The Persian Boy
Encyclopedia
The Persian Boy is a 1972 historical novel
written by Mary Renault
and narrated by Bagoas
, a young Persian
from an aristocratic
family who is captured by his father's enemies, castrated
, and sold as a slave to the king Darius III, who makes him his favorite. Eventually he becomes the lover and most faithful servant of Alexander the Great, who overthrew Darius and captured the Persian Empire. Bagoas' narration provides both a Persian view of the conquest and an intimate look at the personality of the conqueror. In Renault's view, Alexander's love for Bagoas influenced his desire to unite the Greek
and Persian peoples. Renault also posits the notion that Alexander's relentless drive to conquer the world stemmed in part from his troubled relationship with his domineering mother, and his desire to "escape" from her influence by leading his army ever eastward.
, where relationships between adult men and adolescent boys were celebrated. In the novel, Bagoas is 15 years old when he begins his relationship with Alexander (then about 26). Renault depicts the attachment as lasting until Alexander's death, when Bagoas would have been about 22. She movingly explores the tensions in the triangular relationship between Alexander and his two lovers, Hephaistion and Bagoas, and suggests that Alexander went mad with grief over Hephaistion's untimely death.
, his abortive invasion of India
, his marriage to Roxane
, his crossing of the Gedrosian Desert
, the death of Hephaistion and his own final illness and death.
Bagoas was a historical figure, identified by the Roman
historian Curtius
as "a eunuch exceptional in beauty and in the very flower of boyhood, with whom Darius was intimate and with whom Alexander would later be intimate." Plutarch
described Alexander's troops, seeing their leader sitting with the boy, as "clapping their hands and shouting till Alexander put his arms round him and kissed him." From these and a few other fragments, Renault creates an imaginative portrait of a lover and confidant to Alexander. In a review of The Persian Boy, historian Jeanne Reames wrote:
Curtius' history of Alexander presents Bagoas as a vindictive schemer who revenges himself on a Persian noble named Orsines who failed to give him gifts by lying to Alexander about him, eventually succeeding in having him tried and executed. Renault, who accuses Curtius of "muddled sensationalism" in an author's note, points to other sources who suggest that Orxines (as she calls him) was in fact a "murderous" character, and portrays him in the novel as fully deserving his fate. The claim by Curtius that Orsines did not plunder the royal tombs but that these sepulchres were devoid in the first place of rich offerings is an absurd one, as Renault points out, and totally unacceptable in the light of our knowledge of Persian culture.
Renault also points out that the incident in which the army clamored for Alexander to kiss Bagoas took place very soon after the crossing of the Gedrosian desert, when all those present were survivors of that harrowing incident. Renault argues that Bagoas must have earned the admiration and affection of the army by his courage and fortitude, and his help to others, during the desert crossing.
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
written by Mary Renault
Mary Renault
Mary Renault born Eileen Mary Challans, was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece...
and narrated by Bagoas
Bagoas (courtier)
Bagoas was a eunuch in the Persian Empire in the 4th Century BCE, said to have been the catamite of Darius III, and later the Eromenos of Alexander the Great.-The Famous Kiss:...
, a young Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
from an aristocratic
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
family who is captured by his father's enemies, castrated
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
, and sold as a slave to the king Darius III, who makes him his favorite. Eventually he becomes the lover and most faithful servant of Alexander the Great, who overthrew Darius and captured the Persian Empire. Bagoas' narration provides both a Persian view of the conquest and an intimate look at the personality of the conqueror. In Renault's view, Alexander's love for Bagoas influenced his desire to unite the Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Persian peoples. Renault also posits the notion that Alexander's relentless drive to conquer the world stemmed in part from his troubled relationship with his domineering mother, and his desire to "escape" from her influence by leading his army ever eastward.
Plot introduction
Like much of Renault's fiction, the book, published in 1972, provides a sympathetic portrait of homosexual love. The Persian Boy is notable for its depiction of the tradition of pederasty in ancient GreecePederasty in ancient Greece
Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged relationship between an adult and a younger male usually in his teens. It was characteristic of the Archaic and Classical periods...
, where relationships between adult men and adolescent boys were celebrated. In the novel, Bagoas is 15 years old when he begins his relationship with Alexander (then about 26). Renault depicts the attachment as lasting until Alexander's death, when Bagoas would have been about 22. She movingly explores the tensions in the triangular relationship between Alexander and his two lovers, Hephaistion and Bagoas, and suggests that Alexander went mad with grief over Hephaistion's untimely death.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The book describes the major incidents of Alexander's later career, such as his conquest of BactriaBactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
, his abortive invasion of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, his marriage to Roxane
Roxane
Roxane may be:* An alternative spelling for the female given name Roxanne; from the Persian Roshanak* Roxane, a brand name of the drug roxatidine* 317 Roxane, an asteroid* Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great...
, his crossing of the Gedrosian Desert
Gedrosia
Gedrosia from Pashto Gwadar-khua is the hellenized name of an area that corresponds to today's Balochistan. Eastern Balochistan is southwestern province of Pakistan and parts of southwestern and south-central Afghanistan and western Balochistan is divided between Iranian provinces of Hormozgan and...
, the death of Hephaistion and his own final illness and death.
Bagoas was a historical figure, identified by the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
historian Curtius
Quintus Curtius Rufus
Quintus Curtius Rufus was a Roman historian, writing probably during the reign of the Emperor Claudius or Vespasian. His only surviving work, Historiae Alexandri Magni, is a biography of Alexander the Great in Latin in ten books, of which the first two are lost, and the remaining eight are...
as "a eunuch exceptional in beauty and in the very flower of boyhood, with whom Darius was intimate and with whom Alexander would later be intimate." Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
described Alexander's troops, seeing their leader sitting with the boy, as "clapping their hands and shouting till Alexander put his arms round him and kissed him." From these and a few other fragments, Renault creates an imaginative portrait of a lover and confidant to Alexander. In a review of The Persian Boy, historian Jeanne Reames wrote:
- That Alexander may have been attracted to a eunuch is possible enough, and there is certainly testimony that he kept Bagoas with him at least some of the time. But there is no evidence that Bagoas was as important to, much less as influential over, Alexander as Renault paints. She gives to Bagoas a role which history suggests was filled by Hephaistion. http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~jreameszimmerman/Beyond_Renault/renault.html However, she points out, quite correctly, that the historical sources name Bagoas, not Hephaistion, as the eromenos ("beloved") of Alexander.
Curtius' history of Alexander presents Bagoas as a vindictive schemer who revenges himself on a Persian noble named Orsines who failed to give him gifts by lying to Alexander about him, eventually succeeding in having him tried and executed. Renault, who accuses Curtius of "muddled sensationalism" in an author's note, points to other sources who suggest that Orxines (as she calls him) was in fact a "murderous" character, and portrays him in the novel as fully deserving his fate. The claim by Curtius that Orsines did not plunder the royal tombs but that these sepulchres were devoid in the first place of rich offerings is an absurd one, as Renault points out, and totally unacceptable in the light of our knowledge of Persian culture.
Renault also points out that the incident in which the army clamored for Alexander to kiss Bagoas took place very soon after the crossing of the Gedrosian desert, when all those present were survivors of that harrowing incident. Renault argues that Bagoas must have earned the admiration and affection of the army by his courage and fortitude, and his help to others, during the desert crossing.
See also
- Funeral Games