Bagoas (courtier)


Bagoas was the name of two eunuchs in the court of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC. Bagoas the Elder was a courtier of Darius and later 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.

Fictionalized versions