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Journals / ADALYA / 2025 / Issue: 28

A Hellenistic Ruler Portrait from Sillyon in Pamphylia: A New Head of Alexander the Great?

Buket Akçay Güven(İstanbul Beykent Üniversitesi, Meslek Yüksekokulu, Mimari Restorasyon)0000-0002-8156-0434
Murat Taşkıran(PAMUKKALE ÜNİVERSİTESİ, FEN-EDEBİYAT FAKÜLTESİ, ARKEOLOJİ BÖLÜMÜ, KLASİK ARKEOLOJİ ANABİLİM DALI)0000-0002-5537-6457
Journal
ADALYA
Pages
—
Publication Date
2025-12-26
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Technical features and drill marks suggest a production date in the 2nd century BC, potentially during the period of the Diadochi.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:In this paper, the marble head of a young man, reportedly unearthed in 1986 in Sillyon (ancient Pamphylia, modern-day Antalya, Türkiye), is examined.
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Key Findings & Data:The head, crafted from white-greyish marble and measuring 47.5 cm in height, depicts a youthful, clean-shaven man with distinct physiognomic features.
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Conclusion & Impact:Technical features and drill marks suggest a production date in the 2nd century BC, potentially during the period of the Diadochi.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Sillyon · marble head · ruler portrait

Abstract

In this paper, the marble head of a young man, reportedly unearthed in 1986 in Sillyon (ancient Pamphylia, modern-day Antalya, Türkiye), is examined. The head is currently housed in the Antalya Museum. The head, crafted from white-greyish marble and measuring 47.5 cm in height, depicts a youthful, clean-shaven man with distinct physiognomic features. An oval face with deep-set almond-shaped eyes gazes upward, and a unique arrangement of wavy hair strands forms an atypical anastole. The sharp rightward turn of the neck and the remnant of a chlamys stand out. Stylistic analysis and analogy suggest that the head should be associated with known portraits of Alexander the Great, particularly early depictions of him as a crown prince. Yet deviations in hairstyle and neck posture suggest a posthumous reinterpretation. Technical features and drill marks suggest a production date in the 2nd century BC, potentially during the period of the Diadochi.

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Cite This Article

Güven, B. A., Taşkıran, M. (2025). A Hellenistic Ruler Portrait from Sillyon in Pamphylia: A New Head of Alexander the Great?. ADALYA, Issue: 28. https://doi.org/10.47589/adalya.1848874

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References (5)

  1. Akçay Güven, B. 2015. “Pamphylia Bölgesi Roma Dönemi Portreciliği.” Ph.D. diss., Istanbul University.
  2. Bailie, J.K. 1846. Fasciculus inscriptionum, graecarum potissimum, quas apud sedes celeberrimas Asianas chartis mandatas, et nunc denuo instauratas notisque tum criticis tum exegeticis instructas. Dublin: Hodges and Smith / London: J. G. F. and J. Rivington.
  3. Bieber, M. 1964. Alexander the Great in Greek and Roman Art. Chicago: Argonaut.
  4. Boardman, J. 2019. Alexander the Great. From His Death to the Present Day. Princeton / Oxford: Princeton University Press.
  5. Brixhe, C. 1966. “Une tablette de juge d’origine probablement pamphylienne.” BCH 90.2:653-63.