Miniature from the tomb of Alexander IV

Ivory and gold miniature of the Thracian deity Sabazios from the Tomb of Alexander IV, 311 BCE in Aigai, Macedonia.

According to the Archaeological Museum of Aigai, the garments worn by this half-man, half-plant demon-like figure point to Sabazios, a Thracian deity identified with Dionysos.  This hybrid creature, with both Greek and Oriental features, is typical of art of the Hellenistic Period (323-31 BCE).  Celebrating the coexistence and synthesis of different cultures, it reflects the unity Alexander imposed on his empire.

This miniature was part of the rich decoration on a couch found in Alexander IV's tomb.  Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great, with a Macedonian father and Bactrian mother, was a good example of this unity.  Sadly, he was assassinated at the age of only 12 (others say 14), before he could take his father's throne by an officer of his father's Companion cavalry on the orders of Cassander.  His tomb is thought to be among the royal tombs discovered by the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos in the so-called "Great Tumulus" in Vergina in 1977-1978.


Image: Ivory and gold miniature of the Thracian deity Sabazios from the Tomb of Alexander IV, 311 BCE in Aigai, Macedonia, another small treasure that I photographed at "The Greeks" exhibit displayed at The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois in 2016.


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