Skip to main content

A Netflix documentary shows Alexander the Great as queer: Some viewers 'aren’t happy'

 By Charlotte Dun* 
You might be surprised to learn the sex life of a long-dead conqueror is making headlines in 2024. Netflix documentary Alexander the Great: The Making of a God has provoked outrage for its portrayal of Alexander in a romantic relationship with his male companion Hephaestion.
Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) spent his short life undertaking an enormous military campaign. He defeated the Persian king Darius III and created an empire that stretched from Europe into Egypt, Western and Central Asia, and all the way to India.
After dying at the young age of 32, he has remained the subject of intense fascination and speculation.
The six-episode series is the latest to tackle some interesting questions about the conqueror’s life through dramatised scenes and commentary from a range of experts. Although the show doesn’t try to cover everything – and there are several gaps – its portrayal of Alexander’s sexuality is what has caused the greatest stir.

Alexander, the great enigma

One of the first scenes depicts Alexander sparring with Hephaestion before the pair share several kisses. Hephaestion promises he will be by Alexander’s side “til the bitter end”. The experts then note the pair were likely more than just close friends.
Some viewers, however, have accused the show of pushing a supposed agenda. Others found it “too woke”.
Even Greece’s Minister for Culture, Lina Mendoni, has spoken on the topic, insisting that historical sources offer no evidence for the relationship going “beyond the limits of friendship”.
Mendoni’s comment was made in response to questions from Dimitris Natsiou, the president of a far-right Christian Orthodox political party. Natsiou has spoken out against the series for perceived inaccuracies. Along with other critics, he suggests the show’s portrayal of Alexander’s sexual identity is a historical distortion.
It’s true there is nothing written by Alexander himself that confirms how he viewed his own sexuality. But is it fair to call the show inaccurate for its interpretation of his relationship with Hephaestion?

The ancient evidence

While the ancient evidence suggests the pair were particularly close, reconstructing the past is not a straightforward matter. Most surviving ancient authors actually wrote centuries after Alexander’s death and often had their own interpretations of events. This makes it very challenging to uncover the truth.
Some sources do assume the pair were lovers, such as the Roman author Claudius Aelianus, or Aelian, because of the way they presented themselves in public.
This public presentation is probably the strongest evidence for how important Hephaestion was to Alexander. Alexander was an absolute master of propaganda. He took care to restrict how he appeared in art and sculpture, and controlled his campaign narrative through the use of his own historian, Callisthenes of Olynthus. Callisthenes was responsible for glorifying Alexander’s victories and presenting the version of events Alexander wanted.
military campaign to make it seem like the beginning of another Trojan War. The tale of this war was incredibly important to the ancient Greeks, and especially Alexander, who claimed the mythological hero Achilles was his ancestor.
During the important opening act, Alexander laid a wreath on the tomb of Achilles. Some ancient accounts say Hephaestion did the same for the tomb of Patroclus, who many in the ancient world assumed was Achilles’ lover.
Hephaestion is the only companion of Alexander who is mentioned by name doing something important like this. Alexander was no doubt astute enough to understand the implication in his own day; he was therefore probably comfortable with his followers assuming he and Hephaestion were lovers, just as Achilles and Patroclus were thought to be.
Ancient author Diodorus Siculus reports that Alexander preferred Hephaestion above everyone else, even claiming that Hephaestion loved him as Alexander, while his other close friend Craterus loved him as the king. These are just some of the numerous anecdotes that demonstrate Hephaestion had a significant role in Alexander’s life – and one that was different to that of a friend.
After Hephaestion’s death in 324 BC, Alexander mourned him extravagantly, just as Achilles did for Patroclus.
These very public displays might be as close as we can get to understanding how Alexander wanted the pair to be perceived. And they suggest a romantic relationship is a strong possibility.

What does the scholarship say?

Perhaps a more important question is why a documentary exploring this angle might provoke such a strong reaction today.
It’s true that scholarship on Alexander’s sex life has not always been accessible. It wasn’t until 1978 that K. J. Dover’s work Greek Homosexuality paved the way for new insights into a more diverse interpretation of sexualities in the ancient world.
Before this, important scholars on Alexander, such as W. W. Tarn (1869–1957), had outright denied Alexander’s interest in men, asserting any such evidence was a result of “hostile” sources. Tarn even erased certain figures from history, including another possible male lover of Alexander’s, Bagoas. He was unable to accept Alexander as someone who didn’t fit with his own image of the conqueror.
The reality is that same-sex relationships were generally pretty common during the time of Alexander the Great, although there were also societal pressures on men, as they were expected to marry and have children with their legitimate wives.
Queer erasure has been all too common in scholarship, which has traditionally favoured hetero-normative interpretations, even when the evidence could clearly be interpreted in another way.
Media representations that explore these interpretations offer us a chance to understand ancient relationships in their own context. In doing so, they pave the way for a richer understanding of the possibilities of the past.
---
*Lecturer in Classics, University of Tasmania. Source: The Conversation 

Comments

TRENDING

How natural and organic farming can be a key to combating the climate crisis

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  On July 9, while addressing the “Sahkar Samvad” in Ahmedabad with women and workers associated with cooperatives from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized that natural farming is essential for both our health and the health of the soil. This is a significant statement in the context of addressing the climate change crisis. Natural farming can play a crucial role in combating climate change. Also known as organic farming, it is a system of agriculture that can increase food production without harming the environment. Natural farming has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 35% to 50%.

100 yrs of RSS as seen by global media house: Power, controversy, push for Hindu-first India

By Rajiv Shah  On a blistering summer evening in Nagpur, nearly a thousand men in brown trousers, white shirts, and black caps stood in formation as a saffron flag was raised, marking a graduation ceremony for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. This vivid scene, described in a recent FT Weekend Magazine article, “A hundred years after it was founded, India's Hindu-nationalist movement is getting closer to its goal of a Hindu-first state,” captures the enduring presence of the RSS, a century-old Hindu-nationalist organization.

Top US thinktank probe questions ECI's institutional integrity, democratic fairness

By Rajiv Shah   In a comprehensive analysis published in "Indian Politics & Policy" (Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2025), a research periodical of the Washington DC-based think tank Policy Studies Organization, author Milan Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Programme, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has raised questions over the fairness of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting Lok Sabha elections. Titled “Assessing the Integrity of India’s 2024 Lok Sabha Elections,” the analysis acquires significance as it precedes recent controversies surrounding the ECI’s move to revise electoral rolls.

Another 'honor' killing in Tamil Nadu: Caste pride has murdered love, again

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Once again, Tamil Nadu has witnessed a brutal so-called 'honor' killing. This time, it is Kevin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old software engineer from the Scheduled Caste community, who has been hacked to death by the family of the girl he loved since childhood. Kevin, a brilliant student employed at Tata Consultancy Services, was in a relationship with Subashini, his schoolmate and girlfriend. The couple, both well-educated and professionally qualified, had plans to marry. Yet, that love story ended in bloodshed — sacrificed at the altar of caste pride.

Why is India’s cheetah project under fire? Study flags ecological, social, species injustices

  By Rajiv Shah  A recent peer-reviewed study has sharply criticized Project Cheetah—India’s high-profile initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild—as ethically compromised, scientifically flawed, and socially unjust. Titled “Delineating the Environmental Justice Implications of an Experimental Cheetah Introduction Project in India”, the paper is authored by Yashendu C. Joshi, Stephanie E. Klarmann, and Louise C. de Waal, and was published in  Frontiers in Conservation Science.

The myth of population decline: India’s real challenge is density, not fertility

By N.S. Venkataraman*   India’s population in 2025 stands at approximately 1.4 billion. In 1950, it was 359 million, rising sharply to 1.05 billion by 2000. The population continues to grow and is projected to reach around 1.7 billion by 2050.

Siang dam project sparks debate over security, development, and displacement in Arunachal

By Aarna Gupta*  The proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, has emerged as a contentious initiative shaped by strategic, environmental, and social concerns. Indian officials, including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, have voiced strong support for the project. One of the primary motivations is China’s plan to build a 60,000 MW hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper stretch of the Brahmaputra) in Tibet, which Indian authorities see as a threat to water and national security. In response, the 11,000 MW Siang Dam, with its 9 billion cubic meter reservoir, is viewed as a necessary countermeasure to manage water flow and reduce vulnerability.

Shanghai Textbook reassessed: Between revolutionary rhetoric and economic reality

By Harsh Thakor  "Maoist Economics and the Revolutionary Road to Communism: The Shanghai Textbook on Socialist Political Economy" (1975) presents a detailed exposition of the Chinese perspective on socialist political economy under Mao . Developed during the Cultural Revolution, it outlines a theoretical framework for the functioning of a socialist alternative to capitalism. The book was formulated under the direction of Zhang Chunqiao, who played a central role in discussions, content planning, and final reviews of the draft.

Trump’s tariff tactics are a geopolitical bully move that may backfire

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent move to impose high tariffs on Indian goods is yet another example of his aggressive, unilateralist economic policy—an attempt to pressure and punish rather than to negotiate. This is not an isolated action. Trump has shown similar hostility toward other countries aligned with the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—reflecting his disdain for multipolar global cooperation and his desire to maintain American economic supremacy at all costs.