Bagoas (courtier)


 * For other uses, see Bagoas (disambiguation)

Bagoas ( Bagoi, Βαγώας Bagōas) 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 (Beloved) of Alexander the Great.

Bagoas' kiss
According to Plutarch, 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. Whether or not Bagoas had ever been kissed before, by king Darius III or someone else, is unknown. It is also not known whether or not he was ever kissed again.

Fictionalized versions

 * 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.
 * He makes an even briefer appearance 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 basically the same as Renault's, except that he is more willing to find a new lover after the death of Alexander.
 * He is played by Francisco Bosch in the Oliver Stone film Alexander (2004), which is based in part on Renault's writings.