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Alexander's height?

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 3:23 pm
by Dinna
I was wondering if anyone here knows how tall he was because I've been trying to find that info for ages and all I've got 'till now is that Hephaistion was taller.Thanks!Dinna

Re: Alexander's height?

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 3:58 pm
by S
Greetings Dinna,
This is another one of those multiple answer questions Taking all sources together that have tried to answer that question, we get estimates ranging from 4'11" to 5'8". The most popular height range guesses seem to fall between 5'2" to 5'6". A lot depends on what you tend to believe in the first place. Apparently, from what can be ascertained from all sources so far, the Makedonians were slightly taller than their neighbours, so this should be factored in, although Alexander was considered shorter than most of his contemporaries. Human height ranges vary considerably thoughout history, depending on nutrition, environment and genetics, but from what I can gather, the height range *averages* for humans have been fairly similar throughout time, with peaks and valleys depending on some external factors.So to answer this question, we would have to make a best guess based on averages in the region in which Alexander was born, *at the time he was born* (to remove/take into account any genetic influx from other places over time)as well as make guesses about the height of his father and mother- since most of this data is not available to us except through skeletal studies (which would also involve guesswork even if we *could* find those specific skeletons!) and "best guesses" based on factors such as furnishings, clothing and writings from the time, we may never know the exact answer... it is not the answer one might want, but it is probably the one we are going to have to live with for a while , though fellow posters may well disagree with my conclusion.
Best of luck,
Regards,
Sikander

Re: Alexander's height?

Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 4:21 pm
by Kit
Hi Dinna,The sources only really state that Alexander was shorter than Hephaestion and Darius (who was very tall!). No contemporary sources really comment on his height, certainly non in a derogatory manner, so I would assume he was average height for his time. regards,Kit

Re: Alexander's height?

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 7:09 am
by marcus
Well, of course, being 5'6 myself, I like to think that that was *definitely* Alexander's height! :-)All the bestMarcusPS: More pertinently, doesn't Plutarch explicitly say that Alexander was shorter than most other men? Or am I mistaken?

Re: Alexander's height?

Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:47 am
by Dinna
Thanks guys!And if Plutarch did state it I forgot but I will check it out.:)Dinna