Hephaestion

Hephaistion Amyntoros (in Greek, Ἡφαιστίων Ἀμύντορoς; romanization, Hephaistìon Amýntoros) (born ca. 356 BC - died Autumn 324 BC) was a Macedonian nobleman and general. He was a close friend and trusted man of Alexander the Great in government tasks and in war.

Childhood

He was born on an unknown date, but sources give him the same age as Alexander, or perhaps a little older. His father was Amyntor, a Macedonian aristocrat. It is not certain when Hephaestion met Alexander the Great. However, it is possible that Hephaestion shared an education with Alexander in the town of Mieza, with Aristotle as a teacher, like other noble boys. It is known that the philosopher dedicated a volume of letters to him, so they must have met.

Career

Hephaestion accompanied Alexander in his Asiatic campaign from the beginning, fighting in the cavalry unit. Hephaestion was not particularly gifted as a battlefield commander, but he was noted for his knowledge of logistics. When Alexander required Hephaestion's leadership in battle, Hephaestion usually took another general with him and sometimes Alexander himself to make sure no mistakes were made, but his gifts as a tactician far outweighed his difficulties in the field of battle. battle.

The princesses of Persia confuse Hefestion with Alexander (you can appreciate the gesture with the hand of the friend of Magnus), painting by Charles Le Brun.

Before the invasion of India and the crossing of the Hindu Kush, in present-day Afghanistan, Alexander appointed him a minister, recognizing him as second in command. During the Indian campaign, Hephaestion again assumed military responsibilities in the vanguard, bridging rivers and leading a squadron at the Battle of Yelum.

Relationship with Alejandro

Passing through the city of Troy, Alexander honored the sacred tomb of the hero Achilles and Hephaestion that of his lover, Patroclus. After the battle of Issus, Alexander and Hephaestion went to inspect the loot they had won, which included the royal harem. One of the best-known episodes in the life of Hephaestion took place when they both met Estatira and Sisigambis, respectively the pregnant wife of Darius III Codomano and his mother.

The weddings in Susa, Alexander with Statira and Hefestion with Dripetis, both daughters of the destroyed king of Persia, Darius III. This fact (and others), sealed the policy of integration between victors and overcomes, and the mix of cultures that Alexander preached.

Looking at both men, the queen mother paid her respects, prostrating herself before Hephaestion, who was the taller and more beautiful, and by Persian logic the more impressive of the two must be the king. Understanding from the gestures that her entourage made to her that she had made a mistake, she began another prostration before Alejandro. Picking her up, he corrected her by saying: "Don't worry, mother, you haven't made any mistakes. Hephaestion is like myself."

Back in Susa, capital of the Persian Empire, Alexander married Barsine-Statira, Darius' eldest daughter, and gave Hephaestion to wife the young princess Dripetis, younger sister of his royal wife, and thus they arrived to be brothers-in-law

Some Roman historians have suggested that Hephaestion and Alexander were also lovers, although none of the contemporary sources state it that way. Ancient sources generally name Hephaestion only as a good and loyal friend of Alexander.

Death

Portrait in bronze, Museo del Prado (Madrid)

In the fall of 324 B.C. C., Alexander's army was quartered in the city of Ecbatana to spend the winter. Hephaestion fell ill during the court games and died a week later. According to Plutarch:

It happened in those days that Hefestion gave him warmth, and as by the strength of young and military he would not want to be subject to the proper diet, and his doctor Glauco would have gone to the theater, sat down to eat at the table, and having eaten a roasted chicken and drinking a large glass of wine put to cool, felt much worse, and after a short time he died.

The symptoms described are compatible with typhoid fever, but the possibility of poisoning was never excluded. As Alexander's favorite and close friend, he must have had many political enemies. Whatever the cause of Hephaestion's death, Alexander is said to have gone mad with grief, lay in bed for several days without eating, drinking or speaking, had his head shaved and the manes cut off the horses of the army, canceled all the festivities and, according to Arriano, he ordered Glaucias, the doctor who had treated Hephaestion, to be hanged. Alexander departed for Babylon with his corpse, where he held fabulous funeral games in his memory. The Oracle of Siwa, upon Alexander's question as to how Hephaestion should be revered, replied that he should be worshiped as a divine hero. Hephaestion was cremated in Babylon, in the presence of the entire army. Some months later, a splendid funerary monument in Hephaestion's honor was still being built when Alexander himself died in Babylon.

Hefestion in the cinema

Jared Leto played Hephaestion in the film Alexander the Great (2004) directed by Oliver Stone.