Head Tilt

[bessusww]

I would like to ask if to any members knowledge the heritage of Alexanders Head tilt lies.

Ive read in places it was as a result to A neck injury caused by some kind of misile weapon or a rock...i bring it up as I have read a liuttle about Jim Morrison..Whom it appears modeled himself somewhat on Alexander...I tried to read the Whole book on Jim Morrison but found it hard to get near to understanding,,,Only that he was in a way a very deep poetic anti Society, may I say kind of Phsycopahic.

I liked about 2 of his songs but thats about It....I know Jim Morrison did use the Alexander head tilt...But just wondered if its based on any real evidence...Ive noticed the Pergamon Bust has the head slant...But I think its relevent to say that the Pergamon Statue is not a life copy of Alexander or is it?

I am aware the Lysipus are believed to be most likely ones but are they?

Secondly ase the David Bowie Story just a myth Alexander had two different colour eyes...Which could be real considering the knocks on the head Alexander had upon himself during his life...Ive read that some kind of head injury and or trauma can cause colouring strangelies in the eyes.

[marcus]

I would like to ask if to any members knowledge the heritage of Alexanders Head tilt lies.

Ive read in places it was as a result to A neck injury caused by some kind of misile weapon or a rock...i bring it up as I have read a liuttle about Jim Morrison..Whom it appears modeled himself somewhat on Alexander...I tried to read the Whole book on Jim Morrison but found it hard to get near to understanding,,,Only that he was in a way a very deep poetic anti Society, may I say kind of Phsycopahic.

I liked about 2 of his songs but thats about It....I know Jim Morrison did use the Alexander head tilt...But just wondered if its based on any real evidence...Ive noticed the Pergamon Bust has the head slant...But I think its relevent to say that the Pergamon Statue is not a life copy of Alexander or is it?

I am aware the Lysipus are believed to be most likely ones but are they?

Secondly ase the David Bowie Story just a myth Alexander had two different colour eyes...Which could be real considering the knocks on the head Alexander had upon himself during his life...Ive read that some kind of head injury and or trauma can cause colouring strangelies in the eyes.

The references to this are in Plutarch:

Life of Alexander 4.1: "... many of his successors and friends afterwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise of the neck, which was bent slightly to the left ..."

Moralia 53c-d: "In a similar way it is said that close acquaintances used to copy Plato’s stoop, Aristotle’s lisp, and King Alexander’s twisted neck as well as the harshness of his voice in conversation."

On the Fortune and Virtue of Alexander 2.2: "And when Lysippus modelled his first statue of Alexander which represented him looking with his face turned towards the heavens (as indeed Alexander often did look, with a slight inclination of his head to one side)"

As you will see, there is no indication of where the 'tilt' came from, but any suggestion that it was from a blow from a rock can only be supposition on the part of modern writers (knowing that he did indeed receive such a knock). However, it depends on when the original statues showing the tilt were made. It has also been suggested that the tilt was due to some genetic deformity; but I can't remember what that was.

As for the eye-colour, the only ancient reference to this comes from the Alexander Romance. This doesn't necessarily make it untrue, but as Plutarch describes his eyes as having a "liquid softness", and a "melting glance" (how very Mills and Boon ), and doesn't see fit to mention the two colours, which is worthy of mention, one has to wonder whether this was a real "Romance" part of the Romance!

ATB

[Alexias]

John Romer put forward the theory that the tilt was caused by Alexander being short and a little deaf, so that he had to strain upwards to hear what people were saying!

[Chiliarch]

Or it may just have been an affectation as with Alcibiades, who, according to Plutarch, also tilted his head.

[marcus]

John Romer put forward the theory that the tilt was caused by Alexander being short and a little deaf, so that he had to strain upwards to hear what people were saying!

There are two problems with that, of course. One is that, while Alexander might not have been as tall as other Macedonians, there's nothing to suggest that he was *that* short. After all, I'm not exactly tall myself, whereas most of my male friends are getting on for 6 foot, or even more. I don't have a tilt to my head and I've known these chaps for almost as long as Alexander was alive.

The second point is, of course, that there is absolutely no evidence that Alexander suffered from any hearing impairment.

ATB

[bessusww]

Absolutely Marcus


Im only 5.6 and most people today are 6 feetish I never developed a neck slant...And if Alexanders slant is down to him been smaller...Well his slant was towards the ground so maybe the other Macedonians were all smaller than Alexander...Im deaf in one ear also and still dont have a slant.

I e mailed some pictures of the Brass ornament Via Thomas...See if you get them and what do you think.

Richard

[Alexias]

Personally, I think the tilt of Alexander’s head was part of his very careful public image. It may have been a trait he acquired to make himself look more vulnerable, less threatening and, if he did it when younger, a way of deflecting his elders’ anger if he was in trouble.

He was obviously fully aware of it or the sculptors wouldn’t have included it in his portraits, and it may have been a habit he cultivated. As he got older, he may have been trying to send out a message with it of someone disingenuous, curious, willing to listen, and just possibly, listening to the voice of the gods.

As king, Alexander’s reputation must have petrified people meeting him for the first time, and I think this was one of the reasons he remained clean-shaven. It was probably partly vanity, but he was making a statement that he was different, and instead of being faced with an imposing, stern warrior, people were met with a fresh-faced young man who appeared approachable and with a tilt to his head that might make him appear less formidable. This might have pre-disposed them to negotiate with him, though of course that didn’t always work.

Alexander was also clever enough to know that overturning people’s expectations of him was likely to give him an initial advantage in any negotiations. And if they underestimated him because of his apparent youth and an air of innocence, that too was an additional weapon in his arsenal.

[jan]

I just hope that it didn't resemble Dick Cheney's head tilt. I always noticed that he had a neck problem as well.