Egypt (2)

As for Speculatore information-gathering, it really turned out
to be rather mundane. Mainly the focus was on talking to the
locals and careful observation. Overall the kind of information
we collected was mostly a minor ingredient towards keeping
order in the Province and the Empire. If there was a disturbance
arising, it could be quelled or addressed before it amounted
to anything. And, actually, pre-emptive measures usually saved
lives. This rather general descriptive pretty much applied
throughout the various Provinces.

Whether working in the cities or out in the field, we never wore
our military gear--though we carried our short sword sheathed
and usually attached to a saddle satchel when astride a horse
or camel. When on foot, we did carry our sword in a body satchel
thrown over our shoulder. We also wore plain tunics. In the end
it was probably all rather laughable, in that any fool could tell
that we were Romans!

Regardless we played the game, usually pretending that we
were simple legionaries on a short furlough to sight-see. As
for the city of Alexandria, it consisted of three quarters--for the
Greeks, which was the richest part, for the Jews, which was
crowded, and for the Egyptians, which was the poorest section.

Hellenistic culture was still the prevalent culture in this city,
spread originally by its founder Alexander the Great. Consequently,
Alexandria was a beacon of learning and beauty for all of the
Mediterranean world. Not unexpected, too, there were temples
and statues all around the city that paid homage to various Greek
gods, such as Poseidon and Hephaistos. There were many more
that probably stretched across the entire Olympian Pantheon.
Just to make all this even more complex, in Alexandria some of
these Greek deities--for example, Serapis- were blended into the
even older Egyptian gods!

The Jews celebrated their own god, which for them was the One
God. Their God was the protector of their people--hence, they
considered theirselves the Chosen People of God.

As for the Egyptians, well their gods emerge from the depths of
their archaic history. When finding the time, I decided that I would
concentrate mostly on these ancient Egyptian gods. At some point
I had developed a curiosity about all these religious cults come my
way.

Now I must make mention that once one steps out of the environs
of Alexandria, we have nearly instantly moved into those famous
"sands of Egypt." It was desert as far as the eye could see, and
the camel was the major mode of transportation. In our work, out
in the field, we traveled to Memphis--also a large city surrounded
by desert and oases of palm groves. And not faraway, there was
the now fairly deserted Heliopolis--the "City of the Sun"--once famous
for its great learning. It has been said that the Greek Pythagoras
studied there, sitting at the feet of Egyptian priests. And then in
southern Egypt, down the Nile, through the desert, there stood
Thebes--the once great city of the Pharaohs.

Best of all, thunderstruck, I stood before the Pyramids of Giza.
Taller than the Lighthouse of Alexandria, I was awed by the fact
that these massive monuments or tombs were built thousands of
years ago!

I was glad that I was going to have four years here in Egypt. For now,
Speculatore information-gathering excluded, I was very much a rather
unknowledgeable tourist. But even I intuited that I was sitting on a
mother lode of a different kind of information, something that could be
very precious!