts of peristyle tombs always featured engaged columns. Sometimes a portico was added in between the vestibule and the court. In peristyle tombs additional rooms were placed behind some or all other sides of the court. Many tombs contained small altars either in the court or in the vestibule. A common feature of Alexandrian tombs are loculi, small rectangular compartments carved into the walls to hold human remains. These were closed using so-called loculus slabs which often featured carved and/or painted mythological scenes or portraits of the deceased. In communal [Describe different types of hypogeum tombs.][The 2nd century BCE saw the introduction of gallery tombs which] ^[21]

• 
  A loculus slab from the Hadra cemetery, first half of the 3rd century BCE.
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  Loculi at Shatby
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  Illustration showing the vestibule and kline chamber of an oikos tomb at Sidi Gaber with brightly painted walls.

Sacral Architecture

In the Hellenistic period, architects throughout the Greek world began putting greater emphasis on the temenos and propylon of a sanctuary at the expense of the actual temple structure. As a result, Hellenistic temples were often smaller than their classical counterparts. Temple precincts were frequently enclosed with stoas, often on all sides. ^[26] Ptolemy III's Sarapeion in Alexandria is a good example of this as it features a large, rectangular temenos enclosed on all four sides by stoas, two propylea and a relatively small temple structure (along with a small temple to Harpocrates and other, unidentified structures). ^[28] Emphasis was also put on the view that was afforded visitors upon entering a sanctuary's temenos which often resulted in the front facades of temples being given special attention. Most Greek sanctuaries surviving from the Hellenistic period were not aligned along a single centre axis (as was later often the case in Roman sanctuaries). ^[26] Again, Ptolemy III's Sarapeion provides an Alexandrian example, as it follows an asymmetrical plan with the temple of Sarapis standing to the side of the enclosure's central axis and both propylea being located in one of the long sides of the enclosure, so that the temple would have been approached from the side. (When the Sarapeion was rebuilt during the Roman era, it was enlarged to allow for a more symmetrical layout.) ^[28] However, some early examples of axial alignment in Greek-style sanctuaries do survive from Ptolemaic Egypt, such as the temple of Ptolemy III and Berenice II at Hermopolis Magna and the temple of Osiris at Taposiris Magna[] (which combines a Greek-style temple with a traditional Egyptian enclosure and pylon gate), both dating from the 3rd century BCE. It has been suggested that such axially aligned sanctuaries, probably inspired by traditional Egyptian temple design, may have also existed in Alexandria. ^[3]

[...]

• 
  A fresco from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor
• 
  The Hellenistic palace of Qasr al-Abd
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  Reconstruction of the Numidian temple of Chimtou
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  Gate from the temenos of Athena in Pergamon.
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  The reconstructed Stoa of Attalos in Athens.
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  Remains of the Egyptian oecus in the Ptolemaic-era Palazzo delle Colonne in Ptolemais.
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  One side of a Rhodian peristyle in the House of Theseus in Nea Paphos featuring low screen walls.

Sculpture

[While Alexandrian architects leaned heavily into their new baroque form language, Alexandrian sculptors seem to have favoured classisising and Egyptianising styles for their works, as opposed to the baroque sculpture prized by the Ionians. ^[25]]

Hellenistic-era Greek sculpture found in Alexandria exhibits a multitude of different stylistic influences. From the 3rd century BCE several sculpture fragments survive that show clear Praxitelean influence in their stylistic features ^[29] which may have been brought to Alexandria by Attic sculptors who are known to have been active in the city soon after its foundation. ^[30] Other Alexandrian sculpture from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE exhibits a more progressive style in the traditions of Scopas and Lysippos. ^[29] However, Alexandrian sculptors don't appear to have adopted the exaggerated baroque conventions of their Pergamene contemporaries. ^[25] A common feature of Alexandrian sculpture is the Praxitelean soft, "dream-like" rendering of flesh and facial features contrasting with sharp, roughly carved hair. The exaggerated degree to which some Alexandrian works employ this technique has been described as impressionist and compared to the Renaissance painting techniques of sfumato and morbidezza. ^{[31] [32]} Long necks and pronounced neck folds are also typical of Alexandrian sculpture. Portraits tend to be at least partially idealised which often hampers attempts to securely identify their subjects. ^[29] It must be noted that there was considerable artistic and cultural exchange between Alexandria and other parts of the Hellenistic world, especially those that were part of the Ptolemaic Empire or that were within the Ptolemaic sphere of influence, such as Kyrenaika, Cyprus, the Dodekanese or Karia. It was not uncommon for sculptors to move between these regions and there are known examples of single sculptor workshops operating across several of these territories. As a result, there is considerable overlap in style, technique and iconography between sculptures produced and erected in these different parts of the Hellenistic world and the techniques and features mentioned, although typical of Alexandrian sculpture, are not exclusive to it. ^[30]

[As there was no native Egyptian source of marble, Alexandrian sculptors were economical in their use of it. As a result, a lot of Alexandrian sculpture was composite in nature, so-called acroliths, mixing materials such as marble, granite, stucco, limestone, bronze, gold, ivory, etc. in the same statue but there are many examples of monolithic pieces, as well.][] According to Margarete Bieber, Ptolemaic-era Egyptian acroliths often used marble for flesh and painted stucco for clothing, hair and accessories. ^[34] [Polychromy - photo of the bust of Berenice]

[Historical references to specific pieces include a description of the statue inventory of the Tychaion (which, due to the motifs described is thought to be Ptolemaic, though the description dates to the Roman period), coin depictions and copies of the Sarapeion's chryselephantine cult statue of Sarapis, mentions of large mechanical statues paraded through the streets of Alexandria during Ptolemy II's Ptolemaia festival]

Starting in the 2nd century BCE, Alexandrian gem carvers began engraving details into the eyes of subjects, a practice that later made its way into some Alexandrian sculpture, as well, such as a miniature composite statue of Alexander the Great dated to the 1st century BCE or 1st century CE, now in the Brooklyn Museum, (possibly a copy of a larger sculpture by Lysippos) which Bieber describes as being "rococo" in style. ^{[34] [35]}

Ancient descriptions and copies of several lost sculptures from Hellenistic Alexandria have survived. Athenaios' description of the Thalamegos (based on an original account by Kallixeinos from the 3rd century BCE) mentions that one of the ship's banqueting rooms featured an apse in the shape of a gilded, bejewelled Dionysian grotto that housed portrait statues of the royal family made in Parian marble. ^{[19] [3]}

Roman copies survive of the seated chryselephantine cult statue of Sarapis housed in the Alexandrian Sarapeion. The popular Roman statue type of a reclining Neilos is also thought by some scholars to have originated in Hellenistic Alexandria, though there is no conclusive evidence for where or when the type originated. ^[36] [Pliny the Elder describes a large version of the Neilos type made of Egyptian basalt which, during his time, stood in the Templum Pacis in Rome and which has been suggested by some to be the Hellenistic original.]

Pliny the Elder mentions a statue of Janus Pater which Augustus took from Alexandria and brought to Rome to be donated to the Temple of Janus at the Forum Holitorium. While it was variably assigned to Praxiteles and Skopas, it was probably actually an Alexandrian work from the early Hellenistic period depicting Hermes Dikephalos. ^[30] He also relates the claim that Ptolemy II had a 4 cubits high statue of Arsinoe II carved from peridot and subsequently erected in the Arsinoeion ^[37] (1 Egyptian royal cubit equals roughly 52.5cm).

A 4th or 5th century CE account of the Tychaion by an unknown author includes descriptions of its statuary which is thought to date to the Hellenistic period. It included: a statue of "the Founder" (presumed to be either Alexander or Ptolemy I) atop things that nourished the city, carrying a "memorial of Soter"; a statue showing a Nikai-flanked Tyche crowning Gaia who, in turn, was crowning Alexander the Great; a statue of a nude man carrying a model of heaven in his left hand, his right hand "prepared for everything"; a statue of a man philosophising on a chair. Other statues mentioned in this account but not described are: a statue of Charis, a statue featuring a laurel crown, twelve statues of various gods (presumably the twelve Olympians) and bronzes of esteemed Ptolemaic kings. ^[38]

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  Monumental classicistic marble head of a Ptolemaic queen, possibly Arsinoe II, 270-250 BCE.
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  Marble bust of Berenice II, around 230 BCE.
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  Marble head of Ptolemy IV or Ptolemy VI from an acrolith that also featured Sarapis and a Ptolemaic queen.
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  Marble head of Ptolemy IX and/or Ptolemy X with the hair and beard done in stucco. Late 2nd/early 1st century BCE.
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  Head and torso of a Ptolemaic-era marble statue of Sarapis.
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  Torso of an Alexandrian marble statue of Apollo.
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  Marble fragment of an Alexandrian miniature acrolith of Alexander showing engraved irises. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE.
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  Marble statuette of Socrates, probably 2nd century BCE, said to be from Alexandria.
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  Marble miniature of the Nile type from Hermopolis Magna, thought to be Hellenistic in date.
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  Roman marble copy of the 3rd century BCE chryselephantine statue of Sarapis that was housed in the Alexandrian Sarapeion.
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  Hermaphroditos lying prone. Roman marble copy probably after a 2nd century BCE bronze by Polycles who was active in Alexandria.
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  Bronze bust of a Ptolemaic king (possibly Ptolemy IV). Either a 3rd century BCE original or a Roman copy thereof.
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  Small bronze dated to the 2nd century BCE believed to have been made in Alexandria.
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  Small bronze showing a triumphant Ptolemaic king defeating an enemy. Possibly from the 2nd century BCE.
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  Fragment of an Alexandrian terracotta figure.
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  Egyptianising grandiorite statue of Arsinoe II from Canopus, 3rd century BCE.
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  Egyptianising marble head of an Alexandrian composite statue depicting a Ptolemaic queen as Isis. Note the gold earring still surviving in the left ear.
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  Fragment of a colossal Egyptian-style Alexandrian granite statue depicting a Ptolemaic queen.

Mosaics

The earliest mosaics found in Alexandria are dated to the late fourth and early third century BCE. Just like earlier examples from Pella and Olynthos, they were first produced using round pebbles in black, white and red. An example is preserved in the oldest mosaic found in Alexandria, a late fourth century BCE mosaic floor of an andron in the so-called House of the Rosette which features a rosette motif on a simple background made up of black and white pebbles. However, in the course of the third century BCE, squared tesserae in a greater variety of colours came into use both in Alexandria and in other parts of the Hellenistic world. At first they were employed in combination with pebbles, such as in the Alexandrian examples of the partially preserved so-called Warrior Mosaic showing a warrior or hunter holding a shield and spear and the so-called Stag Hunt mosaic which depicts three Erotes on a stag hunt, both from the area of the Palace Quarter. By the end of the third century BCE, pebbles had been phased out completely in favour of tesserae. This allowed for the development of so-called opus vermiculatum mosaics which used especially small tesserae in a multitude of colours to create more detailed and more life-like images. Alexandrian examples of this type include two second century BCE mosaics from the Palace Quarter, one showing a dog and the other two wrestlers engaged in a fight. However, the possibly oldest known opus vermiculatum mosaic comes from Thmuis, Egypt, and depicts a Ptolemaic queen (commonly identified as Berenice II but possibly actually Arsinoe II) wearing a costume with naval motifs. It is thought to have been executed by Alexandrian craftspeople, possibly after an original from Alexandria, and is generally dated to the late third century BCE. ^[39]

• 
  Stag Hunt Pebble Mosaic from Pella, late 4th century BCE. Such hunting scenes were also common in early Alexandrian mosaics.
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  Mosaic of Berenice II or Arsinoe II from Thmuis, late third century BCE.
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  Dog mosaic from the palace quarter, 2nd century BCE.
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  Alexandrian opus sectile floor in the House of the Faun, Pompeii, 2nd century BCE.

Painting

[...]

It is thought that the Nile Mosaic of Praeneste (about half of which survives in a heavily restored form) is a copy of a monumental Ptolemaic painting, possibly commissioned by Ptolemy II to commemorate his expeditions up the Nile. The bottom right corner is generally thought to depict Alexandria with its harbour and a group of Macedonian soldiers drinking in front of a building featuring a colonnaded portico and a typically Alexandrian segmental pediment and roof. ^[25] It has been suggested that the mosaic itself may have been laid by Alexandrian craftspeople. ^[40]

• 
  Nile Mosaic of Praeneste (original fragments in colour). Thought to be a copy of a monumental Alexandrian painting.
• 
  The Alexander Mosaic from the Casa del Fauno, Pompeii. 1st century BCE copy of a Hellenistic painting, possibly from Alexandria.

Jewellery and Luxury Goods

[...]

• 
  The famous Gonzaga Cameo, possibly a 3rd century BCE depiction of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, though this dating and identification are debated.
• 
  [...]
• 
  [...]

Population

List of Sites

This is a non-exhaustive list of known sites in Hellenistic Alexandria, both those known from written sources and those known from archaeological remains. The default order is approximately chronological where possible (with undated structures at the end). Some sites listed as being known only from written sources may also survive in the archaeological record but have simply not yet been excavated or identified.

Legacy

[influence on the art and architecture of other places]

Depictions in the arts and popular media

Ptolemaic Alexandria has been depicted and featured in countless cultural works over the centuries, in large part due to the popularity of Cleopatra VII's life story (see also: List of cultural depictions of Cleopatra). Some notable works include:

• Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
• Cleopatra (1963 film) featuring Elizabeth Taylor
• Alexander (2004 film) by Oliver Stone
• Assassin's Creed Origins, an action-adventure video game set in a fictional version of Ptolemaic Egypt

References