DK - Great Loves (DK Great)

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L ove makes the world go round, but it also hurts, and the course of true love never did run smooth, as Lysander observes in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream . While universally yearned for, great love is not easy to find or keep. It is therefore more precious and more envied than money, power, or fame.

This book celebrates historys greatest loves from ancient times to the current day. There are betrothals and betrayals, passion and pathos, wooings and weddings, as well as coups de foudre and slow burns that build over time. From the tragic tale of Antony and Cleopatra, to the tempestuous marriage of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, to the enduring contentment of the Ladies of Llangollen, love has as many faces as there are lovers.

There are kindred spirits who seem to be meant for each other, and lovers whom fate or families conspire to keep apart. Some couples have shared historic moments of triumph or tragedy; others have fought injustice side by side, founding nations and changing the world. Some great loves have ended in death and destruction, and others have proved eternal. Rulers such as Shah Jahan and Queen Victoria have immortalized their beloveds in stone, while artists, singers, and writers have poured their hearts onto paper or sung their loves praises to the heavens. These remarkable love stories, be they unforgettable, forbidden, tragic, or enduring, show the true power of love.

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1

Unforgettable love

Unforgettable love | Contents

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Nefertari

Ramses II

The pharaohs favorite queen

c . 12791250 BCE

O ver his 66-year reign, Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great, had at least eight wives and fathered as many as 100 children with his wives and concubines. Yet it is the pharaohs love for his first wife, Nefertari, that history remembers.

The grandson of Ramses Ithe founder of Ancient Egypts 19th dynastyRamses II was introduced to his royal duties at a young age. Before becoming king in 1279 BCE, the adolescent Ramses married Nefertari, a girl in her teens, probably from a noble family in Thebes (todays Luxor). Although Ramses married another wife at around the same time, Nefertari was always the future pharaohs chief wife and his favorite. Her name means beautiful companion.

Nefertari acquired the title Mother of the King when she gave birth to Ramses first son. In fact, Prince Amun-her-khepeshef died as a young man, and although Ramses and Nefertari had many children together, none of Nefertaris sons outlived their father to ascend the throne.

For Nefertari ... for whom the sun doth shine.

Inscription, Small Temple, Abu Simbel

In the early years of their marriage, Nefertari participated in state affairs, accompanying her husband on state occasions and traveling with him through the kingdom. Her important role is reflected in the number of monuments bearing her image with her signature vulture headdress. Throughout her life, Nefertari also received royal titles from her husband, including Great of Favors and Gods Wife.

Nefertari died in her mid-40s, around 1250 BCE, the cause of her death unknown. The pharaoh paid tribute to his first wife with an elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Queens, in Thebes, and in a rock-cut temple at Abu Simbel, where she is uniquely represented at the same size as Ramses himself. In the years after Nefertaris death, Ramses continued to have statues of his late wife erected throughout his kingdom.

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Alexander

Hephaestion

A king and his general

c . 343324 BCE

T he most important person in Alexander the Greats life was his beloved general Hephaestion. The son of a Macedonian general, Hephaestion Amyntoros had grown up with Alexander at court. As boys, the two were tutored together by the philosopher Aristotle.

Alexander became king when he was 20 years old. He earned the epithet the Great as a military conqueror, with Hephaestion, his boyhood friend, at his side. Hephaestion was once even mistaken for Alexander. The King took no offense, saying that they were both Alexandera sign of their closeness. The Cynic Epistles, written in the 1st century CE, claim Alexander was ruled by Hephaestions thighs.

The king was inspired by Achillesthe legendary hero of the Trojan War. He is said to have laid a wreath at a memorial to Achilles while Hephaestion laid one to Patroclus, Achilles lover. Like Patroclus, Hephaestion died first, in 324 BCE. Less than a year later, Alexander passed away, at the age of 32. Some said that without Hephaestion, he had lost the will to live.

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Dong Xian

Emperor Ai

The passion of the cut sleeve

c . 41 BCE

D ong Xian, originally a minor official in the Han Chinese court, caught the eye of Emperor Ai of Han when he was 19 years old. The emperor (reigned 71 BCE) was 23, and had been on the throne for three years. Much to the dismay of the rest of the courtespecially his own relatives, who were jockeying for powerEmperor Ai plied Dong Xian and his family with titles, promotions, and grain.

Dong Xian and the emperor were both already married, but their relationship was not considered detrimental to those bonds. The practice of taking a male favorite was so common that such lovers were listed in the official records of the Han dynasty.