9780520244832
Home | Books | Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions
Alexander the Great and the Mystery of the Elephant Medallions share button
Frank L. Holt
Genre Antiques & Collectibles
Format Paperback
Dimensions 5.75 (w) x 8.75 (h) x 0.63 (d)
Pages 217
Publisher University of California Press
Publication Date January 2005
ISBN 9780520244832
Book ISBN 10 0520244834
About Book
To all those who witnessed his extraordinary conquests, from Albania to India, Alexander the Great appeared invincible. How Alexander himself promoted this appearance - how he abetted the belief that he enjoyed divine favor and commanded even the forces of nature against his enemies - is the subject of Frank L. Holt's book.

Solid evidence for the "supernaturalized" Alexander lies in a rare series of medallions that depict the triumphant young king at war against the elephants, archers, and chariots of Rajah Porus of India at the battle of the Hydaspes River. Recovered from Afghanistan and Iraq in sensational and sometimes perilous circumstances, these ancient artifacts have long animated the modern historical debate about Alexander. Holt's book, the first devoted to the mystery of these ancient medallions, takes us into the history of their discovery and interpretation, into the knowable facts of their manufacture and meaning, and, ultimately, into the king's own psyche and his frightening theology of war. The result is a valuable analysis of Alexander history and myth, a vivid account of numismatics, and a look into the age-old mechanics of megalomania.

Reviews

Library Journal

To justify this intriguing work, Holt (history, Univ. of Houston; Thundering Zeus) quotes Harvard classics professor Ernst Badian: "Coins will one day be the most important source [for Alexander studies], since independent of literary conventions and prejudices." While Holt traces the historical background of the famous Elephant Medallions (bearing the warrior likeness of Alexander) since their discovery in 1880, the book's value lies also in its review of Alexander studies. Holt looks at the changes that have taken place in the field since these artifacts first appeared in Afghanistan and Iraq and ably illustrates the last 150 years of scholarship. Whether one is truly interested or not in the numismatics of the period, this work will fascinate. For students who may worry that little work remains for historians, this book is certainly encouraging. Holt's efforts toward creating a mystery of sorts is a tad tired, but the history of the Medallions is literally the stuff of Kipling-and it's historiography at its best. Recommended for academic collections.-Clay Williams, Hunter Coll., New York Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Recommended Books View All Books
Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria

Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria

Frank L. Holt
Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Frank L. Holt
Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Frank L. Holt
Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Into the Land of Bones: Alexander the Great in Afghanistan

Frank L. Holt
Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan

Lost World of the Golden King: In Search of Ancient Afghanistan

Frank L. Holt