I'm an Ancient History Tragic (I want to be Achilles :)), currently obsessed with Philip II of Macedon.
I read "The Persian Boy" and thought it was wonderful, though whether Alexander had such a relationship with Boagas is dubious, as it seems to me that Hephaestion was 'the One' for Alexander.
Have you read the Alexander Trilogy by Manfredi? (That is Valerio Massimo Manfredi :)).
I wish I was James Dean, myself~. Haha...! Whenever I read Alexander bios, Phillip II never piqued my interest, but maybe that's because I never devoted any time to him. Perhaps I'll read more about him, then...!
Oh, definitely! I mean, sans a few internet articles, "Persian Boy" was the first thing I ever read on Alexander, so at first, I was in love with the idea of Boagas. But when I found out about Hephaestion, I was like, I can't believe I've been missing out on this guy! He's completely fascinating...! So now I've totally thrown away poor Boagas in favor of Alexander's BFF. (; Their relationship is so interesting to me...
Have not! But I will look into it when I get some time!
Please DO NOT READ the trilogy by Manfredi!! Those books are horrible, badly written and badly documented. Hephaestion is just a "friend" of Alexander, and he is mentioned three or four times in the whole book. I can suggest you "Alexander's Lovers" by Andrew Michael Chugg. The book is about all the people who had relationships with Alexander and there is a long chapter about Hephaestion, in which you can find many interesting info. There is also another book by Mary Renault, The Nature of Alexander, but I read only the first pages. Anyway, the best biografy is the one by Robin Lane Fox.
Well, I don't only read Alexander books in search of his relationship with Hephaestion. Of course, it's an important factor, but I don't mind if he's not a prominent figure. (But being badly documented and horribly written is another matter entirely.) I've read a bit by Chugg and many people have suggested the Robin Lane Fox book, so I guess I'll have to go get those! (Of course, I'll have to get the Mary Renault book too; that seems to be the only one of hers I don't have...)
Anyways, thanks for all the recommendations! I appreciate it! (:
The problem with the book by Manfredi is that he has completely distorted the character of Alexander. He has turned him into a sort of Casanova, if you know what I mean.... And I don't see why Manfredi didn't say the truth about Hephaestion. Here in Italy this book is very appreciated, but if you speak with "fans" of Alexander, they don't like it at all!! I also have a book by Claude Mossé, but I don't know the title in English. I've also read a short novel by Klaus Mann, but I didn't like it very much...
Hello and welcome to the comm!Glad to see it's not completely dead ;D
Also Alexander the Great/History junkie here. Btw. have you read "Fire From Heaven" or just "The Persian Boy"? I think I like FFH more cause there is more young Hephaistion and Alexander in there. Of course I like "The Persian Boy" as well, but oh well, there is also too much Bagoas in TPB for my taste...I much prefer Alexander being with Hephaistion and none else ;D
If you have not read the biography of Alexander the Great by professor Robin Lane Fox yet, I recommend it!
Ohhh... "Fire from Heaven"... *swoon* Of course! After reading that bit of "The Persian Boy", I couldn't get enough of Renault! I quickly went out and bought FFH and I've since read it at least three times, and infinitely prefer it to TPB. Not only do I love Renault's books on Alexander, but here Classical fictions in general! A close second favorite to FFH is "The Last of the Wine". A vveerrry close second; I love that book to death...! (if you haven't read it, please, please do!)
Ah, another recommendation for Robin Lane Fox...! It looks like that's the next book on my fastly sinking Alexander funds...! (; Thanks for the reply, lovely meeting you!
Yeah, I know what you mean. Alexander books have made my budget diminish drastically too, but I think you will like the book by Robin Lane Fox. It's very well written and a fascinating read :D
Btw since you like the works of Mary Renault and "The Last of the Wine" (which sadly I haven't read yet *is ashamed*) you might wanna join maryrenaultfics. There will be a Chapter by Chapter discussion of that particular book this year and you might be interested in actively participating or lurking ;D
Who else, but Alexander?achilles01September 18 2009, 11:21:39 UTC
My goodness, Mr Dean, you certainly have started off an interesting discussion; thank you :)
I'm a bit sensitive of criticisms of Manfredi as his trilogy was the only Alexander books I possessed (and read and re-read) for many years, so they are very dear to me despite their faults (which, by the way, I did recognise a very long time ago :). Yes, they do glorify dear Alex, but then so does the great WW Tarn, the academic who made his career on Philip and Alexander and influenced generations of children's school books, so I guess that's understandable.
If you think Manfredi is bad, try Paul Doherty ...
... but Robin Lane Fox rocks! His biography of Alexander is superb :)
Additionally, I've got a couple of articles about him, and in the forthcoming Responses to Alexander (ed. Cartledge and Greenland), I'll have an article about him called "The Cult of Hephaistion." There are a couple other articles in that volume that deal with him. It's intended to be a response to Oliver Stone's movie (as the title suggests), but contains some fairly useful scholarship.
Responses to AlexandermiezaJanuary 14 2010, 07:15:48 UTC
Thank you for mentioning this book as I found it fascinating to read. Oliver Stone's Afterword was interesting as he did take on board a lot of the criticism, though his 'history' was still a bit shaky - Eumenes a school friend and done for plunder
( ... )
Comments 11
I'm an Ancient History Tragic (I want to be Achilles :)), currently obsessed with Philip II of Macedon.
I read "The Persian Boy" and thought it was wonderful, though whether Alexander had such a relationship with Boagas is dubious, as it seems to me that Hephaestion was 'the One' for Alexander.
Have you read the Alexander Trilogy by Manfredi? (That is Valerio Massimo Manfredi :)).
Achilles
Reply
Oh, definitely! I mean, sans a few internet articles, "Persian Boy" was the first thing I ever read on Alexander, so at first, I was in love with the idea of Boagas. But when I found out about Hephaestion, I was like, I can't believe I've been missing out on this guy! He's completely fascinating...! So now I've totally thrown away poor Boagas in favor of Alexander's BFF. (; Their relationship is so interesting to me...
Have not! But I will look into it when I get some time!
Thanks for the reply~! Nice to meet you!
Reply
I can suggest you "Alexander's Lovers" by Andrew Michael Chugg. The book is about all the people who had relationships with Alexander and there is a long chapter about Hephaestion, in which you can find many interesting info.
There is also another book by Mary Renault, The Nature of Alexander, but I read only the first pages.
Anyway, the best biografy is the one by Robin Lane Fox.
Reply
I've read a bit by Chugg and many people have suggested the Robin Lane Fox book, so I guess I'll have to go get those! (Of course, I'll have to get the Mary Renault book too; that seems to be the only one of hers I don't have...)
Anyways, thanks for all the recommendations! I appreciate it! (:
Reply
I also have a book by Claude Mossé, but I don't know the title in English.
I've also read a short novel by Klaus Mann, but I didn't like it very much...
Reply
Also Alexander the Great/History junkie here. Btw. have you read "Fire From Heaven" or just "The Persian Boy"? I think I like FFH more cause there is more young Hephaistion and Alexander in there. Of course I like "The Persian Boy" as well, but oh well, there is also too much Bagoas in TPB for my taste...I much prefer Alexander being with Hephaistion and none else ;D
If you have not read the biography of Alexander the Great by professor Robin Lane Fox yet, I recommend it!
Reply
Ohhh... "Fire from Heaven"... *swoon* Of course! After reading that bit of "The Persian Boy", I couldn't get enough of Renault! I quickly went out and bought FFH and I've since read it at least three times, and infinitely prefer it to TPB. Not only do I love Renault's books on Alexander, but here Classical fictions in general! A close second favorite to FFH is "The Last of the Wine". A vveerrry close second; I love that book to death...! (if you haven't read it, please, please do!)
Ah, another recommendation for Robin Lane Fox...! It looks like that's the next book on my fastly sinking Alexander funds...! (; Thanks for the reply, lovely meeting you!
Reply
Btw since you like the works of Mary Renault and "The Last of the Wine" (which sadly I haven't read yet *is ashamed*) you might wanna join maryrenaultfics. There will be a Chapter by Chapter discussion of that particular book this year and you might be interested in actively participating or lurking ;D
Reply
I'm a bit sensitive of criticisms of Manfredi as his trilogy was the only Alexander books I possessed (and read and re-read) for many years, so they are very dear to me despite their faults (which, by the way, I did recognise a very long time ago :). Yes, they do glorify dear Alex, but then so does the great WW Tarn, the academic who made his career on Philip and Alexander and influenced generations of children's school books, so I guess that's understandable.
If you think Manfredi is bad, try Paul Doherty ...
... but Robin Lane Fox rocks! His biography of Alexander is superb :)
"To the Gods!"
Achilles
Reply
But if you've *not* already found it, I've got an entire website devoted to Hephaistion here:
http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~mreames/Hephaistion/hephaistion.html
Additionally, I've got a couple of articles about him, and in the forthcoming Responses to Alexander (ed. Cartledge and Greenland), I'll have an article about him called "The Cult of Hephaistion." There are a couple other articles in that volume that deal with him. It's intended to be a response to Oliver Stone's movie (as the title suggests), but contains some fairly useful scholarship.
Cheers!
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment