Saturday, January 11, 2020

M/M: Call Me By Your Name: Alexander the Great and Hephaestion, Quintus Curtius Rufus, Hist. Alex. III.xii.15-17

Iamque iustis defunctorum corporibus solutis, [Alexander] praemittit ad captivas qui nuntiarent ipsum venire, inhibitaque comitantium turba, tabernaculum cum Hephaestione intrat. Is longe omnium amicorum carissimus erat regi, cum ipso pariter eductus, secretorum omnium arbiter, lbertatis quoque in admonendo eo non alius plus habebat, quod tamen ita usurpabat ut magis a rege permissum quam vindicatum ab eo videretur. Et sicut aetate par erat regi, ita corporis habitu praestabat. Ergo reginae, illum esse regem ratae, suo more veneratae sunt. Inde ex captivis spadonibus quis Alexander esset monstrantibus, Sisigambis advoluta est pedibus eius, ignorationem numquam antea visa regis excusans. Quam manu allevans rex: "Non errasti," inquit, "Mater, nam et hic Alexander est."

--Quintus Curtius, Historiae Alexandri Magni, III.xii.15 - 17

After the battle's casualties were buried with proper dignity,  Alexander sent a message to announce to the Persian captives that he would visit them. He entered the captive queen's tent without his retinue, only bringing Hephaestion with him. Hephaestion was by far Alexander's best friend, a boyhood companion who was raised in the same household as the king. He was Alexander's closest confidant, and had the most liberties in monitoring and criticizing the man's behavior, a feat that seemed to be more encouraged by Alexander himself than Hephaestion's own impulse. And although they were the same age, Hephaestion had a more kingly presence than Alexander. Therefore when the queen saw Hephaestion, she assumed he was the king and bowed before him in the Persian manner. When one of the captive court's eunuchs pointed out to her who the real Alexander was,  Queen Sisigambis threw herself at Alexander's feet, apologizing that she did not know which was which. Alexander took the queen by her hand and lifted her back to her feet, saying, "You weren't wrong, Queen Mother;  this man is also Alexander."

QUINTUS CURTIUS RUFUS
MAP:
Name:  Quintus Curtius Rufus
Date:  1st c. CE
Works:  History of Alexander the Great
REGION  UNKNOWN
Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans

BIO:
Timeline:
 Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman statesman and author who lived during the reign of the Julio-Claudian emperors. Although much of his work is lost, the remaining fragments of his History of Alexander the Great provide insight into the life of the great hero.
 GOLDEN AGE ROME
Early Roman Lit: through 2nd c BCE: Republican Rome: through 1st c. BCE; Golden Age: 70 BCE to 18 CE; Silver Age: 18 CE to 150 CE; Age of Conflict: 150 CE - 410 CE; Byzantine and Late Latin: after 410 CE