this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
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Sappho and her Friend
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Explanation: It is generally accepted that Alexander the Great was bisexual by modern historians, and widely suspected that one of his lovers was his bodyguard, Hephaestion.
Lol .... always loved that description of his sexuality. What level of reaction did he give for any of his dead female lovers or wives? If he was bi, I'd guess he was 90% gay and 10% straight. Still technically bi but also flaming hot gay.
2,300 years ago and we still don't want to admit that a man could be anything other than straight. I think part of the difficulty in admitting this is the fact of what he accomplished as a military leader. It's somehow more great to everyone today if we just see him as fully heterosexual. It's a lot more difficult to accept if we admit that a gay man accomplished more than any fully heterosexual man ever did.
I have a young friend who is gay and hiding his sexuality in the US army. He's gone through basic training in South Carolina this past winter. I told him this history and he couldn't believe it and said I was making up stories to make him feel good. He got back to me months later to tell me he read up on all this is and was amazed. He said his Hephaestion was waiting for him at home.