The Minister of Culture of Greece, Lina Mendoni, has publicly criticised Netflix’s new series, Alexander: The Making Of A God, calling it a “fiction of extremely poor quality” that is “full of historical inaccuracies”. The show, which chronicles the rise of Alexander the Great from the moment of his father’s assassination to the establishing of his own empire, premiered on the popular streaming service last week.
Mendoni’s condemnation of the show came after a request to officially denounce it during a parliamentary session. Although she acknowledged that the show contains factual inaccuracies, Mendoni stressed that her ministry does not engage in censorship or prosecution of art.
According to the Greek Herald, Mendoni stated that “the elements of Alexander’s personality are not brought out in the Netflix series, which does not serve the historical truth. It seeks easy sensationalism to gain viewers by using malicious commentary as supposed facts. The platform characterises the series as a documentary with scenes of fiction. In essence, it is an extremely low-quality fiction, of low content, which is far removed from historical events as recorded in ancient written sources and documented by archaeological research.”
Mendoni’s comments were primarily in response to the show’s opening episode, which featured Alexander kissing another man, his close friend and bodyguard Hephaestion. The accuracy of the scene has been disputed, with critics pointing out that while there is no evidence indicating that the two were in a romantic relationship, it is possible that they were intimate as was not uncommon for male relationships during that era.
Despite the controversy, the show continues to be available on Netflix, and while it has received mixed reviews from viewers, it has sparked renewed interest in the life and legacy of Alexander the Great
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