#Euxenippos

[jeannereames]

Hello, Dr. Reames!

I absolutely love your work—it’s such a beautiful academic space, AND the fact that you’re so passionate about not Alexander the Great but also Hephaestion adds a special touch. Reading some of your posts and, of course, your duology (which I adore—I’m eagerly awaiting the third installment!), a question came to mind:

I remember there’s a source that describes Hephaestion’s beauty (though I can’t recall which historian mentions this. I have a vague suspicion it was Quintus Curtius Rufus or maybe Diodorus Siculus, but my memory is falling me). It recounts how Alexander praises Hephaestion’s youth and beauty, even when a younger man is presente to him; I think it was during their time at the Persian court (the young man wasn’t Bagoas but had a different name). Alexander compares two, but despite this, Hephaestion Stands out even more than the younger man.

I wanted to ask if you’re familiar with this passage and, if so, did it inspire any of the descriptions of Hephaestion in your work? I ask because your portrayals are exquisite, and I’ve always imagined Hephaestion as a strikingly handsome young man, pretty boy. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this—sending you a warm hug! 😊

Hephaistion and Euxenippos

Thank you! And I think you’re referring to the comparison between Hephaistion and a young officer named Euxenippos, although it’s not Alexander who makes it. Here’s the passage from Curtius (7.9.19). It involves receiving the submission of the Sacae Scythians who he’d just defeated.

So [Alexander] received the Sacae delegation courteously and gave them Euxenippus as their companion for the return journey. Euxenippus was still very young and a favorite of Alexander’s because he was in the prime of his youth, but though he rivaled Hephaistion in good looks he could not match him in charm, since his was rather effeminate. (Yardley, trans.)

I should note that the Latin used there for favorite has strong sexual overtones. But while this passage would appear to be flattering for Hephaistion, it’s actually not. It’s part of the “slide” down into Evil Eastern Debauchery that Curtius paints for Alexander. Romans had mixed feelings about ���Greek love.” Here, by comparing Hephaistion to the king’s current “pretty young thing,” he gives a wink-wink-nudge-nudge about Hephaistion’s former status, with a sly insinuation that it might still be going on (horrors!). The latter would be an out-and-out insult to a man in his late 20s/early 30s and a top-ranked officer.

So, figuring out what Curtius means to imply here is easy enough. The real question is what—if anything—lay behind it, and how might the Macedonians have understood it? While some historians may prefer not to tackle that, as we lack anything remotely like good evidence, I’m a little more inclined to play ball. Yet there is a very limited amount that we can say. I do consider it part of my reasoning for why I think Alexander and Hephaistion were lovers, at least at some point. This could still be true even if Curtius employs it to throw negative aspersions on Hephaistion (and Alexander). Also, I think it’s potential evidence that Alexander, like other Macedonian kings, pursued romantic entanglements with his Pages, which suggests that, yes, he was comfortably bisexual and expressed that in what would have been, for ancient Greece and Macedonia, culturally appropriate ways. When Curtius (and Kleitarchos?) say “very young,” they don’t mean a boy, but someone in late teens/early 20s. In fact, this assignment might have been a “farewell” gift from the king: a nice little promotion assignment to mark the close of the affair as he’d probably be gone a while. So he may have been a highborn Macedonian just “graduating” out of the Pages to junior officer status.

Now, as for did this passage contribute to my description of Hephaistion in the novels…sorta. It’s part of a larger tradition (although much lifted out of Curtius) that Hephaistion was attractive.

But in Dancing with the Lion, wanted to do something else with it. So if you’re curious, go here:

Hephaistion, Virtue, and Beauty

(all the way back from 2019)

[smzpz]

ヒュペレイデス『エウクセニッポス弁護』ラスト

Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν σοὶ Εὐξένιππε βεβοήθηκα ὅσα ε���χον. λοιπὸν δ’ ἐστὶ δεῖσθαι̣ τῶν δικαστῶν καὶ τοὺς φίλους παρακαλεῖν καὶ τὰ παιδία ἀναβιβάζεσθαι.

「さて私としてはあなたに、エウクセニッポスよ、できる限りの支援はした。残されているのは、陪審員たちに嘆願して、親しい者たちを呼び、子供たちを登壇させることである。」

Hyperides, Pro Euxenippo, 41