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By: BRIAN MOYLAN
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The Macedonian army led by Alexander the Great conquered an area stretching from
Greece to India in the 4th century B.C. — most of the known world at that
time.
And some say Alexander conquers the world a second time in the wake of a $155
million film version of his life by Oliver Stone. “Alexander,” starring
Colin Farrell, Jared Leto, Val Kilmer and Angelina Jolie, opened in wide release
Nov. 24.
“Alexander” arrives in theaters amid a flurry of documentaries,
news stories and books related to the legendary figure. That’s no small
feat for a man who died more than 2,300 years ago.
Most historians agree that during his short life, the leader engaged in sexual
and romantic relationships with women and men. But given the culture in which
he lived, his sexual orientation defies categorization.
“Categories of male honor and male shame [in ancient Greek culture] did
not revolve around the homo/hetero axis,” says Roger Lancaster, a professor
of anthropology and cultural studies at George Mason University and author of
“The Trouble with Nature: Sex and Science in Popular Culture.”
“It was more complex and freer in some ways, but way more constrained
in others,” he says.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT was born in Pella, Macedonia, in 356 B.C. to King Philip
II (Kilmer) and the priestess Olympias of Epirus (Jolie).
The movie follows most of the accepted history of his life.
Growing up, philosopher Aristotle tutored Alexander and other young nobles,
including Hephaistion (Jared Leto), who became Alexander’s lifelong friend,
lover and companion. Some historians also say Alexander had a sexual relationship
with Bagoas, a Persian eunuch, who is played in the movie by Francisco Bosch.
In 338 B.C., Alexander lead the cavalry for his father’s army at the
successful Battle of Chaeronea, where the Macedonians defeated the Athenian
army and the “Band of Thebes,” a force of 150 pairs of committed
male lovers. Alexander’s father, Philip, was a prisoner of war in Thebes
as a young man and is said to have wept over their bodies.
Philip was killed two years later by Pausanias, a spurned male lover. But some
historians contend that his murder was a plot concocted by Olympias or Alexander
based on the existence of another male heir to the throne. Alexander became
king after his stepmother and his infant half brother were executed.
At 22, Alexander and the Macedonian army took over the Persian empire and its
capital, Babylon (today’s Iran). From there, Alexander’s army continued
toward India. After military triumph there, he married the princess Roxane (Rosario
Dawson) in 327 B.C.
Two years later, the army set out to return to Babylon. On the way, Hephaistion
died. It is said that Alexander had to be pulled off his companion’s dead
body, went into deep mourning and threw a lavish funeral.
Alexander died the following year after several days of illness. He was never
defeated in battle.
Alexander “was defeated only once, and that was by Hephaistion’s
thighs,” a quote that is attributed in the movie to Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins),
Alexander’s friend and biographer.
With such a consensus, modern audiences may naturally question whether Alexander
was gay.
“The angle that most historians or anthropologists would take on that
is that it’s a meaningless question,” Lancaster says. “It’s
not a question the Greeks would ask, nor would they understand the question.”
But other observers say this doesn’t mean his same-sex relationships
should be completely ignored.
“We can say he had sexual relationships with men and he favored the company
of men and he enjoyed them with great commitment and gusto,” says Bill
Leap, a professor of anthropology at American University.
Syndicated gay columnist Michael Alvear, who co-authored the new book “Alexander
the Fabulous: The Man Who Brought the World to its Knees” with his sister,
Vicky A. Shecter, calls Alexander gay in his book. But he uses the historic
hero’s sexual behavior mostly as a conduit for his own jokes.
Alvear’s book offers plenty of circumstantial evidence for saying Alexander
is gay. He notes Alexander’s many friendships with older women (which
Alvear calls “fag hags”), his fondness for dressing in drag (as
the goddess Artemis), and his leading a fashion revolution (being the first
warrior to regularly shave his beard).
But even Alvear, who offers sex advice in a column in David magazine and in
the book ...
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