Le visage du pouvoir : les souverains hellénistiques entre texte et image

Abstract

The royal portrait in the Hellenistic period is both the image of an individual and the representation of an ideology. I intend to show in this paper, by using literary sources and iconographic documentation, how to build a portrait of the prince at that time. With this aim in mind, two iconographic types, widely adopted to represent the sovereign, the “Nikator” and the “Tryphon”, will be studied. These iconographic types allow us to wonder about the expression of power in the Hellenistic world. In the texts, as well as in the pictures, the portrait of the monarch, although true to life, is highly codified.

Keywords

• royal portrait
• Hellenistic period
• coinage
• sculpture