Hellenism in Alexandria : Creating spaces of Exchange - Mohammed Awad - Ποιειν Και Πραττειν

Hellenism in Alexandria : Creating spaces of Exchange - Mohammed Awad

This presentation is about the Greeks of Alexandria, their continued presence and prolonging interaction in Egypt. The presentation focuses primarily on the notion of cultural exchange. I’m not going to tackle the economic role of the Greeks or their political role. For, there are many unexampled roles the Greeks have played for generations in Egypt. I will focus mainly on the cultural interaction that was of a very eminent nature. And I will bring to your attention how this interaction developed mutually beneficial relationships. We are also concerned with the conditions and circumstances which brought about such interaction. This review in retrospection demarcates the destined role of the city of Alexandria and its contribution to the cosmopolitan culture. The Greek presence and their contribution to the enduring benefit of the city of Alexandria stand as one part of a larger puzzle. Yet, it remains quite an important and significant part in our cosmopolitan history.

The Greek presence in Egypt can be traced back to the 8^th century B.C., when Egypt had contacts with Mycenaean civilizations. Moreover, Homer’s epics in the 8^th century BC mention Egypt at least 24 times and later of course in his Odyssey, he clearly refers to the island of Pharos. We also get to know that there were pirates and peoples of the sea, who continuously conducted raids over Egypt in the times of Merenptah and Ramses III. In addition, we come across the presence of a Greek settlement in Egypt, Naucratis; a commercial city around the area of the Delta, very close to the Canopic branch of the river Nile. We are cognizant that Memphis had its Greek district with mercenaries that supported the Pharaohs at one time or another. In 440 B.C. Herodotus proffered explicit accounts to the people of the Nile, their civilization and their customs in his Histories. Still, it is a fact beyond denial that the Greek presence before Alexander was quite limited and it is only after Alexander arrived in Egypt when we started to have a continuous and significant Greek presence.

With reference to Alexander the Great and the founding of Alexandria. Alexander’s idea was to create a new capital for Egypt on the Mediterranean, Alexandria, was to become the new capital of Egypt should therefore be in contact with the civilizations of the Mediterranean. The civilization of the Hellenes was the most important of them. Alexander introduced a plan to the city of Alexandria, Dinocrates planned the city on the Greek Hippodromian concept, very different from the rest of Egypt. I’d like to read E.M. Forster, the very well-known English novelist and writer, saying about Alexander that, "he sought to harmonize the world not to Hellenize the world"^¹, contrary to the preaching of his tutor; Aristotle. Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, also states the fact that, "Alexander was not concerned with creating a city that bears his name, but he was more concerned with changing the world"^².

In fact, what’s important about Alexander is that he was setting a model. First, he was creating a city of a very special nature, that carried his name he proclaimed himself as an Egyptian Pharaoh and Son of Amun, but also the founder of cosmopolitanism. The Ptolemies who came after Alexander followed his model. This was the legacy of a man. He created a model for people after him to harmonize something that is not only Egyptian but also Greek.

So this is the idea of harmonizing when it comes to cultural exchange. After Alexander founded the greatest metropolis in the Mediterranean region, the Ptolemies started founded exalted institutions such as; the Lighthouse, the Bibliotheca and the Μουσείο; offered a perfect entourage for the spaces of cultural exchange to take place. The Ptolemies followed the idea of Alexander of creating a city that was of a pluralist nature; with many people of diverse cultures, a Jewish a Greek quarter and an Egyptian indigenous quarter. There were other races, other kinds of people, who were there, such as; Abyssinians, Nubians, people from Africa, and also Persians. It was a real pluralist city. Yet Alexandria was predominantly a Greek city, but it wasn’t completely Greek, it was Greek and Egyptian, simultaneously. As you will see in a moment, the character of the city was quite eclectic Alexandria managed to be the beacon of knowledge, through its Μουσείο and the Library. Alexandria became the most important place in the Mediterranean where people and scholars came to study. Generally speaking, the eras of the Ptolemies were periods of peace and prosperity. They founded a great city and they promoted culture and scientific research.

One of the things that happened, after the destruction of the library, is the re-discovery of the Hermetic texts. The Hermetic texts were very important texts that survived the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, they were transmitted to Palestine and then from Palestine they were rediscovered in Italy. They stood as a fundamental influence for sparking the Renaissance of Italy and Europe.

During the Roman rule, the city of Alexandria had a very prominent posture as part of the Mare Nostrum, and Greeks in the Roman period continued to occupy a very prominent position in the city. There were often tensions between the Greeks and the Jews, and also between the Jews and the Romans and during these disturbing revolts, massive destructions took place in the city. It was during those destructions that the Library of Alexandria and the Bronchium (the Royal Quarters) perished.

During the Roman period we had a unique account by Strabo; a Greek, who vividly describes Alexandria in his Geography.

In Alexandria we had shared Deities. Serapis was a very important god in Alexandria; for, he was a merge of Greek and Egyptian beliefs, and was also cherished in many regions of Greece. We had temples of Serapis all over Greece, in Rome, in France and also in Britain, cherishing his cult and also the cult of Isis. The latter surprisingly survived until the 6^th century A.D.

I would also like to highlight that philosophical thought thrived in Alexandria. Valentinus (20-50 B.C.) promoted Gnostic thought in 20 B.C. and Philon tried to reconcile Jewish faith with philosophy.

St. Mark came to Alexandria preaching Christianity. Philosophy and religion and scholarship in Gnostic thought and Neo-Platonism survived with a lot of difficulties. Because Christians, once they took control of the city, eventually started destroying the temples which where centres of knowledge and philosophical thought. These are some of the schools of the philosophical thought, in archaeological evidence reveal very prominent discoveries of 18 classrooms in the area of Kom El-Dik. Philosophical debates were held in here and the schools of philosophical thought continued as the catechetical schools of Clement and Origen. It was only in Alexandria that such debates between Arius and Athanasius on the nature of Christ could take place ending in the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. When Arius was banished and Athanasius took the seat and became Patriarch of Alexandria.

Then came the monotheism of Copts and Abyssinians, Alexandria then proclaimed herself as the seat of Middle-Eastern Orthodoxy.

Here I would like to make a small remark about the School of Philosophical thought in Athens. The Academy of Athens was revived again in the 4^th and the 5th centuries and was closed in the 6^th century. Now, during that period there was an interaction between Alexandria and Greece and one of the important scholars was Damascius, who was the last philosopher and the last director of the Academy of Athens. When the Academy of Athens was closed in the 6^th century by Justinian, they moved to Harran. Harran is somewhere on the borders between Persia and Asia Minor. In Harran there were a lot of translations of philosophy and scholarship. Now this is extremely important, because it will come back to Alexandria. Greek philosophy and Neo-Platonic thought have been translated in Harran into Arabic and then from Harran they went to Baghdad, in what we call (Dar al-Hikmah) or the House of Wisdom. It influenced Sufism and the Sufi movement in the Islamic world, which comes back to Alexandria. Via Spain, we have this movement coming to Alexandria again in the 17^th and the 18^th centuries by El-Mursi Abul Abbas and others, creating a very important Sufi movement in Alexandria. Alexandrian Sufism is a concept of Islam that is extremely tolerant, passive, and very Neo-Platonic in spirit.

Now, we move to the Arab period 641 A.D. and very quickly I want to say that Alexandria lost a lot of her political influence during the Arab period, as, the Arabs chose El Fistat, later Cairo to become the capital of Egypt. There was shrinkage in the population of the city, and this is very clear in the movement of the wealls. There are very important natural disasters in the 13th century and the early 14th century which caused the collapse of the Pharos of Alexandria. We also have plagues and cholera epidemics in the 6th and the 8th centuries recurrig also in the 14th and 15th centurie. There were also the Crusades of the 13th century and Cypriot invasion, which caused again a great deal of devastation to the city.

Now we move to the modern period and Muhammad Ali (1805-1848). Of course he was very fond of Alexander, being of Macedonian origins like him and proud of being born in the same year as Bonaparte; boasted the same imperialistic visions.

In order to create his Empire, Muhammad Ali invited Europeans, especially from the Mediterranean countries to come and settle in Alexandria. Greeks were the most important community and the heads of the community were very good friends of the pasha. Tositsa, Stournari, D’Anastasi and Zizinia were all very close associates of Muhammad Ali and helped him create his Empire. During that period, the first Kinotis was created in Alexandria 1843. The Greek Tosista schools were built in 1845 and the Ευαγγελισμός Church in 1847. The land was a gift from the pasha himself. The early fortunes expressed on the Grand Palace in Alexandria were Greek. The house of Muhammad Ali in Kavala and the Imaret. and his house in Alexandria were in the same style. The Greeks were part of the construction of the Ras el- tin palace, its decoration and the developing of its gardens.

This engraving of the period shows a mill owned by a Greek from Rhodes, in port of Alexandria. And this is another engraving of l'Hôpital des Grecs by the Count de Forbein. Another engraving is by a Russian monk for the convent of Saint Saba.

Michail Tositsa, the president of the community, built his palace on the Place des Consuls and was the first president of the first planning commission of the City, the Ornato. There is also the palace of Count Zizinia on the Grand Place des Consuls. This is the Church of Evangelismos and the first Greek hospital which hosted the Greek community schools, Averof and these are the Gardens of Antoniadis. The Zizinia Theater built in 1863 was the first theater to be built in Egypt. Then a lot of Greek houses were built around the area of Ramleh and names of Greeks were given to the railway stations like; Zizinia, San Stefano and Glymenopoulo. Averof, as you all know, built the Polytechnic school in Metsovo and offered Athens a Stadium. These are some important houses of the Ramleh like; the Zervoudaki house and the Zizinia palace.

In 1866, great archaeological discoveries in Alexandria were cited by Mahmoud El Falaki excavations. He produced a very refined map of the classical city of Alexandria. His model was exposed, at the Exposition Universelle of Paris in 1868.

But how did Egyptians view Greek culture and history in Egypt?

The two very important 19th century Egyptians scholars Rifa's al-Tahtawi an Ali pasha Mubarak, both educated in France, hailed Alexander and hailed the history of the Ptolemies in Alexandria. So in the sub-conscious of Egyptians, was thi pride of relating to Alexander and to the Ptolemies; who created the greatest metropolis in the Mediterranean region. Als Pasha Mubarak brought out a volumen, the 6th of the Khitat, in which he talks entirely about Alexandria. So, we have El Falaki, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and Ali pasha Mubarak contrbuting to the rediscovery of the city. Moreover, Ali Pasha Mubarak edified classical architecture in the curricula of the school of engineering in Cairo.

Coming back to the issue of creating spaces of pluralism and exchange, three Cosmopolitan institutions were created; the Stock Exchange, the Mixed Courts and the Municipality of Alexandria, which represented the new spaces of exchange and plurality of the late 19^th and the early 20^th century. The Mixed Courts meant that a Greek judge could sit with an Egyptian, an Italian and with French, ruling under international law. The Municipality of Alexandria had mixed steering committee representing all communities; British, French, Italian, Greek, and Egyptian, who sat on its board and governed the city. Then, we have the Stock Exchange. Everybody including the Greeks was part of the Stock Exchange because of the cotton trade.

How were the Greeks viewed in Egypt? Unfortunately, we have some negative reports. If you read Karl Baedekers guide; it has a very negative idea about the Greeks. Moreover, if you read Lord Cromer's memoirs, they are also very negative. The same can be said of E.M. Forster. But I would like to point out Egyptians, such as; Ahmad Shawki who speaks very highly of ancient Greece, hails Alexander and writes a very important operetta about the death of Cleopatra. Taha Hussien, president of Farouk I and Ahmed Lotfi El-Sayed, president of Fuad I university in Cairo, introduced classical studies in the Egyptian university curricula.

Gamal Hamdam, who is a very eminent Egyptian geographer says, “The Greeks were present in all Egyptian cities^³. Alexandria is nearly a Hellenic city, exactly as it was in ancient past”. Yahya Haqqi writes a very nice novel about Dimitri’s Coffee House. The Dimitri Coffee House became very famous at the time, when nearly every coffee house in Egypt was owned by a Greek. Father Ayrut says, “The Greeks were most numerous and the closest to the Egyptian peasants”^⁴.

There is the photo of the Epitaph, roaming the streets of Alexandria.

In Architecture and the building of the city the Greeks played an important role. Dimitrius Fabricius pasha designed the two palaces of Khedive Tawfiq and also Khedive Abbas Hilmi's palace in Montazah. The Cairo railway station was designed by the Greek engineer L. Iconomopoulos and the Italian architect A. Lassiac. The Municipality of Alexandria would give every year a prize for the best façade. Paraskevas and Gripari, are two significant Greek architects in Alexandria who received the prize for some of their works. This is the Water Company by I. Yatro, another Greek. Here is the Familiadis School by Gripari. Moreover, here are some of the monuments in the Greek cemeteries which are very impressive.

This is Cavafy of course one of the most eminent poets of the 20^th century. There were many Greek newspapers in Alexandria including newspapers written in Arabic such as: “Al-Yunani and Al-Mutamaser”.

In archeology, Dr. Neroutsos was a very important contributor to Alexandrian archeology. George Goussos who was the first secretary of the Archaeological Society. The Stadium in Alexandria was sponsored partly by the Casulli family as well as Angelo Bolonaki who was an eminent member of the Egyptian Olympic Committee.

During WWII, of course we remember the refuge of the Greek Royal family in Alexandria. There were about 7000 Greek volunteers in the war. In Alexandria also come, during the war, George Seferis and Stratis Tsirkas.

The first films spoken in Greek were produced in Alexandria by Togo Mizrahi and Alvise Orfanelli. Melina Mercouri came to Alexandria with the Kalatou sisters to perform in Ibrahimieh's Luna Park theatre. George Geatary and Georges Moustaki are Alexandrians by birth. This is what I call diversity of cultural exchange.

There is the school of Alexandria, a famous painting by Muhammed Nagi, an Egyptian artist. Portraying also many Greeks such as Aexander, Cleopatra, Cavafy and the arcitect Nicolaidis among many others.

Well, for Greek artists, just to mention a few, we have among many others Angelopoulo, Litsas, Papas and all these were Alexandrians. The base of the statue of the national hero of Egypt, Saad pasha Zaghlul, was designed by the Greek architect, Jean Nicolaidis. The monument of the aviation pilots, who died during WWII, was sculpted by Mahmou Moussa, an Egyptian artist where you can vividly see here the influence of the legend of Icarus and Daedalus. The myth of Zeus abucting the daughter of the King of Phoenicia is depicted in a sculpture by Fathi Mahmoud. Moreover, Hasan Fathy, the champion of vernacular architecture has very close relationship withthe noted architect Doxiadis. Adrian Danino was the master mind for the High Dam of Egypt. He spent all his fortune to design the Dam. Continued presence is symbolized with the revival of the Library of Alexandria and again n the idea of capitalizing on memory, with also the statue of Ptolemy in front of the modern building.The Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies was established in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina jointly between the Onassis Foundation, the Vardinoyannis Foundation, and the Alexandria University. We also have the generous contributions of the Greek friends of the Library of Alexandria. The statue of Alexander is a precious gift by the Greeks of Alexandria.

There is also a prolific nostalgic literature by the Greeks of Alexandria such as Harry Tzalas, George Moustaki and also Egyptians who had contributed to such nostalgic literature such as; Edward Kharat and Ibrahim Abdel Meguid. In music we have Demis Roussos and Papadimitriou. Some studies of the Greeks in Egypt were promoted by the ELIA. More studies by Greek scholars were presented from the time of Athanase Politis in the early 20^th century, up to my late friend Efthimios Soulogianis contribution to the Greek history in Egypt.

We have recent Greek archaeological missions, led by Harry Tzalas, Conducting over 17 missions over the last twenty years or so in Alexandria discovering underwater artifacts from Silsila up to Montazah. Papacosta discovered the statue of the athlete. The renovation of the Evangelismos Church and renovation of the Patriarchate of Alexandria were major recent contributions to the conservation of Greek heritage in the city.

Now we come to our final words over the Alexandria we have lost.

Well, I must say first few words by Naguib Mahfouz our Nobel laureate in his Autumn Quails. His hero, came from a village around to settle in Alexandria and was hosted by a Greek family. “You love those foreigners more than you love your own countrymen. You have come for solace; in their midst you seek refuge.” These were the impressions of Naguib Mahfouz about the Greeks of the period.

In Miramar, he quotes

There is another Egyptian peasant girl who seeks refuge at Madame Marianna’s Pension Miramar.Emir, another hero, in the novel consoles her by saying “Egypt is your home; there is no place like Alexandria.”^⁵

Yes, Kitroeff talks about “ The Alexandria we have lost".^⁶

For all those different cosmopolitans who lived in Alexandria and lift the city post 1956, the Alexandrian foreigners identified themselves as (khawagahs), foreigners, as opposed to the locals “welad el balad” And they did identify themselves as being different from one another. The Greeks regarded themselves as being Greek, the British were British, the French likewise, and the Italians of course. For the Greeks, they had no problem with identity. Their church, their community schools, their clubs and even hospitals and old-people homes were almost for them. Kitroeff calls it a state within a state. The Greeks of Egypt or Egyptiotis remained over the millennia attached to their homeland and to their culture. The sense of loss, the Alexandria we have lost, is more of a nostalgic phenomenon. It is not only the foreigners who feel the loss of their city, but also those cosmopolitan Egyptians who in my personal view have been kept too long out of the city’s cosmopolitan history.

1 Forster E.M “ Alexandria a history and a guide “ - 1922

2 Abdel Meguid Ibrahim “ No One Sleeps In Alexandria “ - 1996

3 Hamdan, Gamal “ The Character Of Egypt “ – Shakseyet Misr - Dar El Helal, Cairo

4 Ayrout, Henry “ The Egyptian Peasant” Cairo– 1963

5 Mahfouz, Naguib “ Miramar “ - 1967

6 Kitroeff, Alexander “ The Alexandria we have lost “ journal of Hellenic diaspora VOL .X – No.1,2 - Spring 1983

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Hellenism in Alexandria : Creating spaces of Exchange - Mohammed Awad