Book contents
- A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture
- A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Alexander and Alexandria in Life and Legend
- 3 The Image of Alexander in Ancient Art
- 4 Alexander, Philosophy and Rome
- 5 Christianising Alexander Traditions in Late Antiquity
- 6 Alexander in Ancient Jewish Literature
- 7 The Medieval Alexander
- 8 Alexander the Great and the Crusades
- 9 The Slavic Alexander
- 10 Alexander the Great in Byzantine Tradition, AD 330–1453
- 11 The Spanish Alexander
- 12 The Persian Alexander (1)
- 13 The Persian Alexander (2)
- 14 Alexander in Medieval Arab Minds
- 15 Alexander in the Age of Shakespeare
- 16 Alexander the Great in Opera
- 17 Alexander in the Long Eighteenth Century (c.1660–1830)
- 18 Images of Alexander in Germany
- 19 Alexander the Gay and the Gloryhole That Was Greece
- Index
- References
19 - Alexander the Gay and the Gloryhole That Was Greece
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2022
Edited by
Book contents
- A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture
- A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Alexander and Alexandria in Life and Legend
- 3 The Image of Alexander in Ancient Art
- 4 Alexander, Philosophy and Rome
- 5 Christianising Alexander Traditions in Late Antiquity
- 6 Alexander in Ancient Jewish Literature
- 7 The Medieval Alexander
- 8 Alexander the Great and the Crusades
- 9 The Slavic Alexander
- 10 Alexander the Great in Byzantine Tradition, AD 330–1453
- 11 The Spanish Alexander
- 12 The Persian Alexander (1)
- 13 The Persian Alexander (2)
- 14 Alexander in Medieval Arab Minds
- 15 Alexander in the Age of Shakespeare
- 16 Alexander the Great in Opera
- 17 Alexander in the Long Eighteenth Century (c.1660–1830)
- 18 Images of Alexander in Germany
- 19 Alexander the Gay and the Gloryhole That Was Greece
- Index
- References
Summary
Within contemporary Western gay communities, Alexander the Great is often championed as a hero and an inspirational figure – the ultimate high-status homosexual. This chapter explores the various ways in which he has been visualised within the gay community and its wider – more closeted – community. The chapter explores his literary image in the novels of Mary Renault, in stage musicals and pornography and in mainstream Hollywood cinema. The darker, anti-gay, reading of Alexander is also explored in the context of right-wing nationalism and the military.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A History of Alexander the Great in World Culture , pp. 424 - 447Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
References
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