Ancient Egypt

Charles Seltman shows how Egyptian memories of Crete and its inhabitants may have given rise to the Platonic legend of the lost island of Atlantis.

Nearly 35 centuries ago the first Empress in the history of the world proclaimed herself Pharaoh; Jon Manchip White records how Queen Hatshepsut then went on to rule for more than 20 years.

On the Mediterranean at the western edge of the Nile delta stands the most important and enduring of all the many cities founded by Alexander. Though much of its material past has been destroyed or lies underwater, Alexandria’s reputation as the intellectual powerhouse of the Classical world, fusing Greek, Egyptian and Roman culture, lives on, writes Paul Cartledge.

The young Pharaoh has gripped peoples’ imagination and changed lives. Desmond Zwar looks at the career of the man who claimed to have spent seven years living in the tomb, guarding it while Howard Carter examined its contents.

Cultural historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett considers how perceptions of Cleopatra have moved in the last decade and a half.

Helen Strudwick, Curator of the Egyptian galleries at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, explains the new refurbishment at the museum and the opportunities it has afforded.

Russell Chamberlin describes the revelations of a recent conference on the archaeology of Cleopatra’s Alexandria.

Susan Walker looks at our image of the great queen, as a major exhibition on her life opens at the British Museum.

The ancient library of Alexandria, destroyed by fire in AD270 is to be replaced by a new great library in the city to open this year, which will also serve as a local city museum.

John Ray on a ruler who mixed laddishness with mysticism in the last days of independent Egypt.

We may all know about Nefertiti, but what was life like for the less-famous women of ancient Egypt? Joyce Tyldesley describes the restraints and freedoms operating on daughters of Isis.