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1 results

  • 3 - The Image of Alexander in Ancient Art

  • Edited by Richard Stoneman, University of Exeter
  • Book:
    A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture
    Published online:
    13 January 2022
    Print publication:
    03 February 2022, pp 42-64

  • Summary

    The iconography of Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) in ancient art evolved as his legend grew and he came to symbolise different things to diverse social groups through the centuries. None of his lifetime portraits has survived but we have literary records and Roman copies. In the Hellenistic period (323–30 BC) his image provided a source of legitimacy for his Successors, who placed his portrait on their coins, erected his posthumous statues in their kingdoms and generally sought to imitate him. These coin portraits and several Hellenistic statues have come down to us, enabling us to assess his image through the filter of later interpretations.