Alexander the Great Gay Hero?

Alexander the Great Gay Hero?

When Out Magazine published an article last year that described Alexander the Great as a gay hero, I was a little taken aback. (Note: In lieu of actual photos of Alexander, model, actor and all-round hot-property Christian Monzon adorned the article.) I mean, sure, this most famous of ancient generals not only maintained his father Phillip II of Macedon's empire, but also expanded it, across the Hellespont, through Asia Minor, then southwards across Egypt. But do his achievements really bear scrutiny as the marks of a hero for the modern gay movement? If the notion that Alexander could be considered as such a hero is counter-intuitive, it is nonetheless welcome, if only because it controverts the anti-gay revisionism that seems to mar so many people's understanding of the ancient world. I once had an argument -- on my graduation day, no less -- with a man who claimed that something called the "ancient Greek empire" fell as a result of being overrun by "the gays". When I tried to tell the guy that there was no such thing as an ancient Greek empire -- ancient Greece, after all, consisted of individual city-states -- he raised an eyebrow and said quite seriously, "That's what the gays want you to think!"

Alexander was a vicious, passionate, bloodthirsty, courageous, and dangerously intemperate son, lover, and leader. How could the life and times of a man such as this possibly bear any tangible connection to the life and times of gay men living today? A mosaic of Alexander in party mode, recently discovered in an Israeli seaport by a team headed by archaeologists from Berkeley, suggests a certain similarity between the Macedonian warrior-king and today's clubbers: dressed for a night on the town, Alexander, surprisingly enough, looks less like a a dashing, rugged man than an immaculately boyish twink.

Two films scheduled for production within the next year attest to the enduring interest in Alexander in our time. The first film, starring my favourite bad-boy, Colin Farrell (the man who makes 'phone booths' look sexy), will depict Alexander's bisexuality in some detail. I'm thrilled to hear that hottie Matt Keeslar (Last Days of Disco, Urbania, Dune, Red Rose) will play Colin's -- erm, I mean Alexander's -- male love interest, Hephaestion. There are even rumours of a love triangle, in which a catamite attempts to compete with Hephaestion for Alexander's love.

The second Alexander the Great film will be directed by Baz Luhrman and will star Leonardo diCaprio. Personally, I can't help but think that diCaprio would be more convincing as Alexander's catamite than as Alexander himself. But then again, Leo does look a little like Alexander as he's represented in the Israeli mosaic, so who knows? Under Luhrman's direction, the film can't possibly be boring. Frenetic, dizzying, and hyperactive, maybe, but not boring. And to be honest, I can't see how any account of Alexander's life could be dull, unless perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber decides to do a musical about it. Alexander and his Technicolour Club Gear, anyone?