. Describe the notable cultural attainments of Alexandria, and discuss the ways in which it shows the influence of Hellenism on Egyptian culture

Question

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Answer 1

1. Alexandria was a center of culture and hub of trade and learning that might have exceeded even Alexander’s outsized expectations for what a city built in his image should be. The city housed the world’s first museum, conceived of as a place for scholars and students to confer, and a library housing more than 700,000 volumes. It provided the intellectual environment that gave rise to thinkers like the great mathematician Euclid. Three harbors allowed for thriving trade between the city and all other parts of the known world; two of them were overseen by the lighthouse at Pharos, deemed one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The city was prosperous and exceedingly diverse.
2. After his death, Alexander’s body was diverted by Ptolemy I to Egypt from its intended Macedonian destination; a cult of Alexander subsequently arose in Egypt, where tomb decorations at Luxor depict Alexander in the traditional role and style of an Egyptian pharaoh. Gradually, some aspects of Hellenistic and Egyptian cultures merged. The most striking evidence of this are the mummy coffins decorated with startlingly realistic, emotional portraits of the deceased, which were evidently intent on conveying the deceased’s personality, as in Hellenistic art, and at the same time preserved the tradition of the Egyptian ka.