Another kingdom with a tradition of realistic ruler portraits was Bactria, which occupied the land between the Oxus River and the Hindu Kush (today parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan). It had been part of the Seleukid empire but won its independence in the middle of the third century B.C. The rulers of Bactria were actually Greek, and they do not entirely reject the Macedonian royal tradition, but like the rulers of Pontos they preferred highly individualized and apparently realistic portrait types. Eukratides (ruled c. 170-154 B.C.), who seized control of Bactria in 170 B.C., may have been related to the Seleukids, and that may account for his helmet with a bull's ear and horn that resembles the leopardskin helmet of Seleukos I (no. 49), but his features are strong and his expression determined and stern. The Bactrian kings are depicted as middle-aged, and with their short hair and elaborate and imposing armor, the emphasis in their portraits is strongly martial. The coins seem designed to appeal simultaneously to the military and to the educated Bactrian royalty who could appreciate the divine attributes.

Finally, realistic portraiture made an appearance where it might least have been expected, in the last coins of the Macedonian kingdom. The portraits of its last king, Perseus (c. 212-168 B.C), have few of the idealizing qualities of the Macedonian royal tradition. Although he liked to be known as a descendant of Alexander and although he has Alexander's tousled hair and upward gaze, his unprepossessing profile, weak mouth, and wispy beard rob him of any of Alexander's heroic qualities. When Perseus finally surrendered to Rome, Macedonia disintegrated into four powerless republics, and soon afterward the last remnants of the Macedonian kingdom of Alexander the Great were absorbed by the Romans.

The traditions of portraiture established in these Hellenistic coins, both the idealized tradition based upon portraits of Alexander and the realistic tradition of later Hellenistic coinage, provided the basis for the ruler portraiture of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire. The image of Alexander himself would be evoked for its heroic qualities and for its associations with dominion over the East. The conventions of the divine ruler portrait would be adapted to the propaganda that served the Roman cult of the emperor. And the realism in Hellenistic portraiture would inspire the "veristic" tradition of the late republic, which would periodically resurface in the portraiture of the empire.

(Continues...)


[LU Home] | [Bearers of Meaning] | [Contents] | [Essays] | [Catalogue] | [Glossary]

All contents copyright (c) 1996.
Lawrence University
All rights reserved.