#Alexander the Great fiction

[jeannereames]

Hey :)

I don't know if it's a little late to ask but I'm trying :)

Is it possible to get the director's cut of the scene where Krateros and Hephastion bet at the wedding?

I suddenly noticed this scene on re-reading and wondered what hidden meanings it had…

Thanks :)

So, this scene starts on page 164 of Dancing with the Lion: Rise, and occurs at Philip’s wedding to Kleopatra Eurydike, the niece of Attalos. While watching a hired juggler perform, Hephaistion says he could do better, and Krateros challenges him to prove it.

I’m not sure how much this scene constitutes any spoilers, as the wedding (if not the juggling!) is historical, but if you’re hyper conscious of spoilers and haven’t read part 2, stop now.

It’s established early in book 1 Becoming that Hephaistion enjoys sleight-of-hand tricks. He fools Kassandros with Ye Olde Shell Trick (in one of my favorite early scenes … and one which, btw, goes back to the very first draft of the novel back in 1989!). His Mad Skillz pop out in a couple other places. This scene is one. (He’s presented generally as being deft of hand in fighting too.)

Here, Hephaistion successfully juggles 5 knives, to Krateros’s apparent surprise. At the end, Philip mocks him by saying Attalos should have hired him. For well-born noblemen, that’s quite the insult! This is a culture where any skill with the hands is for craftsmen and other commoners. Nobility patronizes them, they don’t show off such skills themselves. The same issue lay behind Philip’s earlier insult to Alexander when he played and sang exceptionally well at a supper party, early in Becoming. So this scene and that one are meant to be linked.

Alexander, earlier, had responded to his father’s insult by leaving the hall and breaking his lyre. Here, Hephaistion responds by catching the knives out of the air and spinning around … then putting them away. He could have thrown a knife at Philip but doesn’t, making a point. (Why is a spoiler, so I won’t explain.) Yet aside from the point Hephaistion is making, I (the author) intend to contrast Alexander’s (admittedly youthful) response to Philip with Hephaistion’s more mature response.

Why use Krateros for the bet? Those of you who know the history, know that Hephaistion and Krateros later became rivals at Alexander’s court. But they’ll be chummy for a while first, with the rivalry (re-)developing later. This scene sets the stage for Krateros deciding that Hephaistion might be worth cultivating as an ally. (Krateros is smart, and rather more political than people credit him.)

In this scene, the implication is that Krateros thought Hephaistion was blowing hot air. He doesn’t know Hephaistion, or he wouldn’t have made the bet. Hephaistion never takes a bet he’s not pretty sure he can win. Alexander is much more of a gambler; Hephaistion only appears to be. 😉

[llitchilitchi]

been thinking and drawing Alexander and Bagoas an awful lot, so here is one of the many sketches featuring dubously historically accurate clothing and armour

[hephaestn]

[crazy-fangirl2524]

We need someone to write Alexander and Hephaestion the way Madeline Miller wrote tsoa

[mcversipellis]

“True friends share everything, except the past before they met.”

― Mary Renault, Fire from Heaven

*Redid my old (not really old, they’re from last year🙄) illustrations on the historical novel “Fire from heaven” which follows a journey of Alexander the Great through childhood to the very end.

[roz-boz]

Was anyone going to tell me that Alexander The Great and his lover Hephaestion ran naked around the lost tomb of Achilles and Patroclus or was I just supposed to find it out myself after randomly reading the Achillean wiki one day

[hussyknee]

Song of Achilles did make me cry and there are some beautiful, extremely quotable turns of prose. But honestly? Even without being a classicist or a Greek mythology enthusiast— it really kind of sucks. There's no substance or complexity to it, the characters are one-dimensional and it's painfully YA. It's written for a Booktok audience who doesn't give a fuck about Homer's poems or Greek myths as a genre. I mean I'm also largely disinterested but I hate books that loses everything that defines a genre in order to appeal to people who don't care for it.

Idk if you want an incredible reimagining of the Trojan war for an audience who doesn't care much about the Illiad, read The Troy Trilogy by David Gemmell. It makes no pretence of being faithful to the Illiad and takes out all mention of gods and magic, and sadly doesn't have a lot of gay in it, despite the protagonist being one of the most badass bisexual women in fantasy fiction (Andromache in the Old Guard can't hold a candle to this Andromache). But for all that, it has very complex and vivid characters, cinematic battle scenes and is an emotional rollercoaster that makes you blow through all three books in one sitting. It's very much about how war and pride and honour can make people you like and believe in do horrific things, how morality is informed by culture and era, how you can feel pity for even the worst characters, and how desolation lives hand in glove with glory. Once you read that you'll realise how hollow Madeline Miller's work is.

[fightingwithallreality]

Horses, horses, horses (1949) compilation by Phyllis R Fenner, illustrated by Pers Crowell

[girls-are-weird]

a quick word about @jeannereames's historical romance series about alexander the great.

[ccheyko]

alexander the great and his close friend hephaestion

historians will say they were pals

[jeannereames]

What would you think of a (historical) anime about Alexander? Would you consider watching it?

There actually is one! Reign, the Conqueror, from the late '90s, 10 episodes. Created by the same person who did Aeon Flux.

I have seen it (although only the 6 episodes released at the time in the US), although I don't own copies of it. First it was hard to get, then expensive.

It's...weird, and creative. Fun, if you remember it's not even trying to be especially historical. Very loose, with lots of fantasy elements. I understand it was later released as a movie that combined the episodes.

More on it: IMDb entry

Anime News Network entry

I'm by no means any sort of anime expert, but I collected ATG fiction (and film) for a while for a website Beyond Renault. Ergo, I've chased down all sorts of fun and unusual things.

Another weird one, Sam Heughin, of Outlander fame, before he was ever cast for that, played a young Alexander in a TV movie that was, apparently, shot, or at least some of it was, but was never shown. Just the little I've heard about it makes that probably a good thing. LOL Here's a little sample, with imaginary "Leto" who apparently becomes his girlfriend. THIS is about as queer as it gets (a very fit Hephaistion and ATG, both half-undressed, go at fisticuffs over something unclear).

[machiavelliancyborg]

The Lion's Heart Chapter 5 Log

The Lion's Heart is a novel I am writing detailing the life and death of Alexander the Great, told by Hephaestion, his lover.

Chapter 5 - Apex Predator - 334 BC

This one was fun to write (I know I say that every time shut up). I felt the beginning felt slightly underdeveloped with Antipater being declared king in just a single sentence but it wasn't really relevant. I loved writing Parmenion and Alexander's interactions, stoic and childish respectively. Hephaestion comparing his relationship with a fictional one and thinking about how he got the wrong end of the stick, we've all been there (I've read too much yaoi). The Battle of the Granicus was obviously not written about in great detail and Cleitus the Black is introduced as Hephaestion's drinking buddy! Overall quite a relaxed chapter with the introduction of two major characters.

Favourite Quote - "We feasted that night, gorging our hungry souls on stacks of meat and fish, towering pillars of fruits and bowls of grapes, everlasting cups and amphorae of wine, diluted with the water of the Granicus."

[alessandroiiidimacedonia]

[athenas-sw0rd]

Heeey guys, if you would like to read some Alexander the great fanfiction I got you

It's nothing serious nor it's intended to be historically accurate

Hope you like it <3

[abigailspinach]

[apricusapollo]

getting hyperfixated on alexander the great was not in my 2023 bingo card.