Lion's teeth

[sikander]

Greetings,

I am trying to recall, for an author, the source of the quip that Alexander had the "hair, teeth and spirit" of a lion. I recall it was one of the later mythologies about Alexander but cannot pull the source from my memory.

I would appreciate any help on this, though I will also check our own mythology section..

Regards,
Sikander

[Theseus]

Greetings,

I am trying to recall, for an author, the source of the quip that Alexander had the "hair, teeth and spirit" of a lion. I recall it was one of the later mythologies about Alexander but cannot pull the source from my memory.

I would appreciate any help on this, though I will also check our own mythology section..

Regards,
Sikander

I hope I can help you with this. I knew as soon as I read your post that I too had read this in one of my books. Here is what I found:
"His long tousled hair which was often said to resemble a lion's mane.The King's large intense eyes gaze characteristically upward as if toward distant horizons.His nose is straight, while his mouth neither smiles nor is sullen, remaining closed presumably, to hide teeth that resembled "little pegs", according to a description in the "Romance of Alexander" tales". I got this from a book by Alan Fildes and Joann Fletcher called Alexander the great Son of the Gods pages 106-107.

[amyntoros]

I am trying to recall, for an author, the source of the quip that Alexander had the "hair, teeth and spirit" of a lion. I recall it was one of the later mythologies about Alexander but cannot pull the source from my memory.

Not lion’s teeth, but I think you may be looking for the quote from Pseudo Callisthenes (1.13.3) - the following translation according to Andrew Stewart’s Faces of Power: Alexander’s Image and Hellenistic Politics.

When he grew up, Alexander bore no resemblance to Philip, to his mother, Olympias, or to his real sire (Nectanebo) but was handsome in his own way; he had the body of a man but the hair of a lion, and eyes of different colors, the right one black, the left one grey; his teeth were sharp like a snake’s, his gait swift like a lions.

The Armenian version, considered closest to the original, has slightly different wording:

For he had the hair of a lion and one eye was blue; the right one was heavy lidded and black, and the left one was blue; and his teeth were sharp as fangs, and he looked upon a defensive attack the same as a lion would.

I once read somewhere that Alexander had “pegged” teeth but I don’t remember where I read this and I’ve never been able to find evidence in any source material. I suspect that the description may have been an interpretation of the above, although pegged teeth and “sharp as fangs” do not have the exact same meaning.

Best regards,

[Callisto]

Slightly different wording can be found also in the Hebrew version of Alexander's romance.

http://www.amazon.ca/Alexander-Romance- ... 9072371623

Thereupon the child was raised and he did not resemble his father and also not his mother, but he had the hair of a lion and big eyes, one black and the other green, and he had big teeth and the voice of a lion.

[sikander]

Greetings,

I appreciate the help thus far.. I am getting closer; I found my notes from some time ago.
Now I need to find the original source, since I seem to have misplaced page one!

The original quote was: " Moreover, his very appearance and manner marked him as one not of the common order of kings, for his right eye was a black as night, and his left eye was as blue as the heavens, while his hair and teeth, and likewise his spirit, resembled those of a lion"

Does this strike familiar with anyone? Can anyone tell me the actual source book with this particular line?

Many thanks!

Regards,
Sikander

[athenas owl]

The Mythology of All Races (1916)

By Louis Herbert Gray, George Foot Moore, John Arnott MacCulloch

or a version by William Sherwood Fox also from 1916.

page 223

Sikander, I confess I cheated and googled it. Google books brought up what I have, but it is exactly that wording in either book.

[sikander]

Greetings Athenas owl,

And thank you.

Do you know which book was published first, or if they are using the same source? Or is the latter a copy or translation of the first?

Regards,
Sikander