Face of Alexander the Great

[agesilaos]

Problem solved - careless reader!! It might be part of the Krateros group, then ?

[amyntoros]

On a different tack, whilst looking into the Krateros group I came across a notice that the dedictory epigram had been found and that Arthur Evans of Knossos fame had an intaglio showing a fallen Alexander saved by a mounted Krateros, ie nothing like the Pella mosaic which is often cited as representing the group; JHS XIX apparently has a plate to P Perdrizet's article pp273-279, this note was in 'Archaological Discussions' in American Journal of Archaeology 1899. Any Knowledge of this intaglio? It's a new one on me but the composition brings the Getty Lion to mind ...

There's this link for the Journal of Hellenic Studies Volume 19 http://archive.org/stream/journalofhell ... 2/mode/2up

Interesting although dated study of the Krateros group and the dedication and, yes, there's a photograph of the intaglio included in the plate after page 278.

Best regards,

[agesilaos]

Thanks, Amyntoros, have just given it a careful read; at first I thought that the Getty piece could indeed be part of this, then i had my Homeric moment, Doh! Lysippos worked in bronze! Could be a Hellenistic copy, though. The intaglio omits the dogs by reason of space and perhaps Alexander's fallen horse, transferring the attack from the beast to its rider, which explains why no lion attack is reported amongst Alexander's wounds without recourse to miracles.

[chris_taylor]

And a special treat for you guys... check out this great link, and when you do, scroll down slowly and you'll see something awesome

http://artofkaren.blogspot.se/2006_10_01_archive.html

Hi Robbie - yes, I thought she did quite a good job of that.

The Pergamon Head is the face of Alexander the Great. The digitally remastered version turned him into Alexander the Insipid.

Chris.

[amyntoros]

The Pergamon Head is the face of Alexander the Great. The digitally remastered version turned him into Alexander the Insipid.

Chris.

Yet, as far as I can tell from my examination, Karen made no major changes to the original! Hair and skin effects have been substituted but the underlying structure remains the same.

Best regards,

[Alexias]

She has managed to make the eyes asymetrical I think, and not just the colour, but the bottom rim of the left hand eye.

There have been some negative comments here too http://alexandersarmy.livejournal.com/1 ... l#comments. Maybe its me but I don't think it's that bad.

[marcus]

She has managed to make the eyes asymetrical I think, and not just the colour, but the bottom rim of the left hand eye.

There have been some negative comments here too http://alexandersarmy.livejournal.com/1 ... l#comments. Maybe its me but I don't think it's that bad.

No, I don't think it's that bad at all. Was there a clause in a contract somewhere, saying that it had to be perfect?

It's not so much the asymmetry of the eyes for me, but I think the contrast in the eye colours is too great. More subtle would do me. But I'm really not complaining, as I think she's done a pretty good job.

[chris_taylor]

But I'm really not complaining, as I think she's done a pretty good job.

Her real achievement is not producing a photo of Alexander. Her real achievement is to come up with the idea of applying established methods of forensic science to ancient sculpture.

That's trail-blazing genius.

Chris.

[Nicator]

3 Hic est Metellus Macedonicus, qui porticus, quae fuerunt circumdatae duabus aedibus sine inscriptione positis, quae nunc Octaviae porticibus ambiuntur, fecerat, quique hanc turmam statuarum equestrium, quae frontem aedium spectant, hodieque maximum ornamentum eius loci, ex Macedonia detulit. 4 Cuius turmae hanc causam referunt, Magnum Alexandrum impetrasse a Lysippo, singulari talium auctore operum, ut eorum equitum, qui ex ipsius turma apud Granicum flumen ceciderant, expressa similitudine figurarum faceret statuas et ipsius quoque iis interponeret.

3 This is the Metellus Macedonicus who had previously built the portico about the two temples without inscriptions which are now surrounded by the portico of Octavia, and who brought from Macedonia the group of equestrian statues which stand facing the temples, and, even at the present time, are the chief ornament of the place. 4 Tradition hands down the following story of the origin of the group: that Alexander the Great prevailed upon Lysippus, a sculptor unexcelled in works of this sort, to make portrait-statues of the horsemen in his own squadron who had fallen at the river Granicus, and to place his own statue among them.

Of the Macedonians, about twenty-five of the Companions were killed at the first onset, brazen statues of whom we erected at Dium, executed by Lysippus, at Alexander's order. The same sculptor also executed a statue of Alexander himself, being chosen by him for the work in preference to all other artists. Of the other cavalry over sixty were slain, and of the infantry about thirty. Arrian I 16

So, it would also seem that the troopers depicted were from the first wave ie Sokrates eile not the Eile Basilike. Paterculus himself does not vouch for the information, it is 'causa referunt'. Of course one could prefer a casual statement in an introductory passage by a less than well respected Roman historian to the statements of two later Greeks specifically writing about Alexander: I just don't.

The Statius also does not mention an equestrian statue of Alexander, but an equestrian statue by Lysippos commisioned by Alexander, as these twenty-five were, and then had the rider replaced by Julius Caesar.

Cedat equus, Latiae qui contra templa Diones 
85Caesarei stat sede fori—quem traderis ausus 
Pellaeo, Lysippe. duci, mox Caesaris ora 
mirata cervice tulit—vix lumine fesso 
explores, quam longus in hunc despectus ab illo. 
quis rudis usque adeo, qui non, ut viderit ambos, 
90tantum dicat equos quantum distare regentes?

Let that steed give place, whose statue stands in
Caesar's Forum, over against Dione's shrine—thy
daring work, 'tis said, Lysippus, for the Pellaean
chief; thereafter on marvelling back he bore the
effigy of Caesar—scarce could your straining sight
discover how far the downward view from this
monarch (Domitian) to that(Caesar).

It could even be that Caesar took his Lysippan horseman from the Metellan monument, Statius could then be certain of the provenance, though he only says 'traderis'.

Wow...the Roman dictator was arrogant!