Alexander’s missed voyage to conquer the West

Alexander always planned ahead, far ahead even. He was a true genius juggling many problems, projects, and strategies (see: Eyewitness accounts of Alexander's life). 

His most significant projects, or at least their outlines, were put on paper, as we may conclude from the to-do list the king left upon his death, as mentioned by Diodorus. We have no reason to believe Alexander’s ambition was a utopian dream. After all, conquering the then-known world in less than ten years is a superhuman achievement. Nobody before or after Alexander succeeded. Nothing could stop Alexander – except his own death. 

It has been generally accepted that Alexander aimed to conquer the western Mediterranean, and the idea is consistent with his character. However, Diodorus’ text may be a list of ideas rather than real plans, as we all would imagine. 

Besides his plan to build colossal temples and a mausoleum for his father, there was the project to build a thousand warships, larger than triremes, in Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, and Cyprus. This construction had already started while Alexander was in Babylon and alive. He planned to conquer Carthage. On the way, along the coast of Libya, he would create a string of safe havens and shipyards. Eventually, this strategy would lead him to Iberia and Magna Graecia, including Sicily, where many Greek colonists had established themselves centuries earlier. 

In the end, the Romans attacked the Carthaginians in Sicily in the First Punic War, 60 years after Alexander’s death. A second war shifted their terrain to Iberia, which was largely occupied by the Carthaginians (see: Carthage Antique, des origines jusqu’à l’invasion Vandale). We can only guess how Alexander would have handled the confrontation, especially since the power of Carthage was different in his days. 

On his way to Carthage, Alexander would need to secure the hinterland to protect his newly built harbors along the North African coast. To this effect, he conceived the construction of a road as far as the Pillars of Heracles (Gibraltar). The project materialized 2,500 years later when Mussolini built a 2,000 km-long highway, the Litoranea, running from Tunisia all the way to the Egyptian border (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks). We may wonder whether this was Alexander’s megalomania or far-sightedness. 

Greek immigrants searching for fertile lands and a better life had already colonized a significant part of the western Mediterranean. Around 600 BC, the Phocaeans (from modern Foça), who fled Asia Minor after a siege by the Persians, established themselves in southern France, where they founded the city of Massalia, modern Marseille. By 575 BC, these settlers founded regional colonies in Agde (Agathe Tyche), Antibes, Nice (Niké), and Monaco. 

With time, these colonists went further inland and spread all over Provence. The city of Arelate, modern Arles, occupied a strategic position where goods traveled up and down the River Rhone after they had been transhipped from Massalia. Most of those settlements are best known by their Roman names: Orange, Vaison-la-Romaine, and Glanum, although their origin was much older. 

A photographer friend of mine, Andrew Squires, explored Provence. His vision was to create images of the region, including Glanum, that translate the remains into what it once was. He published a splendid work of art as an iBook (with Apple) under the name Provence Mysterious. 

The Phoceans from Massalia, about the same time as they expanded in Provence, created circa 550 BC the trading post of Emporion, Roman Ampurias, and Rhoda, modern Rossas in Spain. Both cities, connected by a long sandy beach, served as stopover ports in the Greek expansion in the western Mediterranean. Geographically speaking, Emporion occupies the southwestern end of the Golfe de Lion, opposite Massalia. 

The first colonization of Magna Graecia happened earlier than elsewhere in that part of the Mediterranean. It started in Cumae, founded around 740 BC by emigrants from Chalcis and Kyme. Spartans emigrated to Taras, later named Tarentum. It was soon followed by new colonies established by the Achaeans in Metapontum, Sybaris, and Croton. In 733 BC, Greek settlers from Corinth arrived on the small island of Ortygia and founded Syracuse.

In the 6th century BC, Athenian settlers founded Thurii. Around 580 BC, colonists from Gela (Sicily), Crete, and Rhodes founded Akragas (Agrigento). 

Many of these initially Greek colonies became influential cities in their own right, creating their own towns. A good example is Sicily, where the new colonies fought the Carthaginians, the Romans, and each other, seeking their own ideals (see: Syracuse rivaled Athens to be the most powerful city). 

In 535 BC, Phocaean refugees established the colony of Elea, home of the Eleatic School created by the philosopher Parmenides (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy). In 433 BC, the colony of Tarentum founded Herakleia, and the Achaeans founded Poseidonia, Roman Paestum. 

These relentless fluxes of Greek emigrants were no secret to Alexander and his contemporaries, meaning he was well aware and informed about the western Mediterranean – something we tend to forget! 

An excellent example of the high skills and wealth in the western Mediterranean is the so-called Riace bronzes retrieved off the coast of Calabria ( see: More about Magna Graecia: a testimony from Calabria). Archaeologists disagree on whether they represent warriors, athletes, or gods. Consequently, they are called “Riace A,” created between 460 and 450 BC, and “Riace B,” between 430 and 420 BC. Let’s keep in mind that these statues are the kind of artwork that existed a century before Alexander. 

Although extensive, the above-mentioned list of Greek colonists in the western Mediterranean is far from complete but long enough to prove their impressive presence. They often were caught in the expansionist attacks of the Carthaginians and, alternatively, of the Romans. Alexander would have to face both sooner or later. With his seasoned Macedonians, he would have created a Greek/Hellenistic world instead of the Latin one that Rome imposed on Western Europe. How different our world would have been!

How thermal water preserves bronze statues

The little-known town of San Casciano dei Bagni, some 160 kilometers north of Rome, made headlines after archaeologists discovered more than two dozen statues and several statuettes from Roman times.

Thanks to the local thermal water quality, the statues were in a remarkable state of preservation. They depicted Greek and Roman gods and goddesses such as Hygieia and Apollo that stood in a sanctuary before they were plunged into these thermal waters. Scholars assume this happened as a ritual that occurred around the 1st century AD. The idea behind this ritual was simple: you give to the water hoping the water gives something in return. 

Archaeologists remarked that it was pretty unusual that statues for this kind of offering were created in expensive bronze. They generally were made in terracotta. This practice may indicate that powerful local families ruled this elite settlement, as documented in the Etruscan and Latin inscriptions they left behind. 

The precious bronzes were found underneath a hoard of nearly 6,000 coins – a mixture of gold, silver, and bronze specimen. 

The statues have been dated to the period between the 2nd and the 1st century BC when the region underwent the transition from Etruscan to Roman rule. It is thought that in these days of conflict, the sanctuary of the Baths became a multicultural and multilingual haven of peace. 

These precious artifacts are said to be the most important find since the Riace bronzes. After being restored, they will make their way to a new museum in San Casciano for all to see.

More mysteries surround the Riace bronzes

The Riace bronzes have kept scientists and archaeologists busy ever since the statues were fished from the sea at the southern tip of Italy in 1972. 

Of course, they have been cleaned and studied from every possible angle to find a prominent place in the National Museum of Reggio Calabria (see: More about Magna Graecia: a testimony from Calabria and More antiquities in blasting color). 

One would assume that all the questions about these magnificent statues have been answered, but there still is a long way to go. 

For instance, we don’t know whether we have a pair of bronzes, and, if so, who are they? Based on their appearance, scholars are pretty sure they were created in Attica or in Argolis. However, as they are both nudes, they could represent heroes or gods. Studies have, so far, pointed towards Agamemnon and Ajax, Tydeus and Amphiaraus, or Achilles and Patroclus. 

Dating these masterpieces is another challenge, although it is generally accepted that they belong to the fifth century BC.

[Picture from Bensozia]

More antiquities in blasting color

Since the first-ever exhibition of ancient statues reworked to their ancient polychromy in 2003 (see: Ancient Greece in full Technicolor), the concept of looking at colored versions has become more familiar. Many 3D and other reconstructions of temples and monuments have been published in its wake. 

It is almost unbelievable that the idea of looking at white marble or stone temples has been anchored in our minds for so long. That is not entirely surprising as some early archaeologists used to scrub their finds clean to remove the dirt, including any possible trace of color. Earlier archaeologists of the 1800s, like Sir Charles Fellows, have repeatedly exposed tombs and smaller temples with explicit paint remains, either in their decoration or in the inscriptions' letters. 

I remember strolling through the site of Arykanda, for instance (see: Visiting the site), and staring at the stately tombs in its necropolis, which Charles Fellows described with many traces of paint. I stared and stared but saw nothing except in my imagination. 

The statues' bright colors are shocking at first because they are so strong (see: Greek statues in blasting colors). Besides, some parts may have been gilded and have in-laid eyes as first appearing in bronze statues. Modern technologies using ultraviolet and infrared light reveal any faint remains of color. 

In my earlier blogs mentioned above, I mainly concentrated on marble statues and missed to stress the exceptional beauty of reconstructed bronze statues. Striking examples are the two Riace bronzes hauled from the sea in 1972. After they were cleaned, many details became visible. Their mouths appeared to be made from copper, as were their eyelashes and nipples. Warrior A showed silver teeth. And, of course, both statues had kept their eyes inlaid with stone. 

They are very striking and charming in their bright colors, but the detail of the head I found by chance is even more revealing! Although this was common good in the temples and houses in antiquity, these pictures look spectacular because we only have isolated examples.

[Pictures from Atlas Obscura]

More about Magna Graecia: a testimony from Calabria

The Province of Calabria is generally seen as the stepchild of Italy, although very few people ever took the trouble to visit this region so rich in history and culture. Sorry to add that I haven’t been there either … yet.

Situated at the southern tip of Italy, it was widely settled by the Greeks in the period between the eighth and the fourth century BC (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy) and the modern cities of Reggio (Rhegion), Rosarno (Medma), Lamezia Terme (Terina), Crotone (Kroton), Catanzaro (Scylletium), Caulonia (Kaulonia), Locri (Epizephyrian Locris) and coastal cities of Bruttium (Scyllaeum and Petelia) have their roots back in those early days.

Among those forlorn towns, there is Riace near the toe of Italy that merits all our attention as it made history in 1972 when an amateur snorkeler and diver discovered by chance two magnificent bronze statues – one of Italy’s greatest discoveries of the past 100 years. As we don’t know who they represent, they are simply called the “Riace A” and “Riace B” – not very evocative.

Except for a few vague architectural remains, no shipwreck that could give any indication about their provenance or destination was found, which evidently fueled further speculations. 

Meanwhile, it has been established that the statues were made about thirty years apart: “Riace A” was apparently created between 460 and 450 BC, whereas “Riace B” fits between the years 430-420 BC. So far, archaeologists have not been able to agree whether they represent warriors, athletes, or gods. Both are larger than life-size and measure nearly two meters. Both men are naked; the older man (Riace B) wears a helmet, and the younger one (Riace A) shows his wavy hairdo. They may have carried a spear and shield; both are made of cast bronze, but their eyelids and teeth are of silver, their nipples and lips of red copper, while their eyes are composed of ivory, limestone, and a paste of glass and amber. 

Scholars do not agree about the makers of these bronzes. “Riace A”, a man conscious of his good looks, may have been made by Myron of Eleuthera, an Athenian-based artist of the mid-5th century BC; “Riace B” on the other hand, depicts a more mature man in a relaxed pose with a kind look in his eyes and could be from the hand of Alkamenes, a pupil of the great Phidias.

These magnificent bronzes made headlines again recently when after four years lying on their backs pending some repair and cleaning as victims of budget cuts and lots of red tape, they finally are back at the Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. They are now once again standing in all their glory for everyone to see.

At the end of the last century, both statues went on a triumphant pilgrimage through Italy to cities like Rome, Florence, and Milan. Still, this kind of travel will not be repeated for the World Fair in Milan next year because their overall condition is far too delicate. Their exhibition for the G8-top in Genoa, held in 2001, had already been refused. So, whoever wants to see these unique bronzes will inevitably have to travel to Reggio Calabria – an opportunity to visit more of Magna Graecia on the way?

[pictures from ANSA]