In the theses two ways of discovering ancient Alexandria in the culture of Russian modern are presented. Philophical idea and image of Alexandria are reconstructed on the example of J. Golosovker's imaginative aesthetics. The confrontation between the elemental and ordering principles Golosovker describes as syncretism of the riot of marketplace and the intellectualism of the museum. The poetic thematization of the riddle of Alexandria is exemplified by the work of M. Kuzmin. The lyrical image of Alexandria is devoid of inconsistency and dynamism, it is a contemplative ideal of the cycle of life and death, in the Platonic manner permeated with love and causing ecstasy of tenderness.