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It's a shame no one seems to know of the reference to the Bodyguards and the stars around the sun. It was pretty obscure, but not modern... I know I'm not remembering it correctly which is why I wanted to find the original again. Ah, well...not important really, just interesting.

This is a very vague memory of something to do with the somatophylakes - seven stars around the sun, seven nights around the king...

Does anyone know if this is recorded anywhere?

Judging by your collective conflicting arguments, it sounds altogether plausible that many mistakes were made on who commanded what and when and who fought where and why - just like the confusion in modern war correspondence. And I wonder (playfully) how and in what manner Cleitus commanded the Roya...

My father met him in Greece during WWII and I will always remember his stories about him. He said he was a true gentleman, honourable, brave and unassuming. I think Alexander would have liked him very much.

Thank you, Paralus, for your explanation. The details of your reasoning are very helpful.

As to "soldiering", unless Diodorus has it totally messed up, Hephaestion commanded the "somatophylakes" at Gaugamela. This, of course, cannot mean the "seven" but refers - as in Arrian's usage - to the agema of the hypaspists or the young sons of the great Macedonian ...

Does anyone know the name of the 8-petalled blue flower that is (sometimes) shown at the centre of the star please?

I have often felt it might be a stylized (and badly observed or artistically represented) myosotis, but I have not found any references to it.

Thanks!

Hello Thalia, I find much to agree with in your interesting post. Of course, over the years much discussion has gone on over the nature of the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion, too much coloured by the context of the times of the discussers not of the discussed. It was a different worl...