Alexander the Great

A noble horseman, a Macedonian monarch and a patron, Alexander the Great had an immense impact on the world around him. His victorious conquests lead to the rapid spread of Hellenistic Greek culture. His relations with three artisans of the time also had a lot of impact on the style of the Hellenistic period. The piece, the marble portrayal head of Alexander the Great, is a fantastic depiction of it.

Born in Pella, Greece in the year 356 bc, Alexander was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Olympias of Epirus. Tutored by Aristotle, Alexander's genius was properly cultivated. Following the assassination of his father, Alexander inherited the thrown at 20 years old in 336 bc.

Following his coronation, he quickly set to work purifying his empire; meaning by this, he deposed of all people who threatened his reign. Quickly following, he calls a meeting of the Hellenic League in Corinth, where he is elected as the captain-general of the anti-Persian crusade. Early the next year, he leads his first campaign against the Persians; defeating both Thrace and Illyria. Alexander then moved to Thebes, where the citizens had revolted, to seize the city and stop the rebellion. This action was quite an example to the rest of the Greek city-states, who quickly learned that disagreeing with Alexander could be disastrous.

In 334 bc, he began his first war with Persia. After several successful battles, Alexander's empire extended to the lands of Carthage. He had even established Alexandria in 331 bc after his invasion of Egypt. In addition, his successful campaigns had instilled a belief in Alexander he was equal to the Egyptian rulers were the descendants of Amon-Ra. The oracle of Amun at Siwah confirmed this and Alexander was named the son of Zues.

Aristotle was very influential in properly educating Alexander; Aristotle's keen sense of logic is evident in Alexander's brilliant military strategy. Although Alexander was well-known for his bravery and nobility, he could also be brutal and callous. For example, when he conquered Thebes, Alexander spared only the temples and a poet. He sold the rest of the citizens into slavery. Alexander's nobility is heightened in the light of his gallant steed, Bucephalus. This famous warhorse of his is alleged to have been an unruly colt, which could not be tamed. The story follows that Alexander had tamed him and Bucephalus would only allow Alexander on his back.

The extensive spread of Hellenistic culture owes a lot to Alexander's crusades. After conquering each kingdom, his forces would occupy it and bring along some of their artistic wares, etc. Additionally, Alexander would establish cities along his routes to and from battle, many of them named Alexandria, and thus would bring with him many of the Hellenic-style pieces of art.

The piece itself, the marble portrayal head of Alexander the Great was found in Pella, Greece. Pella was the birthplace of Alexander and also the capital of the Macedonian Kingdom, since the end of the 5^th century bc. Although a lot of the city was destroyed when it was first conquered by the Romans and further during an earthquake. Excavations on the site took place in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Later in the 1970s a second excavation project began and is still in progress. There is no information about when the piece was uncovered. The only information given about it is that it was "
This rendering of Alexander the Great is true to Hellenistic Greek form. One can deduce that he is in motion; the subject seems to be moving his head to glance or gaze to something at his left. He has an almost open, wondrous look on his face, as if he is looking at someone or something in awe or is at peace. The facial features are very naturalistic, as is the tousled hair. The forehead is has a slight crease above the hairline, which indicates though this sculpture may be of a boyish charm the subject (Alexander the Great) may have been a very distinguished person. Unfortunately, time has taken a toll on this piece, wearing down a bit of the forehead, part of the nose, lips and chin.

This is a copy of an original bronze piece, which was commissioned by Alexander the Great and created by Lysippos. There is a story that states only Lysippos, Apelles and Pyroteles were to represent Alexander in art; however, that is fallacy. It is true that these "three artists virtually created the iconography of royal portraiture that became central to the Western artistic tradition" (Stewart 2004). The original piece was created to represent the heroic ruler; apparently it was Alexander standing looking up at the sky with the inscription, "I place the earth under my sway; you, O Zues, keep Olympus" (Kleiner & Mamiya 2001). The piece is representative of Alexander the Great; Lysippos was attempting to "establish the heroic ruler portrait as a distinct genre," Apelles used "the attributes of the gods" to link Alexander to such greatness (Stewart 2004). They were working to create the iconography of Alexander. Historically, the piece is influenced by Alexander's belief that he was an heir of Zeus, as the Egyptian rulers thought they were the descendants of Amon-Ra. Historically, Zeus was the Greek counterpart of the Egyptian Amon-Ra, and vice versa.

The history of this piece is very intriguing; Alexander the Great has always been an intriguing figure in history because of his link with Bucephalus. It is obvious that his legend was just as important to him as it is to the many scholars and artisans who passed it on. His actions secured his empire and those same scholars and artisans were the ones who assured his place in history.

References

Baynham, Elizabeth. Alexander the Great: the unique history of Quintus Curtius. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998.

Bieber, Margarete. Alexander the Great in Greek and Roman art. Chicago: Argonaut, 1964.

Marble portrayal head of Alexander the Great. Archaeological Museum of Pella, accessed 23 Mar 2004. .

Pella. Hellenistic Ministry of Culture, accessed 19 Apr 2004. .

Stewart, Andrew F. Alexander The Great . Oxford University Press, accessed 23 Mar 2004. .