Alexander the Great sexuality

[alexanders desciple]

Sorry RuthNo not kidding I just get fed up of people making issues of Alexander been homosexual it really annoys me.
I suppose Christians wouldnt like it if Jesus was regarded as gay because he spent all his time with 12 guys.
I know Alexander was in the midst of Bisexuality as was the norm at that time but to label him gay to say the least pisses me off.
So my question was real and wondered what people thought about that.
I just couldnt imagine anyone doing it to him.

[Linda]

Follower of the KingI think the question was about having a sexual relationship with Hephaestion. Nothing about the mechanics. Who knows what exactly went on, but the King's lover would have been referred to as his "eromenos" due to their differences in social standing. The erastes/eromenos terminology was almost certainly applied to Alexander and Hephaestion by Arrian (Jeanne has the reference in her article on this site). If the implication was that A was too tough to sleep with men, the we have Philip as another contemporary example of a butch bloke who liked a bit of the other. Maybe you *are* joking, or maybe you were just fantasising. (No offence - there is plenty of that out there in cyberland... - a lot of it as a genre written by women, interestingly enough. Not me, I hasten to add.)

[Linda]

But Jesus didn't have male lovers. And homosexuality is against the church's teaching (well, Paul's teaching - Jesus never says a word). A. almost certainly did have, at least in Bagoas, and he was a bit gone on Helphaestion. I do think that a lot is made of this issue - it is a reflection of our times, in that some people find homosexuality offensive or immoral or weird, or don't see why is is such a big issue to some people, and others are struggling to legitimise feelings and emotions which have been considered wrong for many years, and to fight against the emotions and actions of the first. And, yes, to reclaim some people whose lives have been sanitised by biographers in other times. Not all of their lives, just that part of them that was considered immoral, or impossible to believe. I know it bores people, this argument, but your remark shows just how misunderstood sexuality can be. Plenty of men who have relationships with men (whether exclusively or not), do have sex (to be more polite and euphemistic). Others, who are attracted to and have sexual relationships with men find the whole thing difficult to take. Whether Alexander was a product of his times, or would have had the same desires in whatever age he had been born, is one which is probably too much out of the scope and interests, and probably expertise of the forum. Although I do and others do have opinions, often contrary. It is nature/nurture, and I suspect a lot more will be written and researched before we have a satisfactory answer. But I think it is pretty certain he had desires towards men - there is a wealth of evidence, both direct and collateral. But I know others think there is the same for interest in women.

[S]

Greetings Linda,Good reply. It is difficult to discuss the issue while avoiding mechanics; it is the mechanics that get sites censored in the US, China, most Middle Eastern countries, etc *due directly* to those with certain religious beliefs holding power or rattling their text-sabers whenever anyone tries to discuss sensitive issues with objectivity and disinterest..Unfortunately, it means a lot of socio-scientific studies on the diversity of *normal* human sexuality and the sexual continuum remain outside access of many non-scholars. Regards,
Sikander

[John.]

Stand strong, follower of the king. I see you are being assaulted by members of the homo/bisexual propaganda machine. But they are not so powerful, since they don't have truth on their side.I've done alot of reading from the ancient sources, and I actually found more evidence pointing against Alexander being gay than for it. Like when Alexander became furious at someone who offered him a boy for sex, saying, "What have you ever seen or heard about me that would cause you to make such a disgraceful offer?" And after Alexander had slaughtered the Theban Sacred [gay] Band, when Philip looked over the corpses and cried out, "Let no one say that these men were in anyway immoral," seeming to be indignant at Alexander's dissaproval of the gay lifestyle.I actually think Alexander was kind of homophobic, since he saw what trouble it caused at Philip's court, and that Philip even got assassinated by someone who was out to get revenge for having been "buggered" against his will.John

[S]

Greetings John,Thank you for just proving my point about modern mores being used to intepret facts incorrectly, by citing examples out of context with the times, place, people and culture.Regards,
Sikander

[marcus]

John, John, John,Someone being "buggered" against his will has got absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality, but a lot to do with power and humiliation.Sheesh, you do like your controversy, don't you?All the bestMarcus

[gb]

*grinning widely*OW YES! I come back after several days of forced absence and look at what I missed!Follower of the King, maybe you sh+¦+¦ld visit some of those sites L&nda refers to. They can be quite educational, or so someone told me... *wink*No, really, I'll read almost anything, so yes, I "confess" I tried a few stories. Some of them are really quite good in themselves, if you can look past the M/M sex.One thing I do know for a fact: You can never judge private behaviour by outward appearances.

[susa]

Hi JohnSorry for meddling. But these two instances you used to prove your hypothesis are hobbling a little. "What have you ever seen or heard about me that would cause you to make such a disgraceful offer?"This would show rather Alex's own nature [putting down people who still say he's a perverted]. This by no means state he was not polyvalent. And he was."Let no one say that these men were in anyway immoral," That is out of question! Come on! That was a battle [was it not?], a battle to be won! What do you expect from Alexander? "Come on, boys, let's forget this stupid battle and let's have some fun!".He's serious at what he's doing! Don't forget that.About homophoby --- if he left Macedon, it may be that he left because some people there were boring him a lot about his attachments. But not because he's homophobe. If 'homophobe' is a good choice of word, and i doubt it is!:)

[Jeanne]

Hello, Lisandra -It's been a while since I visited the forum, but I noticed your question (as well as the plethora of replies). The little tidbit in the Pothos archives on sexuality was written by me, but I also wrote up a page on this question for my website on Hephaistion. It's a bit shorter, and can be found here: http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emathetria/lover.htmlI've also published an article on the topic, but it's harder to get hold of. Still, if you're seriously interested, want a complete list of the ancient testimony + discussion, and have access to ILL (Interlibrary Loan), the article's citation is:"An atypical affair? Alexander the Great, Hephaistion Amyntoros and the nature of their relationship," J. Reames-Zimmerman; The Ancient History Bulletin, 13.3 (1999) 81-96.Cheers!Dr. Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman
Dept. of History, 287-K ASH
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
402/554-2489

[Jeanne]

Grrr. The URL refused to cooperate.http://home.earthlink.net/~mathetria/lover.html