People in Greece are uproar over the depiction of Alexander the Great in a Netflix series that shows the Macedonian king in a romantic relationship with his friend Hephaestion.
Alexander: The Making of a God stars Buck Braithwaite as its main character in a series of reenactments, as the series follows the style of a documentary. Over the course of six episodes, he dramatizes 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 criticized Netflix for “very poor quality fiction” that is “riddled with historical inaccuracies.”
Lina Mendoni has joined a chorus of voices in Greece who have criticized the streaming giant’s series, with one Greek newspaper blaming an earlier adaptation of the story of Alexander the Great for starting a “propaganda campaign” that Alexander was gay .
He guardian reports that a comment in Eleftheros Typos accused Oliver Stone’s 2004 film, starring Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie, of perpetuating the notion that the Macedonian king had homosexual relationships.
Netflix’s new series about Alexander the Great, Alexander: The Creation of a God, has been criticized by Greek politicians and newspapers
Speaking in the Greek parliament, the leader of the far-right Niki Orthodox party, Dimitris Natsiou, said the new Netflix series was “deplorable, unacceptable and ahistorical”.
He added that there is “no basis” to assume that Alexander the Great was gay.
In response, Mendoni said the director’s style reflected “carelessness” and added that there had never been any sense in ancient texts that the Macedonian king and Hephaestion’s relationship was “beyond the limits of friendship.”
The series explores a romantic relationship between the Macedonian king and the man often described as his “dear friend” Hephaestion.
However, the Minister of Culture added that the concept of love throughout time has always been “broad and multidimensional” and stressed that modern society cannot impose its norms on the conventions of ancient civilizations.
Despite criticizing the show, he insisted that the Greek government would not take action against the streaming giant because it would be “unconstitutional.”
He noted that the Greek Constitution protects “freedom of art” and carrying out such an action would amount to “censorship.”
“The inspiration of artists, the personal interpretation and judgment of individuals cannot, of course, be subject to a regulatory and controlling regime, nor can they be governed by or dragged into the courts,” he said.
‘On the contrary, it is evaluated and judged by each of us, by the international community. This is also how Netflix is evaluated.’
Historians have long argued about Alexander the Great’s sexuality, which is never specified in ancient texts.
One writing that has sometimes been interpreted as a sign of homosexuality is the text by the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, who says that Alexander’s mother was bothered by the fact that her son did not seem to have a romantic interest in women.
The text says: “He despised sensual pleasures to such an extent that his mother feared that he would not be able to bear offspring.”
The writings suggest that Alexander’s mother brought him a woman, Calixena, and asked him to sleep 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, it is widely said that Alexander entered a period of deep mourning and did not eat for several days. He then held a funeral for her in Babylon.
However, the king was married to three different women throughout his life, and the Greek philosopher Plutarch once claimed that Alexander had sexual relations with a woman, Barsine, after being conquered by her beauty and his love of nature. literature.
FEMAIL has contacted Netflix for comment.