Downtown DistrictAlexandria Governorate
العربية
MuseumsGraeco-Roman Museum

MuseumsThe cosmopolitan city

Graeco-Roman Museum

Sculpture, coins and mosaics trace the meeting of Egyptian and Greek cultures in a museum founded in 1892.

The cosmopolitan city
1892
Opening hours
Sun–Thu 9:00–17:00; Fri–Sat 9:00–20:00; Ramadan 9:00–16:00
Tickets
Museum ticket; student discount with a card
Administrative section
El Attarin
Open in maps(External link)Its place in time

Image credits

What sets it apart

A Neo-classical portico with columns and pediment; Ptolemaic marble sculpture and the figure of Serapis.

7 documented memories

Its place in time

The cosmopolitan city · 1860 – 1950

The district at the height of its plurality: Greek, Italian, French, Levantine, Jewish and Armenian communities; the tram, theatres, hotels and cafés; classical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings.

  1. Fouad Street — the Canopic Way331 BC — the Canopic Way
  2. Roman Theatre at Kom El DikkaRoman era, most likely 4th century — uncovered in 1964
  3. Shallalat GardensOn the line of the 9th-century wall, under Ibn Tulun
  4. Remains of the Alexandria City Wall9th century — under Ibn Tulun
  5. Misr Railway StationThe railway from the 1850s — present building 1927
  6. Mahatet El Raml & Saad Zaghloul SquareFrom 1863 — the Ramleh line’s terminus
  7. The Alexandria Tram1863
  8. Eliyahu Hanavi SynagogueRebuilt in the 19th century — foundation plaque dated 1881
  9. Graeco-Roman Museum1892
  10. The Statue of Nubar PashaUnveiled in 1904, according to a museum record
  11. The Windsor Palace Hotel1906, by the hotel’s own account
  12. Cavafy MuseumCavafy’s home from 1907 to 1933
  13. The Lycée Al-Horreya1909–1910 — the Shatby building from 1913
  14. Sayed Darwish Theatre — Alexandria Opera House1921 — the Mohamed Ali Theatre
  15. Alexandria National MuseumLate-1920s palace — museum since 2003
  16. The Cecil Hotel1929
  17. Museum of Fine Arts1954
  18. Bibliotheca Alexandrina2002
  • Ancient Alexandria331 BC – 7th century AD
  • The Islamic centuries7th century – 1805
  • The Mohamed Ali revival1805 – 1860
  • The cosmopolitan city1860 – 1950
  • Contemporary Alexandria1950 – today
The nave of the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue with its tall marble columns
Before it in timeEliyahu Hanavi SynagogueRebuilt in the 19th century — foundation plaque dated 1881
The seated bronze statue of Nubar Pasha in front of the opera house
After it in timeThe Statue of Nubar PashaUnveiled in 1904, according to a museum record

Highlights

  • 1The Serapis cult collection
  • 2Roman mosaics
  • 3Hybrid Egyptian-Greek sculpture
  • 4The classical façade

The story

  1. Founded in the late nineteenth century in response to the flood of discoveries across the city, the museum moved into its present classical-fronted building in 1895.

  2. It holds thousands of statues, coins, mosaics and sarcophagi, including an important group relating to the cult of Serapis, and sculptures that combine Egyptian features with Greek style.

  3. The museum closed for redevelopment in 2005 and reopened on 11 October 2023, with a new presentation placing its collections in their historical context.

  • A carved stone lion on display in one of the halls of the Graeco-Roman Museum
    A carved stone lion on display in one of the halls of the Graeco-Roman Museum

Memories of the place

Every memory is taken from a published, documented source.

  1. 1889Sources differ on this date

    According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the idea of the museum began with the Italian scholar Giuseppe Botti, who wanted to protect Alexandria’s antiquities from loss and destruction. Other official texts give 1891.

  2. 17 October 1892Sources differ on this date

    Khedive Abbas Hilmi II opened the museum in five rented rooms on Rue de Rosette, with Giuseppe Botti as its first director until his death in 1903. One scholarly study dates the opening to 1893.

  3. 1894

    Nubar Pasha laid the foundation stone of the new Neo-classical building designed by the architects Dietrich and Stenon.

  4. 26 September 1895

    Khedive Abbas Hilmi II opened the museum’s new building, which had taken a single year to build.

  5. 1904–1931

    The Italian archaeologist Evaristo Breccia directed the museum from 1 April 1904 to 29 October 1931; Achille Adriani was appointed in 1932 to continue his work.

  6. September 2005

    The museum was closed for a comprehensive project to expand and develop it, which added an upper floor and a new display.

  7. 11 October 2023

    Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reopened the museum after almost two decades of restoration and rehabilitation.

Around it

© OpenStreetMap

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