Alexander's Anastole (ἀναστολή)

ANASTOLE The anastole (from the Greek ἀναστολή, "placed upwards") is a type of hairstyle, especially for men, used in ancient Greece and made popular especially in the mainly sculptural portraits of Alexander the Great. The hairstyle is a fringe in the center, pulled back. In the iconography of Alexander, the hairstyle was completed by a series of curls that fell to the sides, forming a sort of corolla.

The term anastola is a compound of "ana" (ἀνἀ) upwards or backwards and "tole" (τολή), a noun derived from the verb στἐλλω to bring.

The anastolic style was very popular among the Greeks. In ancient times it was mainly used by both musicians and warriors. It is also present in representations of deities, such as the gods Apollo (god of music), Ares (god of war) and Dionysus (god of wine).

POMPEY MAGNUS

Pompey's fixation with Alexander:

𝐴𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦-𝑓𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑃𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐴𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑦𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝘩𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚𝑝𝘩𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑎 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑎, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝𝘩𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 (𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝘩𝑒 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐𝘩 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝘩𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒-𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝘩𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚𝑝𝘩𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝𝘩𝑎𝑛𝑡).

"When a modern viewer looks at Pompey’s all too human face—mundane, middle-aged, perhaps a trifle overweight—he may feel an element of absurdity in this affectation of the features of Alexander. From Pompey’s point of view, however, the decision to affect an ‘Alexander look’ was probably more pragmatic than aesthetic. Like Alexander, he was a general who had campaigned in the East and been victorious. This achievement was an asset in the world of Roman politics, and he wanted his constituents to be reminded of it. The formal language of portraiture was one means of doing so." (Politt)

"Historical sources frequently give conflicting accounts of Alexander's appearance, and the earliest sources are the most scant in their detail. During his lifetime, Alexander carefully curated his image by commissioning works from famous and great artists of the time. This included commissioning sculptures by Lysippos, paintings by Apelles and gem engravings by Pyrgoteles. Ancient authors recorded that Alexander was so pleased with portraits of himself created by Lysippos that he forbade other sculptors from crafting his image; scholars today, however, find the claim dubious. Nevertheless, Andrew Stewart highlights the fact that artistic portraits, not least because of who they are commissioned by, are always partisan, and that artistic portrayals of Alexander "seek to legitimize him (or, by extension, his Successors), to interpret him to their audiences, to answer their critiques, and to persuade them of his greatness", and thus should be considered within a framework of "praise and blame", in the same way sources such as praise poetry are. Despite those caveats, Lysippos's sculpture, famous for its naturalism, as opposed to a stiffer, more static pose, is thought to be the most faithful depiction."

"He appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself. Olympias always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus, a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa. He began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon. Alexander adopted elements of Persian dress and customs at court, notably 'proskynesis', which was one aspect of Alexander's broad strategy aimed at securing the aid and support of the Iranian upper classes; however the practise of proskynesis was disapproved by the Macedonians, and they were unwilling to perform it. This behaviour cost him the sympathies of many of his countrymen. However, Alexander also was a pragmatic ruler who understood the difficulties of ruling culturally disparate peoples, many of whom lived in kingdoms where the king was divine. Thus, rather than megalomania, his behaviour may have been a practical attempt at strengthening his rule and keeping his empire together."