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Alexandria's District of
Alpha
Alpha was the royal district where the royal palaces were located, the main temple, the museum, the libraries, and the gardens and so on.
Plutarch likened the shape of Alexandria to the shape of a Macedonian military cloak.
Laid out in a grid, its design was essentially Greek.
With wide avenues designed for the driving of chariots, it was divided into five districts named after the first five letters in the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon.
Alpha was the royal district where the royal palaces were located, the main temple, the museum, the libraries, gardens, Claudius Ptolemy’s 1st century observatory and not to mention the Pharos of the island by the same name.
The famous library of Alexandria became a third century research centre as well as a repository for a vast amount of scrolls that were unfortunately lost when the library itself was lost.
When Alexander gave order that the new city of Alexandra would be built and developed it was all done in the Attic standard. Roads, harbours, even the money as well as the laws and methods of transacting business were spread throughout the east. As was Alexander’s goal to assert Egyptian claims to Cypress and parts of Asia Minor’s south coast.
When in 305 B.C.E. Alexander had his coronation his main goal within Alexandria was to bring together not only the Greco-Egyptian cultures but most importantly its people.
These groups remained divided by religion and by the New Year’s celebrations.
Cleverly enough the idea was to unite the people of Alexandria but the use of a “new” god; Serapis, a sort of middle ground between Osiris and Apis, which became the main deity of the land.
The Serapeum of Alexandria therefore became the centre for all religious celebrations in Alexandria.
The temple itself had a 10 meter tall statue of the deity at it centre.
To spread the influence of the cult a series of smaller temples, sanctuaries and statues were built not only in the city itself but also in Greco-Egyptian colonies. All of which were made more “Egyptian” by the use of hieroglyphs and supported, financially, by the offerings made in the new temples.
The new financial system used by the temples meant that they also became a middle hand between the Egyptian priests and the common citizens who would otherwise not have been in direct contact, in times past.
For a larger view of this district of Alexandria, click on the picture.
Horus Henuttawy
Credits:
Dr. Alten Müller. 1998. Ägypten Die Weltder Pharaonen.
McKay-Hill. 2004. A History of World Societies.
Background: Roseta Stone →
Images: Egyptian Clip Art→
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