After Hephaestion's death

[George]

Is there any historical evidence that Alex defied Ammon after his friend's death?

[ruthaki]

You mean did he deify Hephaestion? (Ammon was already a diety). I think he'd have liked to deify Hepahestion but didn't. He certainly went all-out in the funeral rites, tearing down part of Babylon's walls etc. After his friend's death he began to behave quite unrational.

[marcus]

Alexander did send messengers to Siwa to ask if he could deify Hephaistion. The message came back saying that he couldn't deify him, but that he could give him heroic honours......which obviously, to Alexander, meant building a massive, elaborate funeral pyre and going off to slaughter some more tribespeople...All the bestMarcus

[susa]

Hi MarcusDid Alexander slaughtered people in honour of Hephaistion? I always thought that those 'tribesmen' you mentioned were threatening his emperorship, no?, somehow. So it went into history as a 'immolation' for his dead.As for Alexander losing his wit, well, i agree with Jeanne Zimmermann - grief does weird things to one's mind. I think it's the case here. Well, besides the fact that Alexander was not so balanced anyway.susa

[marcus]

Hi Susa,I was being facetious... I don't actually believe that Alexander went off looking for human sacrifices to Hephaistion. But it was good timing!All the bestMarcus

[Tre]

Hi George:Others have covered the Hephaistion angle, but in the off-chance you meant defied, there was a 'story' that he leveled a temple to Ascelpius, the god of healing for failing to save Hephaistion. There is also some indication he defied warnings from the priests not to enter Babylon. One historian pointed out they probably took one look at him after what he'd been through lately and figured he probably was going to die there :-)Regards,
Tre