The gay life of Alexander and Hephaestion
The truth about the enduring love story between the Macedonian king and his devoted companion.
Born in Pella, Macedon, in 356BC, Alexander was the first son of Philip II and his principle wife, Olympias. Almost from the moment he was conceived, Alexander became something of a legend.
His mother, a princess of Epirus in her own right, was a follower of an orgiastic, snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, and was widely believed to be a sorceress. She mythologised her son, claiming visions of thunderbolts from the heavens and a great fire accompanied his conception, and Philip himself was recorded as saying he dreamed he sealed Olympias’ womb with the device of a lion. As Philip’s fourth of seven or eight wives, likely elevated to principle only because of Alexander’s birth, it served Olympias’ interests to secure her son as Philip’s heir, and herself as mother of the future king.
Certainly, she was a difficult woman, and the royal marriage was a volatile one. Jealous of Philip’s other wives, mistresses, and male lovers, she instilled in her son contempt for his father, telling him instead that he was truly the son of Zeus, king of the gods. Despite using Alexander as a pawn against his father, he usually took her side, although he is documented as complaining, after receiving one too many letters demanding his support, “It’s a…
