Alexandria A City and Myth

Alexandria was one of the most important cities of the eastern Mediterranean world, and its fame grew far beyond that region. A creation of Alexander the Great, this Greek city on Egyptian soil became one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities, a centre of science, art, philosophy and literature. During late antiquity this pagan space transformed into the dynamic centre of early Christian thought, and then in the seventh century underwent another metamorphosis with the Arab conquest. This is the archaeological biography of the city, from the earliest times to the recent past, a study of a vibrant city and the story of the different ideological systems which impacted upon its urban space. Book jacket.