and when he was asked why he had done such a wicked thing, he said that
it was only to make his name immortal. The people were so indignant,
that they not only condemned him to die, but forbade all mention of his
name, hoping that it would be forgotten.
In spite of this care, Erostratus' name has come down to us. It is
immortal indeed, but who except a crazy man would wish to win such fame,
and could bear to think that all who ever heard of him would condemn his
action, and consider him as wicked as he was insane?
Alexander was first given over to the care of a nurse. He loved her
dearly as long as he lived, and her son Cly'tus was always one of his
best friends and most faithful comrades.
As soon as he was old enough, Alexander began to learn the Iliad and
Odyssey by heart; and he loved to hear about the principal heroes, and
especially about his own ancestor, Achilles.
He admired these poems so much that he carried a copy of them with him
wherever he went, and always slept with it under his pillow. Both the
Iliad and the Odyssey were kept in a box of the finest gold, because
Alexander thought nothing was too good for them.
XCII. THE STEED BUCEPHALUS.
When only thirteen years of age, Alexander once saw some horsedealers
bringing a beautiful steed before the king. The animal had a white spot
on his nose shaped somewhat like the head of an ox, and on this account
was named Bu-ceph'a-lus, which means "ox-head."
Philip admired the horse greatly, and bade the grooms try him, to see if
his gait was good. One after another mounted, only to be thrown a few
minutes later by the fiery, restless steed, which was becoming very much
excited.
The horse seemed so skittish that Philip finally told the men to lead
him away, adding that a man would be foolish to purchase such a useless
animal. Alexander then stepped forward and begged permission to try him.
His father first made fun of him for asking to mount a horse which none
of the grooms could manage; but, as Alexander persisted in his wish, he
was finally allowed to make the attempt.
The young prince then quietly walked up to the excited horse, took the
bridle, held it firmly, and began to speak gently and pat the steed's
arched neck. After a moment, Alexander led Bucephalus forward a few
steps, and then turned him around, for he had noticed that the horse was
frightened by his shadow.
Then, when the shadow lay where he could not see it, and where it could
no longer frighten him, the young man dropped his cloak quietly, and
vaulted upon the horse's back. Once more Bucephalus reared, pranced,
kicked, and ran; but Alexander sat firmly on his back, spoke to him
gently, and, making no effort to hold him in, let him speed across the
plain.
[Illustration: Alexander and Bucephalus.]
In a few moments the horse's wildness was over, and Alexander could ride
back to his proud father, sitting upon a steed which obeyed his
slightest touch.
Philip was so delighted with the coolness, courage, and good
horsemanship that Alexander had shown on this occasion, that he made him
a present of the steed. Bucephalus became Alexander's favorite mount,
and, while he would allow no one else to ride him, he obeyed his master
perfectly.
Although most young men began the study of philosophy only at sixteen,
Alexander was placed under the tuition of Ar'is-totle soon after his
first ride on Bucephalus. This philosopher was a pupil of Plato. He was
so learned and well known, that Philip, in writing to him to tell him of
Alexander's birth, expressed his pleasure that the gods had allowed his
son to live in the same age with so great a teacher.
Alexander loved Aristotle dearly, and willingly learned all that was
required of him. He often said that he was very grateful, for this
philosopher had taught him all the good he knew. Alexander's remarkable
coolness, judgment, and perseverance were largely owing to his teacher,
and, had he always followed Aristotle's advice, he would have been truly
great.
But although Alexander did not always practice the virtues which
Aristotle had tried to teach him, he never forgot his old tutor. He gave
him large sums of money, so that the philosopher could continue his
studies, and find out new things; and during his journeys he always sent
him complete collections of the animals and plants of the regions he
visited.
XCIII. ALEXANDER AS KING.
Philip, King of Macedon, as we have seen, had one great fault. He drank;
and often his reason was clouded, and his step unsteady. Now, it is
impossible to respect a man who is drunk, and everybody used to make fun
of Philip when he was in that state.
Even Alexander, his own son, felt great contempt for him when he thus
disgraced himself; and once when he saw his father stagger and fall
after one of his orgies, he scornfully exclaimed, "See! here is a man
who is getting ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and yet he cannot
step safely from one couch to another."
Alexander, we are told, was greatly displeased by his father's
conquests, and once angrily cried that if Philip really beat the
Persians, and took possession of Asia, there would be nothing left for
him to do.
You may readily imagine, therefore, that he was not very sorry when his
father died before the expedition could be undertaken; for he thus
became, at twenty, master of an immense army and of great riches, and
head of all the Greek cities, which were then the finest in the world.
The news of Philip's death was received with great joy by the Athenians
also, who thought they would now be free. Demosthenes, in particular,
was so glad to be rid of his hated foe, that he ran all through the city
with a crown of flowers on his head, shaking hands with everybody he
met, and shouting his congratulations.
His joy was so great, because he and all his fellow-citizens fancied
that a mere boy like Alexander would never be able to hold his own, and
because they hoped to become again the leading people of Greece.
The Thracians, who also thought that Alexander would not be able to
carry out his father's plans, now revolted, and the young king was
obliged to begin his reign by marching against them.
Three months passed. The Greeks heard no news of Alexander or of his
army, and fancied that he had been defeated and killed. The Thebans,
thinking the right moment had come, suddenly rose up, and said that they
would never again submit to the Macedonian yoke, but would stay free.
They soon had cause to repent of this rash talk. Alexander was not dead,
but had conquered the Thracians completely. Without stopping to rest, he
now marched straight down into Boeotia, and besieged and took Thebes.
All the inhabitants were either slain or sold into slavery, the walls
torn down, and not a single building was left standing, except the house
of Pin'dar, a Greek poet, whose songs Alexander had always admired.
The other Greek cities, frightened by the terrible punishment of Thebes,
sent messengers to the young king, offering not only to obey him as
their chief, but also to supply all the men, money, and stores he
wished for the expedition to Asia. Alexander graciously accepted all
these proposals, and then marched southward as far as Corinth.
XCIV. ALEXANDER AND DIOGENES.
Everybody bowed down before Alexander, and all looked at him with awe
and respect, as he made his triumphant progress through Greece,--all
except the sage Di-og'e-nes.
This man belonged to a class of philosophers who were called "cynics,"
which means "doglike," because, as some say, they did not care for the
usual comforts of life.
It is said that Diogenes, the principal philosopher of this kind, chose
as his home a great earthenware tub near the Temple of Ce'res. He wore a
rough woolen cloak, summer and winter, as his only garment, and ate all
his food raw. His only utensil was a wooden bowl, out of which he drank.
One day, however, he saw a child drinking out of its hollow palm.
Diogenes immediately threw away the bowl, saying he could do without
luxury as well as the child; and he drank henceforth from his hand.
As you see, Diogenes was a very strange man. He prided himself upon
always telling the truth, and upon treating all men alike. Some of his
disciples once met him wandering about the streets with a lantern,
anxiously peering into every nook and corner, and staring fixedly at
every person he met. When asked what he was looking for so carefully,
yet apparently with so little hope, he bluntly answered, "An honest
man."
Alexander had heard of this queer philosopher, and was anxious to see
him. He therefore went to the Temple of Ceres, escorted by all his
courtiers, on purpose to visit him. Diogenes was lying on the ground in
front of his tub, warming himself in the rays of the sun.
Alexander, drawing near, stood between the philosopher and the sun, and
tried to begin a conversation; but Diogenes gave surly answers, and
seemed to pay little heed to his visitor.
At last the young king proudly remarked, "I am Alexander the king!"
"And I," replied the philosopher in exactly the same tone, "am Diogenes
the cynic!"
As he could win nothing but short or rude answers, Alexander was about
to go away, but he first asked the sage if there was anything he could
do for him. "Yes," snapped Diogenes; "stand out of my sunshine!"
The courtiers were shocked at this insolent behavior, and began to talk
of the philosopher in a scornful tone as they were moving away.
Alexander, overhearing them, soon stopped them by saying, "If I were not
Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes."
By this remark he wished them to understand, that, if he could not be
master of all earthly things, he would rather despise them.
Strange to relate, Alexander the king, and Diogenes the cynic, died on
the same night, and from the same cause. Diogenes died in his tub, after
a too plentiful supper from the raw leg of an ox; while Alexander
breathed his last in a Bab-y-lo'ni-an palace, after having eaten and
drunk to excess at a rich banquet.
XCV. ALEXANDER'S BRILLIANT BEGINNING.
As soon as the Greek states had all been brought to a proper state of
obedience, Alexander prepared to conquer Persia, although he had a force
of only 34,500 men. These men were very well trained, however, and
promised to be more powerful on the battlefield than the million
warriors of Xerxes.
In his joy at departing, Alexander made rich presents to everybody,
until one of his advisers modestly reminded him that his treasure was
not boundless, and asked him what he would have left when he had given
away all he owned.
"My hopes!" answered Alexander proudly, for he expected to conquer not
only Persia and Asia Minor, but all the known world.
While his army slowly made its way along the coast and across the
Hellespont, Alexander, attended by only a few followers, sailed straight
for Troy, the ancient Asiatic city.
He landed on the desert plain where the proud city had once stood,
visited all the scenes of the mighty conflict, and offered sacrifices on
the tomb of Achilles, while his friend He-phaes'ti-on did the same on
that of Patroclus.
When this pious pilgrimage to the tomb of his ancestor was over,
Alexander hastened to join the army, for he longed to do like the
ancient Greeks, and win a glorious victory.
His wishes were soon granted, for before long he met the Persian army
near the Gra-ni'cus River, where a terrible battle was fought. Alexander
himself joined in the fighting, and would certainly have been killed had
not his friend Clytus, the son of his old nurse, rushed to his rescue
and saved his life.
In spite of the size of the Persian army, which was much larger than his
own, Alexander won a complete victory at the Granicus. Then, marching
southward, he took the cities of Sardis and Ephesus without striking
another blow. These towns were very rich, and offered of their own free
will to pay him the same tribute that they had given to the Persians.
Alexander, however, would not take it, but bade them use the money to
rebuild the Temple of Diana, which had been burned to the ground on the
night he was born. As the sacred image of the goddess had been saved,
the E-phe'sians gladly built a second magnificent shrine, which was
visited many years later by Paul, the disciple of Christ.
From Sardis and Ephesus, Alexander marched on into the province of
Ca'ri-a. Here the queen of the country warmly welcomed him, adopted him
as her son, and even proposed to give him her best cooks, so that they
might prepare his food for him on the march.
Alexander thanked her heartily for this kind offer, but declined it,
saying that his tutor Aristotle had given him the very best recipe for
making him relish his meals.
The queen, whose appetite was fanciful, eagerly asked what it was; and
Alexander smilingly answered, "A march before daybreak as the sauce for
my dinner, and a light dinner as the sauce for my supper."
This was, as you may see, a very good recipe; and if Alexander had
always remembered to be temperate, as Aristotle had advised, he would
not have died of over eating and drinking at the age of thirty-three.
XCVI. THE GORDIAN KNOT.
Alexander did not stop long in Caria. Marching onward, he soon came to
the city of Gor'di-um, in Phryg'i-a, where Mi'das had once reigned. In
one of the temples the people proudly showed Alexander the cart in which
this king rode as he entered their city.
The yoke was fastened to the pole by a rope tied in a peculiar and very
intricate knot. Now, it seems that an ancient prophecy had declared that
whoever untied the Gordian knot would surely be master of all Asia.
Of course, as Alexander had set his heart upon conquering the whole
world, he looked at this knot with great interest; but a few moments'
careful examination made him feel sure that he would not be able to
untie it.
Rather than give it up, however, Alexander drew his sword, and cut it
with a single quick stroke. Ever since then, when a person has settled a
difficulty by bold or violent means instead of patiently solving it,
the custom has been to say that he has "cut the Gordian knot," in memory
of this feat of Alexander's.
[Illustration: Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot.]
From Gordium, Alexander next passed on to Tar'sus, which also became
subject to him; and shortly after that the young conqueror nearly lost
his life.
He had been exposed to the hot sun, and had thus become terribly
overheated, when he came to the river Cyd'nus. This stream was a torrent
whose waters were very cold, but, in spite of all that his attendants
could say, Alexander insisted upon taking a bath in it.
The sudden chill brought on a cramp, and he would have been drowned had
not some of his people plunged into the water, and pulled him out. As it
was, his imprudence brought on a serious illness, and for a short time
Alexander's life was in great danger.
His physician, however, was Philip, a Greek doctor, who had attended him
ever since he was born, and who now took great care of him. When the
fever was at its worst, he said he hoped to save the king by means of a
strong medicine which he was going to prepare.
Just after Philip went out to brew this potion, Alexander received a
letter which warned him to beware of his physician, as the man had been
bribed by the Persian king, Darius III., to poison him.
After reading the letter, Alexander slipped it under his pillow, and
calmly waited for the return of his doctor. When Philip brought the cup
containing the promised remedy, Alexander took it in one hand, and gave
him the letter with the other. Then, while Philip was reading it, he
drank every drop of the medicine.
When the physician saw the accusation, he turned deadly pale, and looked
up at his master, who smilingly handed back the empty cup. Alexander's
great trust in his doctor was fully justified; for the medicine cured
him, and he was soon able to go on with his conquests.
XCVII. ALEXANDER'S ROYAL CAPTIVES.
Alexander was marching southward, and Darius was hastening northward
with a vast army, hoping to meet him and to prevent his advancing any
farther.
By a singular chance it happened that the two armies missed each other,
and passed through separate defiles in the same range of mountains.
Alexander became aware of this first, and retraced his steps without
delay, for he was anxious to find and defeat the enemy.
The two armies soon met at a place called Is'sus, where the Persians
were routed. Darius was forced to flee, and his mother, wife, and family
were made captives.
As soon as the battle was over, Alexander went to visit the royal ladies
in their tent, to assure them that they would be treated with all
respect. He was accompanied by his friend Hephaestion, who was somewhat
taller and larger than he.
As they entered the tent, in their plain armor, the queen mother,
Sis-y-gam'bis, mistook Hephaestion for the king, and fell down upon her
knees before him, begging his mercy for herself and her children. When
she found out her mistake, she was greatly dismayed; but Alexander
kindly reassured her by leaning upon his friend's shoulder, and saying
of him, "He is my other self."
The young conqueror treated the Persian ladies with the utmost kindness,
and often visited them in their own tent, to talk for a while with them.
As he always found them idle, he fancied that time must hang very
heavily upon their hands, and once offered to have them taught to spin
and weave, as the Greek ladies were wont to do.
At this proposal, Sisygambis burst into tears, and asked if he wished to
make slaves of them, for Persian ladies considered any labor a disgrace.
Alexander, seeing her grief, hastened to comfort her, and tried to
explain how happy the Greek ladies always seemed over their dainty work.
But when he understood that the royal family would rather remain idle,
he never again proposed to furnish them with occupation of any kind. On
the contrary, he was so gentle and respectful, that Sisygambis soon
learned to love him, and used to treat him like her own son.
XCVIII. ALEXANDER AT JERUSALEM.
Darius, as we have seen, had fled after the disastrous battle of Issus.
His terror was so great that he never stopped in his flight until he had
reached the other side of the river Ti'gris, where he still believed
himself safe.
Instead of going after Darius at once, Alexander first went southward
along the coast; for he thought it would be wiser to take all the cities
near the sea before he went farther inland, so as to make sure that he
had no enemies behind his back.
Marching down through Syr'i-a and Phoe-nic'ia, Alexander took the
cities of Da-mas'cus and Si'don, and came at last to Tyre, a prosperous
commercial city built on an island at a short distance from the shore.
The Tyr'i-ans would not open their gates and surrender, so Alexander
prepared to besiege the city. As he had no fleet, he began to build a
great causeway out to the island.
This was a very difficult piece of work, because the water was deep; and
while his men were building it, they were greatly annoyed by showers of
arrows, stones, and spears from the walls of the city and from the decks
of the Tyrian vessels.
A storm, also, broke the causeway to pieces once, when it was nearly
finished, and the army had to begin the work anew. The obstinate
resistance of Tyre made Alexander so angry, that he celebrated his final
victory by crucifying a large number of the richest citizens.
After offering up a sacrifice to Hercules on the flaming ruins of Tyre,
Alexander went on toward Je-ru'sa-lem. His plan was to punish the Jews,
because they had helped his enemies, and had supplied the Tyrians with
food.
The news of his coming filled the hearts of the Jews with terror, for
they expected to be treated with the same frightful cruelty as the
Tyrians. In their fear they knew not whether to surrender or fight.
Finally Jad-du'a, the high priest, had a vision, in which an angel of
the Lord appeared to him, and told him what to do. In obedience to this
divine command, he made the Le'vites put on their festal garments, and
then, dressed in his priestly robes, he led them down the hill to meet
the advancing conqueror.
When Alexander saw the beautiful procession, headed by such a dignified
old man, he quickly got down from his horse, knelt before Jaddua, and
worshiped the name written on his holy vestments.
His officers, astonished at this unusual humility, finally asked him why
he did such honor to a foreign priest. Then Alexander told them of a
vision he had had before leaving Macedon. In it he had beheld Jaddua,
who bade him come over to Asia without fear, as it was written that the
Persians would be delivered into his hands.
Walking beside the aged Jaddua, Alexander entered the holy city of
Jerusalem and the courts of the temple. Here he offered up a sacrifice
to the Lord, and saw the Books of Daniel and Zech-a-ri'ah, in which his
coming and conquests were all foretold.
XCIX. THE AFRICAN DESERT.
After staying a few days in Jerusalem, Alexander continued on his way to
Egypt, which he quickly conquered also. Here he founded a new city at
the mouth of the Nile, and named it Al-ex-an'dri-a, after himself. It
was so favorably located, that it soon became an important town, and
has continued so even till the present day.
Then, having heard that there was a famous temple in Lib'y-a, dedicated
to Jupiter, Alexander resolved to go there and visit it. The road lay
through an African desert, and the journey was very dangerous indeed.
The soldiers toiled painfully along over the burning sand, in which
their feet sank up to the ankles. The blazing African sun fell straight
down upon their heads, and made them stagger and grow faint with the
heat.
From time to time a hot wind, the simoom, blew over the desert, raising
great clouds of dust, and choking men and horses as it rolled over them
like a torrent, burying them under its shifting waves.
The horses died from thirst and fatigue, for such animals are not fit
for travel in the desert. The only creature which can journey
comfortably over the dreary waste of the Sa-ha'ra is the camel, whose
stomach is made in a peculiar way, so that it can drink a large quantity
of water at a time, and store it up for future use.
Undaunted by fatigue or danger, Alexander pressed onward. Like his
soldiers, he suffered from heat and thirst; and like them, too, he was
deceived by the mirage.
This is an optical effect due to a peculiar condition of the desert
atmosphere. The traveler suddenly sees trees, grass, and running water,
apparently a short distance before him. He hastens eagerly forward to
lie in the shade, and to plunge his hot face and hands in the refreshing
stream; but when he reaches the spot where he saw water and trees, there
is nothing but sand, and he sinks down exhausted and cruelly
disappointed.
After enduring all these hardships, Alexander arrived at last at the
oasis, or green island in the sandy desert, where the Temple of Jupiter
stood. The priests led him into the holy place, and, hoping to flatter
him, called him the son of Jupiter.
After resting for some time in this pleasant spot, Alexander and his men
again braved the dangers of the desert, went back to Alexandria and
Tyre, and from there began the long-delayed pursuit of Darius.
The Greek soldiers had suffered so many hardships since beginning the
war, that they were now ready for anything. They crossed the Eu-phra'tes
over a hastily built bridge; then coming to the Tigris, where neither
bridge nor boats could be found, they boldly swam across the river,
holding their shields over their heads to protect themselves from the
arrows of the Persians who stood on the other bank.
Alexander was always the first to rush forward in battle, and he now led
the way across the river. He was longing to meet the Persians again, and
was very glad to overtake them on the other side of the Tigris.
Here, on the plains of Ar-be'la, the third great battle was fought, and
Alexander won the victory. Darius fled once more before the conqueror,
while Alexander marched straight on to Bab'y-lon, the most wonderful
city in the East.
C. DEATH OF DARIUS.
Alexander soon won the good will of the Babylonians by allowing them to
rebuild the Temple of Bel, which had been destroyed. He also secured the
affections of the captive Jews; for he excused them from doing any work
on this building as soon as he heard that they considered it the Tower
of Babel, and hence objected to aiding in its erection.