Michelle Orton
September 10, 2002
Cleopatra of Egypt
The City of Alexandria
1. The Creation of the City
a. Alexander the Great
b. Set-up of the city
i. Greek in style
ii. Everyone is foreign
2. Center of the World
a. Trade Center
i. 2 major harbors
ii. Central location in the world
b. Cultural Center
i. The Library of Alexandria
ii. The MOYSEION
c. Center of Government
i. Egyptian capitol of the Ptolemaic Dynasty
ii. Roman center with Anthony
3. Changes in the City
a. New governments
b. Earthquakes/Tidal Wave
c. Sea line
d. City Expansion
4. Recovering and Rebuilding
a. Excavations
b. Cleopatra's Palace
c. The Library of Alexandria
d. The MOYSEION
Sources:
Alexandria (University of South Florida)
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/
Microsoft Encarta 2002
Cleopatra's World Alexandria Revealed (A&E Home Video)
Summary:
Ashley Boozer
Honors 141 Cleopatra
The city of Alexandria, constructed around 332 BC and Grecian
in style, was not only a glamorous metropolis, but also the center
of the ancient world. The layout of the city was modeled around
the Greek cities, characterized by wide streets, ninety-degree angles
and numerous baths and public meeting houses where Egyptians, Greeks
and people of other cultures could congregate and mingle.
Alexandria's two major harbors (the Great Harbor and the Royal Harbor)
made it extremely accessible and promoted trade to and from Egypt.
Around these harbors several lighthouses were constructed, notably
one of the seven wonders of the world-the Pharos of Alexandria which
fell due to an earthquake in 1349. Alexandria also gained advantage
in the world by its central location, which made the city a high
traffic area for trade and the mixing of cultures. The Library of
Alexandria, established by Ptolemy I was built to encourage the
sharing of thoughts and the acquisition of knowledge, and at it's
height contained more than 500,000 volumes. After the library burned
for the third time, Cleopatra was said to have built a daughter
library underneath the ground at Pompey's Pillar, where she began
to restore some of the volumes that were lost in the fires. The
MOYSEION (Temple of the Muse) was a great school in Alexandria where
the heliocentric theory was first created and books were translated
from Hebrew to Greek, thus aiding the spread of Christianity. The
city was the center of government in Egypt, being the capitol of
the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra's ruling city, and later on a Roman
center headed by Marc Antony.
Through the centuries Alexandria has experienced much change in
it's political and physical traits. New governments have come and
gone, such as the Romans and the Moslem horsemen (Arabs). Earthquakes
and tidal waves have taken their toll on the city, causing the sea
line to cover up most of the old Royal Quarter. Today many excavations
reach the undersea artifacts as well as Cleopatra's Palace of the
ancient world and there is hope of one day constructing the first
underwater museum. Excavations are also set up all around the city
and a huge crypt has been unearthed which provides evidence that
there is more buried beneath the modern city streets.