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The Greeks were awed by the antiquity of Egypt, so much so that they regarded it as the founder of religious ceremonies, and its culture was a great influence upon their own politics, art and religion. Herodotos visited Egypt in the middle of the fifth century BC and wrote extensively, if not always accurately, about the country, its people and its monuments. The scale of these massive structures was as staggering to visitor then as it is to those of today. Herodotos and others wrote in detail about the 'Labyrinth', a vast temple attached to the pyramid of King Amenemhat 111(1842-1797 BC), which stood at the entrance to the Faiyum. Considered to be more impressive than the pyramids of Giza, the temple apparently had 3,000 rooms and many twisting passages. Today nothing survives of this marvel but a few broken columns. The time scale of ancient Egypt is for many people difficult to comprehend. When Herodotos visited Egypt, at a time when Greek civilization flourished, Egypt's days of greatest glory were already past. Such a time scale can only be grasped when we remember that Cleopatra stands closer in time to us than she did to the builders of the pyramids.

With the invasion of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Egypt entered a period of Greek domination. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Egypt was seized by the general Ptolemy, who captured Alexander's body and took it for burial in Alexandria. Under Ptolemy's successors Egypt continued to be the leading cultural and political power in the eastern Mediterranean. The Library and Museum of Alexandria were renowned for being centres of scholarship, and the city itself for its beauty and magni-ficence. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Pharos, was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.