An Expert’s View On the Netflix Series Portrayal of Alexander the Great As Queer

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An Expert’s View On the

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Series Portrayal of Alexander the Great As ******

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/The Conversation

You might be surprised to learn the **** life of a long-***** conqueror is making headlines in 2024.

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documentary 

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 has provoked outrage for its portrayal of Alexander in a romantic relationship with his male companion 

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Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) spent his short life undertaking an enormous military campaign. He defeated the Persian king Darius III and created an empire that stretched from Europe into Egypt, Western and Central Asia, and all the way to India.

Conquest course of Alexander the Great from Greece to India to Babylon in 334-323 BC, with the most important provinces of his empire. (Generic Mapping Tools/

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After dying at the young age of 32, he has remained the subject of intense fascination and speculation.

The six-episode series is the latest to tackle some interesting questions about the conqueror’s life through dramatized scenes and commentary from a range of experts. Although the show doesn’t try to cover everything – and there are several gaps – its portrayal of Alexander’s sexuality is what has caused the greatest stir.

Alexander, the Great Enigma

One of the first scenes depicts Alexander sparring with Hephaestion before the pair share several kisses. Hephaestion promises he will be by Alexander’s side “til the bitter end”. The experts then note the pair were likely more than just close friends.

Some viewers, however, have accused the show of pushing a supposed agenda. Others found it “

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”.

Even Greece’s Minister for Culture, Lina Mendoni, has spoken on the topic, insisting that historical sources offer no evidence for the relationship going “

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Mendoni’s comment was made in response to questions from Dimitris Natsiou, the president of a far-right ********** Orthodox political party. Natsiou has spoken out against the series for perceived inaccuracies. Along with other critics, he suggests the show’s portrayal of Alexander’s ******* identity is a historical distortion.

It’s true there is nothing written by Alexander himself that confirms how he viewed his own sexuality. But is it fair to call the show  inaccurate for its interpretation of his relationship with Hephaestion?

Head of Hephaistion sculpted in marble. Statue is at the Getty Museum in California. (

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The Ancient Evidence

While the ancient evidence suggests the pair were particularly close, reconstructing the past is not a straightforward matter. Most surviving ancient authors actually wrote centuries after Alexander’s ****** and often had their own interpretations of events. This makes it very challenging to uncover the truth.

Some sources do assume the pair were lovers, such as the Roman author Claudius Aelianus, or Aelian, because of the way they 

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This public presentation is probably the strongest evidence for how important Hephaestion was to Alexander. Alexander was an absolute master of ***********. He took care to restrict how he appeared 

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, and controlled his campaign narrative through the use of his own historian, 

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. Callisthenes was responsible for glorifying Alexander’s victories and presenting the version of events Alexander wanted.

Alexander claimed the mythological hero Achilles was his ancestor. (

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Alexander also stage-managed a number of events at the start of his military campaign to make it seem like the beginning of another 

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. The tale of this war was incredibly important to the ancient Greeks, and especially Alexander, who claimed the mythological hero Achilles was his ancestor.

During the important opening act, Alexander ***** a wreath on the tomb of Achilles. Some ancient accounts say Hephaestion did the same for the tomb of Patroclus, who many in the ancient world 

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Hephaestion is the only companion of Alexander who is mentioned by name doing something important like this. Alexander was no doubt astute enough to understand the implication in his own day; he was therefore probably comfortable with his followers assuming he and Hephaestion were lovers, just as Achilles and Patroclus were thought to be.

A depiction from a vase (circa 500 BC from Vulci) showing Achilles tending Patroclus, who is wounded by an arrow. (

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Ancient author Diodorus Siculus reports that Alexander preferred Hephaestion 

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, even claiming that Hephaestion loved him as Alexander, while his other close friend Craterus loved him as the king. These are just some of the numerous anecdotes that demonstrate Hephaestion had a significant role in Alexander’s life – and one that was different to that of a friend.

After Hephaestion’s ****** in 324 BC, Alexander 

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, just as 

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These very public displays might be as close as we can get to understanding how Alexander wanted the pair to be perceived. And they suggest a romantic relationship is a strong possibility.

What does the scholarship say?

Perhaps a more important question is why a documentary exploring this angle might provoke such a strong reaction today.

It’s true that scholarship on Alexander’s **** life has not always been accessible. It wasn’t until 1978 that K. J. Dover’s work 

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 paved the way for new insights into a more diverse interpretation of sexualities in the ancient world.

Before this, important scholars on Alexander, such as W. W. Tarn (1869–1957), had outright denied Alexander’s interest in men, asserting any such evidence was a result of “hostile” sources. 

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 certain figures from history, including another possible male lover of Alexander’s, 

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. He was unable to accept Alexander as someone who didn’t fit with his own image of the conqueror.

The reality is that same-**** relationships were generally pretty common 

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 of Alexander the Great, although there were also societal pressures on men, as they were expected to marry and have children with their legitimate wives.

****** erasure has been all too common 

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, which has traditionally favored hetero-normative interpretations, even when the evidence could clearly be interpreted in another way.

Media representations that explore these interpretations offer us a chance to understand ancient relationships in their own context. In doing so, they pave the way for a richer understanding of the possibilities of the past.

This article was originally published under the title ‘

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 by 

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 on 

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, and has been republished under a Creative Commons License.

Top image: Alexander Putting his Seal Ring over Hephaestion’s Lips, by Johann Heinrich Tischbein, 1781. Source: 

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Alexander the Great,

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, sexuality, Macedon
#Experts #View #

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#Series #Portrayal #Alexander #Great #******

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