Was alexander greek or what?

[omorphos]

Was alexander greek? Because im reading all this stuff like he had grey eyes and blonde hair? Then why do all the pictures and first hand acounts of him depict him with light brown hair and two different color eyes, one blue and one dark brown. I dont understand either why they picked leonardo decaprio to be alexander the great, i think that alexander is more of a tom cruise, short, wide, and middle easter looking. Leo looks like something out of norse mythology, not a greek history.

[agesilaos]

Alexander was a Macedonian, which means he was hellenised but not fully Greek, though it would be a mistake to think that means anything racial, it is a cultural distinction. As for his appearance he had a ruddy complexion and pale skin, which sounds a bit red-headed to me somewhat Scottish ie celtic.As to whether he should be played by Tom Cruise or Leonardo Di Caprio I can't envision either one having the force of personality to conquer Asia.How about a genetic cross between the lead in The Mummy for the looks and Brad Pitt for the Psycotic edge?

[ruthaki]

The Macedonians were tribal people, descendants of the Doric Greeks. Yes, he was Hellenised but not considered "Greek" by the Greek of Attica (Athens) for instance. Also his mother was from Epiros which was another tribal country (partly where N.W Greece is now and Albania). The Northern people were mainly fair or red-headed and he was known to be small, bright-haired and fair skinned. Who knows if he had one blue eye and one brown? That could be just another 'romantic' notion. I'm glad I'm not the only one who cringes at the thought of either Tom Cruise or Leonardo di Caprio playing him in a movie (typically Hollywood) although at least they got the right age this time. (Remember Richard Burton playing a 20 yr old Alexander in that other horrid film?) If you want to read an article that has a lot about the history of Macedonia check out my website
for a story titled "In Search of Alexander"
http://www.dreamwater.org/ruthaki

[jorgios]

Its impossible to claim Alexander in any modern ethnic group really, but if any modern nation state can claim him, i would guess that it's Greece. The Makedonians were Dorians, and they spoke a Greek dialect(although according to some, this is arguable) In any case he called himself a Greek.Also, many Greeks have blonde hair in the north,and this was true in the past as well. My family is from Kios in the Aegean and we have blonde hair and blue eyes. About Alexander's one blue, one brown eye:
Mary Renault said it may have been due to a concussion he received later in life. A common characteristic of a concussion is the changing shades of the eyes.Im sorry for answering this question, i know its a banned topic, but i think i was fairly objective.Regards.

[ruthaki]

I can't recall it being Mary Renault who claimed Alexander had the odd colored eyes. I have read her books thoroughly a number of times (they are like my 'bibles'). It may have been this Italian writer who's books are being made into a movie. Anyway, it is probably a historical-fiction writer's romantic idea.

[John]

I read about Alexander having different colored eyes in one of the Romances. But the same book also stated that Alexander's horse would eat only human flesh, and had to be kept in an iron cage.John

[pavlos_melas]

I think the mistake that a lot of people make when it comes to this question is that they tend to superimpose (or try to) 19 & 20th Century definitions of nation and ethnicity. The fact is that the ancient Macedonians were indeed (no proof against) descendants of the Dorian tribes similar to the Spartans. The Dorian invasions of the southern Balkans did indeed constitute a part of the tribal mix that eventually became the ancient Greeks that we know and love. The Macedonians were part of the Greek speaking world but their culture did not keep up with the southern city-states. And when the concept of "Hellenism", that common bond or identity which began to take over the city-states around the 5th-6th Century BC, took over in the south the Macedonians were not immediately "impressed" by it.
People like Phillip II and Alexander I were the ones who started the process of Hellenization among their people.BTW, blond/light hair was quite common among the Dorian descendants.

[maciek]

Hi!
Some authors states that most of Greeks (or Hellens) was white skin and blue eyes in ancient times as the descendants from the tribes like Dorians. Later invasions from Italy and barbaric northern tribe mixed they appariences and now after more than two and a half thousands years the stereotype is changed.Maciek

[agesilaos]

Having read al the replies to this can I just say that everyone seems to be missing the fact that the Ostrogoths , Germans invaded Greece and controlled Macedonia for two centuries, so how modern Greeks look is not very relevant, what is is that Plutarch , Alex 4.1 describes him physically, he does not mention odd coloured eyes a rather daft later invention, I think, two sides to a character two different eyes, windows to the soul, etc.I wholeheartedly concur that racio-ethnic questions are largely irellevant, Alexander was of mixed nationality, but racially he was as close to Ghandi as he was to Hitler, nurture is the main force in making men great allied to luck (Tyche for fans of Polybios).

[agesilaos]

Having read al the replies to this can I just say that everyone seems to be missing the fact that the Ostrogoths , Germans invaded Greece and controlled Macedonia for two centuries, so how modern Greeks look is not very relevant, what is is that Plutarch , Alex 4.1 describes him physically, he does not mention odd coloured eyes a rather daft later invention, I think, two sides to a character two different eyes, windows to the soul, etc.I wholeheartedly concur that racio-ethnic questions are largely irellevant, Alexander was of mixed nationality, but racially he was as close to Ghandi as he was to Hitler, nurture is the main force in making men great allied to luck (Tyche for fans of Polybios).

[maciek]

I think I've just said the same thing about invasions from the nothern tribes
Maciek

[dean]

Hi Karl, it is always instructive and intersting to read your comments! Well, since the site went down for that week I haven't been able to catch up on what was going on. I was beginning to think that in the Canary Islands we had lost the privilige of reading from this site. Anyway to resume dialogue... I have read sensationalist views of his baby blues, you know that he was semi-divine and so having two eyes of differing colours was the proof. One recent refreshing discovery however regarding his ocular colouring is a comment by Miss Renault. Due to the stone hitting his neck during the conquest of Ciropolis it may have caused irregular dilation of the iris and thus people would have thought that he had one grey one black. This idea seems a hell of a lot more plausible than the previous reason.Do we see eye to eye on this one? All the best Dean.