Alexander the Great and the opening of the world at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim
Tymphaios

October 30, 2009

Alexander the Great continues to be relevant today, more than two
thousand years after his death. That his origin is presently so hotly
contested is testament to his legacy. Alexander’s campaign changed the
culture of Asia. Alexander also became a model for Roman rulers and
ultimately had an impact on European ideals. On the 3rd of October the
Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim opened an exhibition under the
title `Alexander the Great and the opening of the world’ subtitled:
Asia’s cultures in transition. Already by the end of the first week
the exhibition had attracted three thousand visitors.

Archaeologist Michael Tellenbach, vice director of the Museum, was
very kind to comment extensively on both the exhibition and on
Alexander. `The exhibition is not just about Alexander. It starts with
his person, his campaign and his conquest of what was then most of the
known world. However, it is also about what resulted from it: Eastern
Hellenism. His campaign was also an expedition. Alexander brought with
him scientists, biologists, engineers, surveyors and geographers. He
was going to the end of the world.’

Indeed he was going to change the world. As a result of the influx of
scholars and the use of a common Greek language in the new empire,
Alexander’s conquests were destined to bring about big changes in
Asia. This exhibition also aims to make archaeological discoveries
from Hellenistic Asia better known. According to Dr Tellenbach, much
of that material is very badly published. Until the end of the Soviet
period, finds from the former USSR were not available for study and
were rarely published even in Soviet journals. Some of the areas where
Alexander went in modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan have
been inaccessible. This was an opportunity to display for the first
time under one roof an extremely diverse sample of about 400
Hellenistic and related artifacts from the regions of Alexander’s
empire.

What were the changes Alexander caused? Some of them were long
lasting. There had been a currency in Persia before. However the
Greeks brought monetarism. Once Alexander took over the Persian
administration, Greek coinage and monetary administration spread
throughout the new empire. Indeed even centuries afterwards the Kushan
rulers of Central Asia issued Greek-style coins with Greek letters
which they had adopted as an alphabet for their own language.

Dr Tellenbach was quick to add that the Greek influence went beyond
money.

`The exhibition is about the opening of the world. By `opening’ we
mean communication. The use of Koine Greek as the lingua franca of
Eastern Hellenism meant that a lot of cultures could interact. The
interaction was in a variety of ways. The exchange of Greek thought
and iconography with those of the Orient continued to have a strong
effect well beyond the Hellenistic period. In Central Asia, this
legacy had repercussions on the religious iconography of India and
even China and the whole of East Asia. As an example, before Alexander
the Buddha was represented simply with footsteps on the ground. After
the influence of the Hellenistic kingdoms, the Buddha started to be
represented in statues with human form. In fact gods of Asia became
for the first time represented in human form probably after
Alexander’s campaign. The influence indeed went beyond the conquered
lands. The Buddha statue in Nara, Kyoto, is adorned with vine
leaves. Vines cannot be found in Japan or anywhere in that part of
Asia, it is a Greek decorative motif.’

There were many other ways in which Asia changed: `For his new empire
Alexander is said to have founded over thirty new cities modeled on
the Greek polis. In the case of Ai Khanum in Bactria on the upper
Oxus, the new Polis incorporated not only a Greek street system, a
great agora and palaestra, but even a theatre and an acropolis. Greek
theatre became commonplace in the Hellenistic cities. An account by
Plutarch of the defeat of Roman general Crassus by the Parthians at
Carrhae in 53 BC mentions that Crassus’ severed head was brought to
the Parthian and Armenian kings then at a royal wedding. A Greek actor
who was in the midst of Euripides’s Bacchae took hold of the head and
incorporated it into the play while reciting a verse’ – `We bring from
the mountain a tendril fresh-cut to the palace, a wonderful prey.’ The
Greek influence in the form of Greek language and in this case Greek
theatre lived on for centuries.

Alexander the Great © Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und
Gärten Hessens, Bad Homburg The exhibition is organized approximately
thematically. It begins with busts and statuettes portraying
Alexander, some of them Roman copies of originals. Alexander
considered himself a descendant of Heracles from his father’s side and
of Achilles from his mother’s side and was a student of one of the
greatest Greek philosophers, Aristotle. So next there is an area about
Greece with a copy of Aristotle’s head and a backgrounder on
Alexander’s mission to find the end of the world based on the
geographical beliefs of the time. There is also much Greek armour, an
interactive area with replicas of a sarissa and helmets of the
Macedonian soldiers as well as maps, dioramas and animations about the
campaign of Alexander. The Greek section ends with copies of the
famous Alexander mosaic from Pompei.

The rooms that follow contain exhibits from the various conquered
regions: Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, Bactria and
the Indian subcontinent. Among them is a statuette of Aphrodite from
the temple of Artemis at Dura-Europos in Syria (1-2nd C BC). It bears
the influence of a lost statue of Aphrodite Uraneia by Pheidias. Below
is a sketch of it. The Greek influence is unmistakable.

The exhibits from Egypt include a golden medallion of Alexander from
Aboukir, c. 220-240 BC (Berlin Muenkabinett SMB PK Obj Nr 100016)
D18200016. The reverse is in
some respects more interesting: Winged Nike gives a shield to
Eros. Next to them a tropaion with two prisoners. The inscription says
in Greek BASILEOS ALEXANDROU (King Alexander’s). Through Alexander,
the Greek civilisation was being spread to the far corners of the
world.

There were several interesting, curious small items with Greek
writing: coins, pottery sherds (ostraka) that had been used for
writing notes and a royal seal. Even sling projectiles have been
recovered from the battlefields.

One had been signed by the shooter: Î`ΣΣÎ=9AÎ=9B& #xCE; – Î
Î=99Î=9FΒΩ(&#xCE ;¡Î=9FÎ¥). There is a touch of humour in the misspelled
soldier’s signature: `a present from ssssclepius’. Allegedly some
projectiles were taunting their enemies and entertaining their friends
with inscriptions such as Î’Î=95Î=9EÎ` (take this!) inscribed on
them. The declension is neither Attic (Î’Î=95Î=9EΩ) nor Koine
(Î’Î=95Î=9EÎ=9FÎ&#x A5;) but Doric (Î’Î=95Î=9EÎ`). Spartans, a Dorian
people, did not join Alexander’s campaign. The peltast who fired this
slingshot was possibly a Macedonian. According to Herodotus and some
archaeological evidence the Macedonian dialect was Doric.

After their victory at Gaugamela the Macedonians arrived in
Babylon. Herodotus had described it as the biggest city in the world.

Babylon © CES für rem/ FaberCourtial Alexander’s men must have been
greatly impressed, some by the size and splendour of Babylon but
others by the civilization. The Greeks apparently became interested in
the astronomical and astrological texts they found. The ancient
religious, literary and scientific traditions, in particular astronomy
and its interpretation, made a big impression on Alexander and his
successors. Cuneiform clay tablets with texts on astronomy, geometry
and mathematics are among the exhibits in this section. Cultural
influences became bidirectional. Hellenistic art spread to
Mesopotamia. A small statue of Heracles Epitrapezios from Nineveh is
included in the exhibition. There is a votive inscription in Greek at
the base: Î’Î=99Î=9FÎ`Î=95Î=9D Î – Σ Î=95Î Î=9FÎ=99Î=95Î=99 ΣÎ`ΡÎ`Î
&#xCE ;=99Î=9FΒΩΡΠ=9FΣ Î`ΡΤÎ=95Î=9C& #xCE;=99ΒΩΡÎ=9F&# xCE;¥ Î=9AÎ`Τ Î=95ΥΧÎ
– Î=9D -‘made by Diogenes Sarapiodoros upon the wish of Artemidoros’.

>From the ruins and sherds of Babylon and Persepolis the exhibition
moves to novel territory. Indeed the high point of the exhibition is
Hellenistic Central Asia. According to Dr Tellenbach, an awareness of
its historical significance is only now emerging. In Seleukos’s
kingdom, which extended from Syria to the Indus, the Central Asian
lands had been of great importance, but around 250 BC, the
Graeco-Bactrian realm in the East had been split off. With the
expansion of the Parthians, who drove a wedge between the two
entities, it increasingly turned into a Hellenistic enclave isolated
from the rest of the Hellenistic world.

Graeco-Bactrian gold coins are splendid. They show ruler portraits and
=80` on the reverse – their divine dynastic patrons, such as Apollo,
Zeus, Heracles, patrons of the Seleucids and Graeco-Bactrians. King
Demetrios I presents himself as the conqueror of India by wearing an
elephant helmet. Only in the last 50 years – due to the archaeological
excavation of French and Russian archaeologists on the Oxus in
Afghanistan, in Ai Khanum and at the Oxus temple Takht-I Sangin in
Tajikistan – has it been realized that the Graeco-Bactrian Empire was
not a phantasy. Today we know that it included Soghdia, Bactria and
areas all around the Hindukush as well as expanding all the way into
Central India and to the banks of the River Ganges.

Archaeological evidence that charts the beginning of the Greeks in
Bactria was provided by German-Uzbek excavations ahead of the
Alexander exhibition. These were supported by the German
Archaeological Institute and the Curt Engelhorn Foundation, which is
also responsible for this exhibition. Bactria was a large and populous
region conquered by Alexander. In Kurgansol near Baysun in
Transoxania, the archaeologists unearthed one of the first fortresses
Alexander built for his campaign beyond the Oxus towards the northern
steppes of Central Asia, Maracanda (Samarkand) and Ferghana. The fort
of Kurgansol was built in the late 4th C BC and was guarded until the
2nd C BC.

It is situated on a ridge above the Oxus valley through which an
ancient road leads to the pass known as Alexander’s Gates, the Iron
Gates at Derbent. Six bastions protect the fortress on the side of the
high plateau. Among the simple remains a fired-clay bath tub was found
connected to water pipes and a drainage system. Fired clay bath tubs
were a traditional element of Greek civilization. The existence of a
bath tub at this location in Central Asia can be best explained by the
presence of bearers of Greek culture. Further finds included a set of
drinking vessels, a wine strainer, a distillation set and a variety of
ceramic vessels of Persian and Hellenistic style.

Kurgansol fort © CES für rem/ FaberCourtial Another group of
Graeco-Bactrian artifacts displayed in the exhibition were found in a
temple on the river Oxus in modern southern Tadjikistan:
b1f14a127240017f0000011_de.html
They include various statuettes with a Hellenistic influence, an Ionic
style decorative pillar capital and other items. An inscription on a
2nd C BC mould for casting contains a Graeco-Bactrian reading in Greek
letters: Î=95ΣÎ=9FÎ=9EÎ=9F&# xCE;=9D Î=9AÎ`ΤÎ`Φ&#x CE;¡Î`Î-Î¥Î=9CÎ =95Î=9DÎ`
Î`Î=9DÎ=95&#xCE ;=98Î=95ΣÎ=95 Î=99ΡΩÎ=9CÎ=9 FÎ=99Î=9FÎ=99
Î=9DÎ=95&#x CE;=9CÎ=99ΣÎ=9AÎ=9F&#xCE ;¥ Î=9CÎ=9FÎ=9BΡΠÎ`Î=9BΡΠ– Σ
ΧÎ`Î=9BÎ=9A Î=99Î=9FÎ=9D Î=95Î` ΤÎ`Î=9BÎ`Î=9DÎ ¤Î©Î=9D Î=95ΠΤÎ`:
Esoxon Kataphrazymena (or Esoxon the son of Kataphrazymenas – a
Hellenised Bactrian name) dedicated this copper vessel valued at seven
talents to `Iromoios Nemiskou Molrpalres’ (possibly the Hellenised
name of a local deity or hero).

The Graecobactrian Hellenistic kingdom lasted until about 150 BC. It
was eventually replaced by the Kushan kingdom. The Kushan rulers
continued to issue Greek style coinage with Greek letters adapted to
the Kushan language. The kings issued coins with their names
Hellenised. One reads: Î’Î`CÎ=99Î=9BÎ=95Î&# xA5;C Î=9AÎ`ΒΦÎ=99C&#xCE ; – C –
Basileus Kadphises. Hellenistic influence did not end there. A
palace-like building at Khalchayan was built by Kadphises and was
filled with a great number of statues not only of Kushan rulers and
warriors but also of Greek mythological figures including Athena,
Heracles, satyrs, representations of Eros and while also showing the
influence of Gandhara art from India. The Kushans indeed ruled over
part of India and controlled trade routes with China. Finds from the
Kushan sites at Begram and Hadda in Afghanistan included beautiful
ivory ornaments from India and China, glassware and Hellenistic or
Roman items of very high quality.

The Hellenistic influence touched also the north Indian regions
between Gandhara and the Ganges. Here, for decades to come, Greek rule
continued under King Menander, celebrated in Buddhist literature as a
patron of Buddhism and an ideal ruler. In his realm, Graeco-Bactrian
culture came into close contact with Indian religion and art. The
exchange between Bactria and both, Gandhara in northwest India as well
as Mathura on the Ganges led to a groundbreaking change in the
iconography of Buddhism during the first centuries AD. Originally, the
person of the Buddha was symbolized by footprints or evoked by the
empty space under a Bodhi tree. In Gandhara art we see a new
phenomenon of life-size statues and smaller statuettes of Buddha and
of Bodhisatvas, the saints of Buddhism. The fact that he was now
represented in human form would not be conceivable without the
artistic discourse with the Graeco-Bactrian tradition.

It is evident that many different cultures and peoples had been
brought into closer contact with each other through Alexander’s
conquests and the new common language. What was the problem in
communication until then? Were there no written languages? Dr
Tellenbach explained that there was the cuneiform script of the
Babylonians in Iraq, Phoenician, Aramaic (Persian), Sumerian, the
Karoshti of India, the scripts of Asia Minor such as Lycian, Phrygian,
etc. The problem was rather too many different alphabets and
languages. Babel was perhaps not just a myth.

There are also languages that seemed not to be represented in the
ancient world. Was there for example some evidence in any of these
various scripts and alphabets of a Slavic-like language? Did the Slavs
leave something behind in one of those alphabets, did they write
something in Greek perhaps, using the Greek alphabet? Could one say
Slavs lived somewhere in this vast empire? In Dr Tellenbach’s view `It
is difficult to say what the Slavs, the Germans, the Scandinavians
were at that time. Their ancestors must have existed but as a people
they cannot be easily identified. The Russians would say the Skythians
were Slavs. Some scholars take that view. There are, however, no known
examples of Slavic in the languages, texts or scripts of the
Hellenistic empires.’

Apart from the geographical spread of Alexander’s influence, his
reputation remained alive through the Middle Ages and up to our own
time. Illustrated manuscripts from Persia and the West contain
references to Alexander the Great, portrayed as a warrior and an
emperor. The Alexander of these legends – a glamorous young conqueror
of an empire, a ruler who died at the height of his fame, a hero in
myths and fairy tales – changed the course of the history of intellect
and culture in Europe and the Orient.

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