suggest shading on the under side of Hades’ right arm, on Perse-
phone’s torso, and elsewhere. Although fragmentary, the Vergina
mural is a precious document of the almost totally lost art of monu-
mental painting in ancient Greece.
BATTLE OF ISSUSFurther insight into developments in paint-
ing at the time of Alexander comes from a large mosaic that deco-
rated the floor of one room of a lavishly appointed Roman house at
Pompeii. In the Alexander Mosaic (FIG. 5-70), as it is usually called,
the mosaicist employed tesserae (tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to
the desired size and shape) instead of pebbles (see “Mosaics,” Chap-
ter 11, page 303). The subject is a great battle between the armies of
Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III, probably the
battle of Issus in southeastern Turkey, when Darius fled the battle-
field in his chariot in humiliating defeat. The mosaic dates to the late
second or early first centuryBCE. It is widely believed to be a reason-
ably faithful copy ofBattle of Issus,a famous panel painting of
ca. 310BCEmade by Philoxenos of Eretriafor King Cassander,
one of Alexander’s successors. Some scholars have proposed, how-
ever, that the mosaic is a copy of a painting by one of the few Greek
female artists whose name is known, Helen of Egypt.
Battle of Issusis notable for the artist’s technical mastery of
problems that had long fascinated Greek painters. Even Euthymides
would have marveled at the fourth-centuryBCEpainter’s depiction
of the rearing horse (FIG. 5-1) seen in a three-quarter rear view be-
low Darius. The subtle modulation of the horse’s rump through
shading in browns and yellows is much more accomplished than the
comparable attempts at shading in the Pella mosaic (FIG. 5-68) or
the Vergina mural (FIG. 5-69). Other details are even more impres-
sive. The Persian to the right of the rearing horse has fallen to
the ground and raises, backward, a dropped Macedonian shield to
protect himself from being trampled. Philoxenos recorded the re-
flection of the man’s terrified face on the polished surface of the
shield. Everywhere in the scene, men, animals, and weapons cast
shadows on the ground. The interest of Greek painters in the reflec-
tion of insubstantial light on a shiny surface, and in the absence of
light (shadows), was far removed from earlier painters’ preoccupa-
tion with the clear presentation of weighty figures seen against a
blank background. The Greek painter here truly opened a window
into a world filled not only with figures, trees, and sky but also with
light. This Classical Greek notion of what a painting should be char-
acterizes most of the history of art in the Western world from the
Renaissance on.
Most impressive about Battle of Issus,however, is the psycholog-
ical intensity of the drama unfolding before the viewer’s eyes.
Alexander is on horseback leading his army into battle, recklessly
one might say, without even a helmet to protect him. He drives his
spear through one of Darius’s trusted “Immortals,” who were sworn
to guard the king’s life, while the Persian’s horse collapses beneath
him. The Macedonian king is only a few yards away from Darius,
and Alexander directs his gaze at the Persian king, not at the man
impaled on his now-useless spear. Darius has called for retreat. In
fact, his charioteer is already whipping the horses and speeding the
king to safety. Before he escapes, Darius looks back at Alexander and
in a pathetic gesture reaches out toward his brash foe. But victory
has slipped from his hands. Pliny said Philoxenos’s painting of the
battle between Alexander and Darius was “inferior to none.”^6 It is
easy to see why he reached that conclusion.142 Chapter 5 ANCIENT GREECE
5-70Philoxenos of Eretria,Battle of Issus,ca. 310 bce.Roman copy (Alexander Mosaic) from the House of the Faun, Pompeii, Italy, late second
or early first century bce.Tessera mosaic, 8 10 16 9 . Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.
Philoxenos’s Battle of Issus(see also FIG. 5-1) was considered one of the greatest paintings of antiquity. In it he captured the psychological intensity
of the confrontation between the two kings.
1 ft.