Alexander mosaic
The so-called Alexander mosaic was discovered on October 24th 1831 during the excavations of Pompeii in the Casa del Fauno ( House of the Faun ).
A common opinion is that the mosaic depicts the Battle of Issus (333 BC) between the forces of Alexander the Great and Darius III. figuratively represents. However, other historians state that it could also be the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), where Alexander tried again to capture or kill Darius. Both kings - Alexander the Great on the left, Darius III on the right. - stand face to face. Here Alexander with the unconditional will to meet the Persian great king in battle, there Darius, looking back at the enemy while his chariot is already turned to flee.
The 5.82 m × 3.13 m large Alexander mosaic is between the middle and the end of the 2nd century BC. BC originated. With some certainty the mosaic comes from a template that is no longer preserved to us today. The original could be a work by Philoxenus of Eretria , who lived in the 4th century BC. Lived. However, this is controversial in research. Another controversial thesis is that the work is the work of a female artist, namely Helena of Egypt , about whom little is known. The original was probably set into a wall as a panel painting. The image field of the mosaic consists of small stones, of which about 5–6 extend to one cm²; In total there are about 1 million. The stones are as small as possible and have been subordinated to the color through a dense union so that a color continuum is formed.
The place of origin of the mosaic is also controversial. The damage to the work, which was still repaired in antiquity, may be from the transport to Pompeii or from an earlier earthquake in the city that was buried in 79 AD.
The Alexander mosaic is exhibited today in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples .
literature
- Bernard Andreae : The Alexander mosaic . Reclam, Stuttgart 1967.
- Michael Pfrommer : Investigations into the chronology and composition of the Alexander mosaic on an antiquarian basis . von Zabern, Mainz 1998 (Aegyptiaca Treverensia. Trier Studies on Greco-Roman Egypt 8), ISBN 3-8053-2028-0 .
- Michael Pfrommer: Alexander the Great. On the trail of a myth . Zabern, Mainz 2001 ( Antike Welt , special issue; Zabern's illustrated books on archeology ), ISBN 3-8053-2729-3 .
- Klaus Stähler: The Alexander mosaic . About the conquest and loss of power . Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-596-13149-9 .
- Fritz Winzer: Cultural History of Europe. From antiquity to the present. Westermann, Braunschweig undated , ISBN 3-14-509007-0 . Chapter The culture of ancient Greece. with the Alexander mosaic on double page 36/37.
- Wendy Slatkin: Women Artists in History. From Antiquity to the Present. 4th edition. New Jersey 2001, ISBN 0-13-027319-8 .
