Program
Alexandria: The Greatest City
Alexandria was once the biggest and most influential city on the planet, founded by Alexander the Great and home to Cleopatra, Archimedes and the largest library in the world. How did this shining beacon of civilization and knowledge meet its classical demise? Historian Bettany Hughes looks at Alexandria past and present, unearthing archaeological gems and following in the footsteps of Hypatia, the city's last great female philosopher and guardian of the great Library of Alexandria - whose murder would bring down the curtain not just on an era but on the ancient world as a whole.
