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Hello, I will never forget my first reading of "The Persian boy" with the closing remarks written by Renault- about Sisygambis- starving herself to death upon hearing of Alexander's death. Renault, in my humble opinion, seems to imply that it was because of her semi-adoration of the man. I don't know- I mean, they couldn't even speak together in the same language + if she had wanted to, she could have held Alexander indirectly responsible for the death of her son.
I just don't understand why she would do such a thing...and kill herself in such a way. Was their a tradition or custom held regarding this? Was it because she saw it as the end of the Persian royal line? Dying, not with Darius III, but Alexander?Well, anyway, just thinking.....Best regards,
Dean.

Sisygambis never held anything against Alexander.Even Darius himself admired him when he found out how nobile he was and that he treated his daughter and mother right.And he said the famous words "if anyoone should defeat me and be King of Persia then let it be Alexander". Alexander surely must have been a unique man.Sisygambis became fond of him,and didnt blame him for her sons death.And as years passed she thought of him as her son.She witnessed his passion,his kindship,his whole personality through the years,and along his faults.But surely compairing to Darius or other Persian Kings Alexander must have resembled just an innocent boy. She surely loved him like a son and cared for him,and it's no wonder that when he died she grieved in that way.It wasnt a custom of the Persians.

I doubt that Sisigambis hastened her death because of personal adoration of Alexander. However, she must have respected and appreciated him, given that he allowed her to continue living as if she was still the mother of the King, and always treated her with respect. WeGÇÖll never know if she truly cared for Alexander, mostly because the ancient historians had no regard for a woman's feelings - we donGÇÖt even know how *Roxane* felt about Alexander! Offhand, the only time I can think of when a womanGÇÖs feelings are mentioned is in Pliny 35.36 where he records about Campaspe (Pancaste) that Alexander GÇ£was not even influenced by regard for the feelings of his favourite in having been recently the mistress of a monarch and now belonged to a painter.GÇ¥I suspect that Sisigambis chose to die because she knew that now Alexander was gone those who would take charge had no further use or consideration for her. In RenaultGÇÖs postscript to The Nature of Alexander she intimates that Stateira, SisigambisGÇÖ granddaughter, might have been pregnant with AlexanderGÇÖs child. My first instinct here is to wonder why Sisigambis didnGÇÖt stay around to protect her, then comes the realization that, without Alexander, Sisigambis had no status or influence any more. An old woman, mother of the previous Persian king, meant nothing to the Macedonians. Most likely, the young Stateira was not pregnant GÇô and therefore of no great significance as long as Roxane was with child, although she would have had some later use in a political marriage, had she survived - and Sisigambis did not want to stick around and see what was going to happen to herself, Stateira, and the rest of her family. Btw, what *did* happen to DariusGÇÖ young son? Does anybody know?Best regards,Amyntoros

Hello,Yes it was a man's world- back then and women do seem discounted when it comes to their feelings. We will never know how Sisygambis felt towards Alexander. It would have been fascinating to have read an account by her!!
But that is something we will never have.
Although to be honest I am surprised that somewhere there isn't a mention of Olympias, given her strong nature, somewhere stating her feelings towards Philip or Alexander himself. Cleopatra, Alexander's sister, on the other hand is almost completely ignored.
Best regards,
Dean