Bagoas (Old Persian: Bagāvahyā; Ancient Greek: Βαγώας, Bagōas) was a eunuch in the court of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC.^[1][2] Bagoas was a courtier of Darius III^[3][4] and later of Alexander the Great.^[5]

Bagoas' kiss

According to Plutarch,^[6] 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.^[5]

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.
• The Serpent's Oath (2021) by A.R. Valeson portrays a historical fiction romance between King Henry VIII's Master Secretary, Thomas Cromwell and the eunuch, Arthamaeus, inspired by the courtier Bagoas.
• He makes an even briefer appearance in Les Conquêtes d'Alexandre by Roger Peyrefitte. Peyrefitte, unlike Mary 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 Mary Renault's, except that he is more willing to find a new lover after the death of Alexander the Great.
• He is played by Francisco Bosch in the Oliver Stone film Alexander (2004), which is based in part on Renault's writings.^{[citation needed]}
• In the Red Dwarf episode "Marooned," Arnold Rimmer confesses that he did past-life regression, and that he discovered he was "Alexander the Great's chief eunuch"; many believe Bagoas to be the eunuch in question, though Rob Grant and Doug Naylor didn't seem to know of Bagoas' existence at the time.