“Beloved Hephaestion - detested Hephaestion”

[Sweetmemory41]

A rather biased article about Hephaestion’s conflicts with others - https://czasopisma.uwm.edu.pl/index.php ... 7623/39009

[Alexias]

Thank you for this. I am not quite sure what to say about it. How do we know Eumenes 'sincerely disliked' Hephaestion? And that Hephaestion's nature was 'boisterous'?

[Jeanne Reames]

There is, actually, evidence for Hephaistion and Eumenes getting into it in Plutrach's Life of Eumenes. Problem seems to be that Eumenes didn't get along with several people--Antipatros too. Hephaistion and Eumenes fought twice: once in Susa and again later in Ekbatana. Arrian also alludes to the quarrel, but his initial mention of it falls in a lacuna, so we lack his details.

I've come to have more questions about the supposed quarrel between Hephaistion and Krateros, and just presented a paper on it, which (I think) will appear in Karanos in a little while. And in the book I'm working on about the two of them.

I'd say the article was heavily influenced by Waldemar Heckel's perspective. "Boisterous" may be a word choice issue. In editing for non-English speakers, I've found they sometimes pick a word that sets me back because they're unfamiliar with connotations. Given her last name and place of study, pretty sure she's Polish. Just had a Spanish buddy refer to a eulogy for Peter Green as a "Necrological Note." Which made me laugh, although I knew what he meant.

[Alexias]

I've come to have more questions about the supposed quarrel between Hephaistion and Krateros, and just presented a paper on it, which (I think) will appear in Karanos in a little while. And in the book I'm working on about the two of them.

Look forward to it!

There is, actually, evidence for Hephaistion and Eumenes getting into it in Plutrach's Life of Eumenes. Problem seems to be that Eumenes didn't get along with several people--Antipatros too. Hephaistion and Eumenes fought twice: once in Susa and again later in Ekbatana. Arrian also alludes to the quarrel, but his initial mention of it falls in a lacuna, so we lack his details.

It would be very interesting to know if Hephaestion was influential in Alexander changing his mind about who was to blame in the Eumenes' quarrel about the accommodation. But even if he didn't, people were afraid of Hephaestion (Eumenes and Apollodorus, and probably other satraps). Did he misuse his power? I don't think there is any evidence he did, but he had Alexander's ear, and that in itself was dangerous as Alexander had the final judgement.

[Alexias]

P.S. Here is the link to Karanos for browsing https://revistes.uab.cat/karanos/issue/view/v6

[Jeanne Reames]

It would be very interesting to know if Hephaestion was influential in Alexander changing his mind about who was to blame in the Eumenes' quarrel about the accommodation. But even if he didn't, people were afraid of Hephaestion (Eumenes and Apollodorus, and probably other satraps). Did he misuse his power? I don't think there is any evidence he did, but he had Alexander's ear, and that in itself was dangerous as Alexander had the final judgement.

Aside from Eumenes who, as I indicated, might have been a "difficult personality" (inasmuch as ANY of these guys were "nice" or not), the people afraid of Hephaistion seem to also have been afraid of Alexander, suggesting it was about power, and that Hephaistion tended to take ATG's position. And as Chilliarch, may have been the "gateway" to Alexander for many administrative persons. Both I and Sabine think the "difficult Hephaistion" has been exaggerated in modern analyses in part owing to ancient Romanization of Hephaistion as "Alexander-too" and suffering from critique thereby. even the famous pulling of swords with Krateros in India was, I think, invented by Plutarch as a literary trope (and I will argue as much in that paper).

[Alexias]

even the famous pulling of swords with Krateros in India was, I think, invented by Plutarch as a literary trope (and I will argue as much in that paper).

Very interesting idea! I can see that the pulling of swords might well have been embroidery, but presumably there was a serious row of some sort.

An idea for Alexander reproving Craterus in private might be that he was indirectly attacking Alexander by attacking Hephaestion, maybe over their Persianization, and Alexander might have realised this. Maybe it was also the point at which Alexander decided that Craterus was going to lead the bulk of the army (as Hephaestion had) back to Carmania on the easier route, and that ultimately he was going back to Greece. I've never really understood why, when Alexander died, Craterus didn't turn his 10,000 veterans around, march back to Babylon and take charge.

[Jeanne Reames]

Things moved too fast. By the time Krateros heard ATG was dead, Perdikkas had already worked out a settlement back in Babylon. I think Krateros decided to throw in his lot with Antipatros. But that's some of what I'll be looking at in the book, yes.