Alexander's height

[Cleopatra]

Alexander was 5'3"

[caberi]

Iread how when he died he was placed in a lrge jar of white honey elixea to the Muses. upon searching honey is apreservitive. How tall is a storage clay vessel? The belt or Girdle Alexander recieves from the dorians of Rhodos, would this be of any interes to any one, looking for his remains.?

[susan]

I think this story of the honey is only in the Romance.

[sumafichick]

Okay, when were using terms such as tall and short, we must keep in mind these are relative. So, next question...are we using them as relative to people of our day and age...or of his.
Even 300 years ago people were shorter. I have a 300 year old English sleigh bed that I barely fit in lengthwise. I am 5'6".
I recently visited the Field Museum of Natural History and noticed how short the mummies there were of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
I'm guessing that 5'5" would not be a short man for those times....but rather tallish for a European.
Regards,
Katie

[Me]

We must not assume that height increases have been on a steady progression over time.. there have been times in history when environmental conditions affected human growth adversely and other times when the people were taller, even in the ancient world.. There were,also, different races and sub-groups globally that showed as much variation as today. The Makedonians were considered "taller" than the Athenians, and the average height may well ahve been around 5'8"- leaving a lot of room for differences, considering that, for example, the average height for men in the US today is around 5'9"-5'10" and you can see the variations in play. Carolyn Thayer (sp?) has done an interesting study showing that the average height for 17th century English men was 5'6"- again, averages are a compilation of all heights, so there is variation. It is also important to remember that diet, hygiene, genetics and other factors come into play- as well as available materials and man-hours, and often, class, which affected some of the other elements.
I asked once why bath tubs were so small in Victorian England (since I know not all the people were "short") and was told height did not have as much to do with it as much as custom, time, materials and cost did for the "average" buyer. Some of the tubs in the aristocratic halls were rather larger..
I recall a much longer discussion regarding height some time ago; there was much discussion regarding the "norm", even by today's standards, of some of the Bog bodies, etc..
Still, I expect the height and appearance issue will continue for some time. Looks like the gamut runs from 5'2" to 5'7". Well, except for the person a while back who voted for 4'11!
The important thing is to keep the discussion open and free of other agendas, such as wanting to prove that there has been little or no change in a people since the ancient world.. illogical, considering all the crossbreeding, mixing and environmental/food factors over time.. and in those cases, the average can go uo or down, depending!.

[anna]

Um-m... The last time i read in some russian publication,Phillip's height was approximately 1 meter 58-59 sm. Accordingly, the scientists (again, according to the publication)figured that Alexander's height was a bit higher - 1 meter 62-63 sm. Alas, i don't think it was based on some hard evidence.And the question - where did Arrian mention Alex's height? I remember his book pretty well by heart, and all his references to his appearance was "very handsome". Please, help me with this one?! Though Curtis did mentione multiple times his "unimpressive" stature...Also i think, that honey, as a part of the funeral balm was mentioned not only in Alexander's romance, but in couple other sources as well...

[susan]

About baths - you weren't meant to lie at full length in them anyway. Susan

[Me]

Exactly!

[rhfrost]

Thank you for your historical review on the miracle called the internet.
God Bless you and God Bless America