The riddle of Alexander the Great: Why was the "flight of Tsar Alexander" popular in Russia and throughout the Christian world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On the land of the former Drutsk appanage principality, which arose in the 11th century on the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks", a unique pectoral cross was found. From this period, few crosses with the image of the Crucifix have come down to us, the image of the Crucifix is much more common on encolpions, but this is not the main thing. It is not for nothing that the cross from Drutsk was found on the way from the “Varangians to the Greeks”, some “Varangian”, Scandinavian features are present in the design of the cross, but this is not what makes it unique. Of particular interest is the image on the reverse of the cross.

The crucified Christ is depicted with closed eyes - it means already dead on the cross, but the head is straight. Above the cross-shaped nimbus there is an embossed inscription ICXC. When magnified, the depressed points are visible not in the palms, but above the wrists, representing the heads of nails. It should be noted that the image of Christ is realistic and the master knew perfectly well where the nails were driven during the crucifixion. The bent fingers of the left palm indicate that the master may have been a representative of the Western school. But in the initial period of the division of the iconography of the Crucifixion into Orthodox and Catholic, deviations are also possible among Russian masters.

However, the most interesting is located on the back of the cross. In the middle of the cross is a seated figure in a cloak. Around this figure, unfolded in profile, at the ends of the blades of the cross are placed images of four birds, in silhouettes very similar to the images of eagles with slightly open wings. The birds are depicted in characteristic poses with their heads turned to one side, which implies that they perform the same actions.

Stereotypes aside, this image is nothing more than a story popular during the Middle Ages. "Flight of Alexander the Great to Heaven" … What leads to such a conclusion?

Let's take a closer look. The image of this plot, well-known in Russia, was embodied in jewelry, carvings and in architectural decor.

The Flight of Alexander was popular throughout the Christian world. Photo (B) shows a sample of the Bulgarian version of this look. The plate comes from a hoard found in Preslav the Great and dates back to the period before 971. The photographs (A; B) show a diadem and a central plate from a hoard found near the village. Sakhnovka and stored in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The work is dated to the middle of the 12th century. The central plate is a bead, similar to a diadem (G), dating back to the 13th century, and is kept in the Andrei Rublev Museum.

The iconography on the cross from Drutsk differs significantly from the iconography of this plot, which was widespread in medieval Russia. However, it can be assumed that the image on the cross has a much older tradition. The flight of man to the sky was originally supposed to be on the largest and most powerful birds known to man - eagles. The oldest confirmation of this is the flight of King Ethan from the Sumerian myth.

This image, created more than three thousand years before the birth of Christ, is very reminiscent of the composition of the Crucifixion with the Sun and Moon on the sides. The myth of the flight of the king to heaven exists among many ancient peoples. In the old Roman tradition, which later passed on to Byzantium, the flight of Alexander the Great is described as follows: “Alexander ordered four strong birds to be harnessed to the throne, which were not allowed to eat for three days. He himself sat on the throne and raised two spears high, on which were tied pieces of meat. The birds, striving for the latter, lifted the throne with Alexander into the air. At a high altitude, a bird met with the face of a man and ordered him to return to the ground. When Alexander looked down, he, deep below him, saw a huge snake coiled into a ring and in the center of the ring a small platform. The bird explained to him that the snake is the sea, and the platform is the land surrounded by the sea. By order of the bird, Alexander lowered his spears, and the birds flew down and safely lowered him to the ground, but so far from the take-off site that he only managed to reach his army with great difficulty."

As you can see from the above, the four birds are the basis of the lift for the journey to heaven.

We see four griffins in the miniature of 1320. Probably, in the Western tradition, this option took place. But there is a description of a flight with two birds. It is obvious that this plot became the basis of the classical Byzantine version.

In contrast to the image on the cross from the Polotsk principality, "Flight of Alexander the Great" on the coins of the Tver prince Boris Alexandrovich and Andrei Dmitrievich Mozhaisky has a traditional image for Russia, very similar to the image of Alexander's flight on the wall of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir.

There were also examples of combining the image of Christian images and the scene of the flight of Tsar Alexander. This is described by A. S. Uvarov in 1871 a carved double-sided pectoral icon depicting a Deesis on the obverse and a scene of the flight of Alexander the Great on the back.

Currently, the icon is kept in the Ryazan Museum, earlier it was in the cathedral of the city of Zaraysk. Another double-sided icon, an obvious cast from a carved prototype, was also found in the Ryazan region. On the front side there is the image of "Savior on the throne", the back side bears the image of Alexander's flight, similar to the image on the icon from the Cathedral of Zaraysk.

Initially, the author suggested that the master depicted the scene of the descent of Tsar Alexander to earth, but, as further research proceeded, he had to abandon this assumption. It is the ascension to heaven that emphasizes the desire to get closer to God, and, therefore, the exclusivity of the ruler. The principle of the artistic solution of the cross from Drutsk is also interesting from the point of view of the psychology of the master. If we look at what place in space the master himself is, looking at the flight of Alexander, then we will see that the master is higher than the flying king. This leads to certain reflections about what place the artist claims in this world. Perhaps he believes that as the creator of the new, he is much closer to the Heavenly Creator.

Returning to the beginning of the study and the question: "Who is depicted on the cross?" it can be considered proven that for the Middle Ages the image of a seated man surrounded by four large birds (eagles or fairy griffins) can only be an image of the flight of Tsar Alexander the Great to the sky.

A similar plot composition is well known on crosses with angels at the ends of the blades and the Crucifix in the middle of the cross. Such encolpions appear in Russia in the 12th century.

The essential point that distinguishes the image on the cross from the traditional image of Alexander, in addition to the number of birds, is the reversal of the figure, almost in profile, and the position of the hands. The fact that a cloak is thrown over the shoulders of the figure only emphasizes the similarity of Alexander's clothes with the clothes of the prince - the ruler.

But if you look more closely, you will notice that the position of the figure's hands is not so different from the Byzantine canon. Due to the miniature of the image, it is not visible what the seated person is holding in his hands, but the fact that the hands are directed to the two birds in front of him is indisputable. And this is absolutely logical from the point of view of the artist - the creator of the cross. The bait is the reason birds (or griffins) go up or down. It is implied that the other two birds are doing the same. Thus, the recognition of the depicted character is ensured, which art critics and historians talk about. The absence of a halo indicates that it is not a saint.

Is such a change in the iconography of the image possible? The fact that the image of the flight of Alexander, traditional for Byzantium, could have different versions of the image, can be seen on the example of the suspension and matrices with this plot. It is no coincidence that this pendant was found relatively close to the place where the cross from Drutsk was found, in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina. It should be noted that the pendant in some features resembles the image of the flight of Tsar Alexander on the Roman gate in the German city of Remagen on the Rhine, especially the contours of the image of birds. But, unlike the bas-relief of the gate, in the image on the pendant, Alexander holds griffins (eagles) by their beaks. The same version of the image can be seen on the matrices.

It would seem that such an interpretation runs counter to the legend of the bait worn on spears, which have always served as one of the main attributes of the image. But we see the same image on the matrices found in Staraya Ryazan and Podil in Kiev. Plots depicting griffins, having passed into the art of Byzantium, were widely used as attributes of the imperial power. It is no coincidence that matrices with such plots were found in the places where there were workshops of artisans serving the princely court. It is interesting that some plots, known since the Greco-Scythian times, receive a different ideological interpretation. The general interest in the animal style in the XI-XII centuries, after the first crusades, both in Europe and in Russia, has different theological interpretations. In contrast to Romanesque theology (mysticism, demonism), in the art of Byzantium and the Balkans, animals personified mainly positive properties in relation to man and had a protective, incantatory meaning. The griffin was considered the personification of the highest power. In the circles of the military aristocracy that surrounded the prince, the griffin personified nobility of origin and power.

Born back in Mesopotamia, three thousand years before the birth of Christ, a symbol of the vernal equinox and rebirth in general, first a lion, and then a griffin tormenting a deer, in Christianity becomes one of the symbols of the atoning sacrifice, thus combining a plurality of interpretations of this image.

However, let's return to the image of Alexander the Great and his flight to heaven. On the matrices with the scene of Alexander's flight, it can be seen that there is no bait in the hands of the king, he simply holds his hands on the beaks of griffins, as on a pendant found in the Smolensk region. Obviously, the image of Alexander on the matrices, pendant and cross reflects the desire of the masters to express both this plot and their understanding of this event in their own way.

Thus, we can assume that the non-canonical image of the flight of Alexander the Great on the cross from Drutsk is not something fantastic, but represents another version of the iconography of this image.

The fact that the plot "The Flight of Tsar Alexander to Heaven" was perceived in Byzantium, in Russia and in Europe as a symbolism of power is well said below:. This quote from the introductory article by B. I. Marshak to the catalog of the exhibition "Treasures of the Ob" reflects the opinion of scientists and art critics on this issue.

The cross from Drutsk probably reflects the period of the creation of the principality. There is a high probability that the cross was originally made by a jeweler in precious metal for members of the prince's family or the prince's retinue.

It is possible that the creation of the principality itself was marked in this way, the medieval rulers in every possible way emphasized their status. The image of the flight of Alexander the Great on the cross confirmed the divine origin of the princely power and, possibly, implied the appearance of the ruler on the land of the principality of Polotsk, one of the most ancient principalities of Russia. Of course, the cross is a historical monument not only of the small Drutsk principality, on the former territory of which it was found, but also of the entire principality of Polotsk, whose destiny it was. Neighborhood with the Baltic states and European states, obviously, predetermined the appearance of this cross with "Varangian" and "Latin" features.

In conclusion, we can say that the iconography of the plot "The Flight of Alexander the Great to Heaven" turned out to be much more diverse than previously thought.

An example of a cross close in outline (silhouette) is the cross (A). The combination of the image of the Crucifixion and the symbols of the "Scandinavian" type on the reverse side on this rare cross brings together the principles of the artistic solution in the design of both crosses. A technique characteristic of the period of dual faith, the combination of opposites (Christian symbols with non-Christian symbols).

This article is one of the chapters in the big book by A. N. Spasennykh "Cast crosses of the XIV-XVI centuries as witnesses of the history of the formation of Moscow Russia".

The book is slated for a small limited edition release in the spring of 2018. The book is a color hardcover A5 edition. Printed on 654 pages of coated paper. The weight of the book is over 2 kg.

You can order the book from the author without extra charge by e-mail [email protected] … The cost of the book with mailing is 3000 rubles. Subscription continues until March 15th.