Lysippos, Sculptor Hairdresser Of Alexander The Great
Lysippos was known as one of the three best Classical Greek sculptors of the fourth century BC. He, along with sculptors Scopas of Paros and Praxiteles of Athens, were instrumental in ushering in the Hellenistic period's artistic revolution. As a sculptor, Scopas of Paros was most known for his statue of the Greek hero Meleager, host of the Calydonian boar hunt. He was also known for his copper statue of Aphrodite and his rendition of the head of Hygieia, the Ancient Greek goddess of health, cleanliness, and hygiene. Apart from his supposed romantic relationship with his model, the courtesan Phryne, Praxiteles of Athens was known as the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue.
Roman copy of Praxiteles’ statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus (Public Domain)
Lysippos himself was a self-taught sculptor who produced more than 1,500 bronze statues. He is well-known for his massive bronze statues of Zeus, which stood 17 meters (55 feet) tall. This statue, which ancient Greek geographer Pausanias describes as standing in the marketplace at Sicyon in the second century AD, exists in miniature on a bronze coin from the reign of the third-century Roman Emperor Caracalla.
