So far, I've looked at what Arrian, Plutarch, and Curtius had to say about Alexander the Great's relationship with Hephaestion. Now it's time to look at what some of the other ancient sources said about Hephaestion, including Diodorus, Aelian, and Diogenes of Sinope.

Alexander's personal life was complicated. We know that Alexander married at least three women during his short life: Roxane, Stateira, and Parysatis. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he had on-going, intimate relationships with all of them.

This post looks at what Quintus Curtius Rufus (aka simply Curtius) wrote about Alexander and Hephaestion. Curtius was a Roman historian who wrote The History of Alexander in the First Century AD (a few decades before both Plutarch and Arrian). The History of Alexander is considered one of the five main sources on Alexander's campaign. 

Apparently, this is a close rendition of what a song sounded like in ancient Greek. The lyrics and music were taken from inscriptions on a marble column more than 2,000 years old.

Arrian's first mention of Hephaestion comes in Book I of his account, when Alexander and his army visit the ruins of Troy. There, Arrian writes that Alexander traded armor at the Temple of Athena, then proceeded to honor the tombs of those who fought at Troy. 

Arrian primarily relied on the accounts of Ptolemy (Alexander's childhood friend, soldier in his army, and ruler of Egypt after Alexander's death) and Aristobulus (an engineer who worked for Alexander). Both of these men knew Alexander personally and were present for much of his campaign, unlike other contemporaries of Alexander who wrote their own accounts.

Those of you who have followed my blog over the last few months may have noticed that I seem to jump around a lot. Psychology. History. Tech. Motivational mumbo jumbo, etc. I attribute that mostly to a lack of direction. 

Although there is no way to estimate Alexander's IQ with any degree of confidence (he obviously never took an IQ test or anything remotely similar to one), we do have plenty of clues as to his intelligence.

After my second reading of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, I'm ready to offer a few thoughts. 

I don't have a PhD in history. I wasn't even a history major in college. So what gives me the expertise to write a book about history? Perfectly legitimate question. And it's one I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Fletcher doesn't consider his teaching style abuse. He considers it the only means to bringing out greatness in his students. According to him, the worst thing you can tell a student is "good job", because positive praise like this fosters a sense of complacency. For Fletcher, struggle and humiliation are the ultimate motivators.