Spirits in the material world
The theme this week was Spirits in the Material World. This is an interesting oxymoron. Material is the matter from which things can be made. It is physical. Spirit can be defined as "the non physical part of a person, the seat of emotions and character. The soul". It is meant to convey the intangible. Spirits in the Material World still keeps in line with leadership as we have been studying in this course but it delves into the essence of materials left behind by these ancient leaders, and what they are meant to convey to their observers and what they are intended to represent about the leader. This week we look at Alexander the Great, Trajan and Octavian/Augustus.
Iconography:
(Dictionary definition)- The visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these.
- A collection of illustrations or portraits.
Iconology:
(Dictionary definition)- The study of visual imagery and its symbolism and its interpretation, especially in social or political terms.
- Symbolism.
The leaders of today exist in an era of technology and multimedia outlets. They are able to get their ideas out instantaneously to hundreds of thousands or even millions of people if they are that influential. News papers, television and radio interviews, speeches, tweets and so on allow all these things to be possible. The leaders the existed in ancient times did not have these resources available to them, yet they still recognized what the leaders of today know to be true. That perception precedes reality. What their followers perceive of them can be altered. They can alter their own reality by the way they are thought about in the public eye, and this leverage can be greatly used to their advantage, both in securing their authority and in gathering a larger following. Technology and media aside, the advantage that ancient leaders had over their present day comrades was a military. This military and their prowess allowed them to conquer. And the ability to conquer gave them people in subject to them. Leaders of today must put the majority of their efforts into their ideas, vision and rhetoric, yet leaders of the past could sway their followers through military force. Visual arts in the form of paintings, mosaics, sculptures and carvings proved effective throughout history but are the chief forms of illustrations for Hellenistic leaders.
Alexander the Great for instance, a Macedonian kind between 356 - 323 BCE was the first Hellenistic leader to put political propaganda on coinage. the discipline was an offshoot of skilled gem carving. He featured his face on gold coins, and in various sculptures. He declared the artist Lysippos the only sculptor authorized to reproduce his image. This was the image that please him and this is how he wanted to be remembered in the minds of his followers. Plutarch describes this portraiture of Alexander as a "poised turn of the neck and a melting glance". The Spirit in the Material World. Showing Alexanders leonine manliness. Leonine meaning Lion-like was a quality Alexander sought to portray, and in many of his Hellenistic portraiture. In the coin below Alexander displays his Leonine locks of hair.
These Lionine locks, the melting gaze and the poised quality of the works shown above reveal the personal character of Alexander, the essence of the man, as well as they display qualities to be admired by society. His locks were not neatly in line but are represented a little disheveled, give a sense of wildness about him. A certain unpredictability almost. His gaze described as "melting" seems to glance and melt away, as well as to be one that would "melt" whoever he was looking at intently, I assume the word melt in a sense that would make them feel uncomfortable and targeted.A point can be made at his face looking so youthful. He died when he was only 32 years old, however I see many leaders today, when they are coming to an event to speak or be seen by the public, their advertising has a most youthful picture of them in it. The head shot is well lit, they look well rested and their hair is never messy. To me Alexander's portraiture both in sculpt and coinage represent that of a strong, youthful conqueror.
Wednesday 10/5 5-8pm Private study at home
Another important point for these ancient leaders were their authority and credibility. In past modules Achilles establishes himself as a great fighter and the son of Thetis. Agamemnon does so through being favored of Zeus. Mark Anthony passes off his womanizing as being descended from Herakles and Cleopatra likens herself to Aphrodite. Socrates sees himself as a learned man and indeed in Plato's Apology references the Oracle of Delphi's decree that he was the wisest of men. Lycurgus developed his laws and establishes them through the Oracle and Leonidas validates himself as a descendant of Herakles and a practitioner of Lycurgan law. Here in this module the theme of validation continues with Alexander's coinage representing his lineage as an offspring of Herakles. He is wearing the head of the Nemean Lion. To kill a lion is enough. To kill a lion with impenetrable skin is another feat entirely, and to descend from those loins is more than enough qualification to hold leadership. I not, he can be said to have descended from Zeus the father of Herakles, another theme Alexander introduced in his coinage. And which was also present in the Alexander Mosaic depicting the Battle of Issus with the Persian King, Darius III in 333 BCE. In it Alexander is seen wearing the Aegis of Zeus on his breastplate. This mosaic was discovered in the ........................
Here Zeus seen on the reverse side of Alexander's coin with the Eagle.Augustus (formerly Octavian) was a Roman conqueror who, like much other Romans, absorbed much of the monarchic representation of the Hellenistic rulers they had conquered. We explored this in detail in this module. Rome was a republic until the tyrant Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar was assassinated the thrown was ascended by Octavian, who assumed the name Augustus. And he restored peace to Rome and gave the power of rule back to the Senate. He did so in a way that solidified his control over Rome, by making himself "the first among equals". The Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) was a monument dedicated to Augustus after his triumphant return from his military exploits in what is modern day France and Spain. He had restored peace for Rome after many decades of strife, and the Ara Pacis was to commemorate this feat.
The Ara Pacis is an open-air alter placed in a prominent location in Rome, in the flatland of the Campus Martius and used for religious sacrifice. Because the roman culture was steeped in religious practices and rituals, this helped to raise Augustus to a god-like level as he himself claimed to, in that his uncle Julius Caesar was dedicated a god. Augustus became the son of a god. Interesting to learn is that the Ara Pacis was lost and discovered under a palace. The fascist overlord Mussolini dug it up and restored it. Mussolini had an affinity for Julius Caesar and he himself was trying to establish the former Italian empire. Here we see how this Iconography holds great importance for a Mussolini and why he would identify so closely with Caesar. Also why raising and restoring this alter would raise his credibility, in the same way raising a flag would foster pride and patriotism. The patriotism that resulted from the scene with Romulus and Remus on the Ara Pacis would have evoked the pride of the Roman people as being founded on might and the mantra of the strong surviving while the weak perished in the same way that Romulus founded the city after killing his twin brother Remus.
This scene above also creates a scene of tranquility and harmony, that Augustus prided himself on bringing to Rome, but, this scene, coupled with the extravagance and complex showing of plants on the lower half of the Altar show a great sense of fertility and abundance, which signified the movement Augustus sought to create in Rome, taking it from a city of stone to a city of marble. The use of Iconography is beautiful to look at, and at the same time it is revealing of the history and vision of the Roman leader and one that he definitely drove home among those that lived in Rome and sacrificed at the alter. Augustus did in fact present himself in similar way to Alexander in that his hair was slightly disheveled but not overly unruly. He did illustrate himself pointing and posturing in a way that demanded attention, as if he was speaking in the senate.
Thursday 10/6 9:40-11am
The last ancient leader we examined in this module was the Roman emperor Trajan, who after conquering the Dacians, had a column dedicated to him by the Roman senate. Believed to have been designed by Apollodorus of Damascus in 113 AD, the column stands 126 feet tall and has survived the fall of Rome itself. Trajan is presented much differently from Alexander and Augustus. In their poise they are the same, but Trajan has a "bowl cut" hairstyle. It is uniformed, neat and gives a sense of order. According to Dr. Sandridge it gives a look of Trajan being the policeman of the world. The hair is somewhat sharp and impressionistic of a helmet. Suitable for a military commander. This led us into a discussion in class of personal hairstyles and what our hair portrayed to the world. My locks portray Rasta. they are untwisted, clean and they grow how they wish. It represents to me a naturalness and a freedom that is untouched by the pressures the workplace,my family and society places on me as a man and as a black man. It represents my love of naturalness in all its forms. In terms of leadership, If I had to pick one person who I've been influenced by it would have to be Bob Marley. Coming from the streets of Trench Town, Kingston, at a point in time when Rasta were being persecuted by the law, to being one of the most recognized figures in the world. Spreading his music and his message in such a fashion that reggae has become probably, almost certainly the biggest cultural export of Jamaica. If I had to relate Bob Marley to a leader in the module it would be the philosopher king Socrates, who even though he was being persecuted, knew his worth until the end. I've always looked up to indirect leaders. Those who walk the talk, not necessarily talk the talk. An interesting connection is that the Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie's ring was passed on to Bob Marley from Selassie's son. Earlier in the century, Ethiopia would defeat Mussolini's attempt to capture Ethiopia.
As explained in class there is interconnections in leadership, it is not a one way street but a dialogue. A dialogue between hairstyles and posture and character and motives. And the symbolism is important. For a leader wishing it extend his/her legacy, or make a statement about themselves or even to show authority, there is a method to doing it. For a leader seeking to understand the important players in any situation or organization, to keep their finger on the pulse of issues going on in their organization, it seems to me that attention and diligence to these types of Iconography is important. Earlier in the semester my classmate said that she disliked the culture on Howard campus, that all one needed to do to recognize who was a leader or trying to be a leader was to look on the yard and see them all, the guys, she said all dressed like "mini Dr. Fredericks".
To me the expressions of leadership denote a seriousness and a lack of playfulness. It does somewhat, from what I see around me, call for some conformation of how I dress, and how I am groomed. I do wonder what will be the end of me when I graduate and am looking for a new job in my field of choice.How will I be received? Will I have to have my hair low and well groomed like in high school, or would the culture of my workplace pay no mind to my dreadlocks? I intend to go down like Socrates, in the hope that my intellect would suffice the trial. And like Socrates my apology would indicate an account. Not remorse.
Common Session 7 - 8:10pm
In the common session, Dr. Vickey Gyori presented the Hellenistic Monarchic traditions from Alexander to Augustus. The Republican generals styles themselves as I have explained in artistic media in statues and in coins. The two main types of portrayals are
- The Heroic portrait type
- The Heroic figure type
What was also interesting is that we learned the significance of Archaeology. Archaeology is a discipline straddling history and anthropology. It is the scientific and systematic study of material culture of past human histories. It goes beyond the written sources. The Trajan column details Trajan's war with the Dacians in chronological order. And it is because of this depiction that we can gather a history of the war, because very little written sources can be found. Although the column withstood the fall of Rome, we can still see that under these circumstances archaeology is important to a historical recollection and reconstruction. What is great about archaeology is that it is a discipline great at being unbiased. Survey and excavation are its main methods of discovery. Today unlike before, layers of earth are removed one at a time and the process is slow and very careful so as not to damage the artifacts.
Archaeologists use pick axes, trowels, trowels, clay sculpting tools, brushes, rubber balls for bursts of air,dental picks, tooth picks and other wood tools. metal is not allowed.
Also interesting is that the father back into history we look, the less written account we can find of any given culture, and here is where archaeology plays a major part.
We looked at an example where a Neolithic figurine was discovered in Turkey. It is the figure of a woman. It is 8000 years old and very similar to other stone sculptures found in that same region up until the 1960's. There is no written account of that society. What can be said of them? The figurines of women's bodies are ubiquitous in that area of discovery. Could it be said that the society was patriarchal one, or that they worshiped goddesses? It is likely, but whats important is that all these question can be answered with archaeology,where history has fallen short.