The rise and fall of Alexandria
Subtitle: birthplace of the modern mind
By: Justin Pollard and Howard Reid.
Contributors: Reid, Howard.
Publisher: Viking Penguin; Penguin Books
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 329
ISBN-13: 9780670037971; 9780143112518
Subjects: Alexandria (Egypt) -- History; Alexandria (Egypt) -- Intellectual life
Description: Founded by Alexander the Great and built by Greek pharaohs, the city of Alexandria at its height dwarfed both Athens and Rome. It was the marvel of its age--legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual fluorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the "rebirth" of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace. It was here mankind first discovered that the earth was not flat, originated atomic theory, invented geometry, systematized grammar, translated the Old Testament into Greek, built the steam engine, and passed their discoveries on to future generations via the written word. Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Jewish scholars, Greek philosophers, and devout early Christians all play a part in the rise and fall of the city that stood "at the conjunction of the whole world."--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-315) and index.