Was Alexander the Great a homosexual?

Answer 1

.Alexander's greatest emotional attachment is generally considered to have been to 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 claims that Hephaestion "thus intimated that he was the eromenos ["beloved"] of Alexander, as Patroclus was of Achilles."

This assertion of a sexual relationship between Alexander and Hephaiston is questioned by some historians. Robin Lane Fox writes that while "later gossip claimed that Alexander had a love affair with Hephaiston", no contemporary history states this. However, Fox adds, "the facts show that the two men’s friendship was exceptionally deep and close." Following Hephaestion's death, Alexander mourned him greatly, and did not eat for days.

Image:Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachus 305-281 BC.jpg
One of the earliest known portraits of Alexander the Great, Silver tetradrachm of Lysimachus, 305-281 BC From the Mint of Lampsakos modern Lâpseki, Turkey, now in the British Museum. The Greek legend translates "Of King Lysimachus".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:

When Philoxenos, 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?" Plutarch also wrote:

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. 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."

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.

Many have discussed Alexander's sexual leanings. 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 brought in a high-priced Thessalian courtesan named Callixena.

Later in life, Alexander married several princesses of former Persian territories, Roxana of Bactria, Statira, daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis, daughter of Ochus. He fathered two children, (Heracles), born by his concubine Barsine (the daughter of satrap Artabazus of Phrygia) in 327 BC, and Alexander IV of Macedon, born by Roxana shortly after his death in 323 BC.

Many ancient historians report that Alexander also had another favorite, "Bagoas, a eunuch exceptional in beauty and in the very flower of boyhood, with whom Darius was intimate and with whom Alexander would later be intimate." 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." Some modern historians point out that the ancient sources cannot be considered definitive. Robin Lane Fox writes: "Later gossip presumed that Bagoas was Alexander’s lover. This is uncertain." And, according to Mary Renault, who wrote a novel about the relationship of Alexander and Bagoas, "No historian states plainly whether they were physical lovers." 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.

Historical accounts describing Alexander's love for Hephaestion and Bagoas as sexual are strongly contested under the claim that they were written centuries afterwards and thus are necessarily dubious. Others retort that the same can be said about much of our information regarding Alexander. Such debates, however, are generally considered anachronistic by scholars of the period, who point out that the concept of homosexuality as understood today did not exist in Greco-Roman antiquity. Sexual attraction between males was seen as a normal and universal part of human nature, since it was believed that men were attracted to beauty, an attribute of the young, regardless of gender. 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. The ancient Greeks saw sex as an activity, not an identifier, a viewpoint shared by contemporary cultures at the time.

Answer 2

They say that Alexander was 'homosexual' simply because of the Greek culture of having same- as well as opposite-sex partners. The Romans were less lenient of homosexuality, and at times persecuted 'homosexuals', while still wanting the 'free love' of multiple sex partners.
I would lean toward Alexander being more bi-sexual than homosexual.

Answer 3

I don't think his culture--the Greek culture--really had any of the hangups we do now about sexuality. "Homosexual" is a label invented in more modern days, but from what I understand, ancient Greeks in general did not discriminate when it came to sexual partners. In other words, no, Alexander the Great was not a homosexual, as we define the term; he didn't behave any differently from most others of his time and place.

Answer 4

actually most greeks believed in training young men in the ways of love.this was usually accomplished by humping their thights in a face to face position rather than the anal position thought of as homosexual today

Answer 5

He was more of a bisexual because he was out trying to conquer the world that he rarely got to see his wife so he had sex with a male servant on the road trips

Answer 6

There is no historical evidence that he was a homosexual ,only interpretations and wishful thinking.
There is evidence however ,of women and marriage.

Answer 7

Who cares what he did in his bed?He was one of the greatest conquerers of ALL times...that what matters today and how he is remembered..

Answer 8

I'd say he was bisexual because he had both male and female lovers.

Answer 9

he was bisexual, but in is time it wasnt treated the way it is now. actually most people were bisexual in classical times

Answer 10

I'm not sure but he died in Babylon (Mesopotamia).

Answer 11

Bisexual would be more accurate.