3-044-371 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Hephaistion, about 320 BC. Head of a Youth. Additional Info: The son of a noble Macedonian family, Hephaistion was the beloved companion of Alexander the Great. Together since boyhood, Hephaistion fought alongside Alexander as he created his great empire. When Hephaistion died in Persia in 324 BC, Alexander mourned him extravagantly. He was given a royal funeral and Alexander ordered the cities of Greece to worship Hephaistion as a hero. This head of Hephaistion, broken from a full-length statue, was originally part of a multi-figured group, which might have depicted a sacrificial scene. The appearance of this head has changed over time. A metal ribbon or diadem once circled the head, although only a shallow groove remains today. The head was also re-carved in antiquity, with the hair shortened and the lower eyelids altered.