Alexandria's founded by Alexander

Alexandria's founded by Alexander the Great (by year BC): 334 Alexandria in Troia (Turkey) - 333 Alexandria at Issus/Alexandrette (Iskenderun, Turkey) - 332 Alexandria of Caria/by the Latmos (Alinda, Turkey) - 331 Alexandria Mygdoniae - 331 Alexandria (Egypt) - 330 Alexandria Ariana (Herat, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria of the Prophthasia/in Dragiana/Phrada (Farah, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in the Caucasus (Begram, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria of the Paropanisades (Ghazni, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria Eschate or Ultima (Khodjend, Tajikistan) - 329 Alexandria on the Oxus (Termez, Afghanistan) - 328 Alexandria in Margiana (Merv, Turkmenistan) - 326 Alexandria Nicaea (on the Hydaspes, India) - 326 Alexandria Bucephala (on the Hydaspes, India) - 325 Alexandria Sogdia - 325 Alexandria Oreitide - 325 Alexandria in Opiene / Alexandria on the Indus (confluence of Indus & Acesines, India) - 325 Alexandria Rambacia (Bela, Pakistan) - 325 Alexandria Xylinepolis (Patala, India) - 325 Alexandria in Carminia (Gulashkird, Iran) - 324 Alexandria-on-the-Tigris/Antiochia-in-Susiana/Charax (Spasinou Charax on the Tigris, Iraq) - ?Alexandria of Carmahle? (Kahnu)

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A statue of Alexander the Great in Athens?

Alexander riding his beloved Bucephalus is endlessly reproduced in stone, marble or bronze, so it is not surprising to see another one surfacing.

[Picture from glypto.wordpress.com]

This time we are going to Athens with an equestrian statue created back in 1992 by Yiannis Pappas, who through the Greek Ministry of Culture donated his work to the Municipality of Athens. Since then the statue has not moved and is still standing in the artist’s yard.

Red tape or not, it finally occurred to the people in charge that this is a case of neglect and hopes run high that Alexander may make it to downtown Athens although it doesn’t seem too clear where this will be. Unfortunately Yiannis Pappas died a few years ago, aged 92, without seeing his beloved bronze on the spot it deserves.

Where is the ideal and an honorable place for Alexander in modern Athens, a city he loved so much?

2 comments:

  1. I am wondering where the sculpture that is at the top your blog comes from. It is very striking but it looks more modern (renaissance maybe) than Macedonian. Is that right? or is it an ancient statue?

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    1. The statue is definitely Hellenistic from about 250-100BC although its origin is uncertain. It is part of the collection at the British Museum, who labels it as a “Bronze statuette of a huntsman, perhaps Alexander the Great”. It may be a small copy of a larger group from Delphi, dedicated by Craterus to Alexander. In that case it could be from the hand of Lysippos and Leochares, Alexander’s own sculptors. Personally, I like to believe this is Alexander himself, hence its prominent place on my blog.

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