What was the name of Alexander's closest companion and general?

Hephaestion was Alexander the Great’s closest companion and one of his leading generals. A Macedonian nobleman, he was probably born around 356 BC, the same year as Alexander, and their friendship appears to have begun in youth.

Hephaestion served in Alexander’s personal bodyguard before taking major military responsibilities. He commanded cavalry, participated in campaigns from Greece to India, and handled engineering, diplomacy, sieges, and the founding of settlements. Alexander eventually appointed him chiliarch, effectively his second-in-command.

Ancient writers compared their bond to Achilles and Patroclus, the heroic pair celebrated in Homer’s Iliad. At Troy, Alexander honored Achilles while Hephaestion honored Patroclus. Whether their relationship was romantic remains debated, but their exceptional emotional and political closeness is well established.

Hephaestion died at Ecbatana in 324 BC. Alexander’s grief was immense: he ordered an elaborate funeral in Babylon and sought exceptional honors for his dead companion. Hephaestion should not be confused with Parmenion, another important Macedonian commander.