The conversion of city centers in fifth-century Egypt. The case of the episcopal complex at Hermopolis Magna
The conversion of city centers in fifth-century Egypt. The case of the episcopal complex at Hermopolis Magna

Summary/Abstract: In Alexandria, the monumental establishment of Christianity in the heart of the city and thus the transformation of urban life and cityscape had reached a significant stage by the middle of the fourth century, when the episcopal cathedral moved from the western city gate to the Caesarion in the city centre. The case of Alexandria is exceptional, however. The transformation of the traditional cityscape took longer in other regions of the Empire and in the Egyptian countryside. A relatively well-documented case is that of Hermopolis Magna, capital of the Hermopolite nome, where the episcopal basilica was built in the city center around 450,3 more than one century after the Caesarion had been donated to the Church4 and transformed from the temple of the imperial cult into the Patriarchal Cathedral of Alexandria.

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