Bagoas (courtier)
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Bagoas (Old Persian: Bagāvahyā; Ancient Greek: Βαγώας, Bagōas) was a eunuch in the court of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC.[1][2] Bagoas was a courtier of Darius III[3][4] and later of Alexander the Great.[5]
Bagoas' kiss[edit]
According to Plutarch,[6] Bagoas won a dancing contest after the Macedonian crossing of the Gedrosian Desert. The Macedonian troops, with whom Bagoas was very popular, demanded that king Alexander should kiss Bagoas, and he did so.[5]
Fictionalized versions[edit]
- Bagoas is the narrator and title character of The Persian Boy, the historical novel by Mary Renault, which portrays him sympathetically. He reappears in a smaller but still significant role in the sequel Funeral Games.[7][8]
- He appears in Les Conquêtes d'Alexandre by Roger Peyrefitte. Peyrefitte, unlike Renault, has Bagoas riding to battle by the side of Darius.
- He is also a major character in Jo Graham's novel Stealing Fire, part of her Numinous World series. Graham's Bagoas is more willing to find a new lover after the death of Alexander the Great than in Renault's depiction.
Notes[edit]
- ^ Athenaeus of Naucratis (1854). "Chapter 80". The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned. Vol. XIII. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge. London: Bohn's Classical Library. LCCN 2002554451. OCLC 49415755 – via Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Rufus 1714, p. 78, Book II, Chapter I.
- ^ Rufus 1714, p. 331, Book VI, Chapter V: "Bagoas, an Eunuch, who was in the flower of his Youth, and had been familiarly us'd by Darius formerly, and was now by Alexander..."
- ^ Aelianus, Claudius (1670) [1665]. "Chapter XXIII of Alexander". Various Histories (Varia Historia). Vol. III. Translated by Thomas Stanley (2nd ed.). London: Thomas Basset. pp. 63–99.
- ^ a b Rufus 1714, p. 169, Book X, Chapter I.
- ^ Plutarch (1865) [1859]. "Life of Alexander". In Clough, Arthur Hugh (ed.). Plutarch's Lives. Vol. IV. Translated by John Dryden (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: University College, London. p. 67 – via Wikisource.
- ^ Baynham, Elizabeth; Ryan, Terry (26 April 2018). ""The Unmanly Ruler": Bagoas, Alexander's Eunuch Lover, Mary Renault's The Persian Boy, and Alexander Reception". Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. Brill: 615–639. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Tougher, Sean (2008). "THE RENAULT BAGOAS: THE TREATMENT OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S EUNUCH IN MARY RENAULT'S THE PERSIAN BOY" (PDF). NEW VOICES IN CLASSICAL RECEPTION STUDIES (3): 77–89. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
Sources[edit]
- Athenaeus of Naucratis (1854). The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge. London, United Kingdom: Bohn's Classical Library. LCCN 2002554451. OCLC 49415755 – via Perseus Digital Library.
- Plutarch (1865) [1859]. Clough, Arthur Hugh (ed.). Parallel Lives. Translated by John Dryden (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: University College, London – via Wikisource.
- Aelianus, Claudius (1670) [1665]. Various Histories (Varia Historia). Translated by Thomas Stanley (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Thomas Basset.
- Rufus, Quintus Curtius; et al. (Foreword by Johann Freinsheim) (1714). Histories of Alexander the Great. Vol. I. Translated by John Digby. London, United Kingdom: W.B. for Bernard Lintott – via Archive.org.
External links[edit]
- "Bagoas Pleads on Behalf of Nabarzanes," illuminated parchment by the Master of the Jardin de vertueuse consolation, in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum