Museum of Alexandria

“ W. Moeller, History of the Christian Church, page 105. "Never perhaps has the free statement of the Christian idea had less prejudice to encounter than at Alexandria at the close of the second century. Never has it more successfully vindicated by argument its right to be the great interpreter of the human spirit. The institutions of the great metropolis were highly favourable to this result. The Museum, built by the Ptolemies, was intended to be, and speedily became, the centre of an intense intellectual life. ”

“ It was in the Museum at Alexandria that the thinkers worked. This Museum was founded by Ptolemy Soter, one of the rulers of Egypt after the break-up of Alexander's empire, and very much developed by his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. This Museum, the Temple of the Muses, was what today would be called a university. It had lecture halls where mathematicians, astronomers, poets and philosophers taught; courts and porches where men walked and talked, houses where the men of learning lived. ”

“ In literature, in criticism, and in science the museum of Alexandria held the chief place, and it is impossible to suppose that Egypt remained a mere collector of sculpture without any original development of her own. We must, therefore, examine the artistic products of Hellenistic Egypt to see if they exhibit any technical peculiarities marking them off from other Hellenistic centres and compelling us to credit them with a local origin. ”

“ The first Ptolemy made Alexandria his capital and founded there a great state institution which became famous as the Museum, and to which philosophers, scholars, and students flocked from all parts of the world. Here learned men could find a retreat from the bustle of the great metropolis which Alexandria became, and pursue their studies or teach their pupils in peace within its walls, and it is said that at one time fourteen thousand students gathered within its classic shades. ”

“ The day will never come when any one of the propositions of Euclid will be denied; no one henceforth will call in question the globular shape of the earth, as recognized by Eratosthenes; the world will not permit the great physical inventions and discoveries made in Alexandria and Syracuse to be forgotten. The names of Hipparchus, of Apollonius, of Ptolemy, of Archimedes, will be mentioned with reverence by men of every religious profession, as long as there are men to speak.
THE MUSEUM AND MODERN SCIENCE. The Museum of Alexandria was thus the birthplace of modern science. ”

“ But they illustrate, in a marvellous way, how temporary evil is wrought into enduring good.
By the sixteenth article of the Capitulation of Alexandria, it was provided that the Members of the Institute of Egypt might carry back with them all instruments of science and art which they had brought from France, but that all collections of marbles, manuscripts, and other antiquities, together with the specimens of natural history and the drawings, then in the possession of the French, should be regarded as public property, and become subject to the disposal of the generals of the allied army. ”

“ The first Ptolemy also fostered the study of medicine and of dissection. Eumenes likewise established a library at [Pg 43] Pergamos. It is instructive to follow the history of the great Library of Alexandria. The greater part of the library, which contained the collected literature of Greece, Rome, India and Egypt, was housed in the famous museum in the part of Alexandria called the Brucheion. This part was destroyed by fire during the siege of Alexandria by Julius Cæsar. Mark Antony, then, at the urgent desire of Cleopatra, transferred to Alexandria the books and manuscripts from Pergamos. ”

“ The past and present directors of the museum have been enabled from time to time to carry out systematic excavations when opportunity offered; Mr D. G. Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in 1895; and a German expedition worked for two years (1898–1899) . But two difficulties face the would-be excavator in Alexandria. First, since the great and growing modern city stands right over the ancient one, it is almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig, except at enormous cost. ”

“ At first the mental activities of Alexandria centred upon the Museum, and were mainly scientific. Philosophy, which in a more vigorous age had been a doctrine of power over self and the material world, without abandoning these pretensions, became in reality a doctrine of secret consolation. ”

“ It cannot be denied that the Alexandrian culture was rich and vigorous. Great strides were made in science and mathematics, new and promising forms of literature were invented, but at the same time the sheltered air of the Museum tended to produce, as is inevitably the case with collegiate institutions, a rather frigid and academic type of work. At Alexandria, for instance, the first critics arose, and the first literary scholars, whose task was mainly to elucidate and comment upon the works of Homer. ”

“ Nos. 10 to 15 inclusive were all brought from Upper Egypt. (16) A statue of a woman, sitting, with a model of the capital of a column of the Temple of Isis at Dendera, between her feet; (17) a fragment of a lion-headed statue, of black 367granite, from Upper Egypt; (18) a chest of Oriental Manuscripts—sixty-two in number—in Coptic, Arabic, and Turkish.
I have given the more careful detail to this notice of the archæological results of the capitulation of Alexandria, inasmuch as a very inaccurate statement of the matter has found its way into an able and deservedly accredited book. ”

“ The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid without some objects of antiquity being discovered. The wealth underground is doubtless immense; but, despite all efforts, there is not much for antiquarians to see in Alexandria outside the museum and the neighbourhood of ``Pompey's Pillar.'' The native tomb- robbers, well-sinkers, dredgers and the like, however, come upon valuable objects from time to time, which find their way into private collections. ”

“ In philosophy, the university of Alexandria has played a peculiar part. As long as the Ptolemies reigned in Egypt, the Museum could boast of no philosophy save commentaries on Aristotle and Plato, consisting, in great measure, of subtle obscurities to which the darkest quiddities of the deepest scholastic would appear to have been light reading. ”

“ The unlimited prices offered from the King’s treasury by the librarians of the Museum caused a steady flow of books to set in towards Alexandria from all parts of the civilized world, and in addition to the purchase of all the manuscripts that were offered, the representatives of the King appear to have made a thorough ransacking of all the public and private collections that could be reached, and even to have taken by force volumes which the owners did not wish to sell. ”

“ We were pleased with our visit in Alexandria, and with our Hotel de 1'Europe, which nearly equals the first-class hotels in America. Pompey's Pillar, Cleopatra's Needle, the Catacombs, Museum of Antiquities, etc., received a due share of our attention. But little improvement is at present being made in Alexandria, compared with that of Cairo it seems merely of importance as a maritime city.
In traveling in Egypt along the delta of the Nile, wherever its waters can reach by overflow or irrigation, the soil is remarkably rich, fertile and productive. ”

“ A writer in the London Athenæum, writing from Alexandria, endeavors to convince those who profess an interest in Egyptian antiquities, that if their present neglect continues, nothing will remain of the stupendous relics now lying over the land, but a quantity of pulverized fragments. The colossal statue at Memphis, said to belong to the British Museum, for years depended on the precarious protection of an old Arab woman, who was continually expecting and claiming a small salary of five or six pounds per annum as guardian. ”

“ Pharaonic Egypt:—There are some mummies, etc. from Thebes, Heliopolis, etc. (Rooms 8 and 10) , but they have the air of being here because not good enough for Cairo; also a collection of small objects (Room 10) , and Rameses statues from Aboukir (Room 9 and North Garden) . The blend of Pharaonic and Hellenistic is shown in Room 11.
110 (ii) . The Fayoum:—This is the most important non-Alexandrian section in the Museum. The Fayoum, an irrigated depression south-west of Cairo, was developed by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and, as in Alexandria, Greek and Egyptian mingled, but with different results. ”

“ The first of the Ptolemies, Lagus, not only endeavoured to render Alexandria one of the most beautiful and most commercial of cities, he likewise wished her to become the cradle of science and philosophy. By the advice of an Athenian emigrant, Demetrius of Phaleros, this prince established a society of learned and scientific men, the prototype of our academies and modern institutions. He caused that celebrated museum to be raised, that became an ornament to the Bruchion ”

“ One Day, when time is limited. Forenoon, Place Méhémet Ali (p. 434) , the Arab and Turkish Quarters (p. 434) ; tramway or cab to Pompey’s Pillar (p. 435) ; *Catacombs of Kôm esh-Shukâfa (p. 435) . Afternoon, Rue Chérif Pacha (p. 435) and Museum (p. 436) . A ‘billet cumulatif’ obtained at the Museum (8 pias.) admits also to Pompey’s Pillar and the Catacombs.
Alexandria, called by the Arabs and Turks Iskanderîeh, the second town of Egypt, strongly fortified, and one of the most important trading places on the Mediterranean, lies in 31° 11′ N. lat. ”

“ The banks have here their original stone casings and double descents, recalling the commercial enterprise of Mohammed Ali. A walk along the banks to the left is dirty but attractive; it can terminate at the Kom es Chogafa Catacombs (Section III) . Right, the Canal enters the Western Harbour.
Then comes the district of Gabbari, called after a sheikh of that name. Here was the Western Cemetery of the Ancient City; the finds have been taken to the Museum (Room 14) . Nothing interesting until Mex.
Mex, once a fishing village, might have become a prosperous suburb of Alexandria, like Ramleh. ”

“ About 50 yds. from the gateway of the fort, in a hollow to the left of the road, are two huge Fragments of a granite temple. Here were found the busts of Rameses II in the Museum (Room 7) and the colossi of the same King and his daughter (Museum, Court) . Date of statues:—B.C. 1300.
(b) Further to the left, round the Fort, is the site of the Temple of Serapis, the most famous building on the peninsula, and celebrated throughout the antique world. It was dedicated by Ptolemy III Euergetes (p. 15) and his wife Berenice. ”

“ Both Polybius and his friend were inclined to think that all time not spent in the Library or the lecture-room was more or less wasted. Still, there were sights which it was impossible for a visitor to Alexandria to neglect. Such was the mausoleum of the Ptolemies, with the coffin of gold in which reposed the remains of the great Alexander; the observatory; the palace of justice; and the market, thronged with the commerce of the whole of the civilized world. ”

“ In an angle of the present city walls, on the eastern side, are the two obelisks which usually go under the name of Cleopatra’s Needles. They were probably brought from Heliopolis or Thebes, to adorn an ancient gateway, or the entrance to a temple. They are eight feet on each side at the base, and are 64 feet in length; are of red granite, and covered with hieroglyphics. One is prostrate and broken; but the other is still erect, and is in good preservation.
The modern city of Alexandria is more an European than a Turkish or Arab city ”

“ The orders of a king cannot give enduring greatness to a city; but Alexander's keen eye and marvelous brain saw at once that the site of Alexandria was such that a great commercial community planted there would live and flourish throughout out succeeding ages. He was right; for within a century this new capital of Egypt leaped to the forefront among the exchanges of the world's commerce, while everything that art could do was lavished on its embellishment. ”

“ In the first century of the Christian era, Egypt passed from the Greek kings to the Roman emperors, and the Alexandrian school continued to be adorned by the first men of the age. This splendor, more Grecian than Egyptian, was extinguished in the seventh century by the Saracens, who conquered the country, and, it is believed, burned the great Alexandrian Library. After the wars of the immediate successors of Mohammed, the Arabian princes protected literature, Alexandria recovered its schools, and other institutions of learning were established ”

“ It is not often that a great commercial emporium becomes the haunt of the Muses; but Alexandria united graces and attractions of the most opposite character, and her fame for learning eclipsed even that of her wealth. ”

“ It is a dynasty much censored by historians, but the Egyptians, who lived under it, were more tolerant. For it had one element of greatness: it did represent the complex country that it ruled. In Upper Egypt it carried on the tradition of the Pharaohs: on the coast it was Hellenistic and in touch with Mediterranean culture. After its extinction, the vigour of Alexandria turns inwards. ”