[80.] Alexander the king was also very much in the habit of giving in to this fashion. Accordingly, Dicaearchus, in his treatise On the Sacrifice at Troy, says that he was so much under the influence of Bagoas the eunuch, that he embraced him in the sight of the whole theatre; and that when the whole theatre shouted in approval of the action, he repeated it. And Carystius, in his Historical Commentaries, says,- "Charon of Chalcis had a boy of great beauty, who was a great favourite of his: but when Alexander, on one occasion, at a great entertainment given by Craterus, praised this boy very much, Charon bade the boy go and salute Alexander: and he said, 'Not so, for he will not please me so much as he will vex you.' For though the king was of a very amorous disposition, still he was at all times sufficiently master of himself to have a due regard to decorum, and to the preservation of appearances. And in the same spirit, when he had taken as prisoners the daughters of Dareius, and his wife, who was of extraordinary beauty, he not only abstained from offering them any insult, but he took care never to let them feel that they were prisoners at all; but ordered them to be treated in every respect, and to be supplied with everything, just as if Dareius had still been in his palace; on which account, Dareius, when he heard of this conduct, raised his hands to the Sun and prayed that either he might be king, or Alexander."
Athenaeus Book 13
Aelian III 23
On the four and twentieth he supp'd with
Bagoas. (The house of Bagoas was from the Palace ten Stadia.)
Plutarch Alx 67
8 We are told, too, that he was once viewing some contests in singing and dancing, being well heated with wine, and that his favourite,
Bagoas, won the prize for song and dance, and then, all in his festal array, passed through the theatre and took his seat by Alexander's side; at sight of which the Macedonians clapped their hands and loudly bade the king kiss the victor, until at last he threw his arms about him and kissed him tenderly.
Quitillian inst orat V 12
21 When the masters of sculpture and hand desired to carve or paint forms of ideal beauty, they never fell into the error of taking some
Bagoas or Megabyzus137 as models, but rightly selected the well-known Doryphorus,138 equally adapted either for the fields of war or for the wrestling school, and other warlike and athletic youths as types of physical beauty. Shall we then, who are endeavouring to mould the ideal orator, equip eloquence not with weapons but with timbrels?
Curtius VI 5 xxiii
23 Inter quae
Bagoas erat, specie singulari spado atque in ipso flore pueritiae, cui et Dareus adsuetus fueratº et mox Alexander p127adsuevit:
X 1 xxiv
Nam cum omnes amicos regis donis super ipsorum vota coluisset,
Bagoae spadoni, qui Alexandrum obsequio corporis devinxerat sibi, nullum honorem habuit: 26 admonitusque a quibusdam, perquamº Alexandro cordi esse, respondit, amicos regis, non scorta se colere nec moris esse Persis, mares ducere, qui stupro effeminarentur. 27 His auditis spado potentiam flagitio et dedecore quaesitam in caput nobilissimi et insontis exercuit. Namque gentis eiusdem levissimos falsis criminibus adstruxit monitos, tum demum ea deferre, cum ipse iussisset. 28 Interim quotiens sine arbitris erat, credulas regis aures inplebat dissimulans causam irae, quo gravior criminantis auctoritas esset. 29 Nondum suspectus erat Orsines, iam tamen vilior. Reus enim in secreto agebatur, latentis periculi ignarus, et inportunissumum scortum ne in stupro quidem et dedecoris patientia fraudis oblitum, quotiens amorem regis in se accenderat, Orsinen modo avaritiae, interdum etiam defectionis arguebat. 30 Iam matura erant in perniciem innocentis mendacia et p260fatum, cuius inevitabilis sors est, adpetebat. Forte enim sepulcrum Cyri Alexander iussit aperiri, in quo erat conditum eius corpus, cui dare volebat inferias. 31 Auro argentoque repletumº esse crediderat — quippe ita fama Persae vulgaverant — sed praeter clipeum eius putrem et arcus duos Scythicos et acinacem nihil repperit. 32 Ceterum corona aurea inposita amiculo, cui adsueverat ipse, solium, in quo corpus iacebat, velavit, miratus tanti nominis regem tantis praeditum opibus haud pretiosius sepultum esse, quam si fuisset e plebe. 33 Proximus erat lateri spado, qui regem intuens, 'Quid mirum,' inquit, 'est inania sepulcra esse regum, cum satraparum domus aurum inde egestum capere non possint? 34 Quod ad me attinet, ipse hoc bustum antea non videram, sed ex Dareo ita accepi, III milia talentum condita esse cum Cyro. 35 Hinc illa benignitas in te, ut, quod impune habere non poterat Orsines, donando etiam gratiam iniret.' 36 Concitaverat iam animum in iram, cum hi, quibus negotium idem dederat, superveniunt. Hinc
Bagoas, hinc ab eo subornati falsis criminibus occupant aures. 37 Antequam accusari se suspicaretur, Orsines in vincula est traditus. Non contentus supplicio insontis spado ipse morituro manum iniecit. Quem Orsines intuens, 'Audieram,' inquit, 'in Asia olim regnasse feminas, hoc vero novum est regnare castratum!'
So two out of six mentions, too small a sample to make any statistical judgement but what we have to consider is why do Dichaearchos and Curtius at X 1 xxiv seem to emphasise the fact of Bagoas' castration; Dichaearchos was a pupil of Aristotle and it seems had a distinctly moralising tone decrying the symposiastic culture of his Greece in his 'Life of Greece', which, perhaps significantly, was only brought down to the end of Philip II's reign. Why should he write about an event in Gedrosia years after 'The Sacrifice at Ilion'. Surely, it is to censure Alexander, and so the fact that Bagoas was a eunuch becomes pertinent to the charge of Oriental excess, it is not used as a title to identify him. Similarly Curtius purpose is to point up his
bot mot 'We have heard how Asia was once ruled by women, but it is truely novel for the castrated to rule!' .
