In the court of Alexander it was once the greatest
of all slanderous charges to say that a man did not
worship Hephaestion or even make obeisance to him
—for after the death of Hephaestion, Alexander for
the love he bore him determined to add to his other
great feats that of appointing the dead man a god.
So the cities at once erected temples; plots of ground -
were consecrated ; altars, sacrifices and feasts were
established in honour of this new god, and everybody’s strongest oath was “By Hephaestion.” If
anyone smiled at what went on or failed to'seem
quite reverent, the penalty prescribed was death.
The flatterers, taking hold of this childish passion
of Alexander’s, at once began to feed it and fan it
into flame by telling about dreams of Hephaestion,
in that way ascribing to him visitations and cures
and accrediting him with prophecies; and at last