Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia who conquered much of the known world in the 4th century BCE. He was educated by Aristotle and sought to spread Greek culture throughout his vast empire. Beginning with an invasion of the Persian Empire in 334 BCE, Alexander conquered territories as far as India within just 12 years. His empire was the largest the world had seen up to that point and resulted in the blending of Greek and Near Eastern cultures. Alexander portrayed himself as both a Greek hero and a divine king, as seen in his official portraits depicting him as both idealized and with god-like qualities befitting his unprecedented military successes.

1. Alexander the Great

2. The kingdom of Macedonia was located north of Greece

3. Although the Greeks regarded their northern Macedonian neighbors as “barbarians”
(non-Greeks), King Phillip II was a great admirer of Greek culture

4. He surrounded himself with Greek philosophers, historians, and artists, and entrusted
the education of his son Alexander to none other than the famous Greek philosopher
Aristotle

5. From this education, Alexander developed a deep love of Greek culture, even
though he was not himself Greek

6. At the death of his father, Alexander ascended the throne when he was just 20
years old, and he launched a military career that earned him the title of “Alexander
the Great”
Alexander, played by Colin Farrell in the Movie
Alexander

7. Alexander’s Empire
Macedon
In 334 BCE he began to expand his father’s kingdom even further by conquering the
Persian Empire, the longtime foe of the Greek city states

8. When his armies arrived at the great palace of Persepolis they destroyed it, in revenge
for the Persian sack of the Athenian acropolis

9. Coin showing Alexander attacking an Indian war elephant
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victory_coin_of_Ale
xander.jpg
Reaching as far as India, Alexander’s armies returned to Babylon, where he died of
fever

10. Alexander’s Empire
Macedon
After just 12 years of campaigning, Alexander had created the largest Empire known to
history

11. Alexander’s Empire
Macedon
Alexander’s goal was to “Hellenize” the world, by bringing Greek culture and learning
To nations that the Greeks had long looked down upon as “barbarian”

12. But his conquest resulted in an extraordinary fusion of cultures, where Greek traditions
mingled with Near Eastern customs, creating a culture that was entirely new

13. On this coin, for example, we see a profile of Alexander in the guise of Herakles
(identifiable by the lion cap), and an image of Zeus on the other side

14. The concept of “divine kingship” was alien to the Greeks, but quite common in the
territories newly conquered by Alexander, and so he adopted his leadership style to suit
these new circumstances

15. In Egypt Alexander claimed descent from the god Amun

16. On this coin, we see Alexander wearing the ram’s horns associated with Amun, and on
the other side is an image of Athena dressed in military attire, and holding a winged
victory in her hand

17. He also married a Persian princess, and adopted the Persian custom of ceremonial
kingship, demanding that his subjects perform the proskynesis in his presence

18. Marble Portrait of Alexander the
Great, Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st
century BC
British Museum
Since Alexander spent most of his career on campaign, there is little art that survives
from his reign. But we do know that he was concerned about his “public image”

19. Marble Portrait of Alexander the
Great, Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st
century BC
British Museum
According to Pliny the Elder, Alexander “decreed that no one other than Apelles should
paint his portrait, no one other than Pyrgoteles engrave it, and no one other than
Lysippos cast it in bronze.”

20. Portrait of Alexander, Roman copy after original by Lysippos
c. 330 BCE, Louvre
There are several surviving portraits of Alexander, all of which were probably
made after his death

21. Portrait of Alexander, Roman copy after original by Lysippos
c. 330 BCE, Louvre
In all of them, he is typically portrayed as youthful, beardless, and with a
distinct wave of hair at his forehead called the anastolé

22. Head of Alexander from near Pella, after official
portrait by Lysippos, ca. 200 - 150 BC
Image source:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ART
H209/late_classical.html
Recognizable as “portraits” (they all probably look more or less like him), they are
nevertheless infused with a quality of ideal beauty and charisma that set him apart
from ordinary men

23. Alexander the Great, Marble, c. 320 BCE
Getty Museum
They also convey a charismatic presence, achieved through facial expression,
and dramatically windswept hair

24. This is new – because Classical Greek statues were not meant to be “portraits” –
instead, they were meant to represent a generalized “ideal”

25. But Alexander’s portraits fused the idealism of Classical statues, with a recognizable
portrait likeness

26. Alexander the Great, Marble, c. 320 BCE
Getty Museum
Like the Head of an Akkadian Ruler, we see an individual being personally endowed with
the divine glamour and charisma that only the gods possess

27. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
One of the most famous representations of Alexander can be found on the so-called
“Alexander Mosaic,” which was found in a Roman house in Pompeii

28. A mosaic is made by pasting tiny pieces of colored stone in place to form the image

29. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
The mosaic is believed to be a copy of a (now lost) painting depicting Alexander’s epic
battle against the Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Issus

30. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
Alexander can be seen to the left, riding fearlessly into battle on horseback

31. He wears no helmet, and his hair (with the distinctive peak at his forehead) is
dramatically windswept

32. The Medusa head on his breastplate proclaims his support from the goddess of Athena

33. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
Darius III can be seen to the right, riding into battle in a chariot, while his army turns in
retreat

34. The great Persian emperor’s eyes widen in fear as he sets sight on the godlike radiance
of his foe

35. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
The mosaic reveals remarkably sophisticated techniques of illusionism, and since it is
based on a painting, it can give us insights into Greek painting techniques

36. When we look at Alexander’s head, for example, it looks three dimensional, and round

37. The artist uses a technique called “modeling with light and shade,” where gradations
from dark to light creates the illusion of volume

38. And look at this horse: instead of showing the horse from the side (which would have
been easier), the artist has shown from behind – a much more difficult angle

39. This technique is called “foreshortened perspective,” where the object appears to project
into space in perspective

40. An even more extraordinary display of skill can be found in the figure of the fallen soldier
to the right

41. The artists has quite convincingly rendered his reflection in the shield!

42. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
The naturalistic style of the Alexander Mosaic draws on the highly developed skills of
Greek artists, but the subject matter is very un-Greek

43. When the Greeks celebrated their victory against the Persians, they did not show an
actual battle; instead, they depicted scenes from mythology that elevated their victory to
the universal realm of myth

44. Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) c. 310 BCE
Roman copy, from House of the Faun, Pompeii
In this sense, the Alexander Mosaic comes much closer to the Stele of Naramsin in its
glorification of a godlike conqueror who defeats his enemy with ease

45. Thanks for listening!