This is one example from a large corpus of images of Alexander the Great. That corpus belongs to a long tradition of representing the great soldier and ruler that stretches from his lifetime into the present. Many art historians believe that this herm is closely modeled on one of the portraits of Alexander by the great contemporary sculptor, Lysippos. According to Plutarch, Alexander believed that the statues of Lysippos best conveyed Alexander’s physical appearance and so he decided that he should be sculpted only by Lysippos. Plutarch says that Lysippos alone was able to capture Alexander's distinctive features that many of his friends and successors tried to imitate, namely the poise of the neck turned slightly to the left and the melting glance of the eyes; he also says that only Lysippos brought out Alexander's real character (ethos) and his personal identifying excellence (arete). This story encourages us to consider what the function of an ancient portrait was and how ancient thinkers and artists constituted identity and image. In all of our sources there appears to be a strong connection between Alexander's power and his charisma and a strong disconnect between his actual appearance and the expectations aroused by his heroism, military prowess, and ability to rule. This portrait, for example, plays up the dreamy quality of his eyes while emphasizing his power and authority by giving him a leonine mane of hair.