The Graeco-Roman Museum is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as Na ...

located in Alexandria,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

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

Giuseppe Botti Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...

. From 1904 to 1932 he was followed by

Evaristo Breccia Annibale Evaristo Breccia (18 July 1876, Offagna - 28 July 1967, Rome) was an Italian egyptologist, the second director of the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria and rector of the University of Pisa. Early life and studies He was born in Offagn ...

. The museum contains several pieces dating from the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

(

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 ...

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

Apis Apis or APIS may refer to: * Apis (deity), an ancient Egyptian god * Apis (Greek mythology), several different figures in Greek mythology * Apis (city), an ancient seaport town on the northern coast of Africa **Kom el-Hisn, a different Egyptian ci ...

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 () is ...

, the sacred bull of the Egyptians,

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

, tapestries, and other objects offering a view of

Greco-Roman civilization The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

in contact with ancient Egypt. 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 (particularly those of the

Pharaonic Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ann ...

period) and from various digs undertaken at the beginning of the century in Fayoum and at Benhasa. Housed within a historic building whose beautiful neoclassical facade of six columns and

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

bears the large Greek inscription ‘MOYΣEION’ ("MOUSEION"). The museum consists of 27 halls and an attractive garden, which offer an excellent introduction to Egypt's Greco-Roman period. The museum has been closed for renovations since 2005. As of June 2017, the building was still surrounded by scaffolding. In February 2022 the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, said that the museum would be opened within a few months.

Notable people

* Mervat Seif el-Din - Director of Graeco-Roman Museum from 2004 to 2010.

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
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 {{Egypt-museum-stub

History

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

External links