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Philip II of Macedonia

Full body sculpture of the father of Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedonia.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


    1991 Was made on this year.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

This bronze statue is the work of George Nikolaidis (1924-2001), a former professor at the School of Fine Arts in Athens. It depicts the ruler of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. The sculpture is 1.5 metres tall and sits on a small base, which prevents it from making a strong visual statement. Philip is depicted in a defensive pose with defensive military equipment and not the offensive equipment he carried in reality. During Philip’s reign, Macedonia became a military superpower. He defeated and then united the rest of the Greek city-states and prepared the ground for a campaign against the Persians, which was eventually carried out by his son Alexander.

What I can't see

Although the project is a work of art, it has been heavily criticized mainly for its alleged historical inaccuracy. The main criticism has come from the professor of classical archaeology Panagiotis Faklaris who focuses on six points: 1) the timing of the sculpture’s positioning in the early 1990s, for reasons purely of political expediency related to the issue of the name of neighbouring North Macedonia, which until recently claimed the name “Macedonia”, 2) its unfavourable position, mainly because of the confined surroundings as well as because of the choice of location, with its proximity to the Archaeological Museum, which until recently, housed treasures from the tombs of Vergina, including a skeleton allegedly belonging to Philip II, 3) errors, omissions, inconsistencies and historical inaccuracies in its representation of the defensive armament, 4) the depiction of Philip’s facial features, since there are no portraits that can be attributed to him with certainty, 5) Philip’s depiction as being on foot and not on horseback,  a notable inaccuracy and 6) the deformity in one of his eyes, an arbitrary choice, since none of the other characteristic deformities in his body have been depicted.

Bibliography

Glyptothiki, (2013), Ανδριάντας Φιλίππου του Β, [Statue of Philip II]

http://www.glyptothiki.gr/

Last visit 15/6/2014

Zafeiris Ch., (1997), Θεσσαλονίκης Εγκόλπιον, ιστορία, πολιτισμός, η πόλη σήμερα, γεύσεις, μουσεία, μνημεία, διαδρομές, [Thessaloniki Handbook, history, culture, the city today, flavours, museums, routes], Athens: Exantas

Faklaris P.V., (2000), Η θλίψη του βασιλιά Φιλίππου Β, [The sadness of King Philip II], in Vima,

http://www.tovima.gr/opinions/article/?aid=124481

Last visit 15/6/2014