The historical figures depicted on ancient vessels, although relatively few, give us a vivid connection to history, as they reveal the form they had - or the form that the vase painters gave them - of certain historical figures. For some of them, we have their descriptions in ancient sources. For the form of Alexander, we have not only philological testimonies, but also a multitude of depictions of him in various forms of art. However, for several of these figures, especially the vase painters themselves, who either self-portray or are depicted on the vessels of their colleagues, we would not know their form in any way other than their work and their name. Their portraits are a hot contact with the historical reality of a very distant era, which, however, comes much closer to us.