Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics (Volume 11) (Hellenistic Culture and Society)

Author: Stewart, Andrew

Brand: University of California Press

Edition: First Edition

Number Of Pages: 550

EAN: 9780520068513

Release Date: 24-01-1994

Package Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches

Languages: English

Binding: hardcover

Part Number: Illustrated

Details: Alexander the Great changed the face of the ancient world. During his life and after his death, his image in works of art exerted an unprecedented influence–on marbles, bronzes, ivories, frescoes, mosaics, coins, medals, even painted pottery and reliefware. Alexander's physiognomy became the most famous in history. But can we really know what meaning lies behind these images?

Andrew Stewart demonstrates that these portraits―wildly divergent in character, quality, type, provenance, date, and purpose―actually transmit not so much a likeness of Alexander as a set of carefully crafted clichés that mobilize the notion "Alexander" for diverse ends and diverse audiences. Stewart discusses the portraits as studies in power and his original interpretation of them gives unprecedented fullness and shape to the idea and image called "Alexander."