The Graeco-Roman Museum is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open-air museum, open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum ...

located in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Its collection of over 40,000 objects includes sculptures, mosaics, woodwork, and coins.

History

Erected in 1892, it was first built in a five-room apartment, inside one small building on Rosetta Street (later Avenue Canope and now Horriya). In 1895, it was transferred to another, larger building near Gamal Abdul Nasser Street. Its first director was . From 1904 to 1932 he was followed by Evaristo Breccia and then Achille Adriani. The museum was inaugurated in 1895 by Khedive Abbas II. The museum edited the ''Bulletin of the Alexandria Archaeological Society''. The museum contains several pieces dating from the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

(

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty *Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining t ...

) era in the 3rd century BC, such as a sculpture of Apis in

black granite In the construction industry, black rocks that share the hardness and strength of granitic rocks are known as black granite. In geological terms, black granite might be gabbro, diabase, basalt, diorite, norite, or anorthosite Anorthosite () ...

, the

sacred bull Cattle are prominent in some religions and mythologies. As such, numerous peoples throughout the world have at one point in time honored bulls as sacred. In the Sumerian religion, Marduk is the "bull of Utu". In Hinduism, Shiva's steed is Na ...

of the Egyptians,

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

, and other objects offering a view of

Greco-Roman civilization The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

in contact with

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

. The museum's collection is the product of donations from wealthy Alexandrians as well as of excavations led by successive directors of the institution, both within the town and in its environs. Certain other objects have come from the Organization of Antiquities at

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(particularly those of the

Pharaonic ''Pharaonic'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by Milkstone Studios. It was first released on April 28, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, and later for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Plot The game ...

period) and from various digs undertaken at the beginning of the century in

Fayoum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

and at Benhasa. Housed within a historic building whose beautiful neoclassical facade of six columns and

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

bears the large inscription in (museum). The museum consists of 27 halls and an attractive garden. From 1970 to 1974,

Soheir Bakhoum Soheir Bakhoum, also Suhayr Salīm Bāẖūm (1 April 1947 - 19 June 2003) was an Egyptian-French numismatist, who specialised in Roman Alexandria The history of Alexandria dates back to the city's founding, by Alexander the Great, in 331 B ...

was curator. The museum was closed for renovations in 2005. In February 2022 the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,

Mostafa Waziri Mostafa Waziri (, occasionally cited as Mostafa Waziry) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and the former secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. He received his PhD from Soh ...

, said that the museum would be opened within a few months. On 11 October 2023, Egyptian Prime Minister

Mostafa Madbouly Mostafa Kamal Madbouly (born 28 April 1966) is an Egyptian politician who serves as the 54th and current Prime Minister of Egypt. He was appointed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to succeed Sherif Ismail following his government's resignation i ...

attended the reopening of the museum, following 18 years of renovations.

Directors

* 1892–1903, Giuseppe Botti * 1904–1932, Evaristo Breccia * Achille Adriani * 2004–2010,

Mervat Seif el-Din Mervat Seif el-Din, Arabic: ميرفت سيف الدين (born 1954) is a classical archaeologist from Egypt, who was Director of the Graeco-Roman Museum of Alexandria from 2004 to 2010. A specialist in the archaeology of Alexandria, el-Din is a ...

Gallery

File:GD-EG-Alex-MuséeGR-Map.png, Floor plan File:Sophilos Mosaic from Thmuis.jpg, Sophilos Mosaic File:Osiris-Antinous in marble 2nd century CE at the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria Egypt AG.jpg, Osiris-Antinous in marble 2nd century CE File:GD-EG-Alex-MuséeNat043.JPG, Figurines File:Egypt-14A-026 - Cleopatra (2216749069).jpg, Cleopatra File:AlexMusNilePlates.jpg , Carved bone plaques

References

External links

Supreme Council of Antiquities Museums: The Graeco-Roman Museum
{{authority control 1892 establishments in Egypt Archaeological museums in Egypt Egyptological collections in Egypt Museums established in 1892 Museums in Alexandria Museums of ancient Greece Museums of ancient Rome

History

Directors

Gallery

See also

References

External links