His Own Half: The Nature of the Relationship Between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion

Like many aspects of ancient history, the personal relationships of its greatest figures remain a bit of a mystery. The case of Alexander the Great and his childhood friend and general Hephaestion is one such case. There is still a debate among scholars about whether the two were platonic – certainly close, but still just friends – or lovers. For the purpose of this essay, it is important to note that “lovers” does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship; rather, “lovers” is characterized by a deeply affectionate, life-long partnership, analogous to the ideal modern relationship between married couples. While it is likely due to the militaristic society in which they grew up in that Alexander and Hephaestion did have a sexual relationship in their youth, the lack of such a relationship in their later years does not necessarily mean that they had stopped being lovers – in other words, the potential lack of a sexual relationship as adults does not definitively mean that the two were not emotional and spiritual partners. Alexander’s deep affection for Hephaestion manifested in a variety of ways, from public ceremonies such as that at Troy, to private events like the encounter with Darius’ mother, to his intense grief upon Hephaestion’s death. This affection did not exclude Hephaestion from his role in Alexander’s mission to rival his ancestor Achilles; rather, it was likely this competition with Achilles that drove Alexander to Hephaestion in the first place – searching for his Patroclus. It is likely, then, that Alexander and Hephaestion were lovers and that their relationship was driven, in part, by Alexander’s desire to emulate and compete with Achilles. Their relationship was noticeably different than the norm for Greek homoerotic relationships; because of this, modern scholars are hesitant to classify them among other ancient homoerotic pairs.