Alexander The Great's Lovers
Alexander The Great's Lovers . “Sex and sleep are the only two things that remind me I’m mortal.”
~ Alexander the Great.
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He didn't limit his preferences to just women either.
Loving another man was a completely normal relationship, in the Greek world~it was considered part of a life experience.
Alexander had sex with at least three men: Hephaestion, Bagoas, and Excipinus.
Hephaestion was Alexander’s best friend.They knew each other since childhood, and they had a close and warm relationship.
Hephaestion became the second most powerful man in Alexander’s empire, as well as his confidante.
The sexual relationship began in their teenage years, and continued into adulthood.
The soldiers often noted that Hephaestion spent an entire night in Alexander’s tent.
When Hephaestion died unexpectedly in 324 BC, Alexander flung himself over his dead body, and cried for the whole day.
He had to be dragged away, and wouldn't didn’t eat or drink for days.
Bagoas was a beautiful Persian eunuch.He was a former lover of Darius III, a Persian king whom Alexander had defeated.
As a 'boy toy', he was given to Alexander by a Persian noble, trying to save his own life.
Bagoas became Alexander’s 'eromenos' (in ancient Greek 'beloved') a term used for a younger lover.
Eventually, Bagoas exercised strong influence over Alexander, and used it for his personal gain and to get rid of his enemies.
Excipinus served as a replacement for Hephaestion.However, despite being young, beautiful, and resembling Hephaestion, Excipinus couldn’t replace Heaphestion’s personality.
As a teenager, Alexander was perceived as a gynnis (in old Greek effeminate) for his refusal to force his sexual will upon less powerful women.Since it was common for powerful men to abuse their power to get laid, such benevolent sexual behavior of Alexander caused panic among his parents, King Philip II and Olympia.
In order to cure him of his “condition”, Alexander’s parents introduced him to beautiful Callixeina, a Thessalian courtesan.
Despite his mother begging him to have sex with Callixeina, Alexander refused.
Eventually, it was Campaspe, a beautiful Thessalian girl to whom Alexander lost his virginity.Despite being an incredibly successful conqueror, Alexander restrained himself from rape and sexual slavery, two of the usual spoils of war of his era.
It would seem Alexander held women, in quite high regard.
Alexander the Great practiced polygamy.He preferred oriental Persian beauties, to Greek women.
All of his three wives were from Asia: Roxana, Stateria II, and Parysatis.
Alexander's mistress Barsine, was the daughter of a Persian noble. Their affair lasted for five years, and they supposedly had a son, Heracles, born in 327.
Heracles was murdered during the succession wars in 309 BC.
Alexander's greatest love, was his first wife Roxana.Roxana was a Bactrian princess, and considered the most beautiful woman in all of Asia.
It was love at first sight, and they married in 327 BC by sharing a loaf of bread.
In 326 BC, their first son Hydaspes was born, but died soon afterward.
After Alexander's death in 323 BC, pregnant Roxana, murdered his other two wives to get rid of any competition for the throne.Two months later, she gave birth to her son Alexander IV, who became an heir to the vast empire.
Unfortunately, Roxana and Alexander IV were murdered in 310 BC during the Civil War for the throne of the Empire.
Alexander married his other two wives, on the same day!Stateria II was the eldest daughter of the Persian King Darius III. Parysatis was the daughter of Darius’ predecessor, Artaxerxes III, and Stateria’s cousin.
He married both of them in 324 BC at the 'Susa Weddings' ~ a ceremony that lasted for five days, and witnessed the marriages of 90 Macedonian generals with Persian women.
It was a common practice of the era, to marry widows and daughters of the defeated enemies.By marrying two Persian princesses, Alexander cemented his claim to the throne of Persia.
It’s unfair to judge Alexander the Great’s sexuality from our point of view.After all, 300 BC was a completely different era.
As it was the custom for Macedonian kings, Alexander took multiple wives.
Alexander the Great’s marriages, definitely served the political purpose of improving the loyalty of the conquered Persians.
Also, he embarked on many same-sex affairs, another completely acceptable practice among the
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Alexander the Great marries gorgeous Roxana, a Bactrian princess (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
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