jan wrote:Thank you, Alexias, for providing the information about megalexandros.livejournal and about where to obtain a copy of Jeanne-Reames Zimmerman's dissertation.
J Reames updated her thesis in her essay entitled The Cult of Hephaestion in ‘Responses to Oliver Stone’s Alexander’. Her principle points are that she doesn’t think Hephaestion became one of Alexander’s Bodyguards until the weddings at Susa, or when he became Chiliarch. It seems to be more widely accepted that he became a Bodyguard after the death of one of Philip’s old Bodyguards at Halicarnassus (I think). She also believes that the column Hephaestion commanded in Bactria was not engaged in military activity but in resettling the populace into towns after the actions of the other 4 columns.
However, some of what J Reames says may need a little caution. On her website
http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~mreames/Hepha ... stion.html she says:
“There's a funny story that, on the morning of the battle, Alexander's officers had come to his tent to receive last minute orders when Hephaistion showed up, saying, "Health to you," instead of "Joy to you." That's like saying, "Good bye" or "Good evening" instead of "hello" or "Good morning." The officers interpreted it as a bad omen (the Greeks were superstitious). They thought it meant Alexander would die. Alexander re-interpreted it, saying that wishing him health meant he'd live. Quick thinking. But the odd thing about the story is that Hephaistion wasn't alarmed by his slip of the tongue. He was embarrassed. My own take on it is that he was leaving the king's tent, not arriving.”
Because of her influence, it has now become a generally accepted ‘fact’ – which I believed too -that Hephaestion spent the night before Issus with Alexander. Yet the original text seems to quite plainly say that Hephaestion was entering the tent, not leaving it:
Lucian ‘A Slip of the tongue in salutation’:
"Eumenes of Cardia, writing to Antipater, states that just before the battle of Issus, Hephaestion came at dawn into Alexander's tent. Either in absence of mind and confusion like mine, or else under a divine impulse, he gave the evening salutation like me--'Hail, sire; ’tis time we were at our posts.' All present were confounded at the irregularity, and Hephaestion himself was like to die of shame, when Alexander said, 'I take the omen; it is a promise that we shall come back safe from battle.'"
There are plenty of reasons why Hephaestion might have made the slip (other things on his mind, half-asleep), and ample reason for his embarrassment (making a fool of himself in front of the high command as well as bringing back luck on Alexander) without inventing another reason. If he were one of Alexander’s Bodyguards at this point, he certainly wouldn’t be leaving the final briefing before the battle but would be joining it.
I had an argument with someone about this recently, and I am quite happy to be proven wrong, if someone can show me that there is room for doubt in translating the verb in the opening sentence. Unfortunately I can’t find a copy of the original text on the web.