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Hi! I'm sure you heard-read about several tribes or small villages claiming to be descendants of Alexander TG's soldiers, etc. (such as the Kalash, (sp?)). Well, I don't want to discuss whether this could be true or not but I wonder: What if "actual" descendants of Alexander (or Hephaestion) existed? I mean nobody really knows who he (or Hephaestion) actually slept with, but suppose they really existed (exist). What do you think? I'd like to know what you think.(Please note that there is no proof of this and this is just one of those "what if" scenarios). Thanks, Wayne.

And interesting thought. We know that Alexander's only legal son was murdered when he was 14 yrs old, and that his other older son, Herakles, was also murdered (on Kassandros' orders) when he was about 18. He was the son of Alexander and his Persian woman, Barsine. Other than that there are no records of children. However there are some places in Afghanistan and India where the people claim to be descendants of his soldiers.

Hi Ruth - Yes, and after what happened to his "official" children and families, I don't think the other(s) would go out happily claiming "I am (We are) Alexander's child(ren) too". I don't know.

Hi Ruth,I think you mean his "legitimate" son, rather than his "legal" one? :-)All the bestMarcus

Hello Wayne,Interesting that you should ask this, as I was wondering what had happened to the Amazon's child, and how many children were beget. It appears that that alliance may have been worthwhile after all as Alexander was quite thoughtless regarding his children. It is highly possible that the children of the Amazon Queen could be traced.

Hi Jan,I fear the meeting with an 'Amazon Queen' falls into the category best described as 'myth'- very popular in the Alexander Romance legends, but very short of evidence as a historical fact.Still, Alexander fathering a child with Zena Warrior Princess would make an interesting story!Kit

Hi Kit,I just read it in the Curtius translation, and the description of the Queen gave me reason to understand why it is that I had seen Roxanne in such a personal state. It is because that she is not an Amazon woman as described in this translation.It is hard to distinguish between fact and fiction in this study, and I perceive it a bit like the National Enquirer in its gossipy tone, but when I read that he had fathered a child by her, it struck me as to what had happened to the child.I do wonder why it is that he was won over by her after having just refused to marry a princess offered to him. Oh, well, it is rather fun to imagine that the Romans just liked to spin tall tales. I am inclined to believe that of much of the hearsay evidence that is so obvious in this book. What has amazed me is how one simple phrase can become the theme and foundation for a book of fiction. Incredible!

Considering that some of these children could have been girls - remember that in ancient times being a woman was not a very lucky thing - They could have been forced to hide or something. I doubt those theories which state that the descendants of Alexander TG (if any) are most likely to be as he was portrayed in history: Blond, blue eyed, etc. I mean, he lived 2000+ years ago and his (supposed) descendants may have had children with people from different ethnic groups. (Persian, middle eastern, asia minor, greeks, etc). Regards, Wayne.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was an episode of Xena where she met Alexander. After all, she met Julius Caesar and Heracles/Hercules, who I don't think were quite contemporaries...(Hmm, is that showing just *too* much knowledge of Xena? Well, she did wear leather and was very pretty...)All the bestMarcus

Funny, I was thinking of her meeting with Caesar when I did my post! It would have made more sense for her to have met Alexander!!!Kit

Surely you must have come across the
slash/site on which there is a story about Xena
& Gabrielle meeting Philip II? Gabrielle tells a
toddler Alexander stories about how Xena
fights... Can't recall the url, but think Tim
Spalding lists it...
Dear me, how I waste my time, when I should
be awarding research grants.... but who can,
Marcus, resist a girl in leather...yours,wmp

Hi chris,I have been wondering how does one distinguish between fact and fiction in the case of Alexander.I am currently reading a translation of Curtius, and the intro is very interesting about the number of fragments that exist from the time of Alexander.In reading Curtius, I am struck by its similarity to "yellow journalism" as much of it sounds like hearsay. However, it is an excellent source of information. I just finished the Battle of Issus reading, and it is full of description of the Persian army.He does have a well developed story about the Amazon Queen, and even about Roxanne. The one sentence on Bagoas struck me as gossip. I wondered at why and how a woman like Mary Renault could take a single sentence and spin a full novel from it.It just shows imagination and projection on the part of authors. But I would like a real and true means of separating fact from fiction. Any ideas on how to do that regarding this subject?Thanks so much.Jan

That she was pretty is true, and she could wield a big stick like a phalangyte (or was that Gabrielle?). What struck me about Lucy Lawless is just how feminine she is! She comes off as this fighting machine on TV, and then in interviews, she's a soft spoken little lamb. I always liked how Star Trek Voyager's 7 of 9 (Jeri Ryan) said she thought she could take her in a fight...now that I'd like to see. As a side note, Xena had this warrior cry that surely was inspired by ATG's histories...AIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAI!Interesting that the subject of how this author or that author wrote a whole book on some little bi-line of the histories. For me it was this very subject. It was supposed to be a nice little poem about Alexander meeting the Amazon, and now it's a 107 page megalythic epic...and so it goes.later Nicator

Ah, well, there you go, then.Not that I remember Alexander ever being described as fighting like Xena, and he certainly never had that funny circular, boomerang/frisbee thingy that she uses...Still, I remember there was one episode where Xena saw off pretty much the entire Persian army, so perhaps Alexander learned more from her than we realise.("What do you mean, Xena wasn't a real person...?")All the bestMarcus

Hephaestion didn't really care for other people but for Alexander. Why should he beget child?