ancient Alexandria

Ancient Alexandria refers to the Egyptian city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, which became the intellectual and cultural capital of the Hellenistic world.

The city housed the famous Library of Alexandria and the Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders.

References to ancient Alexandria typically evoke lost knowledge, cosmopolitan scholarship, or the mingling of Greek and Egyptian civilization: The library was the ancient Alexandria of its time—a center where all knowledge converged.