Spearpoint
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Spearpoint is a podcast about Alexander the Great. Hosted by Malcolm Mann and Dr. Frances Joseph you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and your RSS Feed!
According to Plutarch Alexander had a privilaged but also difficult upbringing. On the one hand he benefited from being taught by no less than Aristotle. On the other, he lived in a royal house riven by rivalry between the king’s various wives.
(image: Dingir__ | pinterest)
(image: Dingir__ | pinterest)
July 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
According to Plutarch Alexander had a privilaged but also difficult upbringing. On the one hand he benefited from being taught by no less than Aristotle. On the other, he lived in a royal house riven by rivalry between the king’s various wives.
(image: Dingir__ | pinterest)
(image: Dingir__ | pinterest)
Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon. As befitting such a renowned figure his birth was accompanied by prophecies and divine help.
(image: realmacedonia | pinterest)
(image: realmacedonia | pinterest)
July 20, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of Macedon. As befitting such a renowned figure his birth was accompanied by prophecies and divine help.
(image: realmacedonia | pinterest)
(image: realmacedonia | pinterest)
“My name is my name!”
The importance of having a name (reputation) was as important to Alexander as it was to Marlo Stanfield in The Wire.
The importance of having a name (reputation) was as important to Alexander as it was to Marlo Stanfield in The Wire.
July 18, 2025 at 6:52 AM
“My name is my name!”
The importance of having a name (reputation) was as important to Alexander as it was to Marlo Stanfield in The Wire.
The importance of having a name (reputation) was as important to Alexander as it was to Marlo Stanfield in The Wire.
Alexander was 20 when he became king of Macedon. His young age meant that despite already having military experience he had to use his late father to win the army’s support.
July 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Alexander was 20 when he became king of Macedon. His young age meant that despite already having military experience he had to use his late father to win the army’s support.
Before he could begin his campaign against the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great had to secure his northern borders. He did this in 335 BC. At the start of the campaign, Free Thracians attacked Alexander’s Macedonian army by rolling carts down a hill at it.
April 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Before he could begin his campaign against the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great had to secure his northern borders. He did this in 335 BC. At the start of the campaign, Free Thracians attacked Alexander’s Macedonian army by rolling carts down a hill at it.
This is pencil portrait of Alexander in his idealised form:
- leonine hair
- anastole
- clean shaven
- dreamy eyes
- slightly parted lips
- leonine hair
- anastole
- clean shaven
- dreamy eyes
- slightly parted lips
April 15, 2025 at 5:06 AM
This is pencil portrait of Alexander in his idealised form:
- leonine hair
- anastole
- clean shaven
- dreamy eyes
- slightly parted lips
- leonine hair
- anastole
- clean shaven
- dreamy eyes
- slightly parted lips
We mourn the passing of Val Kilmer, who has died aged 65. Top Gun’s Ice Man played the part of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II, in Alexander (2004).
April 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
We mourn the passing of Val Kilmer, who has died aged 65. Top Gun’s Ice Man played the part of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II, in Alexander (2004).
Alexander’s mother, Olympias of Epirus. She is almost unanimously portrayed in a negative capacity by the Alexander historians of antiquity. Olympias was a woman forced to fight for her place (and life) in a man’s world.
(pic: wikipedia)
(pic: wikipedia)
March 27, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Alexander’s mother, Olympias of Epirus. She is almost unanimously portrayed in a negative capacity by the Alexander historians of antiquity. Olympias was a woman forced to fight for her place (and life) in a man’s world.
(pic: wikipedia)
(pic: wikipedia)
Alexander the Great has been portrayed in many different ways over the last 2,300 years. This bust, the Azara Herm, is believed to derive from a work by Lysippus, one of the few artists Alexander allowed to depict him
March 5, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Alexander the Great has been portrayed in many different ways over the last 2,300 years. This bust, the Azara Herm, is believed to derive from a work by Lysippus, one of the few artists Alexander allowed to depict him
So, take this bust. The lion cap is very suggestive of the bust being Alexander because it matches up with coins that show Alexander wearing the same form of headdress.
February 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
So, take this bust. The lion cap is very suggestive of the bust being Alexander because it matches up with coins that show Alexander wearing the same form of headdress.
A lion eating a man?
Actually, this is Alexander the Great wearing a lion cap.
How do we know? Actually, we don’t; at least, not absolutely as the bust is not marked as such.
Actually, this is Alexander the Great wearing a lion cap.
How do we know? Actually, we don’t; at least, not absolutely as the bust is not marked as such.
February 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
A lion eating a man?
Actually, this is Alexander the Great wearing a lion cap.
How do we know? Actually, we don’t; at least, not absolutely as the bust is not marked as such.
Actually, this is Alexander the Great wearing a lion cap.
How do we know? Actually, we don’t; at least, not absolutely as the bust is not marked as such.
In Oliver Stone’s ‘Alexander’, Olympias is played by Angelina Jolie.
The mother of the great conqueror is the focus of the latest episode of Spearpoint - available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS Mobile and our blog (spearpointatg.com) now!
#AlexanderTheGreat #AncientGreece #history
The mother of the great conqueror is the focus of the latest episode of Spearpoint - available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS Mobile and our blog (spearpointatg.com) now!
#AlexanderTheGreat #AncientGreece #history
January 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
In Oliver Stone’s ‘Alexander’, Olympias is played by Angelina Jolie.
The mother of the great conqueror is the focus of the latest episode of Spearpoint - available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS Mobile and our blog (spearpointatg.com) now!
#AlexanderTheGreat #AncientGreece #history
The mother of the great conqueror is the focus of the latest episode of Spearpoint - available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RSS Mobile and our blog (spearpointatg.com) now!
#AlexanderTheGreat #AncientGreece #history
Here is Olympias herself. Mother, Queen, and lover of a god? Find out in the podcast!
January 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Here is Olympias herself. Mother, Queen, and lover of a god? Find out in the podcast!
This statue of Alexander the Great is in Thessaloniki, Greece. Alexander sits astride his horse Bucephalus and holds a winged victory, a symbol of his military success. Behind him, Mt. Olympus, home of the gods.
December 20, 2024 at 7:35 AM
This statue of Alexander the Great is in Thessaloniki, Greece. Alexander sits astride his horse Bucephalus and holds a winged victory, a symbol of his military success. Behind him, Mt. Olympus, home of the gods.
The night before his great showdown with Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela Alexander stayed up so late pondering the task ahead he overslept the next day. His deputy, Parmenion, had to take the unusual action of entering his bedroom in order to wake him.
November 29, 2024 at 8:09 PM
The night before his great showdown with Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela Alexander stayed up so late pondering the task ahead he overslept the next day. His deputy, Parmenion, had to take the unusual action of entering his bedroom in order to wake him.
Here is how Alexander looks on the actual sarcophagus. Despite the passage of time, some of the original paint work still survives.
November 28, 2024 at 6:22 PM
Here is how Alexander looks on the actual sarcophagus. Despite the passage of time, some of the original paint work still survives.
This is an artist’s interpretation of how a relief of Alexander the Great on the Alexander Sarcophagus would have been painted.
We can tell that the rider is Alexander by his lion head helmet. The lion is part of Heracles’ iconography, which Alexander used in his coinage.
We can tell that the rider is Alexander by his lion head helmet. The lion is part of Heracles’ iconography, which Alexander used in his coinage.
November 28, 2024 at 6:22 PM
This is an artist’s interpretation of how a relief of Alexander the Great on the Alexander Sarcophagus would have been painted.
We can tell that the rider is Alexander by his lion head helmet. The lion is part of Heracles’ iconography, which Alexander used in his coinage.
We can tell that the rider is Alexander by his lion head helmet. The lion is part of Heracles’ iconography, which Alexander used in his coinage.
This is one of the most famous busts of Alexander the Great in world.
In it we can see a number of features associated with Alexander’s artistic iconography;
- His leonine hair. Shaggy, just like Heracles
- Centre parting in his hair
- Dreamy/far seeing eyes
In it we can see a number of features associated with Alexander’s artistic iconography;
- His leonine hair. Shaggy, just like Heracles
- Centre parting in his hair
- Dreamy/far seeing eyes
November 27, 2024 at 1:00 PM
This is one of the most famous busts of Alexander the Great in world.
In it we can see a number of features associated with Alexander’s artistic iconography;
- His leonine hair. Shaggy, just like Heracles
- Centre parting in his hair
- Dreamy/far seeing eyes
In it we can see a number of features associated with Alexander’s artistic iconography;
- His leonine hair. Shaggy, just like Heracles
- Centre parting in his hair
- Dreamy/far seeing eyes
The Winged Victory of Samothrace comes from the same island where Alexander the Great’s father, Philip, and his mother, Olympias, are said to have met.
According to Plutarch, they were there to be ‘initiated into a mystery religion of underworld demons…’ (Robin Lane Fox, 1973)
According to Plutarch, they were there to be ‘initiated into a mystery religion of underworld demons…’ (Robin Lane Fox, 1973)
November 25, 2024 at 10:05 PM
The Winged Victory of Samothrace comes from the same island where Alexander the Great’s father, Philip, and his mother, Olympias, are said to have met.
According to Plutarch, they were there to be ‘initiated into a mystery religion of underworld demons…’ (Robin Lane Fox, 1973)
According to Plutarch, they were there to be ‘initiated into a mystery religion of underworld demons…’ (Robin Lane Fox, 1973)
If the ivory bust of Alexander the Great represents one of the earliest depictions of him then Buck Braithwaite (Making of a God, Netflix 2024) represents one of the latest.
images
Buck Braithwaite: www.augustman.com/sg/entertain...
Ivory head: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat
images
Buck Braithwaite: www.augustman.com/sg/entertain...
Ivory head: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat
November 24, 2024 at 12:17 PM
If the ivory bust of Alexander the Great represents one of the earliest depictions of him then Buck Braithwaite (Making of a God, Netflix 2024) represents one of the latest.
images
Buck Braithwaite: www.augustman.com/sg/entertain...
Ivory head: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat
images
Buck Braithwaite: www.augustman.com/sg/entertain...
Ivory head: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat
This ivory bust of Alexander the Great was found in the royal tomb at Vergina.
It represents, therefore, one of the earliest depictions of the conqueror that we possess.
(source: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat)
It represents, therefore, one of the earliest depictions of the conqueror that we possess.
(source: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat)
November 24, 2024 at 11:56 AM
This ivory bust of Alexander the Great was found in the royal tomb at Vergina.
It represents, therefore, one of the earliest depictions of the conqueror that we possess.
(source: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat)
It represents, therefore, one of the earliest depictions of the conqueror that we possess.
(source: Reddit :: r/AlexanderTheGreat)