LIFE OF ALEXANDER.

I. In writing the Lives of Alexander the Great and of Cæsar the

conqueror of Pompeius, which are contained in this book, I have before

me such an abundance of materials, that I shall make no other preface

than to beg the reader, if he finds any of their famous exploits

recorded imperfectly, and with large excisions, not to regard this as

a fault. I am writing biography, not history; and often a man's most

brilliant actions prove nothing as to his true character, while some

trifling incident, some casual remark or jest, will throw more light

upon what manner of man he was than the bloodiest battle, the greatest

array of armies, or the most important siege. Therefore, just as

portrait painters pay most attention to those peculiarities of the

face and eyes, in which the likeness consists, and care but little for

the rest of the figure, so it is my duty to dwell especially upon

those actions which reveal the workings of my heroes' minds, and from

these to construct the portraits of their respective lives, leaving

their battles and their great deeds to be recorded by others.

II. All are agreed that Alexander was descended on his father's side

from Herakles through Karanus, and on his mother's from Æakus through

Neoptolemus.

We are told that Philip and Olympias first met during their initiation

into the sacred mysteries at Samothrace, and that he, while yet a boy,

fell in love with the orphan girl, and persuaded her brother Arymbas

to consent to their marriage. The bride, before she consorted with her

husband, dreamed that she had been struck by a thunderbolt, from which

a sheet of flame sprang out in every direction, and then suddenly died

away. Philip himself some time after his marriage dreamed that he set

a seal upon his wife's body, on which was engraved the figure of a

lion. When he consulted the soothsayers as to what this meant, most of

them declared the meaning to be, that his wife required more careful

watching; but Aristander of Telmessus declared that she must be

pregnant, because men do not seal up what is empty, and that she would

bear a son of a spirited and lion-like disposition. Once Philip found

his wife asleep, with a large tame snake stretched beside her; and

this, it is said, quite put an end to his passion for her, and made

him avoid her society, either because he feared the magic arts of his

wife, or else from a religious scruple, because his place was more

worthily filled. Another version of this story is that the women of

Macedonia have been from very ancient times subject to the Orphic and

Bacchic frenzy (whence they were called Clodones and Mimallones), and

perform the same rites as do the Edonians and the Thracian women about

Mount Haemus, from which the word "threskeuein" has come to mean "to

be over-superstitious." Olympias, it is said, celebrated these rites

with exceeding fervour, and in imitation of the Orientals, and to

introduce into the festal procession large tame serpents,[394] which

struck terror into the men as they glided through the ivy wreaths and

mystic baskets which the women carried on their heads.

III. We are told that Philip after this portent sent Chairon of

Megalopolis to Delphi, to consult the god there, and that he delivered

an oracular response bidding him sacrifice to Zeus Ammon, and to pay

especial reverence to that god: warning him, moreover, that he would

some day lose the sight of that eye with which, through the chink of

the half-opened door, he had seen the god consorting with his wife in

the form of a serpent. The historian Eratosthenes informs us that when

Alexander was about to set out on his great expedition, Olympias told

him the secret of his birth, and bade him act worthily of his divine

parentage. Other writers say that she scrupled to mention the subject,

and was heard to say "Why does Alexander make Hera jealous of me?"

Alexander was born on the sixth day of the month Hekatombæon,[395]

which the Macedonians call Lous, the same day on which the temple of

Artemis at Ephesus was burned. This coincidence inspired Hegesias of

Magnesia to construct a ponderous joke, dull enough to have put out

the fire, which was, that it was no wonder that the temple of Artemis

was burned, since she was away from, it, attending to the birth of

Alexander.[396] All the Persian magi who were in Ephesus at the time

imagined that the destruction of the temple was but the forerunner of

a greater disaster, and ran through the city beating their faces and

shouting that on that day was born the destroyer of Asia. Philip, who

had just captured the city of Potidæa, received at that time three

messengers. The first announced that the Illyrians had been severely

defeated by Parmenio; the second that his racehorse had won a victory

at Olympia, and the third, that Alexander was born. As one may well

believe, he was delighted at such good news and was yet more overjoyed

when the soothsayers told him that his son, whose birth coincided with

three victories, would surely prove invincible.

IV. His personal appearance is best shown by the statues of Lysippus,

the only artist whom he allowed to represent him; in whose works we

can clearly trace that slight droop of his head towards the left, and

that keen glance of his eyes which formed his chief characteristics,

and which were afterwards imitated by his friends and successors.

Apelles, in his celebrated picture of Alexander wielding a

thunderbolt, has not exactly copied the fresh tint of his flesh, but

has made it darker and swarthier than it was, for we are told that his

skin was remarkably fair, inclining to red about the face and breast.

We learn from the memoirs of Aristoxenes, that his body diffused a

rich perfume, which scented his clothes, and that his breath was

remarkably sweet. This was possibly caused by the hot and fiery

constitution of his body; for sweet scents are produced, according to

Theophrastus, by heat acting upon moisture. For this reason the

hottest and driest regions of the earth produce the most aromatic

perfumes, because the sun dries up that moisture which causes most

substances to decay.

Alexander's warm temperament of body seems to have rendered him fond

of drinking, and fiery in disposition. As a youth he showed great

power of self-control, by abstaining from all sensual pleasures in

spite of his vehement and passionate nature; while his intense desire

for fame rendered him serious and high-minded beyond his years.

For many kinds of glory, however, Alexander cared little; unlike his

father Philip, who prided himself on his oratorical powers, and used

to record his victories in the chariot races at Olympia upon his

coins. Indeed, when Alexander's friends, to try him, asked him whether

he would contend in the foot race at Olympia, for he was a remarkably

swift runner, he answered, "Yes, if I have kings to contend with." He

seems to have been altogether indifferent to athletic exercises; for

though he gave more prizes than any one else to be contended for by

dramatists, flute players, harp players, and even by rhapsodists,[397]

and though he delighted in all manner of hunting and cudgel playing,

he never seems to have taken any interest in the contests of boxing or

the pankratium.[398] When ambassadors from the King of Persia arrived

in Macedonia, Philip was absent, and Alexander entertained them. His

engaging manners greatly charmed them, and he became their intimate

friend. He never put any childish questions to them, but made many

enquiries about the length of the journey from the sea coast to the

interior of Persia, about the roads which led thither, about the king,

whether he was experienced in war or not, and about the resources and

military strength of the Persian empire, so that the ambassadors were

filled with admiration, and declared that the boasted subtlety of

Philip was nothing in comparison with the intellectual vigour and

enlarged views of his son. Whenever he heard of Philip's having taken

some city or won some famous victory, he used to look unhappy at the

news, and would say to his friends, "Boys, my father will forestall us

in everything; he will leave no great exploits for you and me to

achieve." Indeed, he cared nothing for pleasure or wealth, but only

for honour and glory; and he imagined that the more territory he

inherited from his father, the less would be left for him to conquer.

He feared that his father's conquests would be so complete, as to

leave him no more battles to fight, and he wished to succeed, not to a

wealthy and luxurious, but to a military empire, at the head of which

he might gratify his desire for war and adventure.

His education was superintended by many nurses, pedagogues, and

teachers, the chief of whom was Leonidas, a harsh-tempered man, who

was nearly related to Olympias. He did not object to the title of

pedagogue,[399] thinking that his duties are most valuable and

honourable, but, on account of his high character and relationship to

Alexander, was generally given the title of tutor by the others. The

name and office of pedagogue was claimed by one Lysimachus, an

Akarnanian by birth, and a dull man, but who gained the favour of

Alexander by addressing him as Achilles, calling himself Phœnix, and

Philip, Peleus.

VI. When Philoneikus the Thessalian brought the horse Boukephalus[400]

and offered it to Philip for the sum of thirteen talents, the king and

his friends proceeded to some level ground to try the horse's paces.

They found that he was very savage and unmanageable, for he allowed no

one to mount him, and paid no attention to any man's voice, but

refused to allow any one to approach him. On this Philip became

angry, and bade them take the vicious intractable brute away.

Alexander, who was present, said, "What a fine horse they are ruining

because they are too ignorant and cowardly to manage him." Philip at

first was silent, but when Alexander repeated this remark several

times, and seemed greatly distressed, he said, "Do you blame your

elders, as if you knew more than they, or were better able to manage a

horse?" "This horse, at any rate," answered Alexander, "I could manage

better than any one else." "And if you cannot manage him," retorted

his father, "what penalty will you pay for your forwardness?" "I will

pay," said Alexander, "the price of the horse."

While the others were laughing and settling the terms of the wager,

Alexander ran straight up to the horse, took him by the bridle, and

turned him to the sun; as it seems he had noticed that the horse's

shadow dancing before his eyes alarmed him and made him restive. He

then spoke gently to the horse, and patted him on the back with his

hand, until he perceived that he no longer snorted so wildly, when,

dropping his cloak, he lightly leaped upon his back. He now steadily

reined him in, without violence or blows, and as he saw that the horse

was no longer ill-tempered, but only eager to gallop, he let him go,

boldly urging him to full speed with his voice and heel.

Philip and his friends were at first silent with terror; but when he

wheeled the horse round, and rode up to them exulting in his success,

they burst into a loud shout. It is said that his father wept for joy,

and, when he dismounted, kissed him, saying, "My son, seek for a

kingdom worthy of yourself: for Macedonia will not hold you."

VII. Philip, seeing that his son was easily led, but could not be made

to do anything by force, used always to manage him by persuasion, and

never gave him orders. As he did not altogether care to entrust his

education to the teachers whom he had obtained, but thought that it

would be too difficult a task for them, since Alexander required, as

Sophokles says of a ship:

"Stout ropes to check him, and stout oars to guide."

he sent for Aristotle, the most renowned philosopher of the age, to

be his son's tutor, and paid him a handsome reward for doing so. He

had captured and destroyed Aristotle's native city of Stageira; but

now he rebuilt it, and repeopled it, ransoming the citizens, who had

been, sold for slaves, and bringing back those who were living in

exile. For Alexander and Aristotle he appointed the temple and grove

of the nymphs, near the city of Mieza, as a school-house and dwelling;

and there to this day are shown the stone seat where Aristotle sat,

and the shady avenues where he used to walk. It is thought that

Alexander was taught by him not only his doctrines of Morals and

Politics, but also those more abstruse mysteries which are only

communicated orally and are kept concealed from the vulgar: for after

he had invaded Asia, hearing that Aristotle had published some

treatises on these subjects, he wrote him a letter in which he

defended the practice of keeping these speculations secret in the

following words:--

"Alexander to Aristotle wishes health. You have not done well in

publishing abroad those sciences which should only be taught by word

of mouth. For how shall we be distinguished from other men, if the

knowledge which we have acquired be made the common property of all? I

myself had rather excel others in excellency of learning than in

greatness of power. Farewell."

To pacify him, Aristotle wrote in reply that these doctrines were

published, and yet not published: meaning that his treatise on

Metaphysics was only written for those who had been instructed in

philosophy by himself, and would be quite useless in other hands.

VIII. I think also that Aristotle more than any one else implanted a

love of medicine in Alexander, who was not only fond of discussing the

theory, but used to prescribe for his friends when they were sick, and

order them to follow special courses of treatment and diet, as we

gather from his letters. He was likewise fond of literature and of

reading, and we are told by Onesikritus that he was wont to call the

Iliad a complete manual of the military art, and that he always

carried with him Aristotle's recension of Homer's poems, which is

called 'the casket copy,' and placed it under his pillow together

with his dagger. Being without books when in the interior of Asia, he

ordered Harpalus to send him some. Harpalus sent him the histories of

Philistus, several plays of Euripides, Sophokles, and Æschylus, and

the dithyrambic hymns of Telestus and Philoxenus.

Alexander when a youth used to love and admire Aristotle more even

than his father, for he said that the latter had enabled him to live,

but that the former had taught him to live well. He afterwards

suspected him somewhat; yet he never did him any injury, but only was

not so friendly with him as he had been, whereby it was observed that

he no longer bore him the good-will he was wont to do. Notwithstanding

this, he never lost that interest in philosophical speculation which

he had acquired in his youth, as it proved by the honours which he

paid to Anaxarchus, the fifty talents which he sent as a present to

Xenokrates, and the protection and encouragement which he gave to

Dandamris and Kalanus.

IX. When Philip was besieging Byzantium he left to Alexander, who was

then only sixteen years old, the sole charge of the administration of

the kingdom of Macedonia, confirming his authority by entrusting to

him his own signet.[401] He defeated and subdued the Mædian[402]

rebels, took their city, ejected its barbarian inhabitants, and

reconstituted it as a Grecian colony, to which he gave the name of

Alexandropolis.

He was present at the battle against the Greeks at Chæronea, and it is

said to have been the first to charge the Sacred Band of the Thebans.

Even in my own time, an old oak tree used to be pointed out, near the

river Kephissus,[403] which was called Alexander's oak, because his

tent was pitched beside it. It stands not far from the place where the

Macedonian corpses were buried after the battle. Philip, as we may

imagine, was overjoyed at these proofs of his son's courage and

skill, and nothing pleased him more than to hear the Macedonians call

Alexander their king, and himself their general. Soon, however, the

domestic dissensions produced by Philip's amours and marriages caused

an estrangement between them, and the breach was widened by Olympias,

a jealous and revengeful woman, who incensed Alexander against his

father. But what especially moved Alexander was the conduct of Attalus

at the marriage feast of his niece Kleopatra. Philip, who was now too

old for marriage, had become enamoured of this girl, and after the

wedding, Attalus in his cups called upon the Macedonians to pray to

the gods that from the union of Philip and Kleopatra might be born a

legitimate heir to the throne.

Enraged at these words, Alexander exclaimed, "You villain, am I then a

bastard?" and threw a drinking cup at him. Philip, seeing this, rose

and drew his sword to attack Alexander; but fortunately for both he

was so excited by drink and rage that he missed his footing and fell

headlong to the ground. Hereupon Alexander mocking him observed, "This

is the man who was preparing to cross from Europe to Asia, and has

been overthrown in passing from one couch[404] to another."

After this disgraceful scene, Alexander, with his mother Olympias,

retired into Epirus, where he left her, and proceeded to the country

of the Illyrians. About the same time Demaratus of Corinth, an old

friend of the family, and privileged to speak his mind freely, came on

a visit to Philip. After the first greetings were over, Philip

enquired whether the states of Greece agreed well together. "Truly,

King Philip," answered Demaratus, "it well becomes you to show an

interest in the agreement of the Greeks, after you have raised such

violent quarrels in your own family."

These words had such an effect upon Philip that Demaratus was able to

prevail upon him to make his peace with Alexander and to induce him to

return.

X. Yet when Pixodarus, the satrap of Karia, hoping to connect himself

with Philip, and so to obtain him as an ally, offered his eldest

daughter in marriage to Arrhidæus, Philip's natural son, and sent

Aristokrites to Macedonia to conduct the negotiations, Olympias and

her friends again exasperated Alexander against his father by pointing

out to him that Philip, by arranging this splendid marriage for

Arrhidæus, and treating him as a person of such great importance, was

endeavouring to accustom the Macedonians to regard him as the heir to

the throne. Alexander yielded to these representations so far as to

send Thessalus, the tragic actor, on a special mission to Pixodarus in

Karia, to assure him that he ought to disregard Arrhidæus, who was

illegitimate, and foolish to boot, and that it was to Alexander that

he ought to offer the hand of his daughter.

Pixodarus was much more eager to accept this proposal than the former,

but Philip one day hearing that Alexander was alone in his chamber,

went thither with Philotas, the son of Parmenio, an intimate friend,

and bitterly reproached him, pointing out how unworthy it was of his

high birth and glorious position to stoop to marry the daughter of a

mere Karian,[405] and of a barbarian who was a subject of the King of

Persia.

Upon this he wrote to the Corinthians to send him Thessalus in chains,

and also banished out of his kingdom Harpalus, Nearchus, Erigyius, and

Ptolemæus, all of whom Alexander afterwards brought back and promoted

to great honours.

Shortly after this, Pausanias was grossly insulted by the contrivance

of Attalus and Kleopatra, and, as he could not obtain amends for what

he suffered, assassinated Philip. We are told that most men laid the

blame of this murder upon Queen Olympias, who found the young man

smarting from the outrage which had been committed upon him, and urged

him to avenge himself, while some accused Alexander himself. It is

said that when Pausanias came to him and complained of his treatment,

Alexander answered him by quoting the line from the Medea of

Euripides, in which she declares that she will be revenged upon

"The guardian, and the bridegroom, and the bride,"

alluding to Attalus, Philip, and Kleopatra.

However this may be, it is certain that he sought out and punished all

who were concerned in the plot, and he expressed his sorrow on

discovering that during his own absence from the kingdom, Kleopatra

had been cruelly tortured and put to death by his mother Olympias.

XI. At the age of twenty he succeeded to the throne of Macedonia, a

perilous and unenviable inheritance: for the neighbouring barbarian

tribes chafed at being held in bondage, and longed for the rule of

their own native kings; while Philip, although he had conquered Greece

by force of arms, yet had not had time to settle its government and

accustom it to its new position. He had overthrown all constituted

authority in that country, and had left men's minds in an excited

condition, eager for fresh changes and revolutions. The Macedonians

were very sensible of the dangerous crisis through which they were

passing, and hoped that Alexander would refrain as far as possible

from interfering in the affairs of Greece, deal gently with the

insurgent chiefs of his barbarian subjects, and carefully guard

against revolutionary outbreaks. He, however, took quite a different

view of the situation, conceiving it to be best to win safety by

audacity, and carrying things with a high hand, thinking that if he

showed the least sign of weakness, his enemies would all set upon him

at once. He crushed the risings of the barbarians by promptly marching

through their country as far as the river Danube, and by winning a

signal victory over Syrmus, the King of the Triballi. After this, as

he heard that the Thebans had revolted, and that the Athenians

sympathised with them, he marched his army straight through

Thermopylæ, with the remark that Demosthenes, who had called him a boy

while he was fighting the Illyrians and Triballi, and a youth while he

was marching through Thessaly, should find him a man when he saw him

before the gates of Athens. When he reached Thebes, he gave the

citizens an opportunity to repent of their conduct, only demanding

Phœnix and Prothytes to be given up to him, and offering the rest a

free pardon if they would join him. When, however, the Thebans in

answer to this, demanded that he should give up Philotas and Antipater

to them, and called upon all who were willing to assist in the

liberation of Greece to come and join them, he bade his Macedonians

prepare for battle.

The Thebans, although greatly outnumbered, fought with superhuman

valour; but they were taken in the rear by the Macedonian garrison,

who suddenly made a sally from the Kadmeia, and the greater part of

them were surrounded and fell fighting. The city was captured,

plundered and destroyed. Alexander hoped by this terrible example to

strike terror into the other Grecian states, although he put forward

the specious pretext that he was avenging the wrongs of his allies;

for the Platæans and Phokians had made some complaints of the conduct

of the Thebans towards them. With the exception of the priests, the

personal friends and guests of the Macedonians, the descendants of the

poet Pindar, and those who had opposed the revolt, he sold for slaves

all the rest of the inhabitants, thirty thousand in number. More than

six thousand men perished in the battle.

XII. Amidst the fearful scene of misery and disorder which followed

the capture of the city, certain Thracians broke into the house of one

Timoklea, a lady of noble birth and irreproachable character. Their

leader forcibly violated her, and then demanded whether she had any

gold or silver concealed. She said that she had, led him alone into

the garden, and, pointing to a well, told him that when the city was

taken she threw her most valuable jewels into it. While the Thracian

was stooping over the well trying to see down to the bottom, she came

behind, pushed him in, and threw large stones upon him until he died.

The Thracians seized her, and took her to Alexander, where she proved

herself a woman of courage by her noble and fearless carriage, as she

walked in the midst of her savage captors. The king enquired who she

was, to which she replied she was the sister of Theagenes, who fought

against Philip to protect the liberty of Greece, and who fell leading

on the Thebans at Chæronea. Alexander, struck by her answer, and

admiring her exploit, gave orders that she and her children should be

set at liberty.

XIII. Alexander came to terms with the Athenians, although they had

expressed the warmest sympathy for the Thebans, omitting the

performance of the festival of Demeter, out of respect for their

misfortunes, and giving a kindly welcome to all the fugitives who

reached Athens. Either he had had his fill of anger, like a sated

lion, or possibly he wished to perform some signal act of mercy by way

of contrast to his savage treatment of Thebes. Be this as it may, he

not only informed the Athenians that he had no grounds of quarrel with

them, but even went so far as to advise them to watch the course of

events with care, since, if anything should happen to him, they might

again become the ruling state in Greece. In after times, Alexander

often grieved over his harsh treatment of the Thebans, and the

recollection of what he had done made him much less severe to others.

Indeed, he always referred his unfortunate drunken quarrel with

Kleitus, and the refusal of the Macedonian soldiers to invade India,

by which they rendered the glory of his great expedition incomplete,

to the anger of Dionysius,[406] who desired to avenge the fate of his

favourite city. Moreover, of the Thebans who survived the ruin of

their city, no one ever asked any favour of Alexander without its

being granted. This was the manner in which Alexander dealt with

Thebes.

XIV. The Greeks after this assembled at Corinth and agreed to invade

Persia with Alexander for their leader. Many of their chief statesmen

and philosophers paid him visits of congratulation, and he hoped that

Diogenes of Sinope, who was at that time living at Corinth, would do

so. As he, however, paid no attention whatever to Alexander and

remained quietly in the suburb called Kraneium, Alexander himself went

to visit him. He found him lying at full length, basking in the sun.

At the approach of so many people, he sat up, and looked at Alexander.

Alexander greeted him, and enquired whether he could do anything for

him. "Yes," answered Diogenes, "you can stand a little on one side,

and not keep the sun off me." This answer is said to have so greatly

surprised Alexander, and to have filled him with such a feeling of

admiration for the greatness of mind of a man who could treat him with

such insolent superiority, that when he went away, while all around

were jeering and scoffing he said, "Say what you will; if I were not

Alexander, I would be Diogenes."

Desiring to consult the oracle of Apollo concerning his campaign, he

now proceeded to Delphi. It chanced that he arrived there on one of

the days which are called unfortunate, on which no oracular responses

can be obtained. In spite of this he at once sent for the chief

priestess, and as she refused to officiate and urged that she was

forbidden to do so by the law, he entered the temple by force and

dragged her to the prophetic tripod. She, yielding to his persistence,

said, "You are irresistible, my son." Alexander, at once, on hearing

this, declared that he did not wish for any further prophecy, but that

he had obtained from her the response which he wished for. While he

was preparing for his expedition, among many other portents, the

statue of Orpheus at Loibethra, which is made of cypress-wood, was

observed to be covered with sweat. All were alarmed at this omen, but

Aristander bade them take courage, as it portended that Alexander

should perform many famous acts, which would cause poets much trouble

to record.

XV. The number of his army is variously stated by different

authorities, some saying that it amounted to thirty thousand foot and

four thousand horse, while others put the whole amount so high as

forty-three thousand foot and five thousand horse. To provide for this

multitude, Aristobulus relates that he possessed only seventy talents,

while Douris informs us that he had only provisions for thirty days,

and Onesikritus declares that he was in debt to the amount of two

hundred talents. Yet although he started with such slender resources,

before he embarked he carefully enquired into the affairs of his

friends, and made them all ample presents, assigning to some of them

large tracts of land, and to others villages, the rents of houses, or

the right of levying harbour dues. When he had almost expended the

whole of the revenues of the crown in this fashion, Perdikkas enquired

of him, "My king, what have you reserved for yourself?" "My hopes,"

replied Alexander. "Then," said Perdikkas, "are we who go with you not

to share them?" and he at once refused to accept the present which had

been offered to him, as did several others. Those, however, who would

receive his gifts, or who asked for anything, were rewarded with a

lavish hand, so that he distributed among them nearly all the revenues

of Macedonia; so confident of success was he when he set out. When he

had crossed the Hellespont he proceeded to Troy, offered sacrifice to

Athena, and poured libations to the heroes who fell there. He anointed

the column which marks the tomb of Achilles with fresh oil, and after

running round it naked with his friends, as is customary, placed a

garland upon it, observing that Achilles was fortunate in having a

faithful friend while he lived, and a glorious poet to sing of his

deeds after his death. While he was walking through the city and

looking at all the notable things, he was asked whether he wished to

see the harp which had once belonged to Paris. He answered, that he

cared nothing for it, but that he wished to find that upon which

Achilles used to play when he sang of the deeds of heroes.

XVI. Meanwhile the generals of Darius had collected a large army, and

posted it at the passage of the river Granikus, so that it was

necessary for Alexander to fight a battle in order to effect so much

as an entrance into Asia. Most of the Greek generals were alarmed at

the depth and uneven bed of the river, and at the rugged and broken

ground on the farther bank, which they would have to mount in the face

of the enemy. Some also raised a religious scruple, averring that the

Macedonian kings never made war during the month Daisius. Alexander

said that this could be easily remedied, and ordered that the second

month in the Macedonian calendar should henceforth be called

Artemisium. When Parmenio besought him not to risk a battle, as the

season was far advanced, he said that the Hellespont would blush for

shame if he crossed it, and then feared to cross the Granikus, and at

once plunged into the stream with thirteen squadrons of cavalry. It

seemed the act of a desperate madman rather than of a general to ride

thus through a rapid river, under a storm of missiles, towards a steep

bank where every position of advantage was occupied by armed men. He,

however, gained the farther shore, and made good his footing there,

although with great difficulty on account of the slippery mud. As soon

as he had crossed, and driven away those who had opposed his passage,

he was charged by a mass of the enemy, and forced to fight, pell-mell,

man to man, before he could put those who had followed him over into

battle array. The enemy came on with a shout, and rode straight up to

the horses of the Macedonians, thrusting at them with spears, and

using swords when their spears were broken. Many of them pressed round

Alexander himself, who was made a conspicuous figure by his shield and

the long white plume which hung down on each side of his helmet. He

was struck by a javelin in the joint of his corslet, but received no

hurt. Rhœsakes and Spithridates, two of the Persian generals, now

attacked him at once. He avoided the charge of the latter, but broke

his spear against the breastplate of Rhœsakes, and was forced to

betake him to his sword. No sooner had they closed together than

Spithridates rode up beside him, and, standing up in his stirrups,

dealt him such a blow with a battle-axe, as cut off one side of his

plume, and pierced his helmet just so far as to reach his hair with

the edge of the axe. While Spithridates was preparing for another

blow, he was run through by black Kleitus with a lance, and at the

same moment Alexander with his sword laid Rhœsakes dead at his feet.

During this fierce and perilous cavalry battle, the Macedonian

phalanx[407] crossed the river, and engaged the enemy's infantry

force, none of which offered much resistance except a body of

mercenary Greeks in the pay of Persia. These troops retired to a small

rising ground, and begged for quarter. Alexander, however, furiously

attacked them by riding up to them by himself, in front of his men.

He lost his horse, which was killed by a sword-thrust, and it is said

that more of the Macedonians perished in that fight, and that more

wounds were given and received, than in all the rest of the battle, as

they were attacking desperate men accustomed to war.

The Persians are said to have lost twenty thousand infantry, and two

thousand five hundred cavalry. In the army of Alexander, Aristobulus

states the total loss to have been thirty-four men, nine of whom were

foot soldiers. Alexander ordered that each of these men should have

his statue made in bronze by Lysippus; and wishing to make the Greeks

generally partakers of his victory, he sent the Athenians three

hundred captured shields, and on the other spoils placed the following

vainglorious inscription:[408] "Alexander, the son of Philip, and the

Greeks, all but the Lacedæmonians, won these spoils from the

barbarians of Asia." As for the golden drinking-cups, purple hangings,

and other plunder of that sort, he sent it nearly all to his mother,

reserving only a few things for himself.

XVII. This victory wrought a great change in Alexander's position.

Several of the neighbouring states came and made their submission to

him, and even Sardis itself, the chief town in Lydia, and the main

station of the Persians in Asia Minor, submitted without a blow. The

only cities which still resisted him, Halikarnassus and Miletus, he

took by storm, and conquered all the adjacent territory, after which

he remained in doubt as to what to attempt next; whether to attack

Darius at once and risk all that he had won upon the issue of a single

battle, or to consolidate and organise his conquests on the coast of

Asia Minor, and to gather new strength for the final struggle. It is

said that at this time a spring in the country of Lykia, near the city

of Xanthus, overflowed, and threw up from its depths a brazen tablet,

upon which, in ancient characters, was inscribed a prophecy that the

Persian empire should be destroyed by the Greeks. Encouraged by this

portent, he extended his conquests along the sea coast as far as

Phœnicia and Kilikia. Many historians dwelt with admiration on the

good fortune of Alexander, in meeting with such fair weather and such

a smooth sea during his passage along the stormy shore of Pamphylia,

and say that it was a miracle that the furious sea, which usually

dashed against the highest rocks upon the cliffs, fell calm for him.

Menander alludes to this in one of his plays.

"Like Alexander, if I wish to meet

A man, at once I find him in the street;

And, were I forced to journey o'er the sea,

The sea itself would calm its waves for me."

Alexander himself, however, in his letters, speaks of no such miracle,

but merely tells us that he started from Phaselis, and passed along

the difficult road called Klimax, or the Ladder.[409] He spent some

time in Phaselis, and while he was there, observing in the

market-place a statue of Theodektes, a philosopher, who had recently

died, he made a procession to it one day after dinner, and crowned it

with flowers, as a sportive recognition of what he owed to Theodektes,

with whose philosophical writings Aristotle had made him familiar.

XVIII. After this he put down a revolt among the Pisidians, and

conquered the whole of Phrygia. On his arrival at Gordium, which is

said to have been the capital of King Midas of old, he was shown the

celebrated chariot there, tied up with a knot of cornel-tree bark.

Here he was told the legend, which all the natives believed, that

whoever untied that knot was destined to become lord of all the world.

Most historians say that as the knot was tied with a strap whose ends

could not be found, and was very complicated and intricate, Alexander,

despairing of untying it, drew his sword and cut through the knot,

thus making many ends appear. But Aristobulus tells us that he easily

undid it by pulling out of the pole the pin to which the strap was

fastened, and then drawing off the yoke itself from the pole.

He now prevailed upon the people of Paphlagonia and Kappadokia to join

him, and also was encouraged in his design of proceeding farther into

the interior by receiving intelligence of the death of Memnon, the

general to whom Darius had entrusted the defence of the sea coast, who

had already caused him much trouble, and had offered a most stubborn

resistance to him. Darius, too, came from Susa, confident in the

numbers of his army, for he was at the head of six hundred thousand

men, and greatly encouraged by a dream upon which the Magi had put

rather a strained interpretation in order to please him. He dreamed

that he saw the Macedonian phalanx begirt with flame, and that

Alexander, dressed in a courier's cloak like that which he himself had

worn before he became king, was acting as his servant. Afterwards,

Alexander went into the temple of Belus, and disappeared. By this

vision the gods probably meant to foretell that the deeds of the

Macedonians would be brilliant and glorious, and that Alexander after

conquering Asia, just as Darius had conquered it when from a mere

courier he rose to be a king, would die young and famous.

XIX. Darius was also much encouraged by the long inaction of Alexander

in Kilikia. This was caused by an illness, which some say arose from

the hardships which he had undergone, and others tell us was the

result of bathing in the icy waters of the Kydnus. No physician dared

to attend him, for they all thought that he was past the reach of

medicine, and dreaded the anger of the Macedonians if they proved

unsuccessful. At last Philip, an Akarnanian, seeing that he was

dangerously ill, determined to run the risk, as he was his true

friend, and thought it his duty to share all his dangers. He

compounded a draught for him, and persuaded him to drink it, by

telling him that it would give him strength and enable him to take the

field. At this time Parmenio sent him a letter from the camp, bidding

him beware of Philip, who had been bribed to poison him by Darius with

rich presents, and the offer of his own daughter in marriage.

Alexander read the letter, and showed it to no one, but placed it

under his pillow. At the appointed hour, Philip and his friends

entered the room, bringing the medicine in a cup. Alexander took the

cup from him, and gave him the letter to read, while he firmly and

cheerfully drank it off. It was a strange and theatrical scene. When

the one had read, and the other had drunk, they stared into each

other's faces, Alexander with a cheerful expression of trust and

kindly feeling towards Philip, while Philip, enraged at the calumny,

first raised his hands to heaven, protesting his innocence, and then,

casting himself upon his knees at the bed-side, besought Alexander to

be of good cheer and follow his advice. The effect of the drug at

first was to produce extreme weakness, for he became speechless and

almost insensible. In a short time, however, by Philip's care, he

recovered his strength, and showed himself publicly to the

Macedonians, who were very anxious about him, and would not believe

that he was better until they saw him.

XX. There was in the camp of Darius a Macedonian refugee, named

Amyntas, who was well acquainted with Alexander's character. This man,

when he found that Darius wished to enter the hilly country to fight

Alexander amongst its narrow valleys, besought him to remain where he

was, upon the flat open plains, where the enormous numbers of his

troops could be advantageously used against the small Macedonian army.

When Darius answered that he feared Alexander and his men would escape

unless he attacked, Amyntas said, "O king, have no fears on that

score; for he will come and fight you, and I warrant he is not far off

now." However, Amyntas made no impression on Darius, who marched

forward into Kilikia, while at the same time Alexander marched into

Syria to meet him. During the night they missed one another, and each

turned back, Alexander rejoicing at this incident, and hurrying to

catch Darius in the narrow defile leading into Kilikia, while Darius

was glad of the opportunity of recovering his former ground, and of

disentangling his army from the narrow passes through the mountains.

He already had perceived the mistake which he had committed in

entering a country where the sea, the mountains, and the river Pyramus

which ran between them, made it impossible for his army to act, while

on the other hand it afforded great advantages to his enemies, who

were mostly foot soldiers, and whose numbers were not so great as to

encumber their movements.

Fortune, no doubt, greatly favoured Alexander, but yet he owed much of

his success to his excellent generalship; for although enormously

outnumbered by the enemy, he not only avoided being surrounded by

them, but was able to outflank their left with his own right wing, and

by this manœuvre completely defeated the Persians. He himself fought

among the foremost, and, according to Chares, was wounded in the thigh

by Darius himself. Alexander in the account of the battle which he

despatched to Antipater, does not mention the name of the man who

wounded him, but states that he received a stab in the thigh with a

dagger, and that the wound was not a dangerous one.

He won a most decisive victory, and slew more than a hundred thousand

of the enemy, but could not come up with Darius himself, as he gained

a start of nearly a mile. He captured his chariot, however, and his

bow and arrows, and on his return found the Macedonians revelling in

the rich plunder which they had won, although the Persians had been in

light marching order, and had left most of their heavy baggage at

Damascus. The royal pavilion of Darius himself, full of beautiful

slaves, and rich furniture of every description, had been left

unplundered, and was reserved for Alexander himself, who as soon as he

had taken off his armour, proceeded to the bath, saying "Let me wash

off the sweat of the battle in the bath of Darius." " Nay," answered

one of his companions, "in that of Alexander; for the goods of the

vanquished become the property of the victor." When he entered the

bath and saw that all the vessels for water, the bath itself, and the

boxes of unguents were of pure gold, and smelt the delicious scent of

the rich perfumes with which the whole pavilion was filled; and when

he passed from the bath into a magnificent and lofty saloon where a

splendid banquet was prepared, he looked at his friends and said

"This, then, it is to be a king indeed."

XXI. While he was dining it was told him that the mother and wife of

Darius, and his two daughters, who were among the captives, had seen

the chariot and bow of Darius, and were mourning for him, imagining

him to be dead. Alexander when he heard this paused for a long time,

being more affected by the grief of these ladies, than by the victory

which he had won. Hie sent Leonnatus to inform them, that they need

neither mourn for Darius, nor fear Alexander; for he was fighting for

the empire of Asia, not as a personal enemy of Darius, and would take

care that they were treated with the same honour and respect as

before. This generous message to the captive princesses was followed

by acts of still greater kindness; for he permitted then to bury

whomsoever of the slain Persians they wished, and to use all their own

apparel and furniture, which had been seized by the soldiers as

plunder. He also allowed them to retain the regal title and state, and

even increased their revenues. But the noblest and most truly royal

part of his treatment of these captive ladies was that he never

permitted them to hear any coarse language, or imagine for a moment

that they were likely to suffer violence or outrage; so that they

lived unseen and unmolested, more as though they were in some sacred

retreat of holy virgins than in a camp. Yet the wife of Darius is said

to have been the most beautiful princess of her age, just as Darius

himself was the tallest and handsomest man in Asia, and their

daughters are said to have resembled their parents in beauty.

Alexander, it seems, thought it more kingly to restrain himself than

to conquer the enemy, and never touched any of them, nor did he know

any other before his marriage, except Barsine. This lady, after the

death of her husband Memnon, remained at Damascus. She had received a

Greek education, was naturally attractive, and was of royal descent,

as her father was Artabazus, who married one of the king's daughters;

which, added to the solicitations of Parmenio, as we are told by

Aristobulus, made Alexander the more willing to attach himself to so

beautiful and well-born a lady. When Alexander saw the beauty of the

other captives, he said in jest, that the Persian ladies make men's

eyes sore to behold them. Yet, in spite of their attractions, he was

determined that his self-restraint should be as much admired as their

beauty, and passed by them as if they had been images cut out of

stone.

XXII. Indeed, when Philoxenus, the commander of his fleet, wrote to

inform him that a slave merchant of Tarentum, named Theodorus, had two

beautiful slaves for sale, and desired to know whether he would buy

them, Alexander was greatly incensed, and angrily demanded of his

friends what signs of baseness Philoxenus could have observed in him

that he should venture to make such disgraceful proposals to him. He

sent a severe reprimand to Philoxenus, and ordered him to send

Theodorus and his merchandise to the devil. He also severely rebuked a

young man named Hagnon for a similar offence.

On another occasion, when he heard that two Macedonians of Parmenio's

regiment, named Damon and Timotheus, had violently outraged the wives

of some of the mercenary soldiers, he wrote to Parmenio, ordering him,

if the charge were proved, to put them to death like mere brute beasts

that prey upon mankind. And in that letter he wrote thus of himself.

"I have never seen, or desired to see the wife of Darius, and have not

even allowed her beauty to be spoken of in my presence."

He was wont to say that he was chiefly reminded that he was mortal by

these two weaknesses, sleep and lust; thinking weariness and

sensuality alike to be bodily weaknesses. He was also most temperate

in eating, as was signally proved by his answer to the princess Ada,

whom he adopted as his mother, and made Queen of Karia. She, in order

to show her fondness for him, sent him every day many dainty dishes

and sweetmeats, and at last presented him with her best cooks. He

answered her that he needed them not, since he had been provided with

much better relishes for his food by his tutor Leonidas, who had

taught him to earn his breakfast by a night-march, and to obtain an

appetite for his dinner by eating sparingly at breakfast. "My tutor,"

he said, "would often look into my chests of clothes, and of bedding,

to make sure that my mother had not hidden any delicacies for me in

them."

XXIII. He was less given to wine than he was commonly supposed to be.

He was thought to be a great drinker because of the length of time

which he would pass over each cup, in talking more than in drinking

it, for he always held a long conversation while drinking, provided he

was at leisure to do so. If anything had to be done, no wine, or

desire of rest, no amusement, marriage, or spectacle could restrain

him, as they did other generals. This is clearly shown by the

shortness of his life, and the wonderful number of great deeds which

he performed during the little time that he lived. When he was at

leisure, he used to sacrifice to the gods immediately after rising in

the morning, and then sit down to his breakfast. After breakfast, he

would pass the day in hunting, deciding disputes between his subjects,

devising military manœuvres, or reading. When on a journey, if he was

not in any great hurry, he used, while on the road, to practice

archery, or to dismount from a chariot which was being driven at full

speed, and then again mount it. Frequently also he hunted foxes and

shot birds for amusement, as we learn from his diaries. On arriving at

the place where he intended to pass the night, he always bathed and

anointed himself, and then asked his cooks what was being prepared for

his dinner.

He always dined late, just as it began to grow dark, and was very

careful to have his table well provided, and to give each of his

guests an equal share. He sat long over his wine, as we have said,

because of his love of conversation. And although at all other times

his society was most charming, and his manners gracious and pleasant

beyond any other prince of his age, yet when he was drinking, his talk

ran entirely upon military topics, and became offensively boastful,

partly from his own natural disposition, and partly from the

encouragement which he received from his flatterers. This often

greatly embarrassed honest men, as they neither wished to vie with the

flatterers in praising him to his face, nor yet to appear to grudge

him his due share of admiration. To bestow such excessive praise

seemed shameful, while to withhold it was dangerous. After a drinking

bout, he would take a bath, and often slept until late in the

following day; and sometimes he passed the whole day asleep. He cared

but little for delicate food, and often when the rarest fruits and

fish were sent to him from the sea-coast, he would distribute them so

lavishly amongst his friends as to leave none for himself; yet his

table was always magnificently served, and as his revenues became

increased by his conquests, its expense rose to ten thousand drachmas

a day. To this it was finally limited, and those who entertained

Alexander were told that they must not expend more than that sum.

XXIV. After the battle of Issus, he sent troops to Damascus, and

captured all the treasure, the baggage, and the women and children of

the Persian army. Those who chiefly benefited by this were the

Thessalian cavalry, who had distinguished themselves in the battle,

and had been purposely chosen for this service by Alexander as a

reward for their bravery; yet all the camp was filled with riches, so

great was the mass of plunder. Then did the Macedonians get their

first taste of gold and silver, of Persian luxury and of Persian

women; and after this, like hounds opening upon a scent, they eagerly

pressed forward on the track of the wealthy Persians. Alexander,

however, thought it best, before proceeding further, to complete the

conquest of the sea-coast. Cyprus was at once surrendered to him by

its local kings, as was all Phœnicia, except Tyre. He besieged Tyre

for seven months, with great mounds and siege artillery on the land

side, while a fleet of two hundred triremes watched it by sea. During

the seventh month of the siege he dreamed that Herakles greeted him in

a friendly manner from the walls of Tyre, and called upon him to come

in. Many of the Tyrians also dreamed that Apollo appeared to them, and

said that he was going to Alexander, since what was being done in the

city of Tyre did not please him. The Tyrians, upon this, treated the

god as though he were a man caught in the act of deserting to

Alexander, for they tied cords round his statue, nailed it down to its

base, and called him Alexandristes, or follower of Alexander.

Alexander now dreamed another dream, that a satyr appeared to him at a

distance, and sported with him, but when he endeavoured to catch him,

ran away, and that, at length, after much trouble, he caught him.

This was very plausibly explained by the prophets to mean "Sa

Tyros"--"Tyre shall be thine," dividing the Greek word Satyros into

two parts. A well is shown at the present day near which Alexander saw

the satyr in his dream.

During the siege, Alexander made an expedition against the

neighbouring Arab tribes, in which he fell into great danger through

his old tutor Lysimachus, who insisted on accompanying him, declaring

that he was no older and no less brave than Phœnix when he followed

Achilles to Troy. When they reached the mountains, they were forced to

leave their horses and march on foot. The rest proceeded on their way,

but Lysimachus could not keep up, although night was coming on and the

enemy were near. Alexander would not leave him, but encouraged him and

helped him along until he became separated from his army, and found

himself almost alone. It was now dark, and bitterly cold. The country

where they were was very rugged and mountainous, and in the distance

appeared many scattered watch-fires of the enemy.

Alexander, accustomed to rouse the disheartened Macedonians by his own

personal exertions, and trusting to his swiftness of foot, ran up to

the nearest fire, struck down with his sword two men who wore watching

beside it, and brought a burning firebrand back to his own party. They

now made up an enormous fire, which terrified some of the enemy so

much that they retreated, while others who had intended to attack

them, halted and forbore to do so, thus enabling them to pass the

night in safety.

XXV. The siege of Tyre came to an end in the following manner. The

greater part of Alexander's troops were resting from their labours,

but in order to occupy the attention of the enemy, he led a few men up

to the city walls, while Aristander, the soothsayer, offered

sacrifice. When he saw the victims, he boldly informed all who were

present that during the current month, Tyre would be taken. All who

heard him laughed him to scorn, as that day was the last of the month,

but Alexander seeing him at his wits' end, being always eager to

support the credit of prophecies, gave orders that that day should

not be reckoned as the thirtieth of the month, but as the

twenty-third. After this he bade the trumpets sound, and assaulted the

walls much more vigorously than he had originally intended. The attack

succeeded, and as the rest of the army would no longer stay behind in

the camp, but rushed to take their share in the assault, the Tyrians

were overpowered, and their city taken on that very day.

Afterwards, while Alexander was besieging Gaza, the largest city in

Syria, a clod of earth was dropped upon his shoulder by a bird, which

afterwards alighted upon one of the military engines, and became

entangled in the network of ropes by which it was worked. This portent

also was truly explained by Aristander; for the place was taken, and

Alexander was wounded in the shoulder.

He sent many of the spoils to Olympias, Kleopatra, and others of his

friends, and sent his tutor Leonidas five hundred talents weight of

frankincense, and a hundred talents of myrrh, to remind him of what he

had said when a child. Leonidas once, when sacrificing, reproved

Alexander for taking incense by handfuls to throw upon the victim when

it was burning on the altar. "When," he said, "you have conquered the

country from which incense comes, Alexander, then you may make such

rich offerings as these; but at present you must use what we have

sparingly." Alexander now wrote to him, "We have sent you abundance of

frankincense and myrrh, that you may no longer treat the gods so

stingily."

XXVI. When a certain casket was brought to him, which appeared to be

the most valuable of all the treasures taken from Darius, he asked his

friends what they thought he ought to keep in it as his own most

precious possession. After they had suggested various different

things, he said that he intended to keep his copy of the Iliad in it.

This fact is mentioned by many historians; and if the legend which is

current among the people of Alexandria; on the authority of

Herakleides, be true, the poems of Homer were far from idle or useless

companions to him, even when on a campaign. The story goes that after

conquering Egypt, he desired to found a great and populous Grecian

city, to be called after his own name, and that after he had fixed

upon an excellent site, where in the opinion of the best architects, a

city surpassing anything previously existing could be built, he

dreamed that a man with long hair and venerable aspect appeared to

him, and recited the following verses:

"Hard by, an island in the stormy main

Lies close to Egypt, Pharos is its name."

As soon as he woke, he proceeded to Pharos, which then was an island

near the Canopic mouth of the Nile, though at the present day so much

earth has been deposited by the river that it is joined to the

mainland. When he saw the great advantages possessed by this place,

which is a long strip of land, stretching between the sea and a large

inland lake, with a large harbour at the end of it, he at once said

that Homer, besides his other admirable qualities, was a splendid

architect, and gave orders to his workmen to mark out a site for a

city suitable to such a situation. There was no chalk or white earth,

with which it is usual to mark the course of the walls, but they took

barley-groats, and marked out a semicircular line with them upon the

black earth, dividing it into equal segments by lines radiating from

the centre, so that it looked like a Macedonian cloak, of which the

walls formed the outer fringe. While the king was looking with

satisfaction at the plan of the new city, suddenly from the lake and

the river, innumerable aquatic birds of every kind flew like great

clouds to the spot, and devoured all the barley. This omen greatly

disturbed Alexander; however, the soothsayers bade him take courage,

and interpreted it to mean that the place would become a very rich and

populous city. Upon this he ordered the workmen at once to begin to

build, while he himself started to visit the shrine and oracle of Zeus

Ammon. This journey is tedious and difficult, and dangerous also,

because the way lies over a waterless desert, where the traveller is

exposed to violent storms of sand whenever the south wind blows. It

was here that fifty thousand men of the army of Cambyses are said to

have been overwhelmed by the sand, which rolled upon them in huge

billows until they were completely ingulfed. All these perils were

present to all men's minds, but it was hard to turn Alexander away

from any project upon which he had once set his heart. The invariable

good fortune which he had enjoyed confirmed his self-will, and his

pride would not allow him to confess himself vanquished either by

human enemies or natural obstacles.

XXVII. During his journey, the signal assistance which he received

from the gods in all his difficulties was more remarkable and more

generally believed than the oracular response which he is said to have

received, although these portents made men more inclined to believe in

the oracle. In the first place, plentiful showers were sent, which

quite dissipated any fears which the expedition had entertained about

suffering from thirst, while the rain cooled the sand and thus

tempered the hot air of the desert to a pleasant warmth. Next, when

the guides lost their way, and all were wandering helplessly, birds

appeared who guided them on the right path, flying before them and

encouraging them to march, and waiting for those of them who fell

behind wearied. "We are even assured by Kallisthones that, at night,

the birds by their cries recalled stragglers, and kept all on the

direct road.

When Alexander had crossed the desert, and arrived at the temple, the

priest of Ammon greeted him as the son of the god. He inquired whether

anyone of his father's murderers had escaped, to which the priest

answered that he must not ask such questions, for his father was more

than man. Alexander now altered the form of his inquiry and asked

whether he had punished all the murderers of Philip: and then he asked

another question, about his empire, whether he was fated to conquer

all mankind. On receiving as an answer that this would be granted to

him and that Philip had been amply avenged, he made splendid presents

to the god, and amply rewarded the priests.

This is the account which most historians give about the response of

the oracle; but in a letter to his mother, Alexander says that he

received certain secret prophecies, which upon his return he would

communicate to her alone. Some narrate that the priest, wishing to

give him a friendly greeting in the Greek language, said "My son,"

but being a foreigner, mispronounced the words so as to say "Son of

Zeus," a mistake which delighted Alexander and caused men to say that

the god himself had addressed him as "Son of Zeus." We are told that

while in Egypt, he attended the lectures of the philosopher Psammon,

and was especially pleased when he pointed out that God is King over

all men, because that which rules and conquers must be king. He

himself thought that he had improved upon this by saying that although

God is the common father of all men, yet that he makes the best men

more peculiarly his own.

XXVIII. In his dealings with Asiatics, he always acted and spoke with

the greatest arrogance, and seemed firmly convinced of his own divine

parentage, but he was careful not to make the same boast when among

Greeks. On one occasion, indeed, he wrote to the Athenians the

following letter about their possession of Samos. "I," he said,

"should not have presented you with that free and glorious city; but

it was presented to you by its former master, my reputed father

Philip."

Yet afterwards when he was wounded by an arrow and in great pain he

said "This, my friends, is blood that runs from my wound, and not

"Ichor, that courses through the veins of gods."

Once when a great thunderstorm terrified every one, Anaxarchus the

sophist, who was with him, said "Son of Zeus, canst thou do as much?"

To this, Alexander answered with a smile, "Nay, I love not to frighten

my friends, as you would have me do, when you complained of my table,

because fish was served upon it instead of princes' heads." Indeed we

are told that once, when Alexander had sent some small fish to

Hephæstion, Anaxarchus used this expression ironically disparaging

those who undergo great toils and run great risks to obtain

magnificent results which, after all, make them no happier or able to

enjoy themselves than other men. From these anecdotes we see that

Alexander himself did not put any belief in the story of his divine

parentage, but that he used it as a means of imposing upon others.

XXIX. From Egypt he returned to Phœnicia, and there offered

magnificent sacrifices to the gods, with grand processions, cyclic

choruses, and performances of tragic dramas. These last were

especially remarkable, for the local kings of Cyprus acted as choragi,

that is, supplied the chorus and paid all the expenses of putting the

drama upon the stage, just as is done every year at Athens by the

representatives of the tribes, and they exhibited wonderful emulation,

desiring to outdo each other in the splendour of their shows. The

contest between Nikokreon, King of Salamis, and Pasikrates, King of

Soli, is especially memorable. These two had obtained by lot the two

most celebrated actors of the day, who were named Athenodorus and

Thessalus, to act in their plays. Of these, Athenodorus was assigned

to Nikokreon, and Thessalus, in whose success Alexander himself was

personally interested, to Pasikrates. Alexander, however, never

allowed any word to escape him denoting his preference for one over

the other until after the votes had been given, and Athenodorus had

been proclaimed the winner, when, as he was going home, he said that

he would willingly have given up a province of his kingdom to save

Thessalus from being vanquished. As Athenodorus was fined by the

Athenians for being absent from their Dionysian festival, in which he

ought to have taken part, he begged Alexander to write them a letter

to excuse him. Alexander refused to do this, but paid his fine

himself. And when Lykon, of Skarphia, an excellent actor who had

pleased Alexander well, inserted a verse into the comedy which he was

acting, in which he begged to be given ten talents, Alexander laughed

and gave them to him.

Darius now sent an embassy to Alexander, bearing a letter, in which he

offered to pay ten thousand talents as a ransom for his wife and

children, and proposed that Alexander should receive all the territory

west of the Euphrates, and become his ally and son-in-law. Alexander

laid this proposal before his friends, and when Parmenio said, "I

should accept it, if I were Alexander." "So would I," replied

Alexander, "if I were Parmenio." He wrote, however, a letter in answer

to Darius, informing him that if he would come to him, and submit

himself, he should be used with courtesy; but that if not, he should

presently march against him.

XXX. Soon after this the wife of Darius died in child-bed, which

greatly grieved Alexander, as he thereby lost a great opportunity of

displaying his magnanimity: nevertheless he granted her a magnificent

funeral. We are told that one of the eunuchs attached to the royal

harem, named Teireus, who had been captured with the ladies, made his

escape shortly after the queen's death, rode straight to Darius, and

informed him of what had happened. Darius, at this, beat his face and

wept aloud, saying, "Alas for the fortune of Persia! that the wife and

sister of the king should not only have been taken captive while she

lived, but also have been buried unworthily of her rank when she

died." To this the eunuch answered, "You have no cause to lament the

evil fortune of Persia on account of your wife's burial, or of any

want of due respect to her. Our lady Statira, your children, and your

mother, when alive wanted for nothing except the light of your

countenance, which our lord Oromasdes will some day restore to them,

nor was she treated without honour when she died, for her funeral was

even graced by the tears of her enemies. Alexander is as gracious a

conqueror as he is a terrible enemy."

These words roused other suspicions in the mind of Darius: and,

leading the eunuch into an inner chamber in his tent, he said to him,

"If you have not, like the good luck of Persia, gone over to Alexander

and the Macedonians, and if I am still your master Darius, tell me, I

conjure you by the name of great Mithras our lord, and by the right

hand of a king, which I give thee, do I lament over the least of

Statira's misfortunes when I weep for her death, and did she not in

her life make us more miserable by her dishonour, than if she had

fallen into the hands of a cruel enemy? For what honest communication

can a young conqueror have with the wife of his enemy, and what can be

the meaning of his showing such excessive honour to her after her

death?" While Darius was yet speaking, Teireus threw himself at his

feet, and besought him to be silent, and not to dishonour Alexander

and his dead wife and sister by such suspicions, nor yet to take away

from himself that thought which ought to be his greatest consolation

in his misfortunes, which was that he had been conquered by one who

was more than man. Rather ought he to admire Alexander, whose

honourable treatment of the Persian women proved him to be even

greater than did his bravery in vanquishing their men. Those words the

eunuch assured him, with many protestations and oaths, were perfectly

true. Darius, when he heard this, came out of his tent to his friends,

and, raising his hands to heaven, said, "Ye parent gods, who watch

over the Persian throne, grant that I may again restore the fortune of

Persia to its former state, in order that I may have an opportunity of

repaying Alexander in person the kindness which he has shown to those

whom I hold dearest; but if indeed the fated hour has arrived, and the

Persian empire is doomed to perish, may no other conqueror than

Alexander mount the throne of Cyrus." The above is the account given

by most historians of what took place on this occasion.

XXXI. Alexander, after conquering all the country on the higher bank

of the Euphrates, marched to attack Darius, who was advancing to meet

him with an army of a million fighting men.

During this march, one of Alexander's friends told him as a joke, that

the camp-followers had divided themselves into two bodies in sport,

each of which was led by a general, the one called Alexander, and the

other Darius; and that after beginning to skirmish with one another by

throwing clods of earth, they had come to blows of the fist, and had

at length become so excited that they fought with sticks and stones,

and that it was hard to part them. On hearing this, Alexander ordered

the two leaders to fight in single combat: and he himself armed the

one called Alexander, while Philotas armed the representative of

Darius. The whole army looked on, thinking that the result would be

ominous of their own success or failure. After a severe fight, the one

called Alexander conquered, and was rewarded with twelve villages and

the right of wearing the Persian garb. This we are told by

Eratosthenes the historian.

The decisive battle with Darius was fought at Gaugamela, not at

Arbela, as most writers tell us. It is said that this word signifies

"the house of the camel," and that one of the ancient Kings of Persia,

whose life had been saved by the swiftness with which a camel bore him

away from his enemies, lodged the animal there for the rest of its

life, and assigned to it the revenues of several villages for its

maintenance.

During the month Bœdromion, at the beginning of the celebration of the

Eleusinian mysteries, there was an eclipse, of the moon: and on the

eleventh day after the eclipse the two armies came within sight of one

another. Darius kept his troops under arms, and inspected their ranks

by torch-light, while Alexander allowed the Macedonians to take their

rest, but himself with the soothsayer Aristander performed some

mystical ceremonies in front of his tent, and offered sacrifice to

Phœbus.

When Parmenio and the elder officers of Alexander saw the entire plain

between Mount Niphates and the confines of Gordyene covered with the

watch fires of the Persians, and heard the vague, confused murmur of

their army like the distant roar of the sea, they were astonished, and

said to one another that it would indeed be a prodigious effort to

fight such a mass of enemies by daylight in a pitched battle.

As soon as Alexander had finished his sacrifice they went to him, and

tried to persuade him to fall upon the Persians by night, as the

darkness would prevent his troops from seeing the overwhelming numbers

of the enemy. It was then that he made that memorable answer, "I will

not steal a victory," which some thought to show an over-boastful

spirit, which could jest in the presence of such fearful danger; while

others thought that it showed a steady confidence and true knowledge

of what would happen on the morrow, and meant that he did not intend

to give Darius, when vanquished, the consolation of attributing his

defeat to the confusion of a night attack; for Darius had already

explained his defeat at Issus to have been owing to the confined

nature of the ground, and to his forces having been penned up between

the mountains and the sea. It was not any want of men or of arms

which would make Darius yield, when he had so vast a country and such

great resources at his disposal: it was necessary to make pride and

hope alike die within him, by inflicting upon him a crushing defeat in

a fair field and in open daylight.

XXXII. After his officers had retired, Alexander retired to his tent

and is said to have slept more soundly than was his wont, which

surprised the generals who came to wait upon him early in the morning.

On their own responsibility they gave orders to the soldiers to

prepare their breakfast; and then, as time pressed, Parmenio entered

his tent, and standing by his bed-side, twice or thrice called him

loudly by name. When he was awake, Parmenio asked him why he slept so

soundly, as if he had already won the victory instead of being just

about to fight the most important of all his battles. Alexander

answered with a smile; "Do you not think we have already won the

victory, now that we are no longer obliged to chase Darius over an

enormous tract of wasted country?"

Alexander both before the battle, and in the most dangerous crisis of

the day proved himself truly great, always taking judicious measures,

with a cheerful confidence of success. His left wing was terribly

shaken by a tumultuous charge of the Bactrian cavalry, who broke into

the ranks of the Macedonians, while Mazæus sent some horsemen

completely round the left wing, who fell upon the troops left to guard

the baggage. Parmenio, finding his men thrown into confusion by these

attacks, sent a message to Alexander, that his fortified camp and

baggage would be lost, if he did not at once despatch a strong

reinforcement to the rear. At the time when Alexander received this

message, he was in the act of giving his own troops orders to attack,

and he answered that Parmenio must, in his confusion, have forgotten

that the victors win all the property of the vanquished, and that men

who are defeated must not think about treasure or prisoners, but how

to fight and die with honour. After sending back this answer to

Parmenio, he put on his helmet; for he had left his tent fully armed

at all other points, wearing a tunic of Sicilian manufacture closely

girt round his waist, and over that a double-woven linen corslet,

which had been among the spoils taken at Issus. His helmet was of

steel, polished as bright as silver, and was wrought by Theophilus,

while round his neck he wore a steel gorget, inlaid with precious

stones. His sword, his favourite weapon, was a miracle of lightness

and tempering, and had been presented to him by the King of Kitium in

Cyprus. The cloak which hung from his shoulders was by far the most

gorgeous of all his garments, and was the work of the ancient artist

Helikon,[410] presented to Alexander by the city of Rhodes, and was

worn by him in all his battles. While he was arraying his troops in

order of battle, and giving final directions to his officers, he rode

another horse to spare Boukephalus, who was now somewhat old. As soon

as he was ready to begin the attack, he mounted Boukephalus and led on

his army.

XXXIII. Upon this occasion, after addressing the Thessalians and other

Greek troops at considerable length, as they confidently shouted to

him to lead them against the barbarians, we are told by Kallisthenes

that he shifted his lance into his left hand, and raising his right

hand to heaven, prayed to the gods that, if he really were the son of

Zeus, they would assist and encourage the Greeks. The prophet

Aristander, who rode by his side, dressed in a white robe, and with a

crown of gold upon his head, now pointed out to him an eagle which

rose over his head and directed its flight straight towards the enemy.

This so greatly encouraged all who beheld it, that all the cavalry of

Alexander's army at once set spurs to their horses and dashed

forwards, followed by the phalanx. Before the first of them came to

actual blows, the Persian line gave way, and terrible confusion took

place, as Alexander drove the beaten troops before him, struggling to

fight his way to the centre, where was Darius himself.

Alexander had already noted the conspicuous figure of this tall,

handsome prince, as he stood in his lofty chariot, surrounded by the

royal body guard, a glittering mass of well-armed horsemen, behind the

deep ranks of the Persian army. The onslaught of Alexander was so

terrific that none could withstand him, and those whom he drove before

him, in headlong flight, disordered the ranks which were yet unbroken,

and caused a general rout. Yet the noblest and bravest of the Persians

fought and died manfully in defence of their king, and, even when

lying on the ground at their last gasp, seized the men and horses by

the legs to prevent their pursuing him. Darius himself, seeing all

these frightful disasters, when his first line was hurled back in

ruin, would fain have turned his chariot and fled, but this was

difficult, for the wheels were encumbered by the heaps of corpses, and

the horses were so excited and restive that the charioteer was unable

to manage them. Darius, we are told, left his chariot and his arms,

mounted a mare which had recently foaled, and rode away. He would not

have escaped even thus, had not mounted messengers just then arrived

from Parmenio, begging Alexander to come to his aid, as he was engaged

with a large body of the enemy upon which he could make no impression.

Indeed, throughout this battle, Parmenio is said to have displayed

great remissness and self-will, either because his courage was damped

by age, or because, as we are told by Kallisthenes, he envied

Alexander's greatness and prosperity. Alexander was much vexed at the

message, but without explaining to the soldiers what his real reasons

were, ordered the trumpets to sound the recall, as though he were

tired of slaughter, or because night was now coming on. He himself at

once rode to the scene of danger, but on his way thither heard that

the enemy had been completely defeated and put to flight.

XXXIV. The result of this battle was the complete destruction of the

Persian empire. Alexander was at once saluted King of Asia, and after

a splendid sacrifice to the gods, distributed the treasures and

provinces of that country among his friends. In the pride of his heart

he now wrote to Greece, saying that all the despots must be driven

out, and each city left independent with a constitutional government,

and gave orders for the rebuilding of the city of Platæa, because the

ancestors of the citizens of Platæa gave their territory to be

consecrated to the gods on behalf of the liberties of Greece. He also

sent some part of the spoils to the citizens of Kroton, in Italy, to

show his respect for the memory of Phaÿllus the athlete, who, during

the Persian invasion, when all the other Greek cities in Italy

deserted the cause of their countrymen in Greece, fitted out a ship of

war at his own expense, and sailed to Salamis to take part in the

battle there, and share in the dangers of the Greeks. Such honour did

Alexander pay to personal prowess, for he loved to reward and to

commemorate noble deeds.

XXXV. Alexander now marched into the country of Babylonia, which at

once yielded to him. As he drew near to Ekbatana he marvelled much at

an opening in the earth, out of which poured fire, as if from a well.

Close by, the naphtha which was poured out formed a large lake. This

substance is like bitumen, and is so easy to set on fire, that without

touching it with any flame, it will catch light from the rays which

are sent forth from a fire, burning the air which is between both. The

natives, in order to show Alexander the qualities of naphtha, lightly

sprinkled with it the street which led to his quarters, and when it

became dark applied a match to one end of the track which had been

sprinkled with it. As soon as it was alight in one place, the fire ran

all along, and as quick as thought the whole street was in flames. At

this time Alexander was in his bath, and was waited upon by Stephanus,

a hard-favoured page-boy, who had, however, a fine voice.

Athenophanes, an Athenian, who always anointed and bathed King

Alexander, now asked him if he would like to see the power of the

naphtha tried upon Stephanus, saying that if it burned upon his body

and did not go out, the force of it must indeed be marvellous. The boy

himself was eager to make the trial, and was anointed with it and set

on fire. He was at once enveloped in flame, and Alexander was

terrified for him, fearing that he would be burned to death. Indeed,

had it not chanced that several attendants with pitchers of water in

their hands had just arrived, all help would have been too late. They

poured water over the boy and extinguished the flames, but not before

he had been badly burned, so that he was ill for some time after. Some

writers, who are eager to prove the truth of ancient legends, say

that this naphtha was truly the deadly drug used by Medea, with which

she anointed the crown and robe spoken of in the tragedies: for flame

could not be produced by them, nor of its own accord, but if fire were

brought near to clothes steeped in naphtha they would at once burst

into flame. The reason of this is that the rays which fire sends forth

fall harmlessly upon all other bodies, merely imparting to them light

and heat; but when they meet with such as have an oily, dry humour,

and thereby have a sympathy with the nature of fire, they easily cause

them to catch fire. It is a disputed question, however, how the

naphtha is produced, though most writers conceive its combustible

principle to be supplied by the greasy and fiery nature of the soil;

for all the district of Babylonia is fiery hot, so that often barley

is cast up out of the ground in which it is sown, as if the earth

throbbed and vibrated with the heat, and during the hottest part of

summer the inhabitants are wont to sleep upon leathern bags filled

with water for the sake of coolness. Harpalus, who was appointed

governor of the district, took an especial delight in adorning the

palace and the public walks with Greek flowers and shrubs; but

although he found no difficulty with most of them, he was unable to

induce ivy to grow, because ivy loves a cold soil, and the earth there

is too hot for it. These digressions, provided they be not too

lengthy, we hope will not be thought tedious by our readers.