Ah, now I understand why I've always believed Hephaestion topped Alexander! I could never see it as a typical dominant/submissive thing, yet I felt Hephaestion would take the lead -- and you've brought it all home to me. So why don't you edit out all that self-critical nonsense in your header, eh? This was lovely. And to my mind, there's a kind of sense in Alexander having a (very) different relationship with Bagoas and Hephaestion (obviously he "tops" when paired with Bagoas) -- each relationship fulfills a different part of Alexander's soul.
As you show, being the one "on top" need not translate to dominance, there's plenty of room for tenderness and that desire to merge with the beloved -- as you put it, it's almost a maternal need in Hephaestion to nourish and succor Alexander. And it's funny, but I agree with you about Movieverse Hephaestion; Jared has that Ganymede quality...but theoretically the "real" Hephaestion may have been quite a lot bigger and more imposing than Alexander. I think it's adorable that we're all trying to determine, in 2004, who topped in that relationship....
glad you liked this! it is a fascinating topic, isn't it? before the movie i always pictured hephaistion to be more in the style of hugh jackman, or similar, tall, lean but obviously muscled, i suppose. i think the "he, too, is alexander" is my favourite story of all. wah. *gets all shippy*
As you show, being the one "on top" need not translate to dominance, there's plenty of room for tenderness and that desire to merge with the beloved -- as you put it, it's almost a maternal need in Hephaestion to nourish and succor Alexander. And it's funny, but I agree with you about Movieverse Hephaestion; Jared has that Ganymede quality...but theoretically the "real" Hephaestion may have been quite a lot bigger and more imposing than Alexander. I think it's adorable that we're all trying to determine, in 2004, who topped in that relationship....
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thank you so much for reading!
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