Paragraph: (Wiki_articles/wikiAlexander the Great-66.txt)
Sent 1: Alexander married twice: Roxana, daughter of the Bactrian nobleman Oxyartes, out of love; and Stateira II, a Persian princess and daughter of Darius III of Persia, for political reasons.
Sent 2: He apparently had two sons, Alexander IV of Macedon of Roxana and, possibly, Heracles of Macedon from his mistress Barsine.
Sent 3: He lost another child when Roxana miscarried at Babylon.
Sent 4: Alexander also had a close relationship with his friend, general, and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble.
Sent 5: Hephaestion's death devastated Alexander.
Sent 6: This event may have contributed to Alexander's failing health and detached mental state during his final months.
Sent 7: Alexander's sexuality has been the subject of speculation and controversy.
Sent 8: No ancient sources stated that Alexander had homosexual relationships, or that Alexander's relationship with Hephaestion was sexual.
Sent 9: Aelian, however, writes of Alexander's visit to Troy where "Alexander garlanded the tomb of Achilles and Hephaestion that of Patroclus, the latter riddling that he was a beloved of Alexander, in just the same way as Patroclus was of Achilles".
Sent 10: Noting that the word eromenos (ancient Greek for beloved) does not necessarily bear sexual meaning, Alexander may have been bisexual, which in his time was not controversial.
Sent 11: Green argues that there is little evidence in ancient sources that Alexander had much carnal interest in women; he did not produce an heir until the very end of his life.
Sent 12: However, he was relatively young when he died, and Ogden suggests that Alexander's matrimonial record is more impressive than his father's at the same age.
Sent 13: Apart from wives, Alexander had many more female companions.
Sent 14: Alexander accumulated a harem in the style of Persian kings, but he used it rather sparingly; showing great self-control in "pleasures of the body".
Sent 15: Nevertheless, Plutarch described how Alexander was infatuated by Roxana while complimenting him on not forcing himself on her.
Sent 16: Green suggested that, in the context of the period, Alexander formed quite strong friendships with women, including Ada of Caria, who adopted him, and even Darius's mother Sisygambis, who supposedly died from grief upon hearing of Alexander's death.