Hall 18,18a

A number of glass-fronted cabinets filled with terracottas occupy Halls 18 and 1 8a. The exhibits represent, among other things, monuments of the town, like the Pharos (cabinet X, fi g.25), Alexandrian houses and different temples; the temple of Athena in Roman style (cabinet X), the temple of Aphrodite with columns of Hathor (cabinet T, fig.26), the temple of Harpocrates in Egyptian style (cabinet U). 

Along with the dozens of statuettes of Harpocrates, son of Isis, with his long fringe symbolizing childhood, there is a coloured plaster cast of the god Mi ithyphallic, and one of a young Dionysus on a chariot pulled by two lions (cabinet T, fig.27). 

The collection of terracottas in the tanagra style found in Hall 1 8a is one of the jewels of the Museum. These female figures, dressed in long, richly pleated cloaks (fig.28) with intricate hair styles or delicate hats, show us the elegant ladies of Alexandria. Sculpted by local artisans throughout the 3rd century BC, some still retaining their vivid colors, they were discovered in tombs of the city's necropoli. Some carry a child, others play instruments, while others still, less elegant, lift up their skirts and expose themselves. They were 'dolls of death' which accompanied the deceased to the other world.

Elsewhere, a school girl sits on a stool copying out her lesson with a wooden styius on a waxed tablet (cabinet E, fig.29) while Harpocrates plays with geese, lions or an elephant (cabinet U, fig.30). 

Other scenes show: a man picking dates from the top of a palm (cabinet S); miserable African slaves hunched over lanterns, as if to fend off the night's chill while waiting to see the master back home (cabinet 5, fig. 31); 

the colonnade of a palestra where a gym teacher seems to be beating a child (cabinet R, fig.32).  

These lively sketches give an idea of daily life in ancient Alexandria, just as the little busts of Serapis (cabinet X) or those statuettes of Isis suckling Harpocrates (cabinet B) show us what were used as simple ex-votos at home or in the sanctuaries.


Back in Hall 18, there are several cabinets displaying pottery of everyday use and, at the far end, a group of the famous hydriae of Hadra. These ceramic urns, which took their name from the Alexandrian necropolis where many examples were found, were sometimes used to hold the ashes of foreigners, often on official business, who died during their stay at Alexandria. This we know from painted inscriptions on the body of the vase. Often decorated with geometric patterns or figurative scenes, sometimes from mythology, they seem to have mostly been made in Crete during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC (cabinet M, fig.33).

Close by these exhibits a cabinet holds several objects in faience, including a magnificent actor wearing the mask of a comic slave (3rd century BC) (fig.34).

(Fig. 25)
Terracotta Pharos
(Fig. 26)
Temple of Aphrodite
(Fig. 27)
Dionysus in a chariot pulled by two lions
(Fig. 28)
Tanagra
(Fig. 29)
Child writing on tablet
(Fig. 30)
Harocrates with elephant

(Fig. 31)
Three little slaves asleep over lanterns
(Fig. 32)
Palestra scene
(Fig. 33)
Hydria of Hadra
(Fig. 34)
Faience actor

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