Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 331 BC. The newly founded town was
conceived as an orthogonal grid based on a main longitudinal axis, later called
Canopic Road. We analyse here the astronomical orientation of the project and
propose that the main axis was deliberately oriented towards the rising sun on
the day of birth of Alexander the Great. The argument is admittedly speculative
as any Archaeoastronomy argument not backed up by written sources. However, it
is nested accurately into the archaeological records and into what is known on
the foundation of the town. Further, a topographical analysis is given to
sustain the thesis.Comment: Archaeoastronomy/History of Astronom
