material culture exercise three
Hellenistic monarchs were the first to mint obverse portraits of living personages - Alexander the Great, Ptolemy I, Demetrius Poliorcetes, Antiochus I. The first portrait of a Hellenistic queen is that of Arsione II. Some of the coins depict the monarchs with divine attributes: for instance, on the obverse of gold victory medallion pieces issued c. 326-323 BC at Babylon for Alexander’s victory over Poros at the Battle of Hydaspes in 326 BC, the bust of Alexander is depicted with an elephant’s scalp (for Dionysus) and a ram’s horns (for Zeus Ammon) protruding from the ear with the aegis of Zeus around the neck. Look through the examples given in Pollitt and identify the divine attributes given. What does that tell us about the ruler's PR campaign?
Search in Pollitt's Chapter on Royal Iconography for better understanding of the following questions. As you do so, try to develop your own hypotheses to answer these questions:
How does Pollitt describe the change in art from the Classical Greek period to the Hellenistic Greek period?
Why does Alex, according to Plutarch, allow only Lysippos to sculpt his portrait?
What traits of leadership do the marble portraits convey?
Take a close look at the coins depicted in this chapter. How do they align leadership with divinity? How do they accommodate for different ethnic or cultural groups?
What does the royal iconography depicted in this chapter, in each of its forms (sculpture, coins, gems, paintings) convey about leadership that a text could not convey?
Why do you think Alex’ successors – the Hellenistic kings – copy this style of royal iconography?
What kind of leadership traits are displayed through these examples of material culture?
Recommended Time: 1:00