(Untitled)

[3scoremiles_10]

This belongs here too. A very short piece writen a few months back, it's my own version of Hephaistion's reaction to the advent of Bagoas.

Title: Conquest
Summary: Alexandros and Hephaistion discuss Darius' boy.
Rating: Oh, for hell's sake, I'm not doing a rating. We're all grown ups.
Feedback: feel free.

Comments

[3scoremiles_10]

Renault needed a character who could be placed well enough in the history so as not to upset the apple-cart to support her first person narrative technique. Her Bagoas was the perfect creation for that role. But as you've rightly pointed out, the character and the depiction of his relationships with others is based on little more than imagination and the needs of the story. None of which is a criticism, it's just damn good writing.

My own opinion, based on the status and position and cultures of the people involved, is that Hephaistion would hardly have noticed Bagoas at all. One doesn't notice slaves unless they get out of line, one certainly doesn't lose sleep over them. Nor does the fact that Alexander probably slept with him change that. Alexander must have had the same appetites as any other man of his time, and Bagoas was a pleasure slave after all ... what else was the king supposed to do with him? Not a particularly romantic approach, I admit - but there you have it. Of course, if people like the whole love triangle concept as shown in TPB, that's fine too. They probably won't like what I write, but these are my stories and my interpretations - based on research and yes, imagination. So I could be a thousand miles off base and will quite willingly admit to that, but this is fiction so in the end, it doesn't really matter. Discussion is all good. ;)