Alexander’s presence in Venice – Part 2, from Constantinople

Alexander is also featured on the north façade of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. Here is a relief taken from Constantinople after the sack and looting by the Crusaders in 1204 together with the bronze horses that found a prominent place above the entrance to the Basilica. 

[Alexander lifted into the skies – from Engramma]

Looking at the photograph in the article published by Engramma, my thoughts immediately go back to a similar picture of Alexander in the Cathedral of Otranto in southern Italy where he is part of a huge mosaic floor created between 1163 and 1165 (see: Alexander’s presence in Magna Graecia). 

In the Venetian relief, Alexander is seated on a chariot, which is not clearly visible in Otranto's mosaic, pulled by winged griffins who lift him up into the skies. The motif is said to be very common in the 12^th-13^th century. 

Initially, the relief was not a decorative piece but a precious trophy like the famous bronze quadriga and other artifacts used to represent the transfer of the symbolic continuity from Constantinople to Venice. The ambition of the Venetian Doge was boundless as he strived to move in Alexander’s footsteps as ruler of the world. Nothing less …!

[Continue reading Alexander's presence in Venice - Part 3, the Pala d'Oro]

Alexander, from hero to saint

Alexander was never forgotten in history. After his death, many tales and legends started to circulate. Many of those found their way to the widespread versions of the Alexander Romance.

His pictures, statues, paintings, and mosaics circulated in the countries he had conquered and beyond. A great deal of the artwork we know today are copies made in the Roman era. During Hellenistic times, we can find his pictures from Italy, Egypt, the Near East, to Central Asia, and India. Every ruler liked to present himself with a certain likeness to Alexander. This makes it often difficult to distinguish Alexander from later kings.

When the Byzantine Empire and early Christianity spread throughout the eastern part of the world, Alexander was no longer seen as a Greek hero and made his entry into the Orthodox church. His ascension into Heaven became a recurrent theme. Although he clearly remained a mortal, the great conqueror extended his empire to the heavens.

By the 12^th century, the clergy often depicted Alexander as he rose into Paradise rather than being left among the dead. The best-known such picture is found on the floor mosaic in the church of Otranto in Southern Italy (see: Alexander's presence in Magna Graecia). Recently, one of my friends located a similar relief showing Alexander in precisely the same position in the Church of S. Demetrius in Vladimir, Russian Kiev. In fact, some 2,000 km further east! Alexander is depicted sitting on a throne, holding a bait of meat in each hand. Hungry griffons pick on the flesh, and by doing so, they are pulling him up into Heaven.

Around the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Alexander became a symbol of vanity. Several churches in Greece contain frescoes depicting monks who meditate on vanity while gazing down on Alexander's body at their feet. If we pay close attention, we find several such examples, for instance, in the church of St John the Baptist in the Peloponnese or at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at the Meteora.

Alexander’s presence in Magna Graecia

A few weeks ago a friend of mine returned from a trip to Puglia in southern Italy and brought me a postcard showing a strange-looking Alexander. It clearly was a mosaic showing a floating Alexander (at least that is what I thought for he is supposed to be seated) between two aisled griffons pointing their beaks upwards to Alexander’s hands. Above him, the inscription reads Alexander Rex. The back of the postcard told me that the picture was taken at the cathedral of Otranto. Where was Otranto and what was Alexander doing there? My friend simply responded: this was still Magna Graecia at the time.

The Alexander mosaic is only a small detail of a monumental mosaic floor that covers the entire surface of the Otranto cathedral, 16 meters long from the entrance to the altar that is. It is reportedly the largest such pavement in Europe, created between 1163 and 1165. It shows the Tree of Life, its trunk running through the center of the cathedral and its branches cascading in parallel rows. There is a smaller tree in each of the side naves as well.

The Tree of Life is populated by a strange amalgam of figures and events. There are, of course, biblical references like Adam and Eve, Noah and his Ark, Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba. But the tree is also filled with random pictures referring to The Golden Ass by Apuleius, characters from the medieval tales that were created around King Arthur and Alexander the Great. There are also figures belonging to pagan myths like Samson, the goddess Diana, and other figures from Greek mythology as well as referrals to Scandinavian mythology, and even the picture of a lion from Persian Sassanid times.

The twelve months of the year are represented in individual circles with pictures of the pertaining seasonal activities. Another series of medallions gives us an impression of the current domestic animals together with fantasy creatures. In another spot, we find pictures of Heaven and Hell directing us to the Next World.

An artistic work that raises many questions as the overall message is very hard to understand. The fact is that this mosaic was commissioned by Gionata, the local Bishop, and was created by a monk named Pantaleone. It tells us about the origin of Christianity, the battle between Good and Evil, virtues and vices set in a spiritual context – yet all is fitting the then-ruling multicultural mixture of Byzantines and Normans at a crossroad between the eastern Mediterranean and the western culture of Northern Europe of which most eludes us today. Usually, a church mosaic was meant to “speak” to the church-goers, but this Tree of Life is totally beyond that since even the most erudite visitor could not have known all the references. Maybe it was meant as a mere dictionary holding our knowledge and its origins universally as fitting in the 12^th century.

Whatever the general interpretation of this huge mosaic, the presence of Alexander the Great in such a prominent place does puzzle me. His awkward position with raised hands is explained as sitting on a throne, holding a piece of meat in each hand. The aisled griffons are said to be reaching out for the meat and by biting in it they are lifting Alexander up into the skies.

At this point, I wonder how Pantaleone knew Alexander. The influence of Magna Graecia lasted in southern Italy till the end of the Byzantine occupation in the 11^th century, so the memory of Alexander can easily have been kept alive. Another possibility is the widespread literature of the Alexander Romance that was very popular from the 4^th to the 16^th century. Interesting and intriguing, isn’t it?

[An excellent series of pictures can be found at the site of Bridge Puglia-USA]