Ptolemy I, Alexander the Great’s most canny general, famously diverted Alexander’s funeral cortège as it made its way from Babylon to Macedon, handily taking possession of his body in order to bolster his legitimacy as a Successor. So too did Ptolemy lay claim to Alexander’s image, brilliantly so on coin types struck in the first
Even though worship of Dionysos seems to have been as old as the rest of the Greek pantheon, he was traditionally regarded as a recent addition – an insolent young pup hailing from the exotic East, exuberantly making his way to Mt. Olympus. Tasked by his wily stepmother Hera with conquering India, Dionysos did so
It’s not every day that a eunuch rises from relative administrative obscurity to found a massively successful dynasty, but that is exactly what Philetairos managed.
In an impressive feat of artistry and imagination, this little ivory appliqué grafts a delightfully human, puckish expression onto the hairy caprid face of Pan.