Softcover

ISBN 10: 041539452X ISBN 13: 9780415394529

Publisher: Routledge, 2006

The Legend of Alexander the Great on Greek and Roman Coins will for the first time collect, present and examine the portraits and representations of Alexander the Great on ancient coins of the Greek and Roman periods (c.320 BC to AD 400). It offers a firsthand insight into the posthumous appreciation of his legend by Hellenistic kings, Greek cities, and Roman Emperors. Dahmen combines an introduction to the historical background and basic information on the coins with a comprehensive study of Alexander's numismatic iconography. He also discusses in detail examples of coins with Alexander's portrait. Which are part of a selective presentation of representative coin types in the second part of the study (in which an image and discussion is combined with a characteristic quotation of a source from ancient historiography and a short bibliographical reference). The numismatic material presented, although representative, will exceed any previously published work on the...

Review:

'a very welcome distillation in terms of both approach and information... it cannot be doubted that Dahmen's volume fills a useful gap in the literature of Alexander... Dahmen has undertaken a valuable study of Alexander's portraiture on coins spanning some 700 years.' - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

'One of the chapters in Dahmen's strongly academic yet non-fusty book, is "Making Good Use of a Legend", and his whole book shows comprehensively that this is what happened to Alexander on coins, repeatedly through the centuries. - The Times of Acadiana

'If you want to learn more about how Alexander the Great was depicted on coins, this is a wonderful book... some parts of the book rise above the merely excellent to the superb... the best textural description of these coins I've seen in English... a valuable addition to ancient numismatic scholarship.' - The Celador

About the Author:

Formerly of the the Berlin Coin Cabinet