Alexandria, city and major seaport in northern Egypt, in the Nile River delta, on a ridge that separates Lake Maryot from the Mediterranean Sea. The city was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, who planned it as one of the finest ports of the ancient world. A mole (breakwater made of large stones or masonry) nearly 1.6 km (1 mi) in length called the Heptastadium (“seven furlongs”) was built to the island of Pharos, enclosing a spacious harbor. A famous lighthouse, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was also built on Pharos. Another smaller harbor was open to the west. A canal joined Lake Maryot to a nearby branch of the Nile.
The ancient city was about 6.4 km (about 4 mi) long, and regularly built, with streets crossing at right angles and colonnades adorning the principal streets. The most magnificent quarter of the city, called the Brucheium, was situated on the eastern harbor. Farther west was the Serapeion, or temple of the Egyptian deity Serapis; the Soma, or mausoleum of Alexander and the Ptolemies; the Poseidonium, or temple of Poseidon, god of the sea; the museum; the great theater; and the emporium, or exchange. The northeastern quarter was occupied by the Jews. In Alexandria the Jews came into contact with Greek learning, which profoundly influenced the later religious thought of the world; here the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, was made before AD100. Later philosophers attempted to fuse the doctrines of Christianity with the ideals of Greek philosophy.
