Alexandria Research Paper

Tori Davenport

05-18-2018

MCR 1

Behan – 5th

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria, Egypt is considered a historical landmark, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This mysterious city has adventure, mystery and beauty. Alexandria’s hidden treasures and fascinating facts make this city special. Alexandria began as a small port town and grew into the grandest and most important metropolis in ancient Egypt. This paper will uncover the history, culture, landmarks, statues and facts about the city of Alexandria.

On the Mediterranean Sea in Northern Egypt, sits a port city named Alexandria. This city was founded in 331 BCE. It got its name from Alexander the Great, who founded the city. The area of Alexandria measured nine miles

Its population was estimated around 400,000 people. “Alexandrians decorated their tombs with Greek and Roman scenes.”(Alexandria.) Blended marriages between Greeks and Egyptians were not accepted by the Greek government, but mixed relationships still took place. The city continued to grow and attracted scholars, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, artists, and historians. Hero, the greatest engineer and mathematician was born and lived in Alexandria. He was known for inventing the first vending machine.

The city was decorated by sculptures and architectural pieces, as well as, the blend of Greek gods and Egyptian deities. Serapis, was one of the gods that was established. Serapis was “invented by the Ptolemies, and was meant to bridge the gap between their Egyptian and Greek subjects.” (Serapis: God of Fertility and the Afterlife that United Greeks and Egyptians.Statues became not only an art piece around Alexandria, but told the unique story of this

One of them being the library, which could hold up to 70,000 papyrus scrolls. No one really knows how many books were held in the library, but it is estimated to be about 500,000. Around 2000 years ago, a fire burned down the library and destroyed lots of scrolls. The prime suspect for destroying the library is Julius Caesar. He was found in the Royal Palace. For his own safety he had his men to set fire to the Egyptian ships, but the fire got out of control and began to spread throughout the city and most likely burned down the