When Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under a torrent of ash in A.D. 79, it also preserved one of the ancient world’s most remarkable artifacts: a massive mosaic depicting Alexander the Great’s triumph ...

‘Alexander Mosaic,’ House of the Faun, Pompeii. Detail. Circa 100 BCE. Via Wikimedia Commons At their best the Ptolemies managed to blend the learning of Athens with the ancient folkways of Upper and ...