Alexandria of Egypt, The Divine Cosmopolis: Religion, Urban Topography, and Material Culture in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods

This is the first book dedicated to Alexandria’s religious world, reconstructing its scared topography, material culture and ritual life across seven centuries from the establishment of the Ptolemaic Kingdom through its transformation under Roman imperial rule, up to the twilight of pagan antiquity. It offers a systematic, evidence-based reconstruction of religious life in ancient Alexandria, examining the emergence of a structured 'sacred confederation' of cults under the Ptolemies, the mechanics of ruler worship and sacred kingship, and the formation of a distinctive Alexandrian religious identity from both Greek and Egyptian traditions.The study extends into the Roman period, tracing the transformation of the city's major sanctuaries, the richness of its civic and funerary culture, and glimpses of domestic cult and folk practice where the material record allows.Drawing on architecture, sculpture, inscriptions, funerary art and recent underwater and salvage discoveries, the study tre