People in Greece are in uproar over the depiction of Alexander the Great in a Netflix series which depicts the Macedonian King in a romantic relationship with his friend Hephaestion.
Alexander: The Making of a God stars Buck Braithwaite as its titular character in a series of re-enactments as the series follows the style of a documentary. Across six episodes it dramatises key events and attempts to piece together his desire to conquer the world.
However, as a romantic tryst between Alexander and Haphaestion unfolds, Greece’s culture minister has criticised Netflix for ‘extremely poor quality fiction’ which is ‘rife with historical inaccuracies’.
Lina Mendoni has joined a chorus of voices in Greece who have criticised the series from the streaming giant, with a Greek newspaper blaming a previous adaptation of Alexander the Great’s story for starting a ‘propaganda campaign’ that Alexander was gay.
The Guardian reports a comment piece in Eleftheros Typos accused Oliver Stone’s 2004 film starring Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie of perpetuating the notion that the Macedonian king had gay relationships.
Netflix’s new series about Alexander the Great, Alexander: The Making of a God, has been criticised by Greek politicians and newspapers
Speaking in the Greek parliament, leader of the far-right Orthodox party Niki, Dimitris Natsiou, said the new Netflix series was ‘deplorable, unacceptable and unhistorical’.
He added there is ‘no basis’ for the assumption that Alexander the Great was gay.
In response, Mendoni said the director’s style reflected ‘sloppiness’ and added there has never been any sense from ancient texts that the Macedonian king and Hephaestion’s relationship went ‘beyond the limits of friendship’.
The series explores a romantic relationship between the Macedonian king and the man often described as his ‘dearest friend’ Hephaestion
However the culture minister added that the concept of love throughout the ages has always been ‘broad and multidimensional’ and stressed modern society cannot impose its norms on the conventions of ancient civilisations.
Despite criticising the show, she insisted the Greek government would not take action against the streaming giant as it would be ‘unconstitutional’.
She noted that the Greek constitution protects ‘freedom of art’ and to carry out such an action would be tantamount to ‘censorship’.
‘The inspiration of artists, personal interpretation, and the judgment of individuals cannot, evidently, be subjected to a regulatory regime and control, nor can it be governed by the courts or dragged into them,’ she said.
‘Instead, it is assessed and judged by each of us, by the international community. This is how Netflix is also evaluated.’
Historians have long argued over Alexander the Great’s sexuality, which is never specified in ancient texts.
One piece of writing that has sometimes been taken to signal homosexuality is Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus’s text which says Alexander’s mother was bothered by the fact her son didn’t appear to be romantically interested in women.
The text reads: ‘He scorned sensual pleasures to such an extent that his mother was anxious lest he be unable to beget offspring.’
Writings suggest Alexander’s mother brought him a woman, Callixena, and asked him to go to bed with her, but he refused.
Regarding Alexander’s relationship with Hephaestion, Rufus once wrote that he was ‘the dearest of all the king’s friends’ who ‘shared all his secrets’.
When Hephaestion died, Alexander is widely reported to have gone into a period of deep mourning, and did not eat for several days. He then held a funeral for him in Babylon.
However the king was married to three different women throughout his life, and Greek philosopher Plutarch once stated that Alexander had sex with one woman, Barsine, after being won over by her beauty and love of literature.
FEMAIL has contacted Netflix for comment.
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