Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) was the king of Macedon and one of the greatest military commanders in the ancient world. Before his death at the age of thirty-three, Alexander had conquered Greece, the Persian Empire, and northern India. Alexander provided a model of a secular ruler for leaders in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Furthermore, with the revival of antique culture during the Renaissance, the life of Alexander became a favourite classical subject in art and literature. My thesis seeks to examine the artistic interest in the life of Alexander during the Italian Renaissance. During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, artists portrayed episodes from the life of Alexander for elite patrons, who commissioned monumental frescoes and panel-paintings, along with pieces of maiolica pottery, tapestry and sculpture for use in the rituals of court life. While Alexander represented a model of secular authority for the patron, he was also intrinsically linked with art. Alexander's court artists, particularly Apelles, had a legacy that was eagerly emulated by modern artists. This thesis begins by tracing the long literary tradition of Alexander. Accounts by ancient authors, medieval romances, and new humanist texts all informed the production of images of the ancient king. I will explore the earliest representations of Alexander influenced by the humanist themes of uomini famosi and Petrarch's I Trionfi, followed by the reception and the appeal of portraits of Alexander created by Andrea del Verrocchio, Valerio Belli, and Giulio Romano. I will argue that, based on evidence in the form of drawings, Raphael had life-long artistic interest in Alexander, and many of his designs were adapted by other artists, including a fresco by Sodoma at the Villa Farnesina, and finely decorated maiolica pottery. Finally, I will consider the monumental cycles of frescoes executed by artists for patrons, who had a profound personal connection to the ancient monarch. While the artistic interest in the life of Alexander seems to derive from the fact that he was an all'antica subject, as I will demonstrate throughout this thesis, this interest took many forms for patrons, artists, and viewers. / Thesis (Ph.D, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-17 11:47:31.549

Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

The aim of the present study is to examine how the legacy of Alexander was appropriated, altered and used in arguments in early Christian discourse (c. 200-600). There is an inventory of all the early Christian references to Alexander in Appendix 1. The structure of the thesis is conceived as an unequal triptych: it is divided into three parts with subdivisions into three chapters of varying lengths (Part III contains two chapters and the thesis conclusion). Each part is prefaced with a short description of its contents. Each chapter within those parts have a preliminary remark to introduce the principal subject area with a brief conclusion in the back of it. Part I explores the Alexander traditions of three geographical centres of the Christian world: Alexandria (Ch. 1), Jerusalem (Ch. 2) and Rome (Ch. 3). It shows how the Jewish tales from these cities, such as the Josephan tale about Alexander’s visit to Jerusalem, were used in a variety of diverging, often contradictory, ways. Part II turns to the writings of the apologists in the second and third centuries. It discusses three prevalent themes associated with Alexander: historiography (Ch. 4), divine honours (Ch. 5) and Greek philosophy (Ch. 6). Part III moves on to the central texts and Alexander themes in the fourth to sixth centuries. It focuses on his role in Christian chronicles, church histories and representations of their world (Ch. 7), and also the rhetorical use of the figure in Christian preaching and public speaking (Ch. 8). Taken together, these three parts form the overarching argument that Alexander did not only fill many diverse roles in Christian representations of the remote past, but also featured in contemporary discourse on Christian culture, identities and societies, as well as in arguments made on behalf of the Christian religion itself. Indeed, the Christians frequently juxtapose the figure with distinctively Christian features, such as the life of Jesus, the Apostles, the church, sacred cities and holy spaces. They incorporate him into discourses on peace, mercy, generosity and abstinence. In other words, they repeatedly made Alexander relevant for what they considered important and, thus, created their own distinct discourse on the figure.

acase@tulane.edu

No description available.

Abstract This dissertation demonstrates that the ancient source traditions which furnish historians with information concerning Alexander the Great’s subjugation of India are deeply complex and often underappreciated as being such. This is done through a systematic analysis of the various extant and fragmentary traditions surrounding this period. Therefore, the evidence of the authors who wrote about Alexander’s Indian campaign directly after, or within a generation or so of it, are first discussed. This involves primarily a study of the extant fragments of many of the men who accompanied Alexander himself. This is followed by an investigation into the so-called ‘secondary authors’, or our extant histories of Alexander. The focus here is on evaluating the transmission of detail, bias, and distortion through the various aims, methods and prejudices of these later historians. Following this, there is a discussion of the numismatic evidence relating to the Indian campaign. This involves a study of Alexander’s ‘elephant medallions’ and various coins of the Diadochoi in which the intricacies of our documentary evidence is made evident. Finally, there is included in this dissertation a case study in which the problematic nature of the ancient evidence surrounding this period of the great conqueror’s life is shown. This is comprised of a detailed analysis of the evidence for the battle of the Hydaspes.

Abstract This dissertation demonstrates that the ancient source traditions which furnish historians with information concerning Alexander the Great’s subjugation of India are deeply complex and often underappreciated as being such. This is done through a systematic analysis of the various extant and fragmentary traditions surrounding this period. Therefore, the evidence of the authors who wrote about Alexander’s Indian campaign directly after, or within a generation or so of it, are first discussed. This involves primarily a study of the extant fragments of many of the men who accompanied Alexander himself. This is followed by an investigation into the so-called ‘secondary authors’, or our extant histories of Alexander. The focus here is on evaluating the transmission of detail, bias, and distortion through the various aims, methods and prejudices of these later historians. Following this, there is a discussion of the numismatic evidence relating to the Indian campaign. This involves a study of Alexander’s ‘elephant medallions’ and various coins of the Diadochoi in which the intricacies of our documentary evidence is made evident. Finally, there is included in this dissertation a case study in which the problematic nature of the ancient evidence surrounding this period of the great conqueror’s life is shown. This is comprised of a detailed analysis of the evidence for the battle of the Hydaspes.

Abstract This dissertation demonstrates that the ancient source traditions which furnish historians with information concerning Alexander the Great’s subjugation of India are deeply complex and often underappreciated as being such. This is done through a systematic analysis of the various extant and fragmentary traditions surrounding this period. Therefore, the evidence of the authors who wrote about Alexander’s Indian campaign directly after, or within a generation or so of it, are first discussed. This involves primarily a study of the extant fragments of many of the men who accompanied Alexander himself. This is followed by an investigation into the so-called ‘secondary authors’, or our extant histories of Alexander. The focus here is on evaluating the transmission of detail, bias, and distortion through the various aims, methods and prejudices of these later historians. Following this, there is a discussion of the numismatic evidence relating to the Indian campaign. This involves a study of Alexander’s ‘elephant medallions’ and various coins of the Diadochoi in which the intricacies of our documentary evidence is made evident. Finally, there is included in this dissertation a case study in which the problematic nature of the ancient evidence surrounding this period of the great conqueror’s life is shown. This is comprised of a detailed analysis of the evidence for the battle of the Hydaspes.

Abstract This dissertation demonstrates that the ancient source traditions which furnish historians with information concerning Alexander the Great’s subjugation of India are deeply complex and often underappreciated as being such. This is done through a systematic analysis of the various extant and fragmentary traditions surrounding this period. Therefore, the evidence of the authors who wrote about Alexander’s Indian campaign directly after, or within a generation or so of it, are first discussed. This involves primarily a study of the extant fragments of many of the men who accompanied Alexander himself. This is followed by an investigation into the so-called ‘secondary authors’, or our extant histories of Alexander. The focus here is on evaluating the transmission of detail, bias, and distortion through the various aims, methods and prejudices of these later historians. Following this, there is a discussion of the numismatic evidence relating to the Indian campaign. This involves a study of Alexander’s ‘elephant medallions’ and various coins of the Diadochoi in which the intricacies of our documentary evidence is made evident. Finally, there is included in this dissertation a case study in which the problematic nature of the ancient evidence surrounding this period of the great conqueror’s life is shown. This is comprised of a detailed analysis of the evidence for the battle of the Hydaspes.

"This dissertation ... was accepted for the degree of PH. D. at the Johns Hopkins University (1926)"--Pref. / Bibliography: p. 187-189.