Su'sa. There he found the brazen statue of Athene which Xerxes had
carried off to Persia; and he sent it back to the Athenians, who
received it with much joy.
The Persian queen now became very ill, and, in spite of the utmost care,
she soon died. Throughout her illness, Alexander was most thoughtful and
attentive; and when she died, he gave orders that she should be buried
with all the pomp due to her high rank.
He also comforted the mourning Sisygambis, and sent the news of the
queen's death to Darius, who had fled to the northern part of his
kingdom, where he was hastily gathering together another army. Touched
by Alexander's conduct, Darius now wrote to him, offering peace, and
proposing to share the throne of Persia with him.
The young conqueror's head had been turned by his many victories, and he
was growing more haughty every day: so he proudly refused this proposal,
saying that the world could not have two masters any more than two
suns.
In his pride, Alexander now assumed the dress and state of an Oriental
king, surrounded himself with luxury, and spent most of his time in
feasting and revelry. His courtiers encouraged him in this folly, and he
soon forgot the wise lessons taught by Aristotle.
On several occasions the young king drank so much that he did not know
what he was doing; and once, in a fit of drunken rage, he set fire to
the beautiful palace of Per-sep'o-lis, and burned it to the ground.
As he had refused Darius' offers of peace, he soon considered it
necessary to continue the war: so, laying aside his jeweled robes, he
put on his armor and set out for the north. He was about to overtake the
Persian king, when Darius was mortally wounded by one of his followers
named Bes'sus.
The traitor thought that he would win Alexander's favor by this crime,
and came and boasted of it to him. Alexander was so angry, however, that
he bade his guards seize Bessus, and had him put to death in the most
barbarous way.
When the Macedonian king finally came up with Darius, he found him
bathed in his own blood, and breathing his last. He had only time to
assure him of the safety of his family, and to promise to continue to
protect them, before Darius sank back dead.
By Alexander's orders the body was embalmed, and carried to Sisygambis,
so that it could be properly buried in the beautiful tomb of the Persian
kings. This last act of generosity quite won the aged queen's heart; and
she felt so grateful, that she loved Alexander as long as he lived.
CI. DEFEAT OF PORUS.
Now that Darius was dead, Alexander took the Persian title of "Shah in
Shah" (king of kings), and became ruler of all the empire which had been
subject to the Persian monarch.
He was so proud of his new state and of his vast conquests, that he
entirely forgot that he owed them mostly to his brave generals and
soldiers; and he became so obstinate, that he would no longer listen to
any advice, and only thought of having his own way.
His father's general, Parmenio, who had always given him the wisest
counsel, was no longer in favor, because he tried to restrain the king's
extravagance. Indeed, Alexander's once generous and noble nature was so
changed, that, when his courtiers accused Parmenio of treachery, he
listened to them, and actually put the faithful general to death.
Every day now Alexander indulged in feasts and banquets, always drinking
more and more, although it was affecting his health as well as his
temper. Clytus, the son of his old nurse, tried to check his excesses,
but only succeeded in provoking his wrath.
On one occasion such remonstrances so enraged Alexander, that in his
drunken fury he seized a spear and killed Clytus. When he saw him dead
at his feet, the king realized what a terrible crime he had committed,
and felt deep remorse for a short time.
He reformed, and, instead of giving himself up entirely to pleasure,
spent the next two years in the work of governing Persia, where he
founded several cities called by his name.
As all the central part of Asia now acknowledged his rule, he next went
down into India, where he found King Po'rus, the bravest adversary he
had ever met. This king, whose realm was in the northwestern part of
India, came against Alexander with a very large army. In the ranks were
many elephants, trained to crush the enemy beneath their huge feet, and
bearing on their broad backs wooden turrets filled with brave fighting
men and good archers.
In spite of these elephants, which at first awakened great fear in the
Greek soldiers, the Macedonian phalanx won the victory as usual, and
Porus was made prisoner. He was led into the presence of Alexander, who
haughtily asked him how he expected to be treated. "Like a king!" was
the proud reply.
This answer so pleased Alexander, that he not only set Porus free, but
even allowed him to keep his kingdom, after he had sworn to be the
faithful subject of his conqueror.
Alexander, having thus won the help and affection of Porus, made war
against several other Indian kings, and continued his advance toward the
south. In one of these battles he lost his faithful steed Bucephalus,
which had borne him safely through many a fight.
Alexander felt this loss deeply, and not only had a monument built over
his remains, but also founded a city near by, which was called
Bu-ceph'a-la.
CII. THE RETURN TO BABYLON.
Upon reaching the Hyph'a-sis River, Alexander would have liked to cross
it, and continue his conquests; but his soldiers now refused to go any
farther. They were tired of fighting and danger, and were longing to go
back to Macedon.
Although he was unwilling to do so, Alexander was therefore obliged to
stop in his conquests; but, instead of going home as he had come, he now
built a fleet, and sailed down the In'dus River to the sea.
Now, the Greeks had no maps such as we have; and their knowledge of
geography was very small. When Alexander came to the sea, however, he
thought it must be the same as that into which the Euphrates flowed.
To find out if this was true, he bade his admiral, Ne-ar'chus, sail
along the coast and explore it, while the army went homeward on foot.
Alexander himself staid with the army, and led the soldiers along a new
way, which was very wearisome and dangerous.
The Macedonians had to pass through large wastes of burning sand, where
they suffered a great deal. They were cheered and encouraged, however,
by the example of Alexander, who nobly shared their hardships, and
always went ahead of them on foot, carrying his own armor.
Once, when they were panting with thirst, some of his men found a little
water, which they brought him. Rather than indulge in anything which all
could not share with him, Alexander poured the water out upon the sand,
saying he would refresh himself only when his men could do so too.
After many months of weary travel and great suffering, the army finally
joined the fleet at the mouth of the Euphrates, for Nearchus had in the
mean while sailed all along the northern coast of the Indian Ocean and
up the Persian Gulf.
He wrote an account of this wonderful sea journey, which was of great
importance, as it opened a new and convenient road for Eastern commerce.
The people soon took advantage of it to establish colonies and trading
stations, and to carry on a lively business with the East.
CIII. DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
Alexander now went back to Babylon, where he married Rox-an'a, a Persian
princess, giving her sister's hand to his intimate friend Hephaestion.
This wedding was celebrated with great pomp, for eighty Macedonian
officers took Persian wives on the same day.
The feasting for the weddings went on for many days, and the revelry was
carried to such a shameful excess, that Hephaestion actually drank
himself to death.
In token of sorrow, Alexander built him a fine tomb, had him buried with
all the magnificence possible, and even decreed that he should
henceforth be worshiped as a god. In this folly he was upheld by the
priests, who were now ready to grant his every wish, and were always
filling his mind with their senseless flatteries.
Alexander then fell into his old habits more than ever. He had again
assumed all the pomp of an Eastern king, and sat on a wonderful golden
throne. Over his head was the golden vine that had formerly belonged to
the first Darius. Its leaves were of emeralds, while its grapes were
clusters of fine carbuncles.
This vine had been given to a Persian king by Croe'sus, the wealthy
ruler of Lyd'i-a, and was considered one of the most precious treasures
which the young conqueror had won.
But in spite of all Alexander's successes, he was not nearly so happy as
he used to be when only king of Macedon. He no longer enjoyed the fine
health which had helped him to bear the greatest hardships, and,
weakened by over eating and drinking, he soon fell dangerously ill.
The doctors crowded around his bed, doing their best to save him, but
they soon saw that he would die. When the Macedonian soldiers heard
this, they were beside themselves with grief, and one and all insisted
upon seeing their beloved leader once more.
Silently and sadly they filed past his bed, gazing upon the dying face
which they had seen so bright and full of life a short time before. As
most of the soldiers were older than their king, they had never expected
to outlive him; and every one said that it was sad to die thus, at
thirty-three, when master of nearly all the known world.
Just before he died, some one begged Alexander to name his successor. He
hesitated for a moment, then drew his signet ring from his finger, gave
it to Per-dic'cas, his principal general, and whispered that the
strongest among them should have the throne.
[Illustration: Death of Alexander.]
Alexander's death was mourned by all, for, in spite of his folly and
excesses, he was generally beloved. Even Sisygambis, the Persian queen
whom he had taken captive a few years before, shed many tears over his
remains, and declared she had lost a protector who had always treated
her as kindly as if he had been her own son.
The conqueror's body was laid in a golden coffin, and carried in state
to Alexandria, the city he had founded at the mouth of the Nile. Here a
fine tomb was built by order of Ptol'e-my, one of Alexander's generals,
who said that his dead master also should be worshiped as a god.
Ptolemy wanted the body to remain in Egypt because an oracle had said
that he who buried Alexander would be master of his kingdom.
CIV. THE DIVISION OF THE REALM.
The day after Alexander's death there was a sad assembly in the palace.
All the Macedonian generals sat there in silence and dismay, gazing at
the empty golden throne, upon which Perdiccas had solemnly laid the
royal signet ring.
Who was to take the place of the king whose military genius and great
conquests had won for him the title of "Great"? It is true that
Alexander had a half-brother, named Ar-ri-dae'us, but he was weak-minded.
The only other heir was an infant son, born shortly after his father's
death.
The generals gravely talked the matter over, and finally said that
Arridaeus and the child should be publicly named successors of the dead
king, while four of their own number should be appointed guardians of
the princes, and regents of the vast realm.
This decision was considered wise, and the kingdom of Alexander was
divided into thirty-three provinces, each governed by a Macedonian
officer, who was to hold it in the name of Arridaeus and of the child.
In dying, Alexander had foretold that his funeral would be followed by
bloodshed, and this prediction came true. The generals who had met so
solemnly around the empty throne soon became dissatisfied at being only
governors, and each wanted to be king in his own right, of the land
intrusted to his care.
Perdiccas, having received Alexander's signet ring from his dying hand,
was, of course, their leader, and took under his own protection the
infant king and the Persian mother Roxana.
He fancied that it would thus be an easy matter to keep the power in his
own hands, and to govern the vast realm as he pleased. But An-tip'a-ter,
governor of Macedon, no sooner heard that Alexander was dead, than he
placed the idiot Arridaeus on the throne, proclaimed him king, and began
to rule as if he were the only regent.
The other Macedonian generals daily claimed new rights, which Perdiccas
was forced to grant in order to pacify them; but when it was too late,
he found out how mistaken he had been, and regretted that he had yielded
to their demands.
The various governors, never satisfied with the honors given them, were
not only suspicious of each other, but particularly jealous of
Perdiccas, the head of the realm. In their envy, they rose up against
him; and for many years Perdiccas was forced to hold his own against
them all, while trying to make his way back to Macedon, where he wanted
to place Alexander's son upon the throne.
CV. DEATH OF DEMOSTHENES.
When Alexander left for the East, the orator Demosthenes began to urge
the Greeks to rise up against him, and win back their freedom. All his
eloquence, however, was not enough to persuade them to make war as long
as Alexander lived.
But when the conqueror's death was made known, Demosthenes again tried
to arouse them, and this time with success. Pho'cion, a cautious
Athenian, vainly begged the people to wait at least until the news was
confirmed, saying, "If Alexander is dead to-day, he will still be dead
to-morrow and on the next day, so that we may take counsel at our
leisure."
This wise caution, however, did not suit the Athenians, who were joined
in their revolt by most of the little states and principal towns of
Greece, except Sparta. The united Greeks soon raised an army, which
marched northward, and met the Macedonian governor's troops near
Thermopylae.
[Illustration: Phocion.]
The Greeks were successful here, and, after shutting up the enemy in the
fortress of La'mi-a, closely besieged them. But after a time the Greek
general was killed; and, when the Macedonians were reenforced, they
gained a decisive victory. This really ended the war; for the Macedonian
general, Antipater, broke up the union, and made separate terms of peace
for each city.
In his anger, Antipater said he would punish all those who had
encouraged the Greeks to revolt. He soon learned that Demosthenes had
been one of the principal men to advise the uprising, so he sent his
soldiers to make him prisoner.
Demosthenes, warned of his danger, immediately fled, but had only time
to take refuge in the Temple of Neptune. There, in spite of the holiness
of the place, Antipater's guards came to get him.
Seeing that it would be useless to resist, the orator asked for a few
moments' respite, that he might write a letter to his friends. The men
consented; and Demosthenes, closely watched, took up his tablet and the
reed with which he generally wrote.
The soldiers saw him trace a few lines, then stop and bite the top of
his reed, as if thinking about what he would say next. But, instead of
going on to write his letter, the orator soon covered his head with his
cloak and staid quite still.
After a few moments' waiting, one of the men went to him, and, receiving
no answer to his question, drew aside the folds of the cloak. He started
back in terror, for the orator's face was very pale, and he was
evidently about to die.
The men quickly carried him out of the temple, so that it should not be
defiled by death, and then they found that the reed with which he wrote
was hollow, and had contained a deadly drug. Demosthenes had taken the
poison, thinking that death would be better than prison.
The Athenians now saw that it would have been wiser to listen to the
cautious Phocion: so they set him at the head of their affairs, and
promised to obey him. Although honest, Phocion was not very clever, and
his caution little by little became cowardice.
In his fear of the Macedonians, he allowed them to have more and more
power; and Greece a few years later was entirely under the rule of
Antipater, the Macedonian governor.
CVI. THE LAST OF THE ATHENIANS.
Antipater, although master of all Greece, did not treat the people
cruelly, for he was very anxious to secure friends who would help him to
keep his share of Alexander's realm.
He soon heard that Perdiccas was marching homeward with the infant king,
who was named, like his father, Alexander; and he knew that the general
wanted to place the child on the Macedonian throne. This plan was very
distasteful to Antipater. He was not at all afraid of the infant
Alexander, but he knew that Perdiccas would want to be regent, and he
wished that position himself.
Rather than give up his authority, Antipater decided to fight; and, as
many of Alexander's generals were dissatisfied, they all rose up in arms
at the same time, as we have seen.
Perdiccas was surrounded by enemies, but he faced them all bravely, and
even led an army into Egypt to subdue Ptolemy, his greatest foe. To
reach the enemy, the soldiers under Perdiccas were obliged to swim
across the Nile. Here so many of them were eaten up by huge crocodiles,
that the rest, angry with their general for leading them into such
danger, fell upon him and killed him.
Almost at the same time, Antipater died, leaving his son, Cas-san'der,
and his general, Pol-ys-per'chon, to quarrel over the government of
Macedon. Each gathered together an army, and tried to get as many
friends as possible, especially among the Greeks.
The Athenians vainly tried to remain neutral during this quarrel; but in
the course of the war, Polysperchon came into their city, said that
Phocion and many other great citizens were siding with Cassander, and
condemned them to die by drinking poison brewed from the hemlock plant.
It seems, however, that there was not enough poison ready to kill them
all, so the jailer made Phocion give him some money to buy more. The
noble old man, forced to do as he was bidden, gave the necessary amount,
saying, "It seems that one cannot even die for nothing in Athens."
As he was the last really noted politician in the city, he has been
called the "Last of the Athenians." No one ever dared to uphold the
city's power after his death, or tried to help it win back its old
freedom.
As soon as Perdiccas was dead, Roxana and her son were brought to
Macedon, where they were finally placed under the protection of
Polysperchon. When Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, saw his
infant son, she was so anxious to secure the throne for him alone, that
she slew the idiot king Arridaeus and all his family.
Under pretext of avenging this crime, Cassander captured and slew
Olympias; and then, having won Macedon and Greece from Polysperchon, and
seeing that there was no one left to protect Roxana and the child king,
he put both mother and son in prison, where they were killed by his
order shortly after.
Thus, twelve years after Alexander's death, all his family were dead,
and his vast kingdom was a prey to quarreling, which broke it up into
several states.
CVII. THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES.
When Perdiccas died, An-tig'o-nus ("the one-eyed") was named his
successor, and became governor of all the Eastern province. He no sooner
heard that Cassander had murdered Alexander's family, than he marched
westward, intending to avenge the crime.
On his way, Antigonus passed through Syria, the land governed by
Se-leu'cus, and asked that ruler how he had spent the money of the
kingdom. Seleucus, who had a bad conscience, instead of answering, ran
away to Egypt, where he became a friend of Ptolemy.
Then, fearing that they would not be able to fight against Antigonus
successfully, these two generals persuaded Cassander, ruler of Macedon,
and Ly-sim'a-chus, ruler of Thrace, to join them.
For several years the war was kept up between the four allies on one
side, and Antigonus and his son De-me'tri-us on the other. The field of
battle was principally in Asia Minor. The fighting continued until the
generals became weary of warfare, and concluded to make peace.
A treaty was then signed, settling the claims of all parties, and
providing that all the Greek cities should have their freedom. This
done, each went back to his own province; but it soon became evident
that the peace would not last, for Cassander did not keep his promise to
make the Greek states free.
When Cassander's wrongdoing became known, the generals called upon
Demetrius to bring him to terms. The Athenians were so pleased when
they heard of this, that they received Demetrius with great joy.
Demetrius was such a good general that he soon managed to defeat
Cassander at Thermopylae; and when he came back to Athens in triumph, the
happy people gave him the title of "The Preserver," called a month by
his name, lodged him in the Parthenon, and worshiped him as a god. Some
time after this, Demetrius conquered Ptolemy, who had shown that he
would not abide by the treaty either. This victory was so great, that
Demetrius' soldiers said he deserved a reward, and named him King of
Syria.
When the other generals heard that Demetrius and his father had accepted
the title of kings, they too put on royal crowns. Then, as each was
still jealous of the rest, and wished to obtain more land for himself,
war soon broke out among them once more.
Demetrius, who had been very lucky in all his wars, now planned to take
the Island of Rhodes from Ptolemy, King of Egypt. It proved, however, a
far more difficult thing than he had expected, and, after besieging the
principal city for a whole year, he gave up the attempt.
But he had invented so many machines to try to subdue the city of
Rhodes, that every one thought he deserved much credit, and they
therefore gave him the title of Po-li-or-ce'tes ("the city taker").
Peace was agreed upon, and Demetrius retreated, giving up to the
Rho'di-ans all the mighty war engines he had brought with him. These
were sold for three hundred talents (something over three hundred
thousand dollars), and the money thus obtained was used in erecting a
colossal statue in honor of Apollo (or He'li-os), the patron god of the
island.
[Illustration: Demetrius Poliorcetes. (Coin.)]
This marvelous brazen statue, which was so fine that it was one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world, represented the sun god, with his
head surrounded by rays, and with his feet resting one on each side of
the entrance of the port.
We are told that the Co-los'sus of Rhodes, as this statue was generally
called, was so tall that ships under full sail easily passed under its
spreading legs in and out of the harbor.
It stood there for about sixty years, when it was overthrown by an
earthquake. After lying in ruins for a long time, the brass was sold as
old metal. It was carried off on the backs of camels, and we are told
that nine hundred of these animals were required for the work.
Thus vanished one of the much talked of wonders of the ancient world.
The others were Diana's Temple at Ephesus, the Tomb of Mau-so'lus (which
was so fine that any handsome tomb is sometimes called a mausoleum), the
Pha'ros or Lighthouse of Alexandria or Messina, the Walls and Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, the Labyrinth of Crete, and the Pyramids of Egypt.
To these is often added the Parthenon at Athens, which, as you have
seen, was decorated by the carvings of Phidias.
CVIII. THE BATTLE OF IPSUS.
Demetrius, having failed to take Rhodes, now passed over into Greece,
hoping to overthrow Cassander; but the other kings, growing afraid of
him, agreed to help the ruler of Macedon. They therefore collected a
large army, and forced Demetrius to stop and fight them all at Ip'sus,
in Asia Minor.
Here, just twenty years after Alexander's death, his generals met in a
great battle. Seleucus, it is said, brought a number of fighting
elephants, such as Porus had used, which added much to the confusion and
fierceness of the struggle.
Antigonus, the father of Demetrius, was slain, and Demetrius himself was
defeated, and driven to Ephesus. The Athenians, who had been his friends
and allies as long as he was prosperous, now basely deserted him. They
declared themselves his enemies, and made a law whereby any one who
spoke well of him, or tried to make peace with him, should be put to
death.