The ‘Golden-Age’ of Alexandria and the "Decline of Neoplatonic Western Intellectualism": A Historiographical Re-assessment.
by Darcy R. Keim , MA The city of Alexandria – located in Egypt – has long been the subject of periodic mythologizing within the historical record. Undoubtedly, its connection with Alexander the Great bestowed it with a degree of immortality. By the fifth-century A.D., Alexandria had developed as a city that claimed racial and linguistic diversity. [1] The half-million population was primarily made up of native Egyptians, Greeks, a substantial Jewish demographic; as well as other backgrounds sourced through the city’s occupation as a trading-port. [2] During the Late Antiquity, Alexandria boasted architectural splendour; with histories detailing a lighthouse that would later be remarked upon as one of the “Seven Wonders” of the Ancient world. [3] Reflective of these features, secondary narratives devised a ‘Golden-Age’ Alexandria. This is the product of both primary accounts, as well as long-term cultural movements; such as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Romanticised wi...