Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Some questions on the video about Krateros’s appearance/Lion Hunt Mosaic in Pella, plus a visit with students to the local Joslyn Art Museum, led me to make a (shorter) video about Alexander’s appearance, and specifically, how we can spot an Alexander (at least in sculpture).
On display in the Joslyn is a late Hellenistic (maybe early Roman imperial) head: a Roman copy of a Greek original likely dating to the 4th/3rd century. It would have been a life-sized figure of a “young Herakles.” This is a conservative attribution.
Rather, this appears to be an “Alexanderized” Herakles. We find similar syncretized sculptures throughout the Hellenistic (and Roman) periods. We also find Alexander in the guise of Helios, and even Pan. So this led me to do a quick summary of why I think it’s “Alexander”-Herakles, not just young Herakles. I’ll probably put this into a short article, so consider this attribution copyrighted for future academic publication, even if I’m sharing it.
Other sculptures referenced/shown: Getty Head (discussed, not shown, Getty Museum, LA), Azara herm (discussed, not shown, Louvre, Paris), Young Herakles (Metropolitan, NYC); Herakles-Alexander (National Museum, Athens); Helios-Alexander (Capitoline Museum, Rome), Yannitsa Alexander (Archaeological Museum, Pella); Akropolis Alexander (Akropolis Museum, Athens).
Features associated with Alexander statuary: anastole (cowlick), narrower bow mouth, round chin, slightly bulging browline, no beard! (Ever.) Over time, slightly down-slanted eyes get larger and "look up towards heaven” (associated with divinity), hair gets longer and more lion-like, neck-turn exaggerated. He also gets “prettier,” and face rounder in keeping with Greek canons of ephebic beauty (compare the Azara herm's long-faced Alexander).
Best books on Alexander’s image:
* Andrew Stewart, Faces of Power: Alexander’s Image and Hellenistic Politics (1994)
https://www.ucpress.edu/books/faces-of-power/hardcover
* Paolo Moreno, Alessandro Magno: Immagini come storia (2004)
https://www.ibs.it/alessandro-magno-immagini-come-storia-libro-paolo-moreno/e/9788824013017
Some questions on the video about Krateros’s appearance/Lion Hunt Mosaic in Pella, plus a visit with students to the local Joslyn Art Museum, led me to make a (shorter) video about Alexander’s appearance, and specifically, how we can spot an Alexander (at least in sculpture).
On display in the Joslyn is a late Hellenistic (maybe early Roman imperial) head: a Roman copy of a Greek original likely dating to the 4th/3rd century. It would have been a life-sized figure of a “young Herakles.” This is a conservative attribution.
Rather, this appears to be an “Alexanderized” Herakles. We find similar syncretized sculptures throughout the Hellenistic (and Roman) periods. We also find Alexander in the guise of Helios, and even Pan. So this led me to do a quick summary of why I think it’s “Alexander”-Herakles, not just young Herakles. I’ll probably put this into a short article, so consider this attribution copyrighted for future academic publication, even if I’m sharing it.
Other sculptures referenced/shown: Getty Head (discussed, not shown, Getty Museum, LA), Azara herm (discussed, not shown, Louvre, Paris), Young Herakles (Metropolitan, NYC); Herakles-Alexander (National Museum, Athens); Helios-Alexander (Capitoline Museum, Rome), Yannitsa Alexander (Archaeological Museum, Pella); Akropolis Alexander (Akropolis Museum, Athens).
Features associated with Alexander statuary: anastole (cowlick), narrower bow mouth, round chin, slightly bulging browline, no beard! (Ever.) Over time, slightly down-slanted eyes get larger and "look up towards heaven” (associated with divinity), hair gets longer and more lion-like, neck-turn exaggerated. He also gets “prettier,” and face rounder in keeping with Greek canons of ephebic beauty (compare the Azara herm's long-faced Alexander).
Best books on Alexander’s image:
* Andrew Stewart, Faces of Power: Alexander’s Image and Hellenistic Politics (1994)
https://www.ucpress.edu/books/faces-of-power/hardcover
* Paolo Moreno, Alessandro Magno: Immagini come storia (2004)
https://www.ibs.it/alessandro-magno-immagini-come-storia-libro-paolo-moreno/e/9788824013017
