Archaeologists exploring a huge ancient structure near
Thessaloniki in Greece that dates to the time of Alexander the Great say
they now know who it may have been built as a memorial to.
The so-called Kasta Tomb, also known as the Amphipolis Tomb, was
discovered in 2012 after decades of excavations into a huge man-made
mound near the ancient city of Amphipolis.The tomb itself was only entered in 2014, and it was found to dwarf that of even Alexander the Great’s father, Phillip of Macedon in its grandness, with stone sphinxes and colossal female statues guarding the tomb.
The size of the tomb lead many to suspect it could hold the body of Alexander himself – though ancient sources say his body remained in Alexandria in Egypt until at least the reign of the Roman Emperor Caracalla (198 AD-217 AD) – over five hundred years after his death.
However the archaeologists investigating the site now believe the structure was built on the orders of Alexander for his general Hephaestion – who many believe was more than just his best friend since childhood and actually his lover.
Lead archaeologist Katerina Peristeri told a conference in Thessaloniki this week that they had discovered artifacts at the site that were marked with the seal of Alexander’s architect Deinokrates – suggesting he designed the structure on the orders of Alexandria.
They also discovered an abbreviated inscription which they believe reads, ‘I, Antigonus received construction material for the erection of a monument in honor of Hephaestion.’
Antigonus was one of Alexander’s top generals so it is possible that he was charged with building a permanent monument to Hephaestion in their homeland.
Hephaestion’s death is said to have broken Alexander and he followed Hephaestion into the grave just eight months later in 323 BC, having established an empire that stretched from Greece to Egypt in the south and as far as India to the east.
Alexander is said to have executed the doctor who failed to save Hephaestion when he fell ill in Persia, and he had the local temple to Asclepius (the Greek god of medicine) razed in his fury.
Alexander is said to have cut his hair short for Hephaestion’s funeral and placed a lock of his hair in Hephaestion’s hand before the funerary pyre was lit in emulation of the hero Achillies’ last gift to his friend Patroclus.
Achillies and Patroclus are also believed to have been lovers.
Ancient sources say Hephaestion’s ashes were taken from Persia to Babylon but it was not known whether they remained there.
Whether Hephaestion’s ashes are actually in the Kasta Tomb is unknown as Alexander reportedly ordered that multiple shrines to him be built across his empire.
But for now further digging at the site has been halted due to austerity measures by the Greek government and it is unknown when work will be able to resume on the site.
4 comments:
Don't you love Greek History--Alexander The Great Homosexual-- suck it up Pat Robertson history is not on your side because homosexuality and prostitution have been around quite a while and will outlive you.
Alexander's daddy was partial to male slaves too
I have torrid fantasies about the Spartan army's attachment to bromance
and Julius Caesar, when he was a young soldier, having an affaire with a Turkish king
some things are clearly homo even though they are not presented to us as such. For instance I'm not convinced the Trojan War was fought over Helen of Troy. She was the Victorian cover-up for an ancient homo urge - steal a guy's wife because you want him to fuck you
"He, too, is Alexander!"
When Darius III of ancient Persia met Alexander the Great at the battle of Issus, Darius had brought his family - mother, wife, & 2 daughters. They were there presumably to see Darius' victory. But in spite of outnumbering Alexander's troops by at least 2-to-1, things did not go Darius' way. He fled the scene, & in his haste & fright, he left his family behind.
from wiki: In 333 BC Alexander defeated Darius III, the last king of the Achaemenid Empire, at the Battle of Issus. Darius escaped capture, but his wife Statira, his mother, Sisygambis, and his daughters Statira and Drypetis were taken by Alexander. Alexander displayed forgiveness in victory. [Me: Imagine their state of mind! the women thought they'd be raped & killed!] According to Plutarch:
"[He] gave them leave to bury whom they pleased of the Persians, and to make use for this purpose what garments and furniture they thought fit out of the booty. He diminished nothing of their equipage, or of the attentions and respect formerly paid them, and allowed larger pensions for their maintenance than they had before. But the noblest and most royal part of their usage was, that he treated these illustrious prisoners according to their virtue and character. "Although Darius's wife was renowned for her beauty*, Alexander, esteeming it more kingly to govern himself than to conquer his enemies, sought no intimacy* with any of them." [Me: Alexander at 30+ had yet to be with a woman!]
Not mentioned by Plutarch, but according to, among others, Quintus Curtius's History of Alexander the Great, Alexander went to the women's tent accompanied only by Hephaestion, counselor to the king and his intimate* friend since the two had been children. Sisygambis, Darius's mother, mistook the taller Hephaestion for Alexander [Me: both dressed alike], and knelt before Hephaestion to plead for mercy. When her eunuchs signaled her she was before the wrong man, she tried to start again at the feet of Alexander. He said to her: "It's all right, Mother, you were not mistaken. He, too, is Alexander..."
"He, too is Alexander" [cont'd]
*[Me: What a compliment! What a compliment! I wept when I first read this story! Bcs many commentators -then & now, tried to cover up that they were homosexual lovers. “intimate friend since children” How about; friends bfr puberty; intimates after! So not only were they Lovers, Alexander considered Hephaestion not only his equal, but in a complete physical & mental & emotional union with himself! When Hephaetion died, Alexander was inconsolable. Utterly. A died 8 months after him - at 32.
Caution: if you read many accounts of Alexander's life, beware, he had many enemies -who were the ones who wrote the histories. Who wrote about him & twisted incidents in his life - always trying their best to diminish him. And also ignoring Hephaestion’s role – he was not just a mere bed partner. He was A’s trusted, competent, right hand man on their marches & in battles. H too was great in battle. It’s only in comparison to A that makes H neglected in history. They tried to smear H’s character. Which they were hard pressed to do! They only had one (One!) incident when H was supposedly slow to forgive in some dispute. In which we don’t even know all the particulars!
Among Alexander’s biggest detractors was Demosthenes (who was always afraid Alexander, a Macedonian, a semi-barbarian in the eyes of Athenians, would conquer Athens & enslave her citizens. Alexander had many chances to take Athens, but out of respect for her great past & her intellectual leadership of Greece, never would do so.]
Alexander WAS so great, & endeared himself to so many he encountered that, as an example, we have Sisygambis. At the Battle of Gaugamela Sisygamis and her family were kept in the baggage train behind Alexander's army. When the Persian army's Scythian cavalry broke though Alexander's forces to reach them, she allegedly refused to celebrate what appeared at first to be Persian victory. Quintus Curtius Rufus informs us of that Sisygambis could never forgive her son Darius for abandoning his family at Issus. After Darius was killed [not by A, but by his own generals!]shortly following his defeat at Gaugamela, Alexander sent D's body to her for burial. Called upon to mourn his death, she was reported to have said, "I have only one son [Alexander] and he is king of all Persia."
On hearing of the death of Alexander, Sisygambis had herself sealed into her rooms and refused to eat. She is said to have died of grief and starvation 4 or 5 days later.
Post a Comment