Greece’s Minister of Culture Slams Alexander the Great Netflix Series as “low content, rife with historical inaccuracies”

Instead of reading history books, people would much rather watch movies and TV shows to know what happened in the past and how those events shape our future. From kings and queens to conquerors like Alexander and dictators like Hitler, even the industry enjoys making movies and series on aspects of historical relevance. The most recent addition to this list is Alexander: The Making of a God, a Netflix show on the eponymous ruler’s rise to fame.

Netflix’s Alexander: The Making of a God Sparks Uproar

While Netflix claims the drama-documentary has been made with contemporary accounts and fact-based archaeology, the Minister of Culture of Greece seems to disagree. Alexander: The Making of a God follows Alexander’s life as a conqueror, a warrior, and a lover. The ruler’s life is unraveled for the masses to see what made him great. The six-part docuseries strives to explore the truth and show events as they must have happened. From his relentless pursuit of victory to his unabashed need for revenge, every aspect finds depiction in the series.

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The Cultural Minister of Greece has commented on the portrayal of the ruler’s intimate relationship with his confidant and friend Hephaestion. Lina Mendoni says that the docuseries is replete with historical inaccuracies. Claims have been made that the show is distorting the truth and spreading speculation that began with the movie Alexander in 2004. The show has been called “deplorable, unacceptable, and unhistorical” by Dimitris Natsiou, who is a part of an extreme-right political party in Greece. To this, The Guardian reported that Mendoni said,

“There is no mention in the sources that it goes beyond the limits of friendship, as defined by Aristotle. But you will know that the concept of love in antiquity is broad and multidimensional. We cannot interpret either practices or persons who acted 2,300 years ago by our own measures, our own norms and assumptions. Alexander the Great, for 2,300 years, has never needed, nor does he need now, the intervention of any unsolicited protector of his historical memory or, even more, of his personality and moral standing.”

At the same time, the Minister of Culture clarified that Greece does not propagate censorship or ban artists’ freedom. They believe in the institution of a liberated world where artists are free to express themselves freely. The government can only comment on the misrepresentation and urge filmmakers to do thorough research before presenting a topic to the audience.

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Rumors of Alexander’s Sexuality

Back in the day, Greeks did not have a word for homosexuals or gay people. For them, it was just love and sexuality. The nature of Alexander’s relationship with Hephaestion has always been debated. People have often compared them to Achilles and Patroclus, who were close friends since they were children. Professors and historians of Greek history have claimed that same-sex relationships have never been taboo but a regular part of life.

Hephaestion and Ptolemy were two of the closest friends of the conqueror. The ruler trusted their advice and depended on them for support. The docuseries claims that it merely speculates on Alexander’s private life rather than giving a concrete answer to the question if he was gay. The definitions of such concepts keep changing, and hence, it is very difficult to box Alexander’s sexuality.