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es e a iso.
Rep esen a ions o Alexand ia in Classical La in Li e a u e
Au o (es): Pimen el, Ma ia C is ina de Cas o-Maia de Sousa
Publicado po :
Edições A on amen o; CITCEM - Cen o de In es igação
T ansdisciplina «Cul u a, Espaço e Memó ia»; Cen o de Es udos
Clássicos e Humanís icos; Alexand ia Uni e si y; Imp ensa da
Uni e sidade de Coimb a
URL
pe sis en e: URI:h p://hdl.handle.ne /10316.2/36157
DOI: DOI:h p://dx.doi.o g/10.14195/978-989-26-0966-9_3
Accessed : 14-Ap -2018 02:29:42
digi alis.uc.p
pombalina.uc.p
alexand ea
ad aegyp Vm
he legacy o
mul icul u alism
in an iqui y
ROGÉRIO SOUSA
MARIA DO CÉU FIALHO
MONA HAGGAG
NUNO SIMÕES RODRIGUES
alexand ea
ad aegyp Vm
he legacy o
mul icul u alism
in an iqui y
ROGÉRIO SOUSA
MARIA DO CÉU FIALHO
MONA HAGGAG
NUNO SIMÕES RODRIGUES
alexand ea
ad aegyp Vm
he legacy o
mul icul u alism
in an iqui y
ROGÉRIO SOUSA
MARIA DO CÉU FIALHO
MONA HAGGAG
NUNO SIMÕES RODRIGUES
y
ROGÉRIO SOUSA
MARIA DO CÉU FIALHO
MONA HAGGAG
NUNO SIMÕES RODRIGUES
alexand ea ad aegyp Vm
he legacy o
mul icul u alism in an iqui y
CITCEM
y
ISBN 978-972-36-1336-0
9 789723 613360
Alexand ia endu es in ou imagina ion as he i s model
o cul u al in e ac ion – o cosmopoli anism, o use bo h
classical and con empo a y e minology – and as he
cul u al and in ellec ual capi al o he ancien wo ld. The
in e mingling o aces and belie s, and he exchange o
ideas, undoub edly p oduced he knowledge ha mode n
schola ship s ill celeb a es.
This book is a es imony ha he alues embodied by
Alexand ia and i s Lib a y con inue o inspi e noble
minded schola s whose pu sui o knowledge anscends
bounda ies and ime. The b ead h and scope o he pape s
p esen ed do c edi o he spi i o Alexand ia – i s
mul icul u alism, and i s passion o science and
schola ship. The book in ou hands con i m ha he
mul icul u alism o he Ancien Wo ld, ippling ou om
Alexand ia o ex end h oughou he Hellenis ic pe iod
and beyond, is as alid now as i was hen – pe haps mo e
so oday, when globaliza ion has gi en a new meaning o
he in e na ionalism en isioned by Alexande he G ea
cen u ies ago. Now, wi h he “clash o ci iliza ions”
domina ing ou discou se, i is pe inen o emembe he
lesson Alexand ea ad Aegyp um augh us: ha he
in e ac ion be ween cul u es can only lead o he
be e men o he human condi ion and ca y us o
heigh s unimagined.
Ismail Se ageldin
Lib a ian o Alexand ia
The excellen con ibu ions ga he ed in his book
dedica ed o he ci y o books, Alexand ia, a e
undoub edly aced along he lines o Am and John’s
dialogue. In ole ance, which is bo ne almos always ou o
igno ance, h ea ens con inuously he peace ul mee ing
and coexis ence o peoples and cul u es nowadays.
Alexand ia, i s people and books emind us ha he sea ch
o dialogue, he e lec ion on he o ms o uni y in
di e si y a e a he same ime ou g ea es he i age and he
mos d ama ically p essing agenda.
Gab iele Co nelli
Uni e si y o B asilia
Abs ac : Ou pape in ends o ocus on Alexand ia a e he Roman annexa ion:
wha aces o i s splendou and glo y do we ind in classical La in li e a u e? Wha epe -
cussions o he changes su e ed a e 30 B.C. called he a en ion o hese au ho s? Wha
did he Romans hink o he inhabi an s o Alexand ia, and wha ela ionship did hey
ha e wi h he his o y o ha pa o he wo ld? G eek li e a u e is ich in in o ma ion on
Egyp and Alexand ia, bu om his image o a magni icen ci y ha he G eeks ha e le
us, wha do he La in au ho s echo? Wha is made o i s popula ion, G eeks, Egyp ians,
Sy ians, Jews, people coming om all pa s o he wo ld? The po ai we can ace is, o
cou se, impe ec . To ge as close as possible o Roman Egyp , we would ha e o ely on he
in o ma ion p o ided by G eek Li e a u e, by Papy ology, Numisma ics, Epig aphy,
A chaeology, eading os aka, e c. We will y, howe e , o lis his in o ma ion acco ding
o di e en hema ic a eas, such as: The desc ip ion o he ci y; The wonde s o Alexan-
d ia; The way he Alexand ians a e seen and po ayed by he Roman au ho s; The his-
o y o Alexand ia and i s ela ions wi h Rome; Wha he Romans go om Egyp and
Alexand ia; Wha he Alexand ians go om he Romans; The a ac ion o Alexand ia
and Egyp among he Romans.
When, on Augus 1 o he yea 30 B.C., Oc a ian, ha ing aken Alexand ia, en e ed he
ci y on oo , while engaged in casual con e sa ion wi h one o he Museum’s philosophe s,
his a i ude was cha ac e is ic o he me iculousness wi h which, a his ime, a ce ain
48
REPRESENTATIONS OF ALEXANDRIA
IN CLASSICAL LATIN LITERATURE
MARIA CRISTINA DE CASTRO-MAIA DE SOUSA PIMENTEL
Uni e si y o Lisbon. Cen o de Es udos Clássicos (Uni e si y o Lisbon).
amoun o poli ical s age managing ook place in o de o build up he epu a ion and
poli ical powe o public igu es. Augus us’ ges u e had he appea ance o a peace ul en y,
a mission o somebody who was no coming o annex o subjuga e he ancien and splendid
land o he Pha aohs and he P olemies, and i s capi al Alexand ea ad Aegyp um, he mag-
ni icen ci y which Alexande , in he al eady dis an days o 331 B.C., had d eamed o and
o de ed o be buil . De ea ed, Ma k An hony ook his own li e and Cleopa a VII, he seduc-
i e and s ubbo n queen o Egyp , p oud o he ances al lineage and wi h he ambi ions
hwa ed, a oided, also by suicide, he unbea able humilia ion o coming o join, ali e, he
iumphan p ocession, which, as she knew well, he winne o Ac ium was o celeb a e in
Rome. Oc a ian, ce ain ha Egyp was i e e sibly unde Roman ule, goes on o a ach i
o he al eady as e i o ies o Rome, and gi es i special adminis a i e s a us, which will
ensu e con ol o wha is now he la ges sou ce o income, in asse s and in axes, among all
he p o inces unde he aegis o he p inceps.
Bu wha did ha peace ul en y mean o Egyp and speci ically o Alexand ia? Wha
happened a e wa ds o he ci y which was he second me opolis o he wo ld, su passed
only by Rome? Wha des iny did he annexa ion ace o he p o ince and i s inhabi an s?
I is ue ha Rome was no an alien powe in Egyp . E e since, in he 3 d cen u y B.C.,
King P olemy II sen an embassy o Rome, which he Romans ecip oca ed, he pa h was
open o Rome o ecognise i sel he igh , du ing he ollowing wo cen u ies, o in e ene
in he equen dynas ic con lic s o agains ex e nal h ea s (whe he upon eques o by
clauses se o h in he es amen s o he kings o Egyp , o whe he by Rome’s own deci-
sion). Thus, Egyp was u ned in o a p o ec o a e ha e y soon, because o i s weal h and
comme cial po en ial, became an a ac i e a ge o men wi h impe ial aspi a ions. A long
se ies o diploma ic episodes and some bloody mili a y con lic s, such as he wa o Alexan-
d ia, which, a li le mo e han wo decades be o e he annexa ion o he p o ince, Julius
Caesa had aken on in o de o es o e Cleopa a on he P olemaic h one, had ma ked he
his o y o he al eady declining Lagid Dynas y and con ibu ed o he image ha he Egyp -
ian and G eek popula ions had o Rome – a nega i e image which allowed hem o o esee
ha hei impending des iny was he loss o au onomy and eedom.
In 30 B.C., he e o e, Oc a ian lays he g oundwo k o he adminis a ion o Egyp
and i s capi al ci y. He akes ad an age o he complex bu eauc a ic s uc u e wi h i s s ong
hie a chies, inhe i ed om he P olemaic Dynas y, and makes he adap a ions ha he
deems necessa y. In a wo d: wha wo ks, acco ding o he p agma ic and e icien pe spec-
i e o he Roman cen alised powe , emains; wha does no wo k o does no se e he
in e es s o he Romans, is cancelled and eplaced. Impo an addi ions a e made, such as
he ins i u ion o he p ae ec us Alexand iae e Aegyp i, an eques who ep esen s and answe s
only o he empe o , ha ing es ed in him ex ao dina y powe s o ensu e supe ision o
all poli ical, economic, legal, social and e en mili a y unc ions. Oc a ian, who e ains
di ec powe o e he new p o ince, immedia ely akes p ecau ions, awa e o he dange
49
ep esen a ions o alexand ia in classical la in li e a u e
ha he con ol o Egyp could ep esen o Rome, i somebody, pu in cha ge o he
adminis a ion o he p o ince, plo ed o headed a sedi ious mo emen o me ely decided
o oppose Rome, cu ing o i s g ain supply, he base o he su i al o he plebs and, hus,
he gua an ee o i s emaining unde con ol and away om io s and social un es . Oc a-
ian Augus us was so ce ain ha he needed o p e en membe s o he highes social s a a
om accessing Egyp , whe e hey could concei e and execu e plans o insu gency, ha he
o bade sena o s and knigh s o sena o ial s a us o en e Egyp wi hou he exp ess and
p io au ho isa ion o he p inceps.
Le us ocus, hen, on Alexand ia a e he Roman annexa ion: wha aces o i s splen-
dou and glo y do we ind in classical La in li e a u e? Wha epe cussions o he changes
su e ed a e 30 B.C. called he a en ion o hese au ho s? Wha did he Romans hink o
he inhabi an s o Alexand ia, and wha ela ionship did hey ha e wi h he his o y o ha
pa o he wo ld? Le us ecall ha S abo (Book 17) ga e us he mos comple e desc ip ion
o he capi al o Egyp , a ci y he saw wi h his own eyes, and wi h which he el ascina ed, a
ew yea s a e i s annexa ion by Rome. Diodo us Siculus (17.52), who had also isi ed
Alexand ia, exp esses, al hough mo e succinc ly, he a ac ion ha he ci y, so beau i ul
and o ganized, exe ed on hose who saw i . O he au ho s, such as Theoc i us in he cele-
b a ed Idyll XV, show us he hus le and bus le o a ci y ull o people, in ol ed in eligious
ce emonies o o he celeb a ions, in a ib a ion o li e ha s ill ouches us oday.
G eek li e a u e is ich in in o ma ion on Egyp and Alexand ia, bu om his image
ha he G eeks ha e le us, wha do he La in au ho s echo? Wha is made o he Museum,
i s wo lib a ies – he p incipal and he one o he Se apeum – he oyal palace, he Sema,
he omb o Alexande , he wide and pe pendicula s ee s, he i e dis ic s named a e he
i s i e le e s o he G eek alphabe , he wo sea po s and he channel ha b ough he
wa e s o he Nile, he owe o he island o Pha os which guided sailo s and shone i s ligh
in a adius o i y kilome es, and o he hep as adion which connec ed he island o he
mainland? Wha is made o i s popula ion, G eeks, Egyp ians, Sy ians, Jews, people coming
om all pa s o he wo ld, wi h hei equen con lic s bu also wi h he ine i able c ossing
o cul u es ha was en iching o all?
The pe spec i e o La in au ho s is na u ally consis en , in mos cases, wi h wha we
would expec om people who belong, wi h mo e o less explici ly s a ed p ide, o he
na ion ha was ic o ious a Ac ium and had conque ed he wo ld, and who belie ed
hemsel es o be he keepe s o ci iliza ion in i s pu es and highes o m. The po ai we
can ace is, howe e , impe ec . To ge as close as possible o Roman Egyp , we would ha e
o ely on he in o ma ion p o ided by G eek Li e a u e, by Papy ology, Numisma ics,
Epig aphy, A chaeology, eading os aka, e c. Le us y, howe e , o lis his in o ma ion
acco ding o di e en hema ic a eas.
50
alexand ea ad aegyp m: he legacy o mul icul u alism in an iqui y

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY
In La in li e a u e, as a as we know, only Ammianus Ma cellinus (22.16), as la e as he
4 h cen u y A.D., gi es us a desc ip ion o Alexand ia, which he calls he «pea l» o all ci ies.
He ells us o i s nume ous and magni icen cons uc ions, buil hanks o he gene osi y o
Alexande and he a o he a chi ec Dinoc a es. He men ions i s beau i ul and g ea walls
and he abundance announced a he ime o i s ounda ion by po en s o u u e weal h. He
eminds us o he mild clima e, he heal hy b eezes and he in a iably clea sky. He ecalls
he high owe called «Pha os», which, wi h g oss anach onism, he a ibu es o Cleopa a,
who, acco ding o him, planned and buil i in he po , o p o ide assis ance o ships wi h
i s ligh , and hus pu an end o he hi he o equen shipw ecks. He celeb a es he hep as-
adion, no able no only o i s leng h bu also o he speed wi h which i was cons uc ed,
acco ding o him also by Cleopa a. He alludes o he emples wi h he high ceilings, such as
he Se apeum, supe b in i s ooms illed wi h columns, wi h s a ues ha appea ed o be
ali e, and so deco a ed wi h wo ks o a ha a e he Capi ol in Rome he e was, in his
opinion, no hing mo e wonde ul in he ace o he ea h. Finally, he speaks o he wo
lib a ies o he ci y, which we e in aluable and in which had been deposi ed hanks o he
e o s o he P olemies se en hund ed housand olumes, he hen e e s o he i e ha con-
sumed hem du ing he wa o Alexand ia, when he ci y was sacked by Julius Caesa .
Ammianus also speaks o Canopus, a own wel e miles om Alexand ia, si ua ed in
a pleasan and salub ious loca ion, whe e e e ybody expe ienced he eeling o being away
om wo ldly hings. In he con ex o his ex ensi e dig ession, which had begun wi h an
o e iew o Egyp , i s auna and he majo monumen s, he adminis a i e di isions and i s
special ype o go e nmen by a p ae ec us, i s ci ies, and he biza e way o w i ing o he
Egyp ians, he e a e also e e ences o he huge expanse o Alexand ia, which was eached
no g adually, as i happens wi h o dina y ci ies, bu igh om he ou se . The his o ian
also no es ha a he ime o empe o Au elian, when con lic s be ween ci izens became
de as a ing ba les, he ci y ended up, plagued by con inuous in e nal un es , ha ing i s
walls in uins and su e ing he loss o a pa o he ci y whe e many illus ious men li ed
om ime immemo ial. O hese, he his o ian e okes some names om ancien imes, o
a i m immedia ely a e wa ds ha , in his ime, in Alexand ia he e we e s ill many who
had dis inguished hemsel es in he A s, Geome y, Music, As onomy, Ma hema ics, Di -
ina ion, and abo e all, Medicine. A he end o his cu ious dig ession and be o e eminding
us, a he simplis ically, ha in An iqui y he whole o Egyp was a mona chy allied wi h
Rome, con e ed in o a p o ince unde he ule o Oc a ian a e he de ea o An hony and
Cleopa a a he ba le o Ac ium, Ammianus d aws a ske ch o he physical cha ac e is ics
and cha ac e o he Egyp ians, saying ha hey a e almos all swa hy and ha e qui e da k
skin, looking a li le sad, slende , d y, ho -headed, ebellious and e y insis en when hey
complain abou some hing. He also no es ha hey e used o pay axes, and ha hey
51
ep esen a ions o alexand ia in classical la in li e a u e
endu ed physical punishmen o no doing so. The wo s o u es could no make hem
con ess hei c imes.
As a necessa ily b ie commen , we can say ha wha calls ou a en ion in his excu -
sus is wha we ead o he su i al, howe e diminished bu s ill e iden , o he g andeu o
yes e day, as well as he dis us ing and xenophobic pe spec i e o somebody who sees « he
O he » as people in obs ina e ebellion and in ingemen , people who do no i he s an-
da ds o ci iliza ion imposed by Rome o he wo ld. Also signi ican is he de aul eading
o he poli ical egime unde which Egyp li ed h oughou i s his o y, as only he mona -
chy’s alliance wi h Rome is e oked, and hen he submission o Augus us a e he esound-
ing ic o y o Ac ium. In his iew, Ammianus is he hei o all he La in li e a y adi ion
ha p ecedes him.
THE WONDERS OF ALEXANDRIA
Roman au ho s a e no spa ing in hei p aise o he beau y and g andeu o he cap-
i al o Egyp . Among o he s, he Bellum Alexand inum (3.1) speaks o he «[V] bs e ilis-
sima e copiosissima». Cice o, in De Lege Ag a ia (2.43) uses h ee supe la i es o desc ibe
Alexand ia and Egyp : «[u bis] copiosissimae; opulen issimi [ egni]; pulche imo um
[ag o um]»1.The ligh house on he island o Pha os, one o he se en wonde s o he
ancien wo ld, also could no ha e le he Romans indi e en . Pliny (NH 36.83), o exam-
ple, p aises he « u is a ege ac a in insula Pha o», and, wi h ins uc i e zeal, ells us ha
he cos o he wo k ose o 800 alen s. The oyal palace, which had a ac ed he admi a-
ion o Theoc i us, is he subjec o desc ip ion in Lucan (BC 10.111-126), who e okes,
al hough wi h no di ec knowledge, he weal h and g andeu o he building and i s deco-
a ion. The mausoleum o Alexande , in he in e io o which eposed he body o he ci y’s
ounde , had been laid o es , embalmed and anoin ed wi h honey (c . S a ius, Silu.
3.2.118), and which was also he omb o he P olemies, is equally men ioned by se e al
La in au ho s, such as Lucan (BC 10.1-51).
Ine i ably, he abulous Lib a y o Alexand ia elici ed e e ences in classical La in li -
e a u e. Seneca, in a mo alis one, e okes he bu ning o he collec ion o mo e han o y
housand uolumina in 47 B.C., ha is, du ing he wa o Alexand ia. He does no a ach lia-
bili y o Caesa , bu , while acknowledging ha i was pulche imum egiae opulen iae mon-
umen um (T anq. 9.5), he gi es a e dic consis en wi h S oic obedience which leads him
o say ha , i he e a e hose who p aise such magni icence, he himsel does no see in i
nei he cu a no elegan ia, bu only a s udiosa luxu ia: so many books and so much weal h
52
alexand ea ad aegyp m: he legacy o mul icul u alism in an iqui y
1C . also NH 5.62-63: no s opping sho o an encomium, Pliny does no ail o conside wo hy o p aise (iu e laude u in
li o e Aegyp ii ma is Alexand ia) he capi al o Egyp , whose bounda ies and shape he b ie ly desc ibes, also including a e -
e ence o he ex en o he oyal palace, which occupied one i h o he ci y.
we e jus in spec aculum, mean as he o namen and os en a ion o powe . Vi u ius
(7.4-5) speaks in a mo e de ached one and p aises he in en ions o he ounde o he
Lib a y, who mus ha e ac ed wi h in ini o zelo, eage o expand he p ac ice o eading and
he knowledge o g ea wo ks and o sp ead cul u e. Rega ding he con o e sial issue o he
bu ning o he Lib a y, which some a ibu e o an in olun a y ac o Julius Caesa and o h-
e s hink ha ne e e en happened, he in o ma ion ac ually ound in La in li e a u e does
no allow us o cla i y he u h o he ma e . Flo us (2.13) s icks o he non-speci ic s a e-
men ha Caesa , in o de o epel he onslaugh o he enemy, se i e o buildings (wi hou
saying which) nea he place whe e he was in he ci y, as well as o he a senal and he po ,
and hen ook e uge on he island o Pha os. This e sion de i es di ec ly om wha Cae-
sa himsel had w i en (BC 3.111), which speaks o se ing i e o he ships o de ence pu -
poses, bu does no say whe he he i e sp ead and consumed he Lib a y. The omission is
pe haps no su p ising: i i indeed had happened in his way, Caesa , he gene al and man
o cul u e, would no ha e a eason o be p oud o he inciden . To de end his image, he
would ha e ied o conceal such mis o une. As we ha e seen, Ammianus Ma cellinus
(22.16.13) links he bu ning o he Lib a y o he sack o he ci y ca ied ou by Caesa , and
e e s o he des uc ion o se en hund ed housand olumes. This is also he numbe men-
ioned by Aulus Gellius (NA 7.17.3): his e udi e man does no e in a ibu ing he ound-
ing o he Lib a y o he P olemies, and makes a poin o men ioning ha he i e occu ed
du ing he sack o Alexand ia in he wa s a ed by Caesa , bu ha he e was no exp ess
o de o igni e i , immedia ely adding he hypo hesis ha he auxilia y soldie s we e he
ones o do so.
The na u al cha ac e is ics ha made Alexand ia a ci y ideally sui ed o occupy he
place o p ominence i held also did no escape he a en ion o he La in w i e s. As good
Romans, awa e o he s a egic impo ance o geog aphic loca ion, hey o en e e ed o
he ac ha Alexand ia was closed up and na u ally de ended agains a acks and enemy
incu sions. The Bellum Alexand inum speaks o his a ou able loca ion using he wo d
claus um (26.2) o e e o he ad an age o he ci y being gua ded by he island o Pha os
om he side o he sea, and by Pelusium om he side o he land2.
THE ALEXANDRIANS: TREACHEROUS,
INDOMITABLE, CONFRONTATIONAL,
AMBITIOUS, INSOLENT AND PROFLIGATE
This is he image o he Alexand ians in pa icula , and he Egyp ians in gene al, ha
eme ges om La in li e a u e and comes om ex s e en p io o he annexa ion. The
53
ep esen a ions o alexand ia in classical la in li e a u e
2The same wo d is used, and wi h exac ly he same in en ion, by Li . 45.11.5; Luc., BC 10.509; Taci us, His . 2.82; and Sue .,
Vesp. 7.2.
au ho o he Bellum Alexand inum desc ibes hem as ap issimi ad p odi ionem (c . 7.3),
calls hem allaces and eme a ii (7.2) – epea ing he adjec i e allax in 24.1 ( allacem gen-
em) – people who always hink in one way and ac in ano he (24.1: sempe que alia cogi-
an em alia simulan em). Seneca (B eu. 13.7) unde lines he pe idia ha cha ac e ised he
Alexand ians, e iden in he b u al and eache ous mu de o Pompey3.
Cice o, o example, in he P o Rabi io Pos umo (34-36) speaks o he insolence o he
Alexand ians, and c i icises hei os and he audacia wi h which hey now asse wha hey
ha e jus denied. He dispa ages hei lying, impe inence, and he cons an p es igiae and
allaciae, which hey use and abuse4.
A passage by F on inus (1.1.5), om his chap e De occul andis consiliis, is signi ican .
He e he ecoun s ha Caesa , while p epa ing he wa o Alexand ia, suspicious o i s
inhabi an s bu wan ing o appea aloo and disin e es ed, and while inspec ing he ci y and
i s de ences, su ende ed o licen io ibus conuiuiis, o io ous banque s, p e ending he was
cap i a ed by he cha ms o he ci y and ha he had allowed himsel o ake on he habi s
and li es yle o i s inhabi an s – a ached o he deliciae O id speaks o (T is ia 1.2.80) and
he o ia lae a which Vale ius Flaccus celeb a es (5.422). F on inus hen u ns o a ack he
Alexand ians, seen as a people abandoned o he mos common pleasu es5.
Viewed wi h su p ise and some i ony o disgus , he Romans also e e o he inces u-
ous ela ions, which, hey said, we e common in Egyp . Seneca speaks (Apoc. 8.2-3) o
inces be ween siblings, ob iously alluding o oyal ma iages, bu gene alising he p ac ice
o he en i e ci y o Alexand ia.
The e a e also a ious s a emen s abou he con on a ional and ho - empe ed cha -
ac e o he Alexand ians. One example is wha is said o he Egyp ians, and applies o he
na i es o Alexand ia, in he His o ia Augus a (Ty anni T igin a 22): hey we e people who
pu he s a e a se ious isk o mino hings.
To ligh en up he da k colou s o his po ai , he e a e, howe e , au ho s who do
no hide ce ain quali ies and skills o he Alexand ians. A doub emains, ne e heless,
whe he such p aise does no o en se e abo e all o he agg andisemen o hose who
won and domina ed o e hem. In he Bellum Alexand inum (3.1; 13.2; 16.5) i is said ha
hey a e homines ingeniosi a que acu issimi, possessed o such na u alis solle ia ha hey
we e able o ep oduce e e y hing hey saw he Romans doing, and hen imagine spon e
sua many a ack and de ence mechanisms, as well as how o dis inguish hemsel es in he
wa a sea. The cha ac e isa ion we ge in he His o ia Augus a (Quad igae Ty anno um
9.8) is o an indus ious and ha d-wo king people. An alleged le e o Had ian is ep o-
duced he e, which speaks o Alexand ia as a h i ing ci y, ich and e ile, whe e nobody
54
alexand ea ad aegyp m: he legacy o mul icul u alism in an iqui y
3C . also B. Al. 24.3; P op. 3.11.33; Sen., Ad Ma c. 20.4.
4C . also Sen., Ad Helu. 19.6; Quin . 1.2.7; Sue ., Vesp. 19.2.
5C . Ju . 6.82-84 and, on Canopus, P op. 3.39; Sen., Epis . 51.3; Ju . 15.46.
able o he Alexand ians and his wish o go as unno iced as possible. Ge manicus knew ha
he had en e ed Egyp wi hou he consen o Tibe ius. And when Tibe ius ound ou abou
i , he complained o he a on o he Sena e (Sue onius, Tib. 52.2) and se e ely c i icised
Ge manicus o he indigni y o wea ing he pallium, when he was mean o wea exclu-
si ely he oga, and, abo e all, o ha ing in inged he ins i u a o Augus us. Tibe ius’ ani-
mosi y agains his adop ed son g ew bigge e e y day. Unawa e o he c i icisms hanging
o e him, Ge manicus wen h ough Egyp , as was his desi e, isi ing he mos beau i ul o
his o ically impo an places. He depa ed om Canopus and wen up he Nile. He saw
Thebes, admi ed he hie oglyphics on he monumen s, wan ed o ha e he sc ip deci-
phe ed o him, isi ed he Colossus o Memnon, he py amids, he a i icial lakes ha
ecei ed he wa e s o he Nile, he island o Elephan ine, Syene (which is now he beau i ul
Aswan). In a wo d, a jou ney in which we imagine his awe a he wonde s which s ill
imp ess us so much oday. Taci us does no men ion, howe e , an episode which ook place
du ing his ip, when Ge manicus isi ed Memphis. The emple o he Apis bull, which he
na u ally wan ed o isi , was loca ed he e. Whoe e wen o his emple used o eed he
bull and ga he , om he animal’s eac ion, posi i e o ad e se omens. The bull u ned his
snou away om Ge manicus, and e used o ea he ood ha he was gi ing him in his
hand. The accoun is om Pliny (NH 8.185), who no es ha he bad omen was con i med
sho ly a e wa ds by he dea h o Ge manicus, which by all accoun s seems o ha e been
o de ed by Tibe ius. Taci us, who in he Annales comes clea ly in a ou o Ge manicus and
pain s wi h da k colou s he cha ac e o Tibe ius, as an unde handed and c uel despo ,
supp esses his episode, as he would no ha e wan ed o ecall ha in Egyp he gods could
jus as much o dain empe o s as announce a agic des iny. So we a e le wi h he bene o-
len image o a Ge manicus who is gene ous, educa ed, awake o wha is mos beau i ul in
he wo ld, willing o b eak he oughes ules o sa is y his in ellec ual cu iosi y. Fo he
eade he becomes, hus, a kind o symbol o e e ybody who is le enchan ed by he mys-
e y and g andeu o he Egyp ian ci ilisa ion.
61
ep esen a ions o alexand ia in classical la in li e a u e