Female Narrator: This panel shows some of the ways Egyptian sculpture influenced Greek art. Dr. Robert Bianchi, chief curator of the Fondation Gandur in Geneva, Switzerland, tells us how.
Dr. Bob Bianchi: The relief contains what is known as the titulary name of Alexander the Great.
Female Narrator: That’s Robert Bianchi, chief curator of the Fondation Gandur in Switzerland. He’s referring to the panel in front of us, a relief carving with four vertical bands containing Egyptian hieroglyphs. By “titulary,” he means the title that comes before the proper name of an Egyptian pharaoh.
Dr. Bob Bianchi: The titulary of Alexander is in the beginning of the first two columns on the left hand side, namely the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, the lord of the two lands. And then we have the name of Alexander given in hieroglyphs.
Female Narrator: Now Alexander was not an Egyptian; he was a Macedonian Greek who took over Egypt in 332 BC. In order to legitimize his rule, Alexander took care to be presented to his new subjects as both a Greek king and an Egyptian pharaoh. This relief was part of that PR campaign. Look at the two ovals, or cartouches, at upper right...you can still see traces of red and gold paint.
Dr. Bob Bianchi: The red symbolizes a solar deity. And the gold symbolizes the color of the flesh of the deities. So by painting the cartouche which contains the name of Alexander in red, they are equating him with the sun god Amun, and by adding the gold, they are implying that this individual is divine, because gold is the Flesh of the Gods. So the cartouche says the son of Amun, Alexander.
Female Narrator: How could a Greek king be the son of an Egyptian deity? It seems Alexander visited an oracle at the temple of Siwa, where he was proclaimed to be the son of Amun, the Egyptian sun god.
Dr. Bob Bianchi: By Alexander proclaiming openly to the world that he was the son of the sun God Amun, Alexander was elevating his status. And trying to show that his lineage was old and venerable and respectable.
