Alexander was born in 356 B.C. in Macedonia, the son of King Philip II and Princess Olympias. With renowned philosopher Aristotle as their tutor, Alexander and his boyhood friend Hephaestion, one of the king’s pages, received a classical education in science, literature, and the arts. They were particularly inspired by Homer’s Iliad and likened themselves to the mythical friends Achilles and Patroclus.

In Alexander’s day, homoerotic relationships between adult men and male youths were widely accepted in Greece and Macedonia. But Alexander and Hephaestion, near equals in age, were unusual in that they maintained their relationship throughout their adult live. According to historian Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman, their intense emotional affinity likely would have been more salient to them than any physical connection: Alexander referred to Hephaestion not as a lover (eromenos) but as "Alexander’s friend" (philalexandros).

When Alexander was 20, his father was assassinated by Pausanias, a bodyguard who was also one of the king’s male lovers. Alexander ascended to the throne and began extending his domain. His most formidable enemy was King Darius of Persia. Though outnumbered, Alexander defeated Darius’ armies three times, finally vanquishing his rival and conquering the Persian capital. In just over 10 years he would expand his realm as far as Egypt, Central Asia, and Northern India.

Alexander established his kingdom in Persia and adopted Eastern manners and dress. In this era, most Greek and Macedonian men who had male lovers also had wives and children, and Alexander was no exception. He, in fact, took two wives, the second of whom was Barsine, Darius’ daughter. Alexander also had one child, a son born after his death. Hephaestion—now serving as Alexander’s chiliarch, or second-in-command and personal advisor—married Barsine’s sister. As spoils of his conquest, Alexander also acquired Bagoas, Darius’ beautiful Persian eunuch dancing boy, with whom Alexander had a relationship typical of those of the men and boys of his day.

Despite his successes, Alexander’s capriciousness and ego would prove his undoing. Although often described as loyal and generous, the king was also a heavy drinker and prone to outbursts of temper, and he increasingly came to regard himself as a god. Having been told by a famed oracle in Egypt that he was the son of the sun god Amon-Ra, Alexander compared his accomplishments to those of Heracles and dressed in godlike accoutrements (Amon-Ra’s horns, Hermes’ winged sandals), but his demand that his subjects prostrate themselves before him garnered increasing resentment.

In the fall of 324 B.C., Hephaestion fell ill with a fever and died. His death left Alexander despondent. It is said that Alexander lay upon his friend’s body for a day and a night until he was dragged away; he then remained mute and fasted for another three days. According to the ancient Greek historian Aelian, Alexander "shore off his own hair, as in Homeric grief, and behaved like the Achilles of Homer...even in his clothing he departed from ordinary custom, and gave himself up to his mood, his love, and his tears."

Alexander reportedly said, "I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity," and such was to be his fate. The summer after Hephaestion’s death, Alexander became ill and died in Babylon in June 323 B.C. While early historians suspected that the king had been poisoned, most today believe he died of malaria, or perhaps typhoid fever. But it is not unlikely that—as with many long-term spouses—grief over his friend’s death speeded Alexander’s demise.

Two millennia later, Alexander the Great is considered one of history’s greatest military geniuses. The homoerotic aspects of his life were immortalized by lesbian author Mary Renault, who wrote many historical novels exploring male love in ancient Greece. With his classical good looks and his many successes in battle, Alexander has long been admired by gay men as a hero who embodies the masculine ideals of bravery and strength.