ABSTRACT
Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, in the European courts, one of the fundamental themes of early modern political philosophy was virtue. The court, as a political and moral community, was based on a political system founded on Classical philosophy, whereby virtuous behaviour, embracing both the moral as well as the religious and political spheres, was granted a privileged status. Undoubtedly, it was Alexander the Great who best represented the Aristotelian virtues. However, Clemency was not one of Aristotle’s ethical virtues, yet it may be argued that it would form part of a number of them: Justice, Civility, Temperance and Benevolence. The Classical authors that compiled Alexander’s deeds narrate various episodes of his life that highlight his embodiment of this virtue. In this chapter we focus on the episodes that refer to the Macedonian’s clemency along with their representations in art from the Renaissance period up until the Neoclassical era. There are a series of recurring subjects from his life, in particular three episodes for which visual representations are analysed with scrutiny: the pardoning of Timoclea, the meeting with the family of Darius and Alexander’s encounter with King Porus.
