Riders In The Time Of Alexander

One of the most precióos relies of tlie past is a bronze statnette dug up at Herculaneum in 1751, and thought to be a copy of the equestrian statue known to have been made of Alexander the Great by Lysippus, after the battle of the Granicus, when statues of all the brave who feil in this initial victory were made by tho fanious sculptor. If it is truly a copy of Lysippus' work we can judge froni it how the Macedonians managed their horses in a hand-to-hand conflict. The king is shown sitting on a blanket firmly held in place by a breast strap and girth. Without dropping the reins froin his bridle hand he grasps this snbstitute for a saddle at the withers, and turning f uil half way to the right and looking backward, gives a swinging cut with his sword to the rear, covering as big an are of the circle as the best swordsman who ever sat in a saddle. The statue is full of life and natural to a degree. If not Lysippus' work, it is that of a consummate artist. The position shows great freedom of movement on the horse, and a Beat strong and tic. That the Macedonians kept their heels well away from the horses' flanks, or rafJier that they did not rely on their heels to cling to him, is shown by their commonly wearing spurs, a thing the Indian usually avoids, and the same habit shows clearly in this piece of art.