page_title: Personal relationships of Alexander the Great
section_title: Hephaestion
hierarchical_section_title: Personal relationships of Alexander the Great / Relationships / Hephaestion
caption_attribution_description: Català: La família de Darius III davant Alexandre el GranEnglish: The Family of Darius III in front of Alexander the Great
context_page_description: The historical and literary tradition describes several of Alexander's relations, some of which are the subject of question among modern historians.
context_section_description: Alexander had a close emotional attachment to his companion, cavalry commander (hipparchus) and childhood friend, Hephaestion. He studied with Alexander, as did a handful of other children of Macedonian aristocracy, under the tutelage of Aristotle. Hephaestion makes his appearance in history at the point when Alexander reaches Troy. There they made sacrifices at the shrines of the two heroes Achilles and Patroclus; Alexander honoring Achilles, and Hephaestion honoring Patroclus.
  Alexander and Hephaestion were possible lovers, and their tutor, Aristotle, described their relationship as "one soul abiding two bodies," After Hephaestion's death in Oct 324 BC, Alexander mourned him greatly and did not eat for days. Alexander held an elaborate funeral for Hephaestion at Babylon, and sent a note to the shrine of Ammon, which had previously acknowledged Alexander as a god, asking them to grant Hephaestion divine honours. The priests declined, but did offer him the status of divine hero. Alexander died soon after receiving this letter; Mary Renault suggests that his grief over Hephaestion's death had led him to be careless with his health.
  No other circumstance shows better the nature and length of their relationship than Alexander's overwhelming grief at Hephaestion's death. As Andrew Chugg says, "it is surely incredible that Alexander's reaction to Hephaestion's death could indicate anything other than the closest relationship imaginable". In the context of the nature of their relationship, one instance stands out as remarkable. Arrian says that Alexander "flung himself on the body of his friend and lay there nearly all day long in tears, and refused to be parted from him until he was dragged away by force by his Companions".
caption: The family of Darius in front of Alexander, by Justus Sustermans and preserved in the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer. This picture features Hephaestion pointing out Alexander.
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