CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Religious System at Alexandria
Franc ̧oise Dunand
At the end of antiquity Alexandria’s religious system must have resembled a
‘‘palimpsest,’’ to use Haas’ fortunate metaphor, on which the cults imported at
various points by each of the communities that made up the city’s urban mosaic
were superimposed (Haas 1997). But this diversity of cults probably existed from the
city’s origin. In this respect, Alexandria probably differed hardly at all from the
majority of Greek cities in the hellenistic period. But what distinguished the city
from the rest was the fact that its status was ambiguous, since it was created practically
ex nihiloby royal initiative. Was it a Greek city, invented for Greeks, ‘‘on the edge’’ of
Egypt, as in the famous expressionAlexandria ad Aegyptum? This conceptualization,
which has long flourished, is now being called into question. It is true that the city
seems to have conformed to the quadrilateral ‘‘Hippodamian’’ plan that was typical of
the great hellenistic cities, and that it was centered around the agora and the royal
palaces. But the city’s structure also comprised numerous elements borrowed from
Egypt, as has been demonstrated by the recent discoveries of pharaonic statues and
bas-reliefs in the waters of the harbors (Empereur 1998–2002; Goddio 1998). These
derived largely from Heliopolis, and they were obviously reused to give Alexandria an
Egyptian color. Furthermore, if the city was initially conceived as the seat of a foreign
power imposed upon Egypt, the new masters soon demonstrated their integration
into the Egyptian system, be this by contributing to the performance of traditional
cults or by having themselves crowned ‘‘in the Egyptian fashion’’ at Memphis (as
became normal from Ptolemy IV, r. 222–205 BC). From the third century BC, many
Egyptians were reaching the corridors of power and being included in the royal
entourage, whilst people of Greek descent were sometimes taking on Egyptian
names and holding the top priestly jobs in Egyptian temples (Clarysse 1999). In
short, Alexandria was of course home to a ‘‘mixed’’ population. Was the site on which
it was founded inhabited beforehand? The issue is in dispute. The name Rhako ̄tis is
traditionally regarded as that of the ‘‘Egyptian village’’ that had preceded the city, but
it has recently been reinterpreted as a general term designating a building site. So we