Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was one of history’s greatest military leaders and thinkers, but did you know he’s also one of history’s greatest gay figures?
Aristotle was the head of the royal academy of Macedon and, in 343 BC, Philip II of Macedon invited him to serve as the tutor for the prince, Alexander.
Illustration of a Aristotle And Alexander
Alexander received inspiration for his eastward conquests, as Aristotle was encouraged to become: “a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants.”
Aristotle held ethnocentric views against Persia, which estranged him and Alexander as the latter adopted a few of the Persian royal customs and clothing. This tension led to ancient rumors that painted Aristotle as a suspect for Alexander’s death, but this rumor spread based on a single claim made six years after Alexander’s passing.
Above: Marble statue of Alexander the Great (2nd century AC) at the Louvre. Head is antique, and has been attached to another body in the 19th century in Italy.
Above: The British Museum: Marble portrait head of Alexander the Great, the head was cut to fit into a separately made body. The surface is in good condition with only minor abrasions. The back of the head has been worked to receive the remainder of the hair, which was probably made of another material, such as stucco or plaster.
Portrait of Alexander, Marble, Pella, 3rd century B.C. Archaeological Museum of Pella
Alexander also received his primary education on the Persian customs and traditions through Aristotle. Aristotle’s tutelage is also attributed as the reason why Alexander brought an entourage of zoologists, botanists, philosophers, and other researchers on his expeditions deep into the east. Through those expeditions Alexander discovered that much of the geography he learned from Aristotle was plainly wrong. Upon Aristotle’s publication of his geographic work, Alexander lamented.
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”
Above: a 3D rendering of what Alexander looked like IRL based on composite marble busts.
Alexander had a close emotional attachment to his companion, cavalry commander (hipparchus) and childhood friend, Hephaestion.
A statue of Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC), king of Macedonia, in the Capitoline Museum, Rome. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)
He studied with Alexander, as did a handful of other children of Ancient Macedonian aristocracy, under the tutelage of Aristotle.
Alexander the Great Cutting the Gordian Knot, 1736-1737. Found in the collection of the Rathaus, Schwäbisch Hall. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
Hephaestion makes his appearance in history at the point when Alexander reaches Troy. There they made sacrifices at the shrines of the two heroes Achilles and Patroclus; Alexander honoring Achilles, and Hephaestion honoring Patroclus.
The Empire of Alexander the Great an his conquest course from Greece to India to Babylon in 334-323 B.C. with towns, provinces and year dates. Isolated vector illustration o black background.
Mary Renault suggests that his grief over Hephaestion’s death had led him to be careless with his health.
“Alexander was overwhelmed by his grief for Hephaestion, so much that Arrian records that Alexander “flung himself on the body of his friend and lay there nearly all day long in tears, and refused to be parted from him until he was dragged away by force by his Companions.”
Alexander the Great, some facts according to The Greek Reporter.
He was considered incredibly handsome. He was tutored by Aristotle In fifteen years of conquest, he never lost a battle His favourite military tactic was the Phalanx He had a struggle becoming a king since he was only half Macedonian He named a city after his horse He named more than twenty cities after himself When he met his future wife Roxanne, it was love at first sight He suffered from heterochromia iridum. Heterochromia iridis is characterized by color differences of the iris (the colored part of the eye), either between the eyes or within one eye. In people with complete heterochromia, the iris of one eye is a different color than the iris of the other eye. He also suffered from ailurophobia, an extreme or irrational fear of cats.He was an Empire Builder He was only 32 when he died He actually “died” six days after, his body wouldn’t show any signs of decomposition for a full six days.
Above: Alexander Entering Babylon, or The Triumph of Alexander 1665 (Museum: Department of Paintings of the Louvre) Alexander, standing in a chariot drawn by two elephants, makes his triumphant entry into Babylon; in the background, one can make out the terraces of hanging gardens
Alexander at the Battle with Porus’, 326 BC. (c1912). The forces of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) combat those of the Indian rajah Porus (active 327-315 BC) on the banks of the River Hydaspes, (now the River Jhelum in Pakistan). Although Porus had the advantage of battle elephants, which the Greeks had never encountered before, Alexander still defeated Porus. From The Romance of India, edited by Herbert Strang. [Hodder & Stoughton, London, c1912]. Artist Unknown(Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)
Alexander of Macedon was the son of Macedonia’s King Philip II and Queen Olympias, born in 356 BCE, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia. Though his birth is not disputed, Alexander encouraged an urban legend that he was sired by none other than Zeus himself. Philip wanted to conquer more lands, but knew he should also establish his son in life. The king hired Aristotle as Alexander’s tutor, a decision that proved pivotal in later years. Not only did Alexander learn history and philosophy, but also showed great skill in warfare. History writes that Alexander was only 16 when he rode into battle with his father and defeated the Band of Thebes during the Battle of Chaeronea.
The Macedonian Phalanx. Illustration by A. Karashchuk.
Early on, the young Macedonian prince proved his resilience and tenacity. As a boy, he tamed a wild horse he named Bucephalus, who went on to be a lifelong companion. He rode Bucephalus in most of his greatest victories, and even named a city after the horse.
In 336 BCE, during a festival celebrating his sister’s wedding, Alexander’s life permanently changed, Biography explains. A bodyguard assassinated King Philip, and Alexander, 20, became king. Wishing to fulfill his dream of ruling the world, Alexander left his kingdom to conquer other lands.
Meeting of Alexander the great and King Porus – Scanned 1899 Engraving
His first campaign brought Alexander to Asia Minor, reports Ancient History Encyclopedia, where he invaded the city of Baalbek and renamed it Heliopolis. He then went on to attack the Persians in the Greek city of Ephesus. But it was in 333 BCE that Alexander had his taste of greatness. According to History, Alexander arrived in Issus in southern Turkey and met the Persian King Darius III’s larger army. Alexander’s group was smaller but shrewder, and he defeated the Persians, much as his father always wanted to do. From there Alexander fought in Tyre, conquered Egypt, and finally became King of Persia.
In Egypt, Alexander founded the city of Alexandria. He felt no need to impose his beliefs on his newly conquered peoples, probably something his old tutor Aristotle taught him, and allowed Egyptian culture and religion to continue. By the time he reached Persia, Alexander even took on Persian customs to endear himself to people. But most in Macedonia did not appreciate this. It was in Persia that Alexander met the woman who would become his wife, Roxane. Although Alexander claimed to be in love with Roxane, there are rumors that he had male lovers. He also married twice after.
Not satisfied with finally defeating Persia, Alexander then set his sights on lands beyond Greece and Egypt. History writes that Alexander and his men reached India in 327 BCE. By this time his men were tired from the many battles they’d fought and the long march they undertook to cross the River Ganges. Dissent simmered among the army but Alexander was determined. They crossed the river and were amazed by what they saw. While King Porus of Paurava’s army was inexperienced, he had a secret weapon: elephants. Alexander’s army won the battle, but at a great cost. Alexander turned back to Persia, but then decided to invade Arabia. It proved to be his last conquest.
Fragment from the “Alexander Mosaic” showing Alexander the Great in battle against Persian King Darius III. Alexander shown on horseback in full armour. A Roman copy of a Hellenistic painting. Original circa 310 BC, Copy circa 1st-3rd century AD. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
At the time, Alexander was recovering from the death of his friend and rumored lover Hepahestion.
Antique map from Empire of Alexander the Great 356 – 326 BC) after the battle of Ipsos (301 BC). Legend in Latin language. Steel engraving with hand colored borderlines, published in 1861.
Alexander was wounded in battle and possibly became ill as a result.
He stayed in Babylon and died in 323 BCE at the age of 32. Alexander left no heirs to his vast empire. His generals decided to divvy it up and rule sectors individually.
Alexander chic:
The New York Times published a long-form article on Thursday exploring the relationship between TikTok’s trendiest male hairstyle and its unexpected inspiration… Alexander the Great.
Above: TikTok star Noah Beck leads the massively popular trend in male hairstyles that finds inspiration in Alexander the Great. Credit L: Noah Beck/Instagram Credit R: Viktor Brodzki, Public Domain
Yes, you heard that right: it seems that Alexander the Great is still conquering the world, only this time it’s the world of men’s hairstyles! The article takes a deep dive into the curly mane that every guy– from mega famous to hopeful fan– is trying to replicate.’
The style involves curling one’s mid-length hair and pushing it all to the front. The method of achieving the curls depends on how naturally wavy your hair is in the first place: some guys just tousle their hair with their fingers while blow drying in the morning, others have resorted to using flat iron hair straighteners to twist their locks into perfect hand made ringlets.
The hairstyle first re-emerged on the massively popular video sharing platform Tik Tok, where the app’s most ubiquitous and charismatic stars can be seen sporting it daily, from Noah Beck to Josh Richards. The style became so in-demand that a subgenre of videos began cropping up on the app, of men giving tutorials to on the best and easiest ways to achieve the style.
Historians say that TikTok’s favorite male hairstyle has all the key elements of Alexander the Great’s
But the article notes that this style is not a contemporary invention born of the imagination of Gen Z– it has the key markers of a hairstyle that was the standard for ancient men, especially Alexander the Great. Art Historian Katherine Schwab told the newspaper that the lynchpin of the style–coming one’s hair to the front of the head–is one that comes directly from ancient Greece and Rome, and that the emphasis on textured curls was crucial for the men of antiquity as well. Schwab is an expert in ancient hairstyles, having curated an exhibition in 2015 called “Hair in the Classical World.”
“Most famously, Alexander the Great had very much thick hair, tousled, and it still came from the crown,” said Schwab. “I think that attention to the hair now for the men, and going to this, I would say, this extreme, has a parallel in antiquity. It’s not new.”
Marice Rose, who works with Schwab at Fairfield Univesrity and helped curate “Hair in the Classical World,” told the Times that the style has another crucial reference– the first Roman emperor Augustus. Rose says that many interpret Augustus’s style as being directly lifted from Alexander the Great’s, and that Augustus hoped that it would inspire people to perceive him as part of a lineage of rulers:
England, London Bronze of a warrior fighting a dragon in a gate of Hyde Park.
“There are plenty of historical, sociological and anthropological studies showing that hair’s styling and arrangement have been — and continue to be — used to communicate information about a person’s individual and social identity throughout history, worldwide,” Rose told the paper.
“I don’t think the TikTokers have the same propagandistic goals as the Roman emperors!” she said, but that “our culture has also become extremely visually oriented with the smartphone putting cameras and viewing devices in everyone’s pockets, and people recording and curating their every experience for visual consumption by others. Now, it’s not just the rich and powerful who can create portraits.”
Commenters on the article were less inclined to read meaning into the trend, despite the expert’s insights. Leaving messages that ranged from the amused to the bitterly dismissive, it seemed like most commenters used the piece as an opportunity to mourn their lack of locks: “As a middle-aged guy, the best advice I can give these teens is to take lots of photos so that one day they can show their kids what they once looked like with hair,” read the piece’s top comment.
