The source material on Alexander the Great's personal life is scarce. The few certainties are as follows: Alexander's lifelong companion was Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble. Hephaistion was Alexander's closest friend, and held the position of second-in-command of Alexander's forces until his death, which devastated Alexander. Alexander married at least two women, Roxana, daughter of a minor noble and Statira, a Persian princess and the daughter of Darius III of Persia. His son by Roxana, Alexander IV of Macedon, was killed before he reached adulthood. The rest is informed guesswork. Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Stone Lion of Hamedan is said to have been erected by Alexander The Great, upon the death of Hephaestion. ... Roxana (Bactrian: Roshanak; literally little shiny star or light), was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. ... 1 - Stateira, wife of Darius III of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Darius III or Codomannus (c. ... Roxana (Bactrian: Roshanak; literally little shiny star or light), was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. ... Alexander IV Aegus (in Greek Aλεξανδρος Aιγος; 323–309 BC was the posthumous son of Alexander the Great by his wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria. ...

The opinions of the ancients

Alexander was admired during his lifetime for treating all his lovers humanely. Plutarch has argued that Alexander's love of males took an ethical approach, inspired by the teachings of his mentor, Aristotle. He gives several examples of Alexander's morality in this domain: Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

When Philoxenus, the leader of the seashore, wrote to Alexander that there was a youth in Ionia whose beauty has yet to be seen and asked him in a letter if he (Alexander) would like him (the boy) to be sent over, he (Alexander) responded in a strict and disgusted manner: "You are the most hideous and malign of all men, have you ever seen me involved in such dirty work that you found the urge to flatter me with such hedonistic business?"^[1]

Plutarch also wrote: Philoxenus (in Greek Φιλoξενoς; lived 4th century BC) was a Macedonian officer in the service of Alexander the Great, who was appointed by him after his return from Egypt (331 BC) to superintend the collection of the tribute in the provinces north of the Taurus Mountains. ...

When Philoxenus, the commander of his forces on the sea-board, wrote that there was with him a certain Theodorus of Tarentum, who had two youths of surpassing beauty to sell, and enquired whether Alexander would buy them, Alexander was incensed, and cried out many times to his friends, asking them what shameful thing Philoxenus had ever seen in him that he should spend his time in making such disgraceful proposals.^[2]

His moral approach towards sexual relations also extended to relations with prisoners of war: "But as for the other captive women, seeing that they were surpassingly stately and beautiful, he merely said jestingly that Persian women were torments to the eyes. And displaying in rivalry with their fair looks the beauty of his own sobriety and self-control, he passed them by as though they were lifeless images for display."^[3]

The above quotations would be in line with the thoughts laid about before him by Aristotle, who regarded relationships based purely on carnal relations to be shameful.

Relationships

Many stories are told by later historians on the subject of Alexander's love affairs, but as the original sources are lost to us, it is difficult to tell fact from fiction. Diodorus Siculus writes, "Then he put on the Persian diadem and dressed himself in the white robe and the Persian sash and everything else except the trousers and the long-sleeved upper garment. He distributed to his companions cloaks with purple borders and dressed the horses in Persian harness. In addition to all this, he added concubines to his retinue in the manner of Dareius, in number not less than the days of the year and outstanding in beauty as selected from all the women of Asia. Each night these paraded about the couch of the king so that he might select the one with whom he would lie that night. Alexander, as a matter of fact, employed these customs rather sparingly and kept for the most part to his accustomed routine, not wishing to offend the Macedonians "^[4]

Curtius reports, "He scorned sensual pleasures to such an extent that his mother was anxious lest he be unable to beget offspring." To encourage a relationship with a woman, King Philip and Olympias were said to have brought in a high-priced Thessalian courtesan named Callixena. Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historical writer in the first or second century AD, generally thought to have written under the reign of Claudius. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... In ancient Greece, Hetaerae were courtesans, that is to say, sophisticated companions and prostitutes. ...

There is no evidence that Alexander sought intimacy with women outside of marriage, however he did marry three times: to Roxana of Bactria, Statira, daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis, daughter of Ochus. He fathered at least one child, Alexander IV of Macedon, born by Roxana shortly after his death in 323 BC. There is speculation that Statira could have been pregnant when he died; if so, she and her child played no part in the succession battles which ensued after his death. There is speculation that he may have born another child, (Heracles), of a woman said to be his concubine Barsine (the daughter of satrap Artabazus of Phrygia) in 327 BC. Mary Renault's rebuttal of this theory is worth quoting: Roxana (Bactrian: Roshanak; literally little shiny star or light), was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. ... It has been suggested that Ta-Hsia be merged into this article or section. ... 1 - Stateira, wife of Darius III of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Parysatis was the illegitimate daughter of Artaxerxes I, Emperor of Persia and Andia of Babylon. ... Darius II, originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus (from Greek νοθος, meaning bastard), was emperor of Persia from 423 BC to 404 BC. Artaxerxes I, who died shortly after December 24, 424 BC, was followed by his son Xerxes II. After a month and a... Alexander IV Aegus (in Greek Aλεξανδρος Aιγος; 323–309 BC was the posthumous son of Alexander the Great by his wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria. ... 1 - Stateira, wife of Darius III of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Heracles was the name of an illegitimate son born to Alexander the Great by his mistress Barsine, daughter of Satrap Artabazus of Phrygia in 327 BC. The first son to be born to Alexander, he was named after the mythical hero from whom the royal family of Macedonia claimed its... Barsine (in Greek Βαρσινη; born 363? - died 309 BC) was daughter of Artabazus, the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, and wife of Memnon of Rhodes. ... Artabazus (in Greek Αρταβαζος; lived 4th century BC) was a Persian general, who was sent in 362 BC, in the reign of Artaxerxes II, against the revolted Datames, satrap of Cappadocia, but was defeated by the bravery and resolution of the latter. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 332 BC 331 BC 330 BC 329 BC 328 BC - 327 BC - 326 BC 325 BC 324...

"No record at all exists of such a woman accompanying his march; nor of any claim by her, or her powerful kin, that she had born him offspring. Yet twelve years after his death a boy was produced, seventeen years old...a claimant and shortlived pawn in the succession wars...no source reports any notice whatever taken by him of a child who, Roxane's being posthumous, would have been during his lifetime his only son, by a near-royal mother. In a man who named cities after his horse and dog, this strains credulity."^[5]

Hephaestion

Alexander's greatest emotional attachment was his companion, cavalry commander (chiliarchos) and childhood friend, Hephaestion. He studied with Alexander, as did a handful of other children of Macedonian aristocracy, under the tutelage of Aristotle. Hephaestion makes his appearance in history at the point when Alexander reaches Troy. There the two friends made sacrifices at the shrines of the two heroes Achilles and Patroclus; Alexander honoring Achilles, and Hephaestion honoring Patroclus. Aelian in his Varia Historia (12.7) claims that Hephaestion "thus intimated that he was the eromenos ["beloved"] of Alexander, as Patroclus was of Achilles." The Stone Lion of Hamedan is said to have been erected by Alexander The Great, upon the death of Hephaestion. ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... The Wrath of Achilles, by François-Léon Benouville (1821–1859) (Musée Fabre) In Greek mythology, Achilles, also Akhilleus or Achilleus (Ancient Greek ) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad, which takes for its theme, not the War... A cup depicting Achilles bandaging Patroklos arm, by the Sosias Painter. ... Claudius Aelianus (c. ... In the pederastic tradition of Classical Athens, the eromenos (Greek ἐρόμενος, pl. ...

No contemporary source states that Alexander and Hephaistion were lovers; historian Paul Cartledge writes that: "Whether Alexander's relationship with the slightly older Hephaestion was ever of the sort that once dared not speak its name is not certain, but it is likely enough that it was. At any rate, Macedonian and Greek mores would have favoured an actively sexual component rather than inhibiting or censoring it."^[6] Robin Lane Fox says that "In youth, his great friend was Hephaestion, and surely the sexual element (frequent between young males, or an older and younger male, in Greek city-states) developed already then."^[7] Alexander and Hephaestion remained, in Fox's words, "exceptionally deep and close friends" until Hephaestion's untimely death, after which Alexander mourned him greatly and did not eat for days.^[8] Alexander held an elaborate funeral for Hephaistion at Babylon, and sent a note to the shrine of Ammon, which had previously acknowledged Alexander as a god, asking them to grant Hephaistion divine honors. The priests declined, but did offer him the status of divine hero. Alexander died soon after the receipt of this letter; Mary Renault suggests that his grief over Hephaistion's death had led him to be careless with his health.^[9] Paul Cartledge is a Classical historian of Cambridge Universitys Clare College. ... Robin Lane Fox (born 1946) is an English academic and historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford, and University Reader in Ancient History. ...

Campaspe

Campaspe, also known as Pancaste, may have been the mistress of Alexander, if so one of the first (and only) women with whom Alexander was intimate. She was thought to be a prominent citizen of Larisa in Thessaly; Aelian surmised that she initiated the young Alexander in love. Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Campaspe, the mistress of Alexander the Great, was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. ... Alternative meanings: Larissa in mythology was a daughter of Pelasgus; Larrissa is a moon of Neptune; 1162 Larissa is an asteroid; Larissa is also a first name. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Claudius Aelianus (c. ...

One story tells that Campaspe was painted by Apelles, who enjoyed the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. The episode occasioned an apocryphal exchange that was reported in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (35.79–97): seeing the beauty of the nude portrait, Alexander saw that the artist appreciated Campaspe (and loved her) more than he. And so Alexander kept the portrait but presented Campaspe to Apelles. Modern historian Robin Lane Fox says "so Alexander gave him Campaspe as a present, the most generous gift of any patron and one which would remain a model for patronage and painters on through the Renaissance". Another Apelles was the founder of a Gnostic sect in the 2nd century; Apelles (theologian). ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... Naturalis Historia, 1669 edition, title page. ... Robin Lane Fox (born 1946) is an English academic and historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford, and University Reader in Ancient History. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ...

The story is memorable, but may have been invented: Campaspe does not appear in the five major sources we have for the life of Alexander. Robin Lane Fox traces her legend back to the Roman authors Pliny the Elder, Lucian of Samosata and Aelian's Varia Historia. Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Greek, Λουκιανὸς Σαμοσατεύς, Latin, Lucianus; c. ... Claudius Aelianus (c. ...

Campaspe became a generic poetical pseudonym for a man's mistress.

Barsine

Barsine was a noble Persian, daughter of Artabazus, and wife of Memnon. After Memnon's death, several ancient historians have written of a love affair between her and Alexander. Plutarch writes, "At any rate Alexander, so it seems, thought it more worthy of a king to subdue his own passions than to conquer his enemies, and so he never came near these women, nor did he associate with any other before his marriage, with the exception only of Barsine. This woman, the widow of Memnon, the Greek mercenary commander, was captured at Damascus. She had received a Greek education, was of a gentle disposition, and could claim royal descent, since her father was Artabazus who had married one of the Persian kings daughters. These qualities made Alexander the more willing he was encouraged by Parmenio, so Aristobulus tells us to form an attachment to a woman of such beauty and noble lineage."^{[citation needed]} In addition Justin writes, "As he afterwards contemplated the wealth and display of Darius, he was seized with admiration of such magnificence. Hence it was that he first began to indulge in luxurious and splendid banquets, and fell in love with his captive Barsine for her beauty, by whom he had afterwards a son that he called Hercules."^[10]

The story may be true, but if so, it raises some difficult questions. The boy would have been Alexander's only child born during his lifetime (Roxane's son was born posthumously). Even if Alexander had ignored him, which seems highly unlikely, the Macedonian Army and the successors would certainly have known of him, and would almost certainly have drawn him into the succession struggles which ensued upon Alexander's death. Yet we first hear of the boy twelve years after Alexander's death, when a boy was produced as a claimant to the throne. He played a brief part in the succession battles, and then disappeared. It seems more likely that the romance with Barsine was invented by the boy's backers to validate his parentage.^[11]

Roxana

Ancient historians, as well as modern ones, have also written on Alexander's marriage to Roxana. Robin Lane Fox writes, "Roxane was said by contemporaries to be the most beautiful lady in all Asia. She deserved her Iranian name of Roshanak, meaning 'little star', (probably rokhshana or roshna which means light and illuminating). Marriage to a local noble's family made sound political sense. But contemporaries implied that Alexander, aged twenty-eight, also lost his heart. A wedding-feast for the two of them was arranged high on one of the Sogdian rocks. Alexander and his bride shared a loaf of bread, a custom still observed in Turkestan. Characteristically, Alexander sliced it with his sword."^[12] Ulrich Wilcken writes, "The fairest prize that fell to him was Roxane, the daughter of Oxyartes, in the first bloom of youth, and in the judgment of Alexander’s companions, next to Stateira the wife of Darius, the most beautiful woman that they had seen in Asia. Alexander fell passionately in love with her and determined to raise her to the position of his consort."^[13] Roshanak (روشنک in Persian) is a traditional Afghan name for a female. ...

Roxana accompanied Alexander all the way to India, and bore him a child also named Alexander (Alexander IV of Macedon), six months after Alexander the Great died. Roxana (Bactrian: Roshanak; literally little shiny star or light), was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. ... Alexander IV Aegus (in Greek Aλεξανδρος Aιγος; 323–309 BC was the posthumous son of Alexander the Great by his wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria. ...

Bagoas

Ancient sources tell of another favorite, Bagoas; a eunuch (a castrated youth) exceptional in beauty and in the very flower of boyhood, with whom Darius was intimate and with whom Alexander would later be intimate."^[14] Plutarch recounts an episode (also mentioned by Dicaearchus) during some festivities on the way back from India) in which his men clamor for him to kiss the young man: "Bagoas...sat down close to him, which so pleased the Macedonians, that they made loud acclamations for him to kiss Bagoas, and never stopped clapping their hands and shouting till Alexander put his arms round him and kissed him." Bagoas (in Old Persian Bagoi) was a eunuch in the Persian Empire in the 4th Century BCE. He was reportedly the lover of Alexander the Great. ... A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Dicaearchus (also Dicearchos, Dicearchus or Dikæarchus, Greek Δικαιαρχος; circa 350 BC – circa 285 BC) was a Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and author. ...

The modern historian Robin Lane Fox, says that both direct and indirect evidence suggest a "sexual element, this time of pure physical desire" between the two, but as for the consummation of that passion he comments that "[l]ater gossip presumed that Bagoas was Alexander’s lover. This is uncertain."^[15] Mary Renault, author of The Persian Boy, a novel about the love between Alexander and Bagoas, claims that "No historian states plainly whether they were physical lovers."^[16] Whatever Alexander's relationship with Bagoas, it was no impediment to relations with his queen: six months after Alexander's death Roxana gave birth to his son and heir, Alexander IV. Mary Renault (1905–1983) was an English novelist whose works are still popular with devotees of the historical novel. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mary Renault. ... Alexander IV Aegus (in Greek Aλεξανδρος Aιγος; 323–309 BC was the posthumous son of Alexander the Great by his wife Roxana, a princess of Bactria. ...

Historical accounts describing Alexander's love for Hephaestion and Bagoas as sexual have been contested on the grounds that they were written centuries afterwards. On the other hand, as will be seen below, most of our detailed information regarding Alexander comes from such later sources. It should be noted that the concept of homosexuality as understood today did not exist in Greco-Roman antiquity. If Alexander's love life was transgressive, it was not for his love of beautiful youths but for his persistent love of a man his own age. In modern Olympic and amateur wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling is a particular style and variation. ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... Pederastic courtship scene Athenian black-figure amphora, 5th c. ...

See also

• Ancient Greek eros
• Pederasty in ancient Greece

Pederastic courtship scene Athenian black-figure amphora, 5th c. ...

Notes