Alexandria's Impact On Modern Culture

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Alexandria has had a profound effect on modern culture because they had an incredibly large and successful city, made great scientific advancements, and was the center for glassmaking. These are all things that apply to today’s society. In the modern era, many of the capitals for regions and countries are often large and beautiful cities. Along with this, the current age is perhaps the golden age of technological advancements. Lastly, glass is still one of the most used and useful products in the world.

The first reason that Alexandria has had such a lasting impact on today’s society was because it was such a large and grand city. In fact, it was the largest and richest city in the eastern region of the Roman Empire. In fact, it was one of …show more content…

Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of the 3rd century was made by Eratosthenes, who calculated the circumference of the earth within 300 miles of its actual distance. Also, the Alexandrians made great leaps forward in the field of medicine. Hippocrates, who is regarded as the father of modern medicine wrote 53 books on medicine. Later, Herophilus became the first to dissect a human corpse and document in great detail the inside of a human body. Furthermore, he and almost all Egyptian, Greek, and Roman doctors put great stress on the importance of hygiene, diet, exercise and bathing, which are still some of the foundations of modern health. However, the greatest overall advancements that the Alexandrians made great were technological advancements. One man who helped move technology of the ancient world forward the most was Hero, who invented the water clock and the steam turbine. Some of the inventions created by the Alexandrians are still used today, such as levers, pulleys, pumps, screws, springs, and …show more content…

At first, glass was considered to be even as valuable as some of the most precious jewels. However, it was very expensive to make and had little use. Some of the first glass-making methods included wrapping molten glass around a clay coil then cutting away the excess, or casting and cutting, which consisted of casting molten glass into a mold in the shape of the object, when it cooled, the excess was cut away. However, all of these methods were time-consuming, and the glass usually broke. These first two methods also only produced small products like perfume bottles and cups. However when glass-blowing came out, which was when a glob of molten glass was put on the end of a hollow metal tube, then blown and shaped, glass prices were substantially lowered. This allowed glass to be mass produced around the world. Glass products quickly spread from Alexandria to Italy, Gaul, and the Rhineland. Glass was so popular because it had so many different uses: from perfume bottles to containers to plates and bowls to windows (both clear and stained glass) to glasses to statues. Furthermore, they used glass in a way it had never been used before: for worship. They made glass statues, idols, and artifacts to many gods; particularly to one god: Isis. The Egyptians worshipped her as the devoted

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