Difference between revisions of "Alexandria"

<p> (Ἀλεξάνδρια) </p> <p> The city of [[Alexandria]] almost realized [[Alexander]] the Great’s dream of ‘a city surpassing anything previously existing’ (Plutarch, <i> Alex </i> . xxvi.). Planned by [[Dinocrates]] under the king’s supervision, and built on a neck of land two miles wide interposed between the [[Mediterranean]] Sea and Lake Mareotis ( <i> Mariut </i> ), about 14 miles from the Canopic mouth of the Nile, it became successively the capital of Hellenic, Roman, and [[Christian]] Egypt, ‘the greatest mart in the world’ (μέγιστον ἐμπόριον τῆς οἰκουμένης, Strabo, xvii. i. 13), and next to Rome the most splendid city in the Empire. About 4 miles long from E. to W., nearly a mile wide, and about 15 miles in circumference, it was quartered-like so many of the Hellenic cities of the period-by two colonnaded thoroughfares crossing each other at a great central square, terminating in the four principal gates, and determining the line of the other streets, so that the whole city was laid out in parallelograms. The three <i> regions </i> into which it was divided-the <i> Regio Judœorum, Brucheium </i> , and <i> Rhacôtis </i> -corresponded generally with the three classes of the population-Jews, Greeks, and Egyptians-while representatives of nearly all other nations commingled in its streets (Dio Chrys. <i> Orat </i> . 32). [[Diodorus]] Siculus, who visited it about 58 b.c., estimates (xvii. 52) its free citizens at 300,000, and it probably had at least an equal number of slaves. </p> <p> ‘Its fine air,’ says Strabo, ‘is worthy of remark: this results from the city being on two sides surrounded by water, and from the favourable effects of the rise of the Nile,’ one canal joining the great river to the lake, and another the lake to the sea. ‘The Nile, being full, fills the lake also, and leaves no marshy matter which is likely to cause exhalations’ (xvii. i. 7). </p> <p> The name of the city does not occur in the NT, but ‘Alexandrian,’ as noun and adj. (Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Ἀλεξανδρινός), is found 4 times in Acts. There was a synagogue of [[Alexandrians]] in [[Jerusalem]] (&nbsp;Acts 6:9), fanatical defenders of the [[Mosaic]] faith, roused to indignation by the heresies of Stephen. [[Apollos]] was ‘an [[Alexandrian]] by race, a learned man (ἀνὴρ λόγιος; Authorized Versionand Revised Version margin, ‘eloquent’), mighty in the scriptures’ (&nbsp;Acts 18:24). In one Alexandrian ship St. Paul was wrecked at [[Melita]] (&nbsp;Acts 27:6), and in another he continued his voyage to [[Puteoli]] (&nbsp;Acts 28:11). Here are references to the three most striking aspects of the life of Alexandria-her religion, culture, and commerce. We invert the order. </p> <p> <b> 1. Commerce. </b> -Alexandria was built on a site uniquely adapted for maritime trade. Served on her northern side by the Great [[Harbour]] and the [[Haven]] of Happy Return*[Note: Its inner basin, Kibotos, greatly enlarged, forms the modern harbour.](εὔνοστος), which were, formed by a mole seven stadia in length-the <i> Hepta-stadium </i> -flung across to the island of Pharos,†[Note: On the eastern point of the island was the famous Light-house, one of the ‘Seven Wonders’ of the world.]and on her southern side by the wharves of Mareotis, Alexandria entered into the heritage of both [[Tyre]] and Carthage, and drew to herself the commerce of three continents. Under the Ptolemys [[Egypt]] largely took the place of the lands around the [[Euxine]] as a grain-producing country, and ‘corn in Egypt’ became as proverbial as it had been in the days of the Pharaohs. </p> <p> ‘The corn which was sent from thence to Italy was conveyed in ships of very great size. From the dimensions given of one of them by Lucian, they appear to have been quite as large as the largest class of merchant ships of modern times’ (Smith, <i> Voyage and [[Shipwreck]] of St. Paul </i> 4, 1880, p. 71f.). </p> <p> The cruisers and coasters of Alexandria traded with every part of the Mediterranean, and it was an ordinary occurrence to find vessels bound for Italy in the harbours of [[Myra]] and [[Malta]] (&nbsp;Acts 27:6; &nbsp;Acts 28:11). Seneca gives a vivid picture of the arrival of the Alexandrian fleet of merchantmen at Puteoli ( <i> Ep </i> . 77). The trade which came to Lake Mareotis from the Nile and the Red Sea was equally important. </p> <p> ‘Large fleets,’ says [[Strabo]] (xvii. i. 13), ‘are dispatched as far as India and the extremities of Ethiopia, from which places the most valuable freights are brought to Egypt, and are thence exported to other places, so that a doable amount of custom is collected, arising from imports on the one hand, and from exports on the other.’ </p> <p> <b> 2. Culture. </b> -It was the great ambition of the Ptolemys to make their capital not only the commercial but the intellectual centre of the world. Alexandria really succeeded in winning for herself the crown of science, and was for centuries the foster-mother of an international Hellenic culture. The proofs of her devotion to letters were seen in the <i> Brucheium </i> , or central quarter of the city, which contained not only the mausoleum*[Note: Near the centre of the city, perhaps represented by the present mosque Nebi Daniel.]of Alexander, the palaces of the [[Egyptian]] kings, the [[Temple]] of Poseidon, and, at a later date, the Caesarium†[Note: Near it were ‘Cleopatra’s Needles,’ one of which in now in London, and the other in New York.]in which divine honours were paid to the [[Roman]] emperors, but the Museum, which in many ways resembled a modern university, with lecture halls and State-paid professors, and the Library, in which were accumulated the books of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and India, to the number (according to Josephus, <i> Ant </i> . xii. ii. 1) of more than half a million. In this home of endowed research the exact sciences flourished; Alexandria had on her roll of fame the names of Euclid in geometry, [[Hipparchus]] in astronomy, [[Eratosthenes]] in geography; and her physicians were the most celebrated in the world. For literature her <i> savants </i> did a noble work in collecting, revising, and classifying the records of the past. On the whole, however, her literary school was imitative rather than creative; her poets trusted more to learning than to imagination, and the muses rarely visited the Museum. The artificial atmosphere of literary criticism, which was the breath of life to grammarians, philologists, and dialecticians, chilled rather than fostered original genius. Alexandria’s most brilliant scholars, detached from the realities of life, immured in academic cloisters, were, connoisseurs, not writers, of classics. </p> <p> In the Roman period ‘numerous and respectable labours of erudition, particularly philological and physical, proceeded from the circle of the <i> savants </i> “of the Museum,” as they entitled themselves, like the Parisians “of the Institute”; but … it was here very clearly apparent that the main matter was not pensions and rewards, but the contact … of great political and great scientific work’ (Mommsen, <i> Provinces </i> 2, ii. 271f.). </p> <p> <b> 3. Religion. </b> -While the eclecticism of Alexandrian religion was represented in its pagan aspect by the cultus of the Serapeum, the most famous of the city’s temples, in which the attempt was made to blend the creeds of [[Greece]] and Egypt, the grafting of [[Judaism]] on [[Hellenism]] flowered into a system which had far more influence upon the permanent thought of the world. The migration of the Jews to Egypt, which began at the time of the downfall of Jerusalem (&nbsp;Jeremiah 42:14), increased rapidly under the Ptolemys, who welcomed them as colonists, giving them equal civic rights with the [[Macedonians]] and Greeks-rights which both [[Julius]] [[Caesar]] and [[Augustus]] contirmed to them. Occupying their own quarter of the city-the north-eastern-and forming, under their ethnarch or ‘alabarch,’ a community within a community, they were yet profoundly influenced by their environment, and developed not only a genius for trade but a passion for learning. In the beginning of our era they amounted to an eighth part of the population, and nowhere else was the scattered race so wealthy, so cultured, or so influential. Alexandria became the greatest of [[Jewish]] cities, the centre of Semitism as well as of Hellenism ( <i> q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] </i> ). Naturalized in a foreign city and inevitably breathing its spirit, the Jews showed themselves at once pliant and stubborn. [[Glorying]] in the retention of their monotheistic faith, they yet dropped their sacred [[Hebrew]] language. Their Scriptures, translated into Greek‡[Note: The legend of the composition of the Septuagint, contained in the Letter of Aristeas, is probably based on facts. The initiative seems to have been taken by [[Ptolemy]] Philadelphus, who doubtless to promote the use of Greek among the Jewish population of the city. The Law was translated in the 3rd cent. b.c., the [[Prophets]] (probably) in the 2nd, and most of the ‘Writings’ in the 1st, while Ecclesiastes and Daniel were not translated till the 2nd cent. a.d.]for their own use, came into the hands of their Hellenic neighbours, who gave them in exchange the classics of Athens. Alexandria thus became the meeting-place of Eastern and Western ideals. Both races were sensitive to impressions: while the Jews felt the subtle influence of a rich civilization and a lofty philosophy, the Greeks were attracted by a strange note of assurance regarding God. In an eclectic age and city, the endeavour was consequently made to harmonize the religion of [[Moses]] with that of Plato. Mommsen remarks, that they were the clearest heads and the most gifted thinkers who sought admission either as Hellenes into the Jewish, or as Jews into the Hellenic, system ( <i> Provinces </i> 2, ii. 167). With perfect sincerity, if by faulty exegesis, the Jewish men of culture made their [[Scriptures]] yield up the doctrines of the [[Academy]] and the Stoa. The literary exponent of this spiritual <i> rapprochement </i> is [[Philo]] ( <i> q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] </i> ), who probably did little more than give expression to the current opinions of his countrymen in the time of our Lord. While not a little of his Neo-Judaism must, on account of his persistent allegorizing, be regarded as pseudo-Judaism, he had the supreme merit of combining the highest Eastern with the highest Western view of the universe; of identifying the Hebrew ‘wisdom’ with the Greek ‘reason’; of developing Plato’s conception of the World as the θεῖον γεννητόν, the εἰκὼν τοῦ ποιητοῦ, the μονογενής (the [[Divine]] Child, the Image of its Maker, the Only-begotten) into that of the κόσμος νοητός or λόγος, which is the [[Invisible]] God’s πρωτόγονος or πρωτότοκος, His ἀπαύγασμα or χαρακτήρ; and of thus facilitating that fusion of Hellenism and Hebraism out of which so much Christian theology has sprung. Alexandrian thought provided the categories-in themselves cold and speculative-into which Christianity, as represented by the writers of Colossians, Hebrews, and the Fourth Gospel, poured the warm life-blood of a historic and humane faith. And if the Alexandrian exegetical method was often unscientific-as when it made Moses identify [[Abraham]] with understanding, [[Sarah]] with virtue, [[Noah]] with righteousness, the four streams of [[Paradise]] with the four cardinal virtues-yet the writer of Hebrews could scarcely have built a bridge between Judaism and [[Christianity]] unless he had been trained in a school which taught its disciples to pass from symbols to ultimate realities. Apollos ( <i> q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] </i> ), the learned and eloquent (λόγιος, δυνατὸς ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς), was a true Alexandrian, not impossibly ‘of the Museum’; and Luther was happily inspired in suggesting that he may have been the writer who used the Hebrew-Hellenic theology of Egypt to interpret the manger of Bethlehem. See also the following article. </p> <p> Literature.-Article‘Alexandria’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the [[Bible]] (5 vols) </i> , <i> Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible </i> <i> , Encyclopaedia Biblica </i> , and in Pauly-Wissowa[Note: auly-Wissowa Pauly-Wissowa’s Realencyklopädie.]; H. Kiepert, <i> [[Zur]] Topog. des alten Alexandria </i> , Berlin, 1872; J. P. Mahaffy, <i> Alexander’s Empire </i> , London, 1888, and <i> The Silver [[Age]] of the Greek World </i> , do. 1906; T. Mommsen, <i> Prov. of Rom </i> . <i> Emp </i> .2, 2 vols., do. 1909; J. Drummond, <i> Philo-Judaeus </i> , 2 vols., do. 1888; cf. also W. M. Ramsay’s article‘Roads and Travel (in NT)’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> , v. 375ff. </p> <p> James Strahan. </p>

<p> '''Alexandria''' (ăl-egz-ăn'dri-a). The Grecian capital of Egypt, founded by and named after Alexander the Great, b.c. 332. It was a noted seaport of Lower Egypt, and was situated on a low, narrow tract of land which divides Lake Mareotis from the Mediterranean, and near the western mouth of the Nile, about 120 miles from the present city of Cairo. Soon after its foundation by Alexander, it became the capital of the [[Ptolemies]] and the Grecian kings reigning in Egypt, and one of the most populous and prosperous cities of the East. Its harbor could accommodate vast navies, fitting it to become the commercial metropolis of the entire Eastern world. In front of the city, on the island of Pharos, stood a famous lighthouse, named after the island and noted as one of the seven wonders of the world. Alexandria numbered, in the days of its ancient prosperity, 800,000 inhabitants, half of them slaves, and ranked next to Athens in literature. It had the greatest library of ancient times, which contained upward of 700,000 rolls or volumes. The portion in the museum, consisting of 400,000 volumes, was burnt in b.c. 47. The additional or "new library" in the Serapeum, afterward increased to about 500,000 volumes, including the original 300,000 volumes, was destroyed by the fanatical vandalism of the [[Saracens]] in a.d. 640. At Alexandria the Old [[Testament]] was translated into the Greek by 70 learned Jews—hence called the "Septuagint"—in the third century before the Christian era. The Alexandrian Greek dialect, known as [[Hellenistic]] Greek, was the language used by the early Christian fathers, and is still the study of the biblical scholar In the pages of the New Testament. Alexandria was the birthplace of Apollos, &nbsp;Acts 18:24, and in the apostle Paul's time it carried on an extensive commerce with the countries on the Mediterranean. &nbsp;Acts 6:9; &nbsp;Acts 27:6; &nbsp;Acts 28:11. In Alexandria originated the Arian heresy denying that Jesus Christ was divine, and there Athanasius, the "father of orthodoxy," firmly opposed the false and defended the true doctrine of the deity of our Lord. From a.d. 300 to 600 the city was second only to Rome in size and importance, and was the chief seat of Christian theology. It was conquered by the Saracens under Caliph Omar about a.d. 640, when it began to decline. The rising importance of Constantinople, and the discovery of an ocean passage to India by way of Cape Good Hope, contributed to its further ruin, until it was reduced from a prosperous city of 500,000 to a poor village of only 5000 to 6000 inhabitants. It is now an important city of 240,000 inhabitants—including 50,000 Franks—and is connected with Cairo by a railway, and also with Suez, on the Red Sea. Among the ancient monuments to be seen are the Catacombs, the [[Column]] of Diocletian, 94 feet high and named "Pompey's Pillar"—not from the famous Pompey, but from a Roman prefect who erected the column in honor of the emperor Diocletian—and one of the two obelisks or "Needles of Cleopatra," which, however, belong to the time of the Pharaohs and were brought from Heliopolis. The obelisk on the embankment of the Thames, London, and the one in Central Park, New York, once stood at Alexandria. </p>

<p> Founded by Alexander the Great, 332 B.C., successively the Greek, Roman, and Christian capital of Lower Egypt. Its harbors, formed by the island Pharos and the headland Lochias, were suitable alike for commerce and war. It was a chief grain port of Rome, and the grain vessels were large and handsome; usually sailing direct to Puteoli, but from severity of weather at times, as the vessel that carried Paul, sailing under the coast of Asia Minor (Acts 27). At Myra in [[Lycia]] (&nbsp;Acts 27:5) the centurion found this Alexandrian. ship bound for Italy; in &nbsp;Acts 27:10 Paul speaks of the "lading," without stating what it was; but in &nbsp;Acts 27:38 it comes out casually. The tackling had been thrown out long before, but the cargo was kept until it could be kept no longer, and then first we learn it was wheat, the very freight which an Alexandrian vessel usually (as we know from secular authors) carried to Rome: an undesigned propriety, and so a mark of truth. </p> <p> The population of Alexandria had three prominent elements, Jews, Greeks, Egyptians. The Jews enjoyed equal privileges with the Macedonians, so that they became fixed there, and while regarding Jerusalem as "the holy city," the metropolis of the Jews throughout the world, and having a synagogue there (&nbsp;Acts 6:9), they had their own Greek version of the Old Testament. the Septuagint, and their own temple at Leontopolis. At Alexandia the Hebrew divine Old Testament revelation was brought into contact with Grecian philosophy. Philo's doctrine of the word prepared men for receiving the teaching of John 1 as to the Word, the Son of God, distinct in one sense yet one with God; and his allegorizing prepared the way for appreciating similar teachings in the inspired writings (e.g. &nbsp;Galatians 4:22-31; Hebrew 7). </p> <p> Hence Apollos, born at Alexandia, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures, being instructed in the way of the Lord and fervent in the spirit, taught diligently (Greek accurately) the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John (&nbsp;Acts 18:25); i.e., his Alexandrine education would familiarize him with Philo's idea of the word as the mediating instrument of creation and providence; and John the Baptist's inspired announcement of the personal [[Messiah]] would enable him to "teach accurately the things of the Lord" up to that point, when Aquila's and Priscilla's teaching more perfectly informed him of the whole accomplished Christian way of salvation. Mark is said to have been the first who preached and founded a Christian church in Alexandia. Various forms of [[Gnostic]] and Arian error subsequently arose there. (See ALLEGORY.) </p>

<p> '''Alexan'dria''' or '''Alexandri'a.''' (from Alexander), &nbsp;3 [[Maccabees]] 3:1; &nbsp;Acts 18:24; &nbsp;Acts 6:9. The Hellenic, Roman and Christian capital of Egypt. </p> <p> Situation. - (Alexandria was situated on the Mediterranean Sea directly opposite the island of Pharos, 12 miles west of the Canopic branch of the Nile and 120 miles from the present city of Cairo). It was founded by Alexander the Great, B.C. 332, who himself traced the ground plan of the city. The work thus begun was continued after the death of Alexander by the Ptolemies. </p> <p> Description. - Under the despotism of the later Ptolemies, the trade of Alexandria declined, but its population and wealth were enormous. Its importance as one of the chief corn-ports of Rome secured for it the general favor of the first emperors. Its population was mixed from the first. According to Josephus, Alexander himself assigned to the Jews a place in his new city. Philo estimated the number of the Alexandrine Jews in his time at a little less than 1,000,000 and adds that two of the five districts of Alexandria were called "Jewish districts," and that many Jews lived scattered in the remaining three. </p> <p> "For a long period Alexandria was the greatest of known cities." After Rome became the chief city of the world, Alexandria ranked second to Rome in wealth and importance, and second to Athens only in literature and science. Its collection of books grew to be the greatest library of ancient times, and contained at one time 700,000 rolls or volumes. </p> <p> Here was made the [[Septuagint]] (LXX) translation of the Old Testament into Greek, begun about B.C. 285, especially in grain, was very great. According to the common legend, St. Mark first "preached the gospel in Egypt, and founded the first church in Alexandria." At the beginning of the second century, the number of [[Christians]] at Alexandria must have been very large, and the great leaders of [[Gnosticism]] who arose there (Basilides, Valentinus) exhibit an exaggeration of the tendency of the Church. </p> <p> [[Present]] Condition. The city still bears the same name and is a thriving metropolis, with inhabitants from nearly every European and Oriental nation. Cleopatra's needle, set up by Thotmes in 1500 B.C., was found in Alexandria. </p>

<p> Alexandria bears the name of its founder, Alexander the Great, who planted the city about 332 B.C. When Ptolemy inherited Alexander's Egyptian empire, he made Alexandria its capital. The historian Strabo purports that Alexander was later buried here. </p> <p> Alexandria was designed to act as the principal port of Egypt located on the western edge of the Nile delta. Built on a peninsula, it separated the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis. A causeway (Heptastadion, or “seven stadia”) connected the peninsula with Pharos Island and divided the harbor. The Pharos lighthouse was visible for miles at a height of over 400 feet and is remembered today as one of the seven wonders of the world. </p> <p> The city was divided into sections with a substantial Jewish quarter, the Royal area, the Neapolis, and a necropolis to the far west. The city was known for its cultural and academic pursuits. The finest library in the ancient world with over 500,000 volumes attracted many scholars. The Mouseion (Museum) complimented the library as the center of worship for the Muses, goddesses of “music,” dancing, and letters. It became the most important center of Judaism outside of Jerusalem. Jewish rabbis gathered in Alexandria to produce the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Greek philosophers and mathematicians such as Euclid, Aristarchus, and Eratosthenes worked here. [[Octavian]] incorporated it into the Roman empire about 30 B.C. It quickly became second in importance to Rome. Its importance declined about 100 A.D. </p> <p> The educated Jews of Alexandria contended with Stephen (&nbsp;Acts 6:9 ). Apollos, the great Christian orator, came from Alexandria (&nbsp;Acts 18:24 ), and Paul rode the ships of that port (&nbsp;Acts 27:6; &nbsp;Acts 28:11 ). Although the Christians suffered persecution there, they produced a school with such notables as Clement and [[Origen]] in leadership. The school was noted for its allegorical approach to Scripture. </p> <p> Gary C. Huckabay </p>

<p> After his conquest in 333 BC, Alexander the Great of Greece built the city of Alexandria as a Mediterranean sea port for Egypt and named it after himself. It soon became the greatest Greek city of the time, and was famed for its architectural magnificence. It was the capital of Egypt during the Greek and Roman Empires, and was a busy centre of commercial and manufacturing activity. From here the famous grain ships of Alexandria carried Egypt’s corn to Greece and Rome (&nbsp;Acts 27:6; &nbsp;Acts 28:11). </p> <p> The population of the city was a mixture of Greek, Egyptian, Jewish and Roman people (&nbsp;Acts 6:9; &nbsp;Acts 18:24). The city became a centre of learning, famous for its Greek philosophers and its Jewish Bible scholars. Some non-canonical Jewish books of pre-Christian times were written in Alexandria (see CANON). More importantly, Alexandria was the place where seventy Jewish scholars prepared the first Greek translation of the Old Testament. This is known as the Septuagint (referred to in writing as LXX) and was widely used in New Testament times along with the Hebrew Old Testament (see SEPTUAGINT). </p> <p> A feature of the Alexandrian school of Jewish Old Testament scholars was that their interpretations were detailed, earnest, philosophical and often extravagant. They gained the reputation of being learned and eloquent speakers. In the New Testament there is a record of one of them, Apollos, whose knowledge of Old Testament references to the Messiah was extraordinary. His knowledge of certain Christian teachings was lacking, but he was willing to learn. He soon became a powerful Christian preacher (&nbsp;Acts 18:24-28; see APOLLOS). </p>

<p> '''''al''''' -'''''eg''''' -'''''zan´dri''''' -'''''a''''' ( ἡ Ἀλεξάνδρεια , <i> '''''hē Alexándreia''''' </i> ). </p> 1. History <p> In 331 bc, Alexander the Great, on his way to visit the [[Oracle]] of [[Amon]] seeking divine honors, stopped at the West extremity of the Delta at the isle of Pharos the landing-place of Odysseus ( <i> Od. </i> iv.35) His keen eye noted the strategic possibilities of the site occupied by the little Egyptian village of Rhacotis, and his decision was immediate to erect here, where it would command the gateway to the richest domain of his empire, a glorious city to be called by his own name. Deinocrates, greatest living architect, already famous as builder of the Temple of Diana, was given free hand and like a dream the most beautiful city of the ancient or modern world (with the single exception of Rome) arose with straight, parallel streets - one at least 200 feet wide - with fortresses, monuments, palaces, government buildings and parks all erected according to a perfect artistic plan. The city was about fifteen miles in circumference (Pliny), and when looked at from above represented a Macedonian cloak, such as was worn by Alexander's heroic ancestors. A colossal mole joined the island to the main land and made a double harbor, the best in all Egypt. Before Alexander died (323 bc) the future of the city as the commercial metropolis of the world was assured and here the golden casket of the conqueror was placed in a fitting mausoleum. Under the protection of the first two Ptolemies and Euergetes Alexandria reached its highest prosperity, receiving through Lake Mareotis the products of Upper Egypt, reaching by the Great Sea all the wealth of the West, while through the Red Sea its merchant vessels brought all the treasures of India and [[Arabia]] into the Alexandria docks without once being unladen. The manufactories of Alexandria were extensive, the greatest industry however being shipbuilding, the largest merchant ships of the world and battleships capable of carrying 1,000 men, which could hurl fire with fearful effect, being constructed here. This position of supremacy was maintained during the Roman domination up to the 5th century during which Alexandria began to decline. Yet even when Alexandria was captured by the Arabs (641) under the caliph Omar, the general could report: "I have taken a city containing 4,000 palaces and 4,000 baths and 400 theaters." They called it a "city of marble" and believed the colossal obelisks, standing on crabs of crystal, and the Pharos, that white stone tower 400 ft. high, "wonder of the world," to be the creation of <i> jinn </i> , not of men. With oriental exaggeration they declared that one amphitheater could easily hold a million spectators and that it was positively painful to go upon the streets at night because of the glare of light reflected from the white palaces. But with the coming of the Arabs Alexandria began to decline. It sank lower when Cairo became the capital (circa 1000 ad), and received its death blow when a sea route to India was discovered by way of the Cape of Good Hope (circa 1500). Today the ancient Alexandria lies entirely under the sea or beneath some later construction. Only one important relic remains visible, the so-called Pompey's [[Pillar]] which dates from the reign of Diocletian. Excavations by the English (1895) and Germans (1898-99) have yielded few results, though Dr. G. Botti discovered the Serapeum and some immense catacombs, and only recently (1907) some fine sphinxes. In its most flourishing period the population numbered from 600,000 to 800,000, half of whom were perhaps slaves. At the close of the 18th century. it numbered no more than 7,000. Under the khedives it has recently gained something of its old importance and numbers now 320,000, of whom 46,000 are Europeans, chiefly Greeks (Baedeker, <i> Handbook </i> , 1902; Murray, <i> Handbook </i> , 1907). </p> 2. The Jews in Alexandria <p> Among the private papers of Alexander it is said a sketch was found outlining his vast plan of making a Greek empire which should include all races as harmonious units. In accordance with this, Europeans, Asiatics and Africans found in Alexandria a common citizenship. Indeed in several cities, under the Ptolemies, who accepted this policy, foreigners were even given superiority to natives. Egyptians and Greeks were conciliated by the introduction of a syncretic religion in which the greatest Greek god was worshipped as Osiris, Egyptian god of the underworld, whose soul appeared visibly in the form of the [[Apis]] bull. This was the most popular and human form of the Egyptian worship. This new religion obtained phenomenal success. It was in furtherance of this general policy that the Jews in Alexandria were given special privileges, and though probably not possessing full civic rights, yet they "occupied in Alexandria a more Influential position than anywhere else in the ancient world" ( <i> Jewish Encyclopedia </i> ). To avoid unnecessary friction a separate district was given to the Jews, another to the Greeks and another to the native Egyptians. In the Greek section were situated the palaces of the Ptolemies, the Library and Museum. In the Egyptian district was the temple dedicated to [[Serapis]] (Osiris-Apis) which was only excelled in grandeur by the capitol at Rome. The Jews possessed many synagogues in their own district and in Philo's day these were not confined to any one section of the city. Some synagogues seem to have exercised the right of asylum, the same as heathen temples. One of these was so large that the <i> '''''hazan''''' </i> signaled by a flag when the congregation should give the Amen! Each district had a practically independent political government. The Jews were at first ruled by a Hebrew ethnarch. By the days of Augustus a [[Council]] of Elders ( <i> '''''gerusia''''' </i> ) had control, presided over by 71 archons. Because of their wealth, education and social position they reached high public office. Under Ptol. Vi and [[Cleopatra]] the two generals-in-chief of the royal army were Jews. Ptol. I had 30,000 Jewish soldiers, in his army, whose barracks have only recently been discovered. It may have been a good thing that the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century bc) checked Jewish Hellenization. During the Roman supremacy the rights of the Jews were maintained, except during their persecution for a brief period by the insane Caligula, and the control of the most important industries, including the corn trade, came into their hands. When Christianity became the state religion of Egypt the Jews at once began to be persecuted. The victory of [[Heraclius]] over the [[Persians]] (629 ad) was followed by such a massacre of the Jews that the Coptics of Egypt still denominate the first week in [[Lent]] as the "Fast of Heraclius." Wisdom and many other influential writings of the Jews originated in Alexandria. [[Doubtless]] numbers of the recently discovered documents from the Cairo <i> '''''genı̄zāh''''' </i> came originally from Alexandria. But the epochal importance of Alexandria is found in the teaching which prepared the Hebrew people for the reception of a gospel for the whole world, which was soon to be preached by Hebrews from Hellenized Galilee. </p> 3. Alexandria's [[Influence]] on the Bible <p> (1) In Dan 11 the Ptolomies of Alexandria and their wives are made a theme of prophecy. Apollos, the "orator," was born in Alexandria (&nbsp;Acts 18:24 ). Luke twice speaks of himself and Paul sailing in "a ship of Alexandria" (&nbsp;Acts 27:6; &nbsp;Acts 28:11 ). Stephen 'disputed' in Jerusalem in the synagogue of the Alexandrians (&nbsp;Acts 6:9 ). These direct references are few, but the influence of Alexandria on the Bible was inestimable. </p> <p> (2) The Septuagint, translated in Alexandria (3rd to 2nd centuries bc), preserves a Hebrew text 1,000 years older than any now known. This translation if not used by Jesus was certainly used by Paul and other New Testament writers, as shown by their quotations. It is Egyptian even in trifles. This Greek Bible not only opened for the first time the "Divine Oracles" to the [[Gentiles]] and thus gave to the Old Testament an international influence, but it affected most vitally the Hebrew and Christian development. </p> <p> (3) The Alexandrinus Codex (4th to 5th centuries) was the first of all the great uncials to come into the hands of modern scholars. It was obtained in Alexandria and sent as a present to the king of [[England]] (1628) by Cyrellus Lucaris, the [[Patriarch]] of Constantinople. The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus uncials with many other most important Bible manuscripts - H ebrew, Greek, Coptic and [[Syriac]] - came from Alexandria. </p> <p> (4) John and several other New Testament writings have justly been regarded as showing the influence of this philosophic city. Neither the phraseology nor conceptions of the Fourth [[Gospel]] could have been grasped in a world which Alexandria had not taught. Pfleiderer's statement that He "may be termed the most finished treatise of the Alexandria philosophy" may be doubted, but no one can doubt the fact of Alexandrian influence on the New Testament. </p> 4. Influence of Alexandria on [[Culture]] <p> With the founding of the University of Alexandria began the "third great epoch in the history of civilization" (Max Müller). It was modeled after the great school of Athens, but excelled, being preëminently the "university of progress" (Mahaffy). Here for the first time is seen a school of science and literature, adequately endowed and offering large facilities for definite original research. The famous library which at different eras was reported as possessing from 400,000 to 900,000 books and rolls - the rolls being as precious as the books - was a magnificent edifice connected by marble colonnades with the Museum, the "Temple of the Muses." An observatory, an anatomical laboratory and large botanical and Zoological gardens were available. Celebrated scholars, members of the various faculties, were domiciled within the halls of the Museum and received stipends or salaries from the government. The study of mathematics, astronomy, poetry and medicine was especially favored (even vivisection upon criminals being common); Alexandrian architects were sought the world over; Alexandrian inventors were almost equally famous; the influence of Alexandrian art can still be marked in [[Pompeii]] and an Alexandrian painter was a hated rival of Apelles. Here Euclid wrote his <i> [[Elements]] of Geometry </i> ; here Archimedes, "that greatest mathematical and inventive genius of antiquity," made his spectacular discoveries in hydrostatics and hydraulics; here Eratosthenes calculated the size of the earth and made his other memorable discoveries; while Ptolemy studied here for 40 years and published an explanation of the stellar universe which was accepted by scientists for 14 centuries, and established mathematical theories which are yet the basis of trigonometry. "Ever since this epoch the conceptions of the sphericity of the earth, its poles, axis, the equator, the arctic and antarctic circles, the equinoctial points, the solstices, the inequality of climate on the earth's surface, have been current notions among scientists. The mechanism of the lunar phases was perfectly understood, and careful though not wholly successful calculations were made of inter-sidereal distances. On the other hand literature and art flourished under the careful protection of the court. Literature and its history, philology and criticism became sciences" (Alexandria Weber). It may be claimed that in literature no special originality was displayed though the earliest "love storms" and pastoral poetry date from this period (Mahaffy); yet the literature of the Augustan Age cannot be understood "without due appreciation of the character of the Alexandrian school" ( <i> EB </i> , 11th ed.), while in editing texts and in copying and translating manuscripts inconceivable patience and erudition were displayed. Our authorized texts of [[Homer]] and other classic writers come from Alexandria not from Athens. All famous books brought into Egypt were sent to the library to be copied. The statement of Josephus that Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247) requested the Jews to translate the Old Testament into Greek is not incredible. It was in accordance with the custom of that era. Ptol. Euergetes is said to have sent to Athens for the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, etc., and when these were transcribed, sent back beautiful copies to Greece and kept the originals! No library in the world except the prophetic library in Jerusalem was ever as valuable as the two Alexandrian libraries. The story that the Arabs burned it in the 7th century is discredited and seemingly disproved (Butler). At any rate, after this period we hear of great private libraries in Alexandria, but the greatest literary wonder of the world has disappeared. </p> 5. Influence on [[Philosophy]] <p> Though no department of philosophy was established in the Museum, nevertheless from the 3rd century bc to the 6th century ad it was the center of gravity in the philosophic world. Here Neo-Pythagoreanism arose. Here Neo-Platonism, that contemplative and mystical reaction against the materialism of the Stoics, reached its full flower. It is difficult to overestimate the influence of the latter upon religious thought. In it the profoundest Aryan speculations were blended with the sublimest Semitic concepts. Plato was numbered among the prophets. Greece here acknowledged the Divine Unity to which the Old Testament was pledged. Here the Jew acknowledged that Athens as truly as Jerusalem had taught a vision of God. This was the first attempt to form a universal religion. The Alexandrian philosophy was the [[Elijah]] to prepare the way for a [[Saviour]] of the world. The thought of both [[Sadducee]] and [[Pharisee]] was affected by it and much late pre-Christian Jewish literature is saturated with it. [[Neo-Platonism]] drew attention to the true relation between matter and spirit, good and evil, finite and infinite; it showed the depth of antagonism between the natural and spiritual, the real and ideal; it proclaimed the necessity of some mystic union between the human and the Divine. It stated but could not solve the problem. Its last word was escape, not reconciliation (Ed. Caird). Neo-Platonism was the "germ out of which Christian theology sprang" (Caird) though later it became an adverse force. [[Notwithstanding]] its dangerous teaching concerning evil, it was on the whole favorable to piety, being the forerunner of mysticism and sympathetic with the deepest, purest elements Of a spiritual religion. </p> 6. Christian Church in Alexandria <p> According to all tradition, Mark the evangelist, carried the gospel to Alexandria, and his body rested here until removed to Venice, 828 ad. From this city Christianity reached all Egypt and entered Nubia, [[Ethiopia]] and Abyssinia. During the 4th century, ten councils were held in Alexandria, it being theological and ecclesiastical center of Christendom. The first serious persecution of Christians by heathen occurred here under [[Decius]] (251) and was followed by many others, the one under [[Diocletian]] (303-11) being so savage that the native Coptic church still dates its era from it. When the Christians reached political power they used the same methods of controversy, wrecking the Caesarion in 366 and the Serapeum twenty-five years later. Serapis (Osiris-Apis) was the best beloved of all the native deities. His temple was built of most precious marbles and filled with priceless sculptures, while in its cloisters was a library second only to the Great Library of the Museum. When Christianity became the state religion of Egypt the native philosophers, moved by patriotism, rallied to the support of Serapis. But Theodosius (391) prohibited idolatry, and led by the bishop, the Serapeum was seized, and smitten by a soldier's battle-axe, the image - which probably represented the old heathen religion at its best - was broken to pieces, and dragged through the streets. That day, as Steindorff well puts it, "Egyp paganism received its death blow; the Egyptian religion fell to pieces" ( <i> History of Egypt </i> ). Thereafter heathen worship hid itself in the dens and caves of the earth. Even secret allegiance to Serapis brought persecution and sometimes death. The most appalling tragedy of this kind occurred in 415 when Hypatia, the virgin philosopher, celebrated equally for beauty, virtue and learning, was dragged by a mob to the cathedral, stripped, and torn to pieces before the altar. Some of the greatest Christian leaders used all their influence against such atrocities, but the Egyptian Christians were always noted for their excitability. They killed heretics easily, but they would themselves be killed rather than renounce the very slightest and most intangible theological tenet. It only needed the change of a word e.g. in the customary version to raise a riot (Expos, VII, 75). Some curious relics of the early Egyptian church have very recently come to light. The oldest autographic Christian letter known (3rd century) proves that at that time the church was used as a bank, and its ecclesiastics (who, whether priests or bishops, were called "popes") were expected to help the country merchants in their dealings with the Roman markets. Some sixty letters of the 4th century written to a Christian cavalry officer in the Egyptian army are also preserved, while papyri and <i> ostraca </i> from circa 600 ad show that at this time no deacon could be ordained without having first learned by heart as much as an entire Gospel or 25 Psalms and two epistles of Paul, while a letter from a bishop of this period is filled with Scripture, as he anathematizes the "oppressor of the poor," who is likened unto him who spat in the face of our Lord on the cross and smote Him on the head (Adolph Deissmann, <i> Light from the [[Ancient]] East </i> , etc., 1910). [[Oppression]] of Jews and heretics was not, however, forbidden and during the 5th and 6th centuries. Egypt was a battle-field in which each sect persecuted every other. Even when the Arabs under the caliph Omar captured the city on Good Friday (641), [[Easter]] Day was spent by the orthodox in torturing supposed heretics! The next morning the city was evacuated and Jews and Coptics received better treatment from the Arabs than they had from the Roman or Greek ecclesiastics. After the [[Arab]] conquest the Coptic church, being released from persecution, prospered and gained many converts even from the Mohammedans. But the Saracenic civilization and religion steadily displaced the old, and the native learning and native religion soon disappeared into the desert. By the 8th century, Arabic had taken the place of Greek and Coptic, not only in public documents but in common speech. Then for 1,000 years the Egyptian church remained without perceptible influence on culture or theology. But its early influence was immeasurable and can still be marked in Christian art, architecture and ritual as well as in philosophy and theology. Perhaps its most visible influence was in the encouragement of image-reverence and asceticism. It is suggestive that the first hermit (Anthony) was a native Egyptian, and the first founder of a convent (Pachomius) was a converted Egyptian (heathen) monk. Today Alexandria has again become a Christian metropolis containing Coptics, Romans, Greeks, Armenians, Maronites, Syrians, [[Chaldeans]] and Protestants. The [[Protestants]] are represented by the Anglican church, the Scotch Free church, the evangelical church of [[Germany]] and the United Presbyterian church of the U.S. (For minute divisions see [[Catholic]] Encyclopedia) </p> 7. Catechetical School in Alexandria <p> The first theological school of [[Christendom]] was founded in Alexandria. It was probably modeled after earlier Gnostic schools established for the study of religious philosophy. It offered a three years' course. There were no fees, the lecturers being supported by gifts from rich students. Pantaenus, a converted Stoic philosopher, was its first head (180). He was followed by Clement (202) and by Origen (232) under whom the school reached its zenith. It always stood for the philosophical vindication of Christianity. Among its greatest writers were Julius Africanus (215), [[Dionysius]] (265), [[Gregory]] (270), Eusebius (315), Athanasius (373) and [[Didymus]] (347), but Origen (185-254) was its chief glory; to him belongs the honor of defeating paganism and Gnosticism with their own weapons; he gave to the church a "scientific consciousness," his threefold interpretation of [[Scripture]] affected Biblical exegesis clear down to the last century. Arius was a catechist in this institution, and Athanasius, the "father of orthodoxy" and "theological center of the Nicene age" (Schaff), though not officially connected with the catechetical school was greatly affected by it, having been bred and trained in Alexandria. The school was closed toward the end of the 4th century because of theological disturbances in Egypt, but its work was continued from [[Caesarea]] and other centers, affecting profoundly Western teachers like Jerome and Ambrose, and completely dominating Eastern thought. From the first there was a mystical and Docetic tendency visible, while its views of inspiration and methods of interpretation, including its constant assumption of a secret doctrine for the qualified initiate, came legitimately from Neo-Platonism. For several centuries after the school disbanded its tenets were combated by the "school of Antioch," but by the 8th century the Alexandrian theology was accepted by the whole Christian world, east and west. </p> Literature <p> Besides works mentioned in the text see especially: Petrie, <i> History of Egypt </i> (1899), V, VI, Mahaffy, <i> Empire of the Ptolemies </i> (1895), <i> [[Progress]] of Hellenism </i> (1905); Butler, <i> Arab Conquest of Egypt </i> (1902); Ernst Sieglin, <i> Ausgrabungen in Alexandrien </i> (1908); Harnack, <i> Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte </i> (1895-1900), and in <i> New Sch-Herz </i> (1910); Inge, Alexandrian [[Theology]] in <i> Encyclopedia of [[Religion]] and Ethics </i> (1908); Ed. Caird, <i> [[Evolution]] of Theology in the Greek Philosophers </i> (1904); Pfleiderer, <i> Philosophy and Development of Religion </i> (1894); Schaff, <i> History of Christian Church </i> (1884-1910); Zogheb, <i> Etudes sur l'ancienne Alexandrie </i> (1909). </p>