#Alexander x hephaistion

[my-chiliarch]

Hey bro what if we married two sisters but like as a political move, like I marry the oldest princess and you marry her younger sister so we can be officially a family, but I mean we should marry the same day with a lot of other couples but you're my right hand and I'm the king so you and I will stand next to each other and be the most important men there and get married together and have a family together because you know our children will be cousins and I want your babies to be related to me and my babies to be related to you bro, isn't it great that we can have babies together, it's just everything true bros would want, I can't wait for our wedding day, love you bro <3

[your-name-is-jim]

Interviewer: Are you very fond of Alexander? Gene Roddenberry: As a matter of fact, I am. I have Mary Renault's new Oxford book―in fact, I'd have everything in the bookstores a few years ago. Passionate admirer of Alexander. Passionate man. [...] Interviewer: There's a great deal of writing in the STAR TREK movement now which compares the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion to the relationship between Kirk and Spock―focusing on the closeness of the friendship, the feeling that they would die for one another― Gene Roddenberry: Yes. There's certainly some of that with―certainly with love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, the Greek ideal―we never suggested in the series―physical love between the two. But it's the―we certainly had the feeling the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style in the 23rd Century. [He looks thoughtful] That's very interesting. I never thought of that before. [From Shatner: Where No Man (1979)]

Sooo I watched the new docuseries Alexander: The Making of a God and I was hit by indirect Kirk/Spock feelings because I remembered this interview. And of course I had to make a gifset about it. :)

[jeannereames]

Well, that got through at least. :-)

And they took my advice to cast a dark-haired, Mediterranean-looking Hephaistion too.

(Edit to add, because I’ve been asked: I was the historical advisor to the series. No, they didn’t listen to everything I suggested, and I never saw costumes/sets, but they did take my advice on a few things, including the casting look for Hephaistion. And they kept the kiss.)

For more, read Dancing with the Lion. I pulled no punches there about their relationship. And he has a properly Greek nickname (as does Alexander).

[attichoney4u]

Approximately 90% of the Ancient Greece 'fandom' into yaoi, while the rest 10% is into Yuri because of Sappho. Of that 90%, 80% is into it because of Alexander/Hephaistion, 7,5% because of Alcibiades/Socrates, 7,5% because of Kritias/Theramemes and the remaining 5% is just yelling in the void and is fighting a tooth and a nail for their rarepairs.

[mysticaldeanvoidhorse]

Forged in Love

Hephaestus x Aphrodite!reader

Page break credits @firefly-graphics

Master list

Part 11

Taglist: @streets-in-paradise @stitchattacks @sarai-ibn-la-ahad

Taglist open :)

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and you were forced back into the party.  Though you had tried to stay near each other it hardly worked out that way with everyone trying to talk to you and him obsessed with the gossip.  You wanted to roll your eyes and walk away but knew it wasn’t an option.  Luckily at some point Athena had saved you but only for so long.  Zeus had made an announcement that the wedding would take place soon.  However, soon for gods can mean human years, after all, they were not bound by time.

“Congratulations”  You smiled, turning around to the familiar voice.

“Thank you Artemis.”  She lifted her glass to you and downed the rest of the contents.

“I am just glad it’s you and not me!”  You both laughed, knowing Zeus would never force her into a marriage and she would be the only one able to get away with telling him no.

“I don’t know, I definitely see a marriage in your future!”  She snorted in disgust.

“That’s what father said which is why I did my best to take the vow of eternal maidenhood.  I much prefer running with my ladies hunting than even being here at a party much less stuck in a marriage.  No offense”  She gave you a wry smile.  You just chuckled.

“No offense taken.  We are very different in that.  I am excited to be married, but running around free sounds nice too.”

“I know it does, but it sounds like you liked the idea when Ares was your suitor.”  She stuck her tongue out in fake disgust and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“I am very lucky that Hera intervened.  If she hadn’t, I might have taken off with you!”

“That would have been fun except I know you and you would soon hate it.”  You wrinkled your nose, knowing it to be the truth.

“The floor has no appeal for sleeping on, I'm afraid.”  She merely smirked.

“You are lucky our queen favors you.” She frowned a little at that.  It was obvious the two didn’t get along and you didn’t feel the need to expand on that part.

“She was the one who suggested Hephaestus.”  You offered.  Hardly anyone knew the details but you didn’t see the harm in telling her.  If anyone got upset Zues had backed up the idea and that would be the end of the dispute.

“Is that so?”  She seemed shocked then amused.  “I didn’t know that she even talked to her son..”

“She thought it would be a good match.”  There was no reason to say every detail.

“And she was right.”  Artemis smirked.

“Yes.”  You couldn’t help but smile and blush.

“I just hope you remain happy.  I know that I would never be happy with marriage but it all seems so fast.  I know who you are and I mean no offense but I don’t want you to jump into something then hate it.  After all, eternity is a long time.”  She looked at you knowingly.  You paused to look at her.  You knew it was being rushed but you were happy.  Weren’t you?

“Thank you Artemis. I appreciate your concern.”  And you meant it.  You knew she didn’t mean anything bad, but it was rushed and it looked like it.   She nodded and walked away, most likely to find her twin.

     This left you to think by yourself.  You had feelings for Hephaestus that was certain.  Was it love?  You weren’t sure yet.  Could it grow to love?  You were confident it could.  But does that mean that it would last?  He was the only one who understood you but your worst fears were coming to the surface.  Would he get bored of you?  Would you always have love and attention?  Or would you be forced to live a loveless life like Hera?  You couldn’t be sure, this was all happening so fast….

[girls-are-weird]

Philαlexαndros

╚ an Alexander the Great and Alexander/Hephaestion Discord server

(reposting because i finally figured out how to make a permanent invite link lol)

description should be self-explanatory, but the basic requirements for joining the server are:

you must be over 18 years of age, and

be at least open to the idea that alexander and hephaestion's relationship might have been romantic and/or sexual. (you don't have to actively ship them if that's not your thing, but don't go around arguing with people who do. we don't straightwash alexander in this house.)

** interested? join via this invite link, or feel free to DM me here or on discord (@cpinillad)! **

(and PS: always looking for mods, so if you have experience moderating discord servers and would like to volunteer, DM me as well!)

i'd really appreciate it if y'all would please reblog this post for more exposure! hope to see you all there. =)

[maggie44paint]

Alexander and his generals!

(at least the ones I actually remember by their name, sorry Cleitus💀)

Edit: Huge thanks to everyone who respectfully explained the topic of skintones in Ancient Macedonia to me, I truly appreciate it 🙏

[anxious-helianthus]

as insane of a quote as this is- does anyone know where it's from?

[my-chiliarch]

Found this in an old thread about Alexander and Hephaestion, and I died LOL

[jeannereames]

Hiii, I hope you're well.

As far as I understand, the idea/debate of whether Alexander and Hephaistion were lovers goes back centuries. As far as I know, it was the roman writer Klaudios Ailianos in 'Miscellaneous History' who first called them lovers.

But how did it come about? Did it come out of nowhere? Why exactly did some Roman writers consider this possibility, that they were lovers?

Alexander and Hephaistion in Roman-era Authors

We’re not actually sure who first (unambiguously) called them lovers. Aelian’s comment postdates one in Arrian’s writings on Epiktatos, which also claims it, not to mention the not-so-subtle hints in Arrian’s biography, where Hephaistion is compared to Patroklos (the only Alexander historian who makes that comparison, btw). Arrian was probably dead before Aelian was born. Similarly, Curtius implies it in his history, as well, although it may not be meant in a good way, there. Curtius is (probably) even earlier than Arrian.

We must remember that Alexander was an object lesson by the Roman era—mostly as a cautionary tale, but sometimes for good, too. That lent itself to oversimplifications. Seneca uses him to talk about uncontrollable rage with the murder of Kleitos, and excessive mourning with his reaction to Hephaistion’s death. He was also used to warn against overweening ambition and Too Much Drink. In short, all examples of “excess,” which was a big Roman no-no, and a Greek no-no, too. Sophrosunē (self-control) was much lauded; so also Latin disciplina. Plutarch presents the young Alexander as a shining example of sophrosunē, thanks to his Good Greek Paideia (education). But success spoilt him. While not a Roman, Plutarch lived under Roman rule and was part of the Second Sophistic—as was Lucian, who’s even more harsh towards Alexander. His “Dialogues of the Dead” includes one between Philip and Alexander where Alexander is presented as a pompous ass. There’s another dialogue just below, between him and Diogenes, which is more of the same. ATG comes out better in the dialogue with Hannibal and Scipio (and Minos).

But all that gives you some idea of how Alexander was used as (negative) exempla. Plutarch in his “On the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander” goes the other way and presents Alexander as Ubermensch. It was a standard piece of rhetoric from Plutarch’s youth, so shouldn’t be taken as his opinion on Alexander. He was showing off his speech-writing chops.

This is how Alexander was used by the imperial period and why certain anecdotes about him were repeated over and over. Hephaistion wasn’t remembered as Alexander’s chiliarch and right-hand guy, but as Alexander’s beloved friend and alter-ego: Alexander too. The story of Hephaistion and Alexander before the Persian women was quite popular, popping up again and again, sometimes to show Alexander’s generosity but sometimes to show the vicissitudes of fate (Oh, how the mighty have fallen). The nature of such anecdotes is their very malleableness. They can be used and reused to make several different points.

Hephaistion wasn’t unique. All the bit-players around Alexander came to symbolize something for stock usage. And the move from dear friend to lover isn’t a big one, in the game of ancient rhetorical telephone. 😉

It may also reflect reality. But that entails determining whether it’s the removal of prior coy language, or exaggeration for rhetorical purposes. That’s not at all straightforward.

Greeks were somewhat reticent on certain matters, and “Friend” could have romantic overtones in the right context. It’s the problem of “When is a cigar just a cigar?” Ha. In this case, when they met would have a lot to do with it. Were they indeed friends from their youth (as Curtius claims)—or only later, once Alexander was already in Asia (as Hephaistion is never mentioned in our sources about Alexander’s youth)? That’s why Sabine Müller thinks they didn’t meet until Alexander was an adult, and Hephaistion came from Athens, wasn’t just of Athenian descent. They would have met too late to be lovers, although Hephaistion was still very dear to Alexander and a perfectly capable commander (on that, we agree). By contrast, I do think they met as boys, and were lovers, and that attachment persisted into their adulthood (although perhaps not the physical affair). And that comes down to which sources we trust, and why: the historiography.

[leonxlykos]

Hephaistíon, Macedonian nobleman and beloved of Alexandros.

[girls-are-weird]

Philαlexαndros

╚ an Alexander the Great and Alexander/Hephaestion Discord server

i don't know how obvious this is from my tumblr posts, but i have been on a huge alexander/hepaestion spiral ever since i watched the making of a god docuseries on netflix.

so as i was tearing through the alexander/hephaestion tag on AO3 recently, i saw someone (shout-out @ solarcalypso, i'm not sure if you have a tumblr) wonder if there was a discord server for alexander or for alexander/hephaestion, and if there wasn't, there should be. and i went "huh! yeah, there should be."

so i made one!

fair warning: this is literally the first server i've ever created, so if anything is not working properly, that's on me. but the basic requirements for joining are quite simple:

you must be over 18 years of age, and

be at least open to the idea that alexander and hephaestion's relationship might have been romantic and/or sexual. (you don't have to actively ship them if that's not your thing, but don't go around arguing with people who do. we don't straightwash alexander in this house.)

** interested? feel free to DM me here or on discord (@cpinillad) for an invite link! **

(and PS: if you have experience moderating discord servers and would like to volunteer to mod for us, DM me as well! i'm definitely looking for some of those, lol.)

please reblog this post for more exposure. i hope people like this idea and we can grow the server into a really active community!

[my-chiliarch]

Reblogging my gifset here too since it's a crossover post.

Interviewer: Are you very fond of Alexander? Gene Roddenberry: As a matter of fact, I am. I have Mary Renault's new Oxford book―in fact, I'd have everything in the bookstores a few years ago. Passionate admirer of Alexander. Passionate man. [...] Interviewer: There's a great deal of writing in the STAR TREK movement now which compares the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion to the relationship between Kirk and Spock―focusing on the closeness of the friendship, the feeling that they would die for one another― Gene Roddenberry: Yes. There's certainly some of that with―certainly with love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, the Greek ideal―we never suggested in the series―physical love between the two. But it's the―we certainly had the feeling the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style in the 23rd Century. [He looks thoughtful] That's very interesting. I never thought of that before. [From Shatner: Where No Man (1979)]

Sooo I watched the new docuseries Alexander: The Making of a God and I was hit by indirect Kirk/Spock feelings because I remembered this interview. And of course I had to make a gifset about it. :)

[hephaestn]

do you have any alexander x hephaistion fic recs?

YES I DO! 🥰

Ghost On The Throne by Elise_Madrid

Medea by Apollo_Xandros

A Matter of Apples by Apollo_Xandros (everything by this author is completely incredible but these two are probably my favorite!)

Health to you, King by Liaeling

dream is the endless shadow of Truth by Ginny_Potter

[neon-elliot]

Soldiers:Dad,are we there yet?

Alex:Shut up!

[my-chiliarch]

I know, I know, zero historical accuracy and everything will probably be ruined sooner or later, but… Protective Alexander :')

I am taking everything this series gives me.