(C) ART.
Unimportant. Alexandria had her special industries—e.g. glass, terra cotta, “Egyptian Queen” pottery, and woven stuffs, and her mint was famous; but for creative artists the Ptolemies looked over seas. Greek and Egyptian motives did not blend in Art as they did in Religion; attempts occur, but they are not notable and on the whole the city follows the general Hellenistic tendencies of the time. These tendencies led as we have seen away from the ideal and the abstract, and towards portraiture and the dainty and the picturesque. Men had lost for the time many illusions, both religious and political, and were trying to beautify their private lives, and the tombs of those whom they had loved.
Glass and “Egyptian Queen” Pottery: Museum, Room 17.
terra cottas: Museum, Room 18.
Ptolemaic Coins: Museum, Room 3.
Blend of Greek and Egyptian Motives: Museum Rooms 11 and 15; also Kom es Chogafa Catacombs, (p. [148]).
Tomb Ornaments: Museum, Rooms 17-22.
(D) PHILOSOPHY.
Unimportant. The Ptolemies imported some second-rate disciples of Aristotle to give tone to the Mouseion, but took no interest in the subject, and were indeed averse to it, since it might lead to freedom of thought. It was not until their dynasty was extinct that the great school of Alexandrian Philosophy arose. (See p. [60], under heading “The Spiritual City.”)