Originally published in two volumes in 1957, this is the first volume devoted to the rich history of the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria and focuses on the time of the Ptolemies. “This book is dedicated to the story of Alexandria, called by Athenaeus “the golden city.” The story of Athens has been told by many writers; the rise and fall of Home has been the favorite theme of the historians; but the city of Alexandria has never had an extensive biography. This is a curious fact, indeed, since Alexandria, founded in 332 B.C. by Alexander the Great, developed into regal magnificence under the Macedonian Ptolemies, and for nearly a thousand years was one of the most remarkable cities in the world. The infirmities of old age came upon it near the close of the Roman Empire and the weary city finally passed into oblivion about 646 A.D. when the Saracen invaders destroyed at last the monuments of its old-world glory. Thus stretches the biography of Alexandria across ten of the most interesting centuries in human history!” Richly illustrated throughout with maps, pictures and figures.

Originally published in two volumes in 1957, this is the second volume devoted to the rich history of the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria and focuses on the time of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, “whose magic enthralled two of the most eminent Romans of their times and brought one of them to ruin.” “[For] one will find in the chronicles of Alexandria every form of human passion. He will see a procession of kings both good and evil. He will become acquainted with emperors of lofty vision and with others whose degradation of mind and action surpasses belief. He will view periods in which human happiness reaches one of its higher points, when the arts and sciences flourish in a golden age. He will witness the rapid change to eras of tumult and civil war when storms of incredible human brutality sweep across the scene. And through these changing patterns of human happiness and human woe he may be able to understand more easily the reasons why the world is so often shaken by evil forces. And he may also derive the hope that these storms like others finally pass away and more benevolent periods emerge at last from the rack and ruin of the past.” Richly illustrated throughout with maps, pictures and figures.

Why do millions of people attend the victory parades of winning sports teams, travel across the world to attend a carnival, march and chant for social justice, cheer homecoming soldiers, or watch enraptured as a princess or celebrity rides in a stately coach to their wedding? The author answers these questions and more in this unique examination of the great parades and processions of history. Part chronology, part social history, this book outlines why parades are more than the simplistic, ephemeral entertainment we sometimes assume them to be, as people are often deeply affected by regalia, costumes and uniforms, dances and floats. The book traces the fascinating origins and development of carnival parades, religious processions, protest marches, victory parades, circus parades, parade floats, ship sail-pasts and aerial fly-pasts.