Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Alexander the Great’s New Facial Reconstruction Presented by Researchers.
Greek Reporter ^ | May 7, 2023 | Paula Tsoni

Posted on 05/07/2023 9:57:12 AM PDT by nickcarraway

A new version of how the face of the legendary Greek king and army leader Alexander the Great might have been in real life is presented by Royalty Now Studios on YouTube.

Researchers have often employed modern technology and historical records to try and answer the question what Alexander’s true face might have looked like, also based on numerous surviving busts of the great Greek leader who was born in 356 b.C. and died in 323 b.C..

In his short but fascinating life, Alexander created a vast empire that stretched from Greece to northwestern India and established him in the collective memory as “Great”.

Historians’ descriptions of Alexander’s face A fresco depicting a hunt scene at the tomb of Philip II, Alexander’s father, at the archaeological site of Aegae, is the only known surviving depiction of Alexander made during his lifetime, in the 330s b.C..

Also, contemporary coins and the famous Alexander Mosaic –a 1st century b.C. work unearthed in Pompeii- portray him with “a straight nose, a slightly protruding jaw, full lips and eyes deep set beneath a strongly pronounced forehead,” as Krzysztof Nawotka describes in his 2010 study, Alexander the Great, by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Grecian Delight supports Greece Detail of fresco depicting Alexander the Great. Fresco depicting a young Alexander in a hunt scene at the tomb of Philip II, at the archaeological site of Aegae. Credit: See page for author / CC BY SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Although most of Alexander’s statues attribute the same facial features to the young king of Macedon, historians have been inconclusive about the color of his hair, as referrences from ancient historians are conflicting.

The ancient historian Aelian (c. 175 – c. 235 AD), in his Varia Historia, describes Alexander’s hair color as blond “ξανθὴν“, that could also mean yellowish, reddish or brownish.

Taking all other features into account, Royal Now Studios attempt not only an animated new facial reconstruction of Alexander the Great, but also a modern interpretation of what he might have looked like in contemporary clothing and aesthetic.

Mystery around the tomb of Alexander the Great Questions about the appearence of Alexander the Great could be probably answered more easily by modern anthropological study methods had his tomb and remains been discovered.

But, to this day, the location of the tomb of Alexander continues to be surrounded by mystery and the discovery of his final place of rest is considered one of archaeology’s Holy Grails.

As the possession of his body was seen as a symbol of legitimacy by his successors, his funeral cortege, on its way from Babylon to Macedon, was seized by Ptolemy and taken to Memphis, Egypt.

From there, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity, sources suggest.

According to legend, Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of Ptolemy’s final successors, replaced Alexander’s sarcophagus with a glass one so he could convert the original to coinage.

The recent discovery of the majestic Amphipolis tomb in northern Greece, dating from the time of Alexander the Great, gave rise to speculation that its original intent was to be the burial place of Alexander, but the theory was soon abandoned.

A most disruptive theory is suggested by Greek-French academic Byzantinologist Helene Glykatzi-Ahrweiler, named herself amongst the 100 greatest Greeks of all time by the 2008 show Great Greeks.

In her 2018 book published by Gutenberg, the famous scholar suggests that the tomb in Aegae in is, in fact, Alexander’s, and not his father’s – which would explain why the young king was depicted in the famous fresco inside that tomb.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; History
KEYWORDS: aegae; aelian; alexandermosaic; alexanderthegreat; alexandria; amphipolis; ancientautopsies; babylon; egypt; glykatziahrweiler; godsgravesglyphs; greece; krzysztofnawotka; macedon; macedonia; memphis; paulatsoni; philipii; pompeii; ptolemy; ptolemyixlathyros; royaltynowstudios; variahistoria
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-35 next last

1 posted on 05/07/2023 9:57:12 AM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Sandy had access to the plastic surgeons.


2 posted on 05/07/2023 9:58:10 AM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

I’ll give it about fourteen seconds until the wokesters lose it and proclaim that he was black.


3 posted on 05/07/2023 9:59:42 AM PDT by RandallFlagg ("Okay. As long as the paperwork is clean, you boys can do what you like out there." -Fifi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

4 posted on 05/07/2023 10:01:20 AM PDT by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RandallFlagg

And gay.


5 posted on 05/07/2023 10:01:21 AM PDT by Wally_Kalbacken
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

He’s gay


6 posted on 05/07/2023 10:02:21 AM PDT by NWFree (Sigma male 🤪)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Wally_Kalbacken

And trans.


7 posted on 05/07/2023 10:02:36 AM PDT by Noumenon (You're not voting your way out of this. KTF)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks nickcarraway. Fantasy merchant is a booth I missed on career day. :^)

8 posted on 05/07/2023 10:04:32 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Hollywood hasn’t made him black yet?


9 posted on 05/07/2023 10:05:03 AM PDT by dsrtsage ( Complexity is just simple lacking imagination)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
I always thought he looked like Richard Burton

BTW, don't waste your time, Alexander the Great was a horrible movie, in spite of the all-star cast.

10 posted on 05/07/2023 10:05:07 AM PDT by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: chajin

Good Iron Maiden song, though.


11 posted on 05/07/2023 10:06:26 AM PDT by RandallFlagg ("Okay. As long as the paperwork is clean, you boys can do what you like out there." -Fifi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

So with no skull to work from they produce something that looks like all the statues he had made of himself?

What a sirprise!


12 posted on 05/07/2023 10:07:14 AM PDT by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
...a former slave who picked cotton in Mississippi, "Alexander created a vast empire that stretched from Greece to northwestern India..."

He wore Nikes and everyone called him "the Big A".

13 posted on 05/07/2023 10:07:34 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (We didn't have all this violence when we had God in our schools and AMERICA WAS GREAT!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

According to Netflix hes black


14 posted on 05/07/2023 10:14:08 AM PDT by Craftmore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

He looks a bit like John Belushi in his 20s.


15 posted on 05/07/2023 10:17:53 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

They made him look CRAZY!!!! Phooey!


16 posted on 05/07/2023 10:25:49 AM PDT by Honorary Serb (Kosovo is Serbia! Free Srpska! Abolish ICTY!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine

I thought Alexander the Grape was purple?


17 posted on 05/07/2023 10:26:58 AM PDT by null and void (Be gentle with each other. You never know what someone is going through.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: facedown

But my grandmother said he was black!


18 posted on 05/07/2023 10:30:05 AM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Sometimes There Is No Lesser Of Two Evils)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

He’s LGBTQRST+2-3/666 Jim.


19 posted on 05/07/2023 10:30:12 AM PDT by Bounced2X (Boomer - I survived childhood with no bike helmet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Every reconstructionist has a preconceived idea of a face in mind and when the complete the project, it's exactly as they thought it to be. Skinny, fat, creases, wrinkles, zits and moles...big ears, little ears...

They're artists creating their own Mona Lisa's.

20 posted on 05/07/2023 10:31:54 AM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-35 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson