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Ptolemaic Alexandria was one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the ancient Mediterranean, a centre of scientific study and the site of the famous Museum and Library. Egypt was being ruled by Macedonians styling themselves as pharaohs. There were three significant populations living in the city at this time: Jews, Greeks and Egyptians.  Thus the city provided a fertile arena for people of different cultures to come together and interact. I plan to explore how the city reflected and informed this interaction, in particular through the religious and cult buildings. What religious buildings were there in Alexandria at this time? What festivals took place in them, and did these affect or involve Alexandrians of other religions? Did the obvious presence of so many religions in the city environment at this time affect inter-cultural relations for better or worse? Were any cultures or religions discriminated against, and is this reflected in the topography of the city?

Preliminary Bibliography

Tripolitis, Antonia, 2002. Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Niehoff, Maren, 2001. Philo on Jewish Identity and Culture, Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen

Pfrommer, Michael, 2001. Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt, Getty Publications, Los Angeles

Haas, Christopher, 1997. Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore

Fowden, Garth, 1993. The Egyptian Hermes: a Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind, Princeton University Press, Princeton

van der Horst, Pieter Willem, 1987. Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher: the Fragments, E. J. Brill, Leiden

Rowe, Alan, 1946. Discovery of the Famous Temple and Enclosure of Serapis at Alexandria, Impr. de l'Institut francais d'archeologie orientale, Cairo

Modrzejewski, Joseph, 1995. The Jews of Egypt: from Rameses II to Emperor Hadrian, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia

Bagnall, Roger S., 2009. The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Dunand, Francoise, 2004. Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE, Cornell University Press, Ithaca

Rowlandson, J. (ed.), 1998. Women and Society in Greek and Roman Egypt: a sourcebook, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Bakhoum, Soheir, 1999. Dieux Egyptiens a Alexandrie sous les Antonins: recherches numismatiques et historiques, CNRS, Paris