e splendid appearance of
the god of love he had so richly adorned, for the Roman architect was
possessed by such thirst for knowledge and such inexhaustible curiosity
as to the minutest details that even Pollux who was born in Alexandria,
and had grown up there with his eyes very wide open, was often unable to
answer his indefatigable questioning.

The grey-bearded master wanted to see every thing and to be informed
on every subject. Not content with making acquaintance with the main
streets and squares the public sites and buildings, he peeped into the
handsomest of the private houses and asked the names, rank and fortunes
of the owners. The decided way in which he told Pollux the way he wished
to be conducted proved to the artist that he was thoroughly familiar
with the plan of the city. And when the sagacious and enlightened man
expressed his approval, nay his admiration of the broad clean streets of
the town, the handsome open places, and particularly handsome buildings
which abounded on all sides, the young Alexandrian who was proud of his
city was delighted.

First Hadrian made him lead him along the seashore by the Bruchiom
to the temple of Poseidon, where he performed some devotions, then he
looked into the garden of the palace and the courts of the adjoining
museum. The Caesareum with its Egyptian gateway excited his admiration
no less than the theatre, surrounded with pillared arcades in stories,
and decorated with numerous statues. From thence deviating to the left
they once more approached the sea to visit the great Emporium, to see
the forest of masts of Eunostus, and the finely-constructed quays. They
left the viaduct known as the Heptastadion to their right and the harbor
of Kibotus, swarming with small merchant craft, did not detain them
long.

Here they turned backs on the sea following a street which led inland
through the quarter called Khakotis inhabited only by native Egyptians,
and here the Roman found much to see that was noteworthy. First he and
his companions met a procession of the priests who serve the gods of the
Nile valley, carrying reliquaries and sacred vessels, with images of the
gods and sacred animals, and tending towards the Serapeum which towered
high above the streets in the vicinity. Hadrian did not visit the
temple, but he inspected the chariots which carried people along an
inclined road which led up the hill on which was the sanctuary, and
watched devotees on foot who mounted