History mystery

The trailer for Alexander: The Making of a God is packed with drama. "It is time you knew your true identity, Alexander," says the young man's mother as he fingers a magnificent shield. "You are the son of ZeusThe king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter.." Lightning lights up the sky. "Conquer PersiaA historic region of southwestern Asia, linked to the area that is now Iran. and beyond," she continues. "It is your destiny."

The series tells the story of Alexander as he established one of the world's greatest empires in the 4th Century BC. After succeeding to the throne of MacedonAn ancient kingdom founded in 808BC on the edge of classical Greece. at the age of 20, he launched a series of military campaigns in which he won every battle. By the time of his death 12 years later he had conquered all of Greece and much of Asia, leading his army as far as India.

But it is the question of identity that has made the Netflix docudrama so controversial. From the first episode - in which Alexander kisses another man - it shows the great general as gay.

One of the experts who appears on the show, Dr Salima Ikram, says that his friend Hephaestion "was not just a cherished companion, but perhaps [Alexander's] greatest love". Another, Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, adds that "same-sex relationships were quite the norm throughout the Greek world".

On Netflix's Tudum website, however, Amanda Richards is less definite. She writes that the series "speculates on intimate details of Alexander's private life, including his time with [his] purported lover Hephaestion".

Alexander certainly had relationships with women, and married three times. Two of his marriages were political, but PlutarchA Greek philosopher and priest known for his biographies of Greek and Roman figures. insists that his first, to the BactrianFrom Bactria, an ancient Iranian civilisation in Central Asia. princess Roxana, was "a love match which began when he saw her at the height of her youthful beauty taking part in a dance at a banquet".

But according to an expert on Alexander, Dr Jeanne Reames, he "seems to have comfortably pursued either sex".¹ Part of the evidence of this is the deep grief he showed on Hephaestion's death. According to the historian Arrian he ordered a shrine to the god of healing, Asclepios, to be destroyed and had the doctor who treated Hephaestion hanged.

Yet another historian, Athenaeus, wrote that Alexander "was quite excessively keen on boys".²

In The Pink News, Josh Jackman lists nine other famous figures whom some historians believe to have been gay. They include Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and Richard I.

Was history gayer than we think?

Yes: According to the Yale School of Public Health, 83% of gay people keep their sexuality hidden for most of their lives.³ If that is true today, it must have been all the more so in less tolerantBeing open-minded and listening to beliefs that are different to your own. eras.

No: It is precisely because so few people were gay that past societies regarded them with suspicion and disapproval. If homosexuality had been widespread it would not have been considered a "problem".

Or... It depends on the perception you start with. If you believe that people have basically been the same throughout history, it follows that there were as many gay people in the past as there are now.