Bagoas (minion)
Bagoas ( old Persian Bagoi ; Greek Βαγώας ; † after 324 BC) was a favorite at the Persian royal court and in the entourage of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. He should not be confused with the court minister of the same name .
Life
Bagoas was a young eunuch and supposedly already a lover of the great king Dareios III. Been Kodomannos . After his murder in 330 BC In Bactria he changed to the allegiance of Alexander the great and obtained with this by means of his profitable charm the pardon of the Chiliarch Nabarzanes , who in the murder of Dareios III. was involved through Bessos .
As a result, Bagoas became a flatterer and, after Curtius Rufus , also a lover of Alexander. Concretely, however, only that scene has come down to us from two sources, according to which Bagoas 326/325 BC. He won a dance competition in the theater of Pura , the capital of Gedrosia , and was kissed by Alexander while the audience was applauded. Plutarch noted that Alexander kissed and hugged Bagoas deeply. Dikaiarch, on the other hand, described the scene a little differently, in which Alexander gave the kiss rather shyly as he congratulated Bagoas on his victory.
The last time Bagoas is used is for the year 324 BC. Called BC. According to Curtius Rufus, he obtained the execution of Orxines , Satrap of Persis, because he is said to have refused to show his respect to the "whore of Alexander". According to Arrian, however, Orxines was punished for looting his grave in Pasargadae .
novel
The British writer Mary Renault (* 1905, † 1983) wrote an Alexander trilogy, the second part of which, The Persian Boy (German: ... to conquer a world empire) tells Alexander's campaigns in Asia from the perspective of the eunuch Bagoas.
Web links
- E. Badian: The Eunuch Bagoas, The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Cambridge University Press, November 1958, Vol. 8, No. 3/4, pp. 144-157. (accessed on July 11, 2012)
- The World History of Male Love: The Gay Lovers of Alexander III of Macedon (accessed July 11, 2012)
- Julie Abraham: Are Girls Necessary? Lesbian Writing and Modern Histories . Routledge, New York and London, ISBN 978-0-415-91457-4 , Chapter IV. "The Right of a Man", pp. 71 ff . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Curtius Rufus 6: 5, 23.
- ↑ Curtius Rufus 10: 1, 26.
- ↑ Plutarch, Alexander 67.8.
- ^ Dikaiarch, FGrH F23 = Athenaios 13,603ab.
- ↑ Curtius Rufus 10: 1, 22-38.
- ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 6,30,2.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bagoas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bagoi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Favorite and lover of Alexander the Great |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 324 BC Chr. |