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ARROGANCE may not have been the only reason that Alexander the Great went around with his nose stuck in the air. Doctors in Greece now believe that the characteristic pose of raised chin, face turned to the right and neck tilting to the left as seen on most statues of the Emperor 鈥� including those crafted by his personal sculptor Lysippus 鈥� may have been caused by a rare eye disorder.

Art historians have previously suggested that this posture had more to do with aspects of Alexander鈥檚 personality 鈥� his 鈥減ride of youth鈥� 鈥� rather than his true physical appearance. But in this week鈥檚 issue of The Lancet, John Lascaratos and Alexander Damanakis from Athens University say he may have suffered from a rare paralysis of one of the muscles around his left eye, a condition known as Brown鈥檚 syndrome. In order to see straight, Alexander would have had to hold his head in exactly this position.

Brown鈥檚 syndrome can be inherited, or it can result from trauma. In this case, it is likely to have been caused by a wound sustained in battle. Alexander is known to have temporarily lost his sight at least once in combat. Brown鈥檚 syndrome is 鈥渁s rare as hens鈥� teeth鈥� says an ophthalmologist at London鈥檚 Western Eye Hospital.