Alexander the Great  

Alexander the Great was Macedonian — not quite Greek. 

However, after the Peloponnesian War, the Greek city-states were overrun by Philip of Macedon.  Philip’s son was Alexander. Alexander came to power when he was in his teens, and he set out to conquer the world.  He conquered the Persians, destroyed the Persian army, and also founded Alexandria in Egypt.  

Alexander’s image was important and appears in many statues and coins.   

There are several different "types" of portrait heads that exist for Alexander the Great.  One is in your book; two more are shown here.  We're not positive which of these best represent the original portraits that were done by Lysippos.

Alexander the Great, so-called Azara herm

This is a herm portrait of the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great.  A herm is a sculpture wherein a head emerges from a rectangular block.  This now also called the Azara herm, and it is now at the Louvre Museum in Paris.  This specific piece is inscribed ‘Alexander, the son of Philip,’ and it is a Roman copy of a work that may have been done by Lysippos.  The original, now lost, would have dated to the late fourth century, B.C.

Alexander the Great, from Pella, ca. 200-150 B.C.

This is another candidate for Lysippos’s portrait of Alexander the Great.  It was found at Pella, the capital of Macedonia and the birthplace of Alexander.

In writing about Alexander's life, Plutarch provided specific commentary on how Alexander viewed portraiture:

The statues of Alexander that most resemble him were those of Lysippos, who alone had his permission to represent him in marble.  The turn of the head, which leaned a little to one side, and the quickness of his eye, in which so many of his friends and successors most affected to imitate him, were best hit off by that artist.

  . . . Alexander decreed that only Lysippos should make his portrait.  For only Lysippos, it seems, brought out his real character in the bronze and gave form to his essential excellence.  For others, in their eagerness to imitate the turn of the head and expressive, liquid glance of his eyes, failed to preserve his manly and leonine quality.

The word "leonine" (or lion-like) is very interesting here.  Ancient physiognomic theory held that one's character could be determined from one's physical characteristics.  With the words of Plutarch in mind, it is interesting to turn to a book titled Physiognomonica by an author we know as the Pseudo-Aristotle, wherein we encounter the following:

 . . . the lion of all animals seems to have the most perfect share of the male type.  Its mouth is very large, its face is square, not too bony, the upper jaw not overhanging but equally balanced with the lower jaw, a muzzle rather thick than fine, bright, deep-set eyes, neither very round nor very narrow, of moderate size, a large eyebrow, square forehead, rather hollow from the center, overhanging towards the brow and nostril below the forehead like a cloud.  Above on the forehead towards the muzzle hair sloping outwards and like bristles, a head of moderate size, a long neck with corresponding thickness . . . These then are his bodily characteristics; in character he is generous and liberal, magnanimous and with a will to win; he is gentle, just and affectionate towards his associates.

On the basis of these passages, several points can be made.  If, in fact, Alexander deliberately sought to have his image imbued with leonine qualities, then this indicates that he or his artists ascribed to physiognomic theory, at least with respect to portraiture.  We see his mane of hair and/or a small lock of hair above his forehead known as the anastole; these were leonine traits.  Furthermore, the Physiognomonica corroborates the idea that the lion embodies the perfect male type.  In ancient Assyrian art, we see the kings triumphing over the king of beasts -- but with Alexander, we see the conflation of a man and a lion. 

The conquest of Alexander  resulted in a tremendous expansion of territory over the period of only 8 years.  Actually, there was only a tiny military aristocratic elite that spread over a large area.  Alexander's conquests did not eradicate the existing civilizations.

Mosaics of Ancient Paintings

Gnosis, Stag Hunt, ca. 300 B.C.

This is the first time this semester that we examine mosaics, which were two-dimensional images created with small stones or tiles that were inlaid into cement.  Originally, this piece was on the floor.  Artists quickly realized that they could create patterns with these same stones, and by the 4^th century B.C., they began to use mosaics to create pictorial designs.  This mosaic was also from Pella in Macedonia.    The work is signed by the artist — Gnosis.

The mosaics that survive are probably representative of paintings that were done during this period, none of which are known to have survived.  Note the use of the ground line.  The background is ambiguous.  The figures are naturalistic and well-proportioned.  Most important here is the evidence of illusionism of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface through modeling — that is, the shading from light to dark. 

Philoxenos, Alexander and Darius at the Battle of Issus, ca. 310 B.C.

This is a mosaic copy of a painting which was done by Philoxenos around ca. 310 B.C.  It is regarded as an early masterpiece of illusionism.  Note the ground line.  Also note the shadows on the ground.  Most of the figures are in the foreground, but the figures do overlap.  There is also a suggestion of a landscape (note the dead tree on the left).  The artist uses strong modeling.  

At left is Alexander on his horse, Bucephalus.  At right in his chariot is the Persian King Darius III in retreat. The sarissa are the long spears held by the Macedonians.

At the Battle of Issus, Alexander realized that he could end the war by killing the Persian King.  Instead, he kills the King’s favorite brother and allows the King to live.  Therefore, King Darius III loses his dignity and his brother.  Note that we can see the brother being killed near the center of the composition.  This is moment of greatest angst in the narrative of the battle, and it displays some of Alexander's character.

Also note that this is a tesserae mosaic — that is, the tesserae are smaller chips of pebbles or pieces of glass.  It is a more refined technique than was used in the example above and allows for more detail.   This copy of a Philoxenos' painting was found in a Pompeii and dates to the late 2^nd or early 1^st century B.C.