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Alexander was born in 356 B.C. in the north of Greece at Pella,
the capital of Macedonia. As a child he studied under the tutelage
of Aristotle. At the age of sixteen while his father Philip,
the king of Macedonia, marched against Byzantium, he was entrusted
with the governing of his country. When his father was murdered
he became king and leader of the powerful Macedonian army. After
strengthening his position in Greece, he undertook a military
campaign which freed the Greek cities of Asia Minor from Persian
rule. With an objective of fusing western and oriental cultures,
he then went on to conquer Egypt, Persia, and part of India before
his death at the age of thirty-three. These brilliant accomplishments
during his brief life identify him as one of the greatest of
all military leaders. This portrait is reproduced from a full
figure in Munich. The real merit of the statue is in its head
which is identified as that of Alexander through literary accounts
of his appearance and through its resemblance to portraits on
Thracian coins. The strength and youthfulness of the features
captivate the viewer. The features are of almost superhuman beauty
but there is a tinge of bitterness in the lips and a melancholy
in the dreamy thoughtful eyes. |
