Taking a picture at the Château de Versailles is a Herculean labour: scores of visitors are trying to outdo you, rush you, uproot you from your position. The quality of the image may suffer. Nevertheless, it's well worth the annoyance. Charles Le Brun's absolute masterpiece, "The Queens of Persia before Alexander", better known as "Alexander in the Tent of Darius" (1670). As told by Quintus Curtius and Arrian of Nicomedia, in the aftermath of the battle of Issus (333 BCE), Darius fled the field, forsaking his family. Alexander and Hephaestion, by then bound by φιλία, that is, sharing the same νόος, enter the tent and are met by the despairing royal family: Sisygambis, Darius's mother, kneels suppliantly before Hephaestion, whom she has mistaken for the shorter Alexander. When corrected, Alexander dismisses her mistake: "You are not amiss, woman. He is Alexander, too." #versailles #chateaudeversailles #charleslebrun #alexanderthegreat #hephaestion #alexanderandhephaestion #alexanderinthetentofdarius #battleofissus #quintuscurtius #arrianofnicomedia #φλιλία #νόος (at Château de Versailles) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTmwBPMgOA9/?utm_medium=tumblr