I begin by looking at the two worlds – that of Athens, as against that of Alexandria – in the third century BCE.

More than previous chapters, this is “normal” cultural history. I survey the contents of cultural trends, and do not just count them (although I do do this, mostly in broad brushstrokes – preserving, in this sense, something of the “statistical” tendency of this book). Specifically, I discuss the nature of culture in Alexandria and in Athens, and try to explain their separate routes, based on the structural background provided in the preceding chapters.