Hall of Demetrius
Lara must explore the Hall of Demetrius to gain the Pharos Knot and read a scroll that points her to her next destination after leaving Alexandria.
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Summary
The Hall of Demetrius is a large square chamber with ledges and balconies around its walls, featuring representations of the Egyptian god Osiris and the Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis - both of them very important features of their respective pantheons.
It has a secret passage that leads back to a small ruin in the Coastal Ruins. In the water is a rocky tunnel littered with pieces of Egyptian stonework that leads to Pharos, Temple of Isis.
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Notes
The square chamber with the balconies may have been used for debates and oratory, as well as practical demonstrations of new research and technologies that had been developed by the scholars in the library.
The hall is named for Demetrius of Phaleron (c.350-c.280 BCE), an Athenian orator and historian. He was exiled from Athens by the conqueror of Athens, Demetrius Poliorcertes in about 307 BCE, whereupon he went to the new Ptolemaic court in Alexandria.
There he was tasked with revising the laws of the new kingdom, and devoted himself to literary and historical pursuits until his death in the 3rd century BCE. He is the purported founder of the library, based on the School of Aristotle in Athens.
Despite his strong literary and oratory skills, Demetrius was hardly a model citizen. While administrating the city of Athens for its ruler, Cassander, he was said to have allowed himself every kind of excess and spent huge amounts on lavish parties, feasts and love affairs with young Athenian men.
Enemies
Gallery
A statue of Demetrius of Phaleron at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
