jjares reviewed on 7/10/2022 + 3294 more book reviews

One sentence encapsulates Alexandria's uniqueness: "... it was a Greek city built on Egyptian soil that was later ruled by the Romans and then became an important center of early Christian culture." (Introduction) This book discusses the importance of the Library of Alexandria and the fact that it contained half a million scrolls in its heyday. Although most books disappeared over time, the medical tomes were accurate and used until the 17th century. Of all the sciences covered by Alexandria Library books, only philosophy was underrepresented. Perhaps the Greeks thought they'd already covered that field with Plato and Socrates.

It was interesting to learn that the apostle Mark formed the Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria. The center of the Coptic Christians (also known as the Egyptian Orthodox Church) was in Alexandria. I always thought it was in Constantinople. Maybe, I don't understand the differences between the Byzantine and Coptic Christians. I will pursue this further.

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