Member-only story
Alexander The Great Looked Nothing Like His Handsome Portrayal
What did Alexander the Great look like?
Alexander the Great is one of the most prolific figures in history, but his presentation in the historical record and popular culture seems to be very wrong. If you look at the few remaining depictions of Alexander the Great, he is portrayed as handsome with fair features, light brown or blonde hair, and a strong Romanesque nose. But if you look at contemporary descriptions of Alexander the Great, he looked nothing like this. In fact, Alexander the Great was downright strange looking.
Alexander was portrayed as short, stocky, and neurotic. He was prone to marching around wildly and gesticulating while he talked. While most people in the ancient world were shorter than people today, Alexander was seen as shorter than the average man, even back then. When he triumphantly sat upon the Persian throne, his feet didn’t even touch the floor, and someone had to rush to grab a footstool to ensure that the embarrassing image was not captured for history to remember. Unfortunately, it was. Alexander sat on the throne of his enemies while his feet dangled helplessly in the air. Many historians believe that Alexander was between 5'4" and 5'6" tall.
