It must be borne in mind that my design has been not to write histories,
but lives. And the most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with
the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men; sometimes a matter
of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs us better of their
characters and inclinations, than the most famous sieges, the
greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever. Therefore as
portrait-painters are more exact in the lines and features of the face,
in which the character is seen, than in the other parts of the body, so
I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks and
indications of the souls of men, in my portrayal of their lives.
It is agreed on by all hands, that on the father's side, Alexander
descended from Hercules by Caranus, and from Aeacus by Neoptolemus on
the mother's side. His father Philip, being in Samothrace, when he was
quite young, fell in love there with Olympias, in company with whom he
was initiated in the religious ceremonies of the country, and her father
and mother being both dead, soon after, with the consent of her brother
Arymbas, he married her.
Alexander was born on the sixth of Hecatombaeon, the same day that the
temple of Diana at Ephesus was burnt. The statues that gave the best
representation of Alexander's person, were those of Lysippus, those
peculiarities which many of his successors afterwards and his friends
used to affect to imitate,--the inclination of his head a little on
one side towards his left shoulder, and his melting eye,--having been
expressed by this artist with great exactness. But Apelles, who drew him
with thunderbolts in his hand, made his complexion browner and darker
than it was naturally; for he was fair and of a light color, passing
into ruddiness in his face and upon his breast. His temperance, as to
all pleasures, was apparent in him in his very childhood, as he was
with much difficulty incited to them, and always used them with great
moderation; though in other things he was extremely eager and vehement,
and in his love of glory and the pursuit of it, he showed a solidity of
high spirit and magnanimity far above his age. For he neither sought nor
valued it upon every occasion, as his father Philip did (who affected to
show his eloquence almost to a degree of pedantry, and took care to have
the victories of his racing chariots at the Olympic games engraved on
his coin), but when he was asked by some about him, whether he would run
a race in the Olympic games, as he was very swift-footed, he answered,
that he would, if he might have kings to run with him.
While he was yet very young, he entertained the ambassadors from the
king of Persia, in the absence of his father, and entering much into
conversation with them, gained so much upon them by his affability,
and the questions he asked them, which were far from being childish or
trifling (for he inquired of them the length of the ways, the nature of
the road into inner Asia, the character of their king, how he carried
himself toward his enemies, and what forces he was able to bring into
the field), that they were struck with admiration of him, and looked
upon the ability so much famed of Philip, to be nothing in comparison
with the forwardness and high purpose that appeared thus early in his
son. Whenever he heard that Philip had taken any town of importance, or
won any signal victory, instead of rejoicing at it altogether, he would
tell his companions that his father would anticipate every thing, and
leave him and them no opportunities of performing great and illustrious
actions. For being more bent upon action and glory than upon either
pleasure or riches, he esteemed all that he should receive from his
father as a diminution of his own future achievements; and would have
chosen rather to succeed to a kingdom involved in troubles and wars,
which would have afforded him frequent exercise of his courage, and a
large field of honor, than to one already flourishing and settled, where
his inheritance would be an inactive life, and the mere enjoyment of
wealth and luxury.
The care of his education, as it might be presumed, was committed to a
great many attendants, preceptors, and teachers, over the whole of
whom Leonidas, a near kinsman of Olympias, a man of an austere temper,
presided, who did not indeed himself decline the name of what in reality
is a noble and honorable office, but in general his dignity, and
his near relationship, obtained him from other people the title of
Alexander's fosterfather and governor. But he who took upon him
the actual place and style of his "pedagogue," was Lysimachus the
Acarnanian.
Philonicus the Thessalian brought the horse Bucephalas to Philip,
offering to sell him for thirteen talents; but when they went into the
field to try him, they found him so very vicious and unmanageable, that
he reared up when they endeavored to mount him, and would not so much as
endure the voice of any of Philip's attendants. Upon which, as they were
leading him away as wholly useless and untractable, Alexander, who stood
by, said, "What a magnificent horse they lose, for want of address and
boldness to manage him!" Philip at first took no notice of what he said,
but when he heard him repeat the same thing several times, and perceived
that he was much vexed to see the horse sent away, he said to him, "Do
you reproach those who are older than yourself, as if you knew more, and
were better able to manage him than they?" "I could manage this horse,"
replied he, "better than others do." "And if you fail," said Philip,
"what will you forfeit for your rashness?" "I will pay," answered
Alexander, "the whole price of the horse." At this the whole company
fell to laughing; and as soon as the wager was settled amongst them, he
immediately ran to the horse, and taking hold of the bridle, turned
him directly towards the sun, having, it seems, observed that he was
disturbed at and afraid of the motion of his own shadow; then letting
him go forward a little, still keeping the reins in his hand, and
stroking him gently when he found him beginning to grow eager and fiery,
he let fall his upper garment softly, and with one nimble leap securely
mounted him, and when he was seated, little by little drew in the
bridle, and curbed him without either striking or spurring him.
Presently, when he found him free from all rebelliousness, and only
impatient for the course, he let him go at full speed, inciting him now
with a commanding voice, and urging him also with his heel. Philip and
his friends looked on at first in silence and anxiety for the result,
till seeing him turn at the end of his career, and come back rejoicing
and triumphing for what he had performed, they all burst out into
acclamations of applause; and his father, shedding tears, it is
said, for joy, kissed him as he came down from his horse, and in his
transport, said, "O my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of thyself, for
Macedonia is too little for thee."
After this, considering him to be of a temper easy to be led to his
duty by reason, but by no means to be compelled, he always endeavored
to persuade rather than to command or force him to any thing; and now
looking upon the instruction and tuition of his youth to be of greater
difficulty and importance, than to be wholly trusted to the ordinary
masters in music and poetry, and the common school subjects, and to
require, as Sophocles says,
The bridle and the rudder too,
he sent for Aristotle, the most learned and most celebrated philosopher
of his time, and rewarded him with a munificence proportionable to and
becoming the care he took to instruct his son. For he repeopled his
native city Stagira, which he had caused to be demolished a little
before, and restored all the citizens who were in exile or slavery,
to their habitations. As a place for the pursuit of their studies and
exercises, he assigned the temple of the Nymphs, near Mieza, where,
to this very day, they show you Aristotle's stone seats, and the shady
walks which he was wont to frequent. It would appear that Alexander
received from him not only his doctrines of Morals, and of Politics, but
also something of those more abstruse and profound theories which these
philosophers, by the very names they gave them, professed to reserve for
oral communication to the initiated, and did not allow many to become
acquainted with. For when he was in Asia, and heard Aristotle had
published some treatises of that kind, he wrote to him, using very
plain language to him in behalf of philosophy, the following letter:
"Alexander to Aristotle greeting. You have not done well to publish your
books of oral doctrine, for what is there now that we excel others in,
if those things which we have been particularly instructed in be laid
open to all? For my part, I assure you, I had rather excel others in
the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power
and dominion. Farewell." And Aristotle, soothing this passion for
pre-eminence, speaks, in his excuse for himself, of these doctrines, as
in fact both published and not published. To tell the truth, his books
on metaphysics are written in a style which makes them useless for
ordinary teaching, and instructive only in the way of memoranda, for
those who have been already conversant with that sort of learning.
Doubtless also it was to Aristotle, that he owed the inclination he had,
not to the theory only, but also to the practice of the art of medicine.
For when any of his friends were sick, he would often prescribe for them
their course of diet, and medicines proper to their disease, as we may
find in his epistles. He was naturally a great lover of all kinds of
learning and reading; and Onesicritus informs us, that he constantly
laid Homer's Iliads, according to the copy corrected by Aristotle,
called "The casket copy," with his dagger under his pillow, declaring
that he esteemed it a perfect portable treasure of all military virtue
and knowledge. When he was in the upper Asia, being destitute of other
books, he ordered Harpalus to send him some; who furnished him with
Philistus's History, a great many of the plays of Euripides, Sophocles,
and Aeschylus, and some dithyrambic odes, composed by Telestes and
Philoxenus.
While Philip went on his expedition against the Byzantines, he left
Alexander, then sixteen years old, his lieutenant in Macedonia,
committing the charge of his seal to him; who, not to sit idle, reduced
the rebellious Maedi, and having taken their chief town by storm, drove
out the barbarous inhabitants, and planting a colony of several nations
in their room, called the place after his own name, Alexandropolis. At
the battle of Chaeronea, which his father fought against the Greeks,
he is said to have been the first man that charged the Thebans' sacred
band. And even in my remembrance, there stood an old oak near the river
Cephisus, which people called Alexander's oak, because his tent was
pitched under it. And not far off are to be seen the graves of the
Macedonians who fell in that battle. This early bravery made Philip so
fond of him, that nothing pleased him more than to hear his subjects
call himself their general and Alexander their king.
But later on, through an unfortunate marriage of Philip with Cleopatra,
the niece of Attalus, an estrangement grew up between them. And not long
after the brother of Alexander, Pausanias, having had an insult done to
him at the instance of Attalus and Cleopatra, when he found he could
get no reparation for his disgrace at Philip's hands, watched his
opportunity and murdered him.
Alexander was but twenty years old when his father was murdered, and
succeeded to a kingdom beset on all sides with great dangers, and
rancorous enemies. Hearing the Thebans were in revolt, and the Athenians
in correspondence with them, he immediately marched through the pass
of Thermopylae, saying that to Demosthenes, who had called him a child
while he was in Illyria, and a youth when he was in Thessaly, he would
appear a man before the walls of Athens.
When he came to Thebes, to show how willing he was to accept of their
repentance for what was past, he only demanded of them Phoenix and
Prothytes, the authors of the rebellion, and proclaimed a general
pardon to those who would come over to him. But when the Thebans merely
retorted by demanding Philotas and Antipater to be delivered into their
hands, he applied himself to make them feel the last extremities of war.
The Thebans defended themselves with a zeal and courage beyond their
strength, being much outnumbered by their enemies. But when the
Macedonian garrison sallied out upon them from the citadel, they were
so hemmed in on all sides, that the greater part of them fell in the
battle; the city itself being taken by storm, was sacked and razed,
Alexander's hope being that so severe an example might terrify the rest
of Greece into obedience. So that, except the priests, and a few who
had heretofore been the friends and connections of the Macedonians, the
family of the poet Pindar, and those who were known to have opposed the
public vote for the war, all the rest, to the number of thirty thousand,
were publicly sold for slaves; and it is computed that upwards of six
thousand were put to the sword. Among the other calamities that befell
the city, it happened that some Thracian soldiers having broken into
the house of a matron of high character and repute named Timoclea, their
captain, to satisfy his avarice, asked her if she knew of any money
concealed; to which she readily answered that she did, and bade him
follow her into a garden, where she showed him a well, into which, she
told him, upon the taking of the city she had thrown what she had of
most value. The greedy Thracian presently stooping down to view the
place where he thought the treasure lay, she came behind him, and pushed
him into the well, and then flung great stones in upon him, till she
had killed him. After which, when the soldiers led her away bound to
Alexander, her very mien and gait showed her to be a woman of dignity
and high mind, not betraying the least sign of fear or astonishment.
And when the king asked her who she was, she said, "I am the sister
of Theagenes, who fought at the battle of Chaeronea with your father,
Philip, and fell there in command for the liberty of Greece." Alexander
was so surprised, both at what she had done, and what she said, that
he could not chose but give her and her children their freedom to go
whither they pleased.
After this he received the Athenians into favor. Whether it were, like
the lion, that his passion was now satisfied, or that after an example
of extreme cruelty, he had a mind to appear merciful, it happened well
for the Athenians. Certain it is, too, that in after-time he often
repented of his severity to the Thebans, and his remorse had such
influence on his temper as to make him ever after less rigorous to all
others. And it was observed that whatsoever any Theban, who had the
good fortune to survive this victory, asked of him, he was sure to grant
without the least difficulty.
Soon after, the Greeks being assembled at the Isthmus, declared their
resolution of joining with Alexander in the war against the Persians,
and proclaimed him their general. While he stayed here, many public
ministers and philosophers came from all parts to visit him, and
congratulated him on his election, but contrary to his expectation,
Diogenes of Sinope, who then was living at Corinth, thought so little
of him, that instead of coming to compliment him, he never so much as
stirred out of the suburb called the Cranium, where Alexander ran across
him lying at full length in the sun. When he saw so much company near
him, he raised himself a little, and vouchsafed to look upon Alexander;
and when he kindly asked him whether he wanted any thing, "Yes," said
he, "I would have you stand from between me and the sun." Alexander was
so struck at this answer, and surprised at the greatness of the man,
who had taken so little notice of him, that as he went away, he told his
followers who were laughing at the moroseness of the philosopher, that
if he were not Alexander, he would choose to be Diogenes.
His army consisted of about thirty thousand foot, and four thousand
horse; and Aristobulus says, he had not a fund of over seventy talents
for their pay, nor more than thirty days' provision, if we may believe
Duris. However narrow the beginnings of so vast an undertaking might
seem to be, yet he would not embark his army until he had informed
himself particularly what means his friends had to enable them to follow
him, and supplied what they wanted, by giving good farms to some,
a village to one, and the revenue of some hamlet or harbor town to
another. So that at last he had portioned out or engaged almost all the
royal property; which giving Perdiccas an occasion to ask him what he
would leave himself, he answered, "My hopes." "Your soldiers," replied
Perdiccas, "will be your partners in those," and refused to accept of
the estate he had assigned him.
With such vigorous resolutions, and his mind thus disposed, he passed
the Hellespont, and at Troy sacrificed to Minerva, and honored the
memory of the heroes who were buried there, with solemn libations;
especially Achilles, whose gravestone he anointed, and with his friends,
as the ancient custom is, ran naked about his sepulchre, and crowned it
with garlands, declaring how happy he esteemed him, in having, while he
lived, so faithful a friend, and when he was dead, so famous a poet to
proclaim his actions. While he was viewing the rest of the antiquities
and curiosities of the place, being told he might see Paris's harp, if
he pleased, he said, he thought it not worth looking at, but he should
be glad to see that of Achilles, to which he used to sing the glories
and great actions of brave men.
In the meantime Darius's captains having collected large forces, were
encamped on the further bank of the river Granicus, and it was necessary
to fight, as it were, in the gate of Asia for an entrance into it. And
when Parmenio advised him not to attempt anything that day, because it
was late, he told him that he should disgrace the Hellespont, should he
fear the Granicus. And so without saying more, he immediately took the
river with thirteen troops of horse, and advanced against whole showers
of darts thrown from the steep opposite side, which was covered with
armed multitudes of the enemy's horse and foot, notwithstanding the
disadvantage of the ground and the rapidity of the stream; so that the
action seemed to have more of frenzy and desperation in it, than of
prudent conduct. However, he persisted obstinately to gain the passage,
and at last with much ado making his way up the banks, which were
extremely muddy and slippery, he had instantly to join in a mere
confused hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, before he could draw up his
men, who were still passing over, into any order. For the enemy pressed
upon him with loud and warlike outcries; and charging horse against
horse, with their lances, after they had broken and spent these, they
fell to it with their swords. And Alexander, being easily known by his
buckler, and a large plume of white feathers on each side of his helmet,
was attacked on all sides, yet escaped without a wound, though his
cuirass was pierced by a javelin in one of the joinings. And Rhoesaces
and Spithridates, two Persian commanders, falling upon him at once, he
avoided one of them, and struck at Rhoesaces, who had a good cuirass
on, with such force, that his spear breaking in his hand, he was glad to
betake himself to his dagger. While they were thus engaged, Spithridates
came up on the other side of him, and raising himself upon his horse,
gave him such a blow with his battle-axe on the helmet, that he cut off
the crest of it, with one of his plumes, and the helmet was only just so
far strong enough to save him, that the edge of the weapon touched the
hair of his head. But as he was about to repeat his stroke, Clitus,
called the black Clitus, prevented him, by running him through the body
with his spear. At the same time Alexander despatched Rhoesaces with
his sword. While the horse were thus dangerously engaged, the Macedonian
phalanx passed the river, and the foot on each side advanced to fight.
But the enemy hardly sustaining the first onset, soon gave ground and
fled, all but the mercenary Greeks, who, making a stand upon a rising
ground, desired quarter, which Alexander, guided rather by passion than
judgment, refused to grant, and charging them himself first, had his
horse (not Bucephalas, but another) killed under him. And this obstinacy
of his to cut off these experienced, desperate men, cost him the lives
of more of his own soldiers than all the battle before, besides those
who were wounded. The Persians lost in this battle twenty thousand foot,
and two thousand five hundred horse. On Alexander's side, Aristobulus
says there were not over four and thirty missing, of whom nine were
foot-soldiers; and in memory of them he caused as many statues of
brass, of Lysippus's making, to be erected. And that the Greeks might
participate in the honor of his victory, he sent a portion of the spoils
home to them, particularly to the Athenians three hundred bucklers, and
upon all the rest he ordered this inscription to be set: "Alexander the
son of Philip, and the Greeks, except the Lacedaemonians, won these from
the barbarians who inhabit Asia." All the plate and purple garments, and
other things of the same kind that he took from the Persians, except a
very small quantity which he reserved for himself, he sent as a present
to his mother.
This battle presently made a great change of affairs to Alexander's
advantage. For Sardis itself, the chief seat of the barbarians' power
in the maritime provinces, and many other considerable places, were
surrendered to him; only Halicarnassus and Miletus stood out, which he
took by force, together with the territory about them. After which
he was a little unsettled in his opinion how to proceed. Sometimes he
thought it best to find out Darius as soon as he could, and put all
to the hazard of a battle; at another time he looked upon it as a more
prudent course to make an entire reduction of the sea-coast, and not
to seek the enemy till he had first exercised his power here and made
himself secure of the resources of these provinces. While he was thus
deliberating what to do, it happened that a spring of water near the
city of Xanthus in Lycia, of its own accord swelled over its banks,
and threw up a copper plate upon the margin, in which was engraven in
ancient characters, that the time would come, when the Persian empire
should be destroyed by the Greeks. Encouraged by this incident, he
proceeded to reduce the maritime parts of Cilicia and Phoenicia, and
passed his army along the sea-coasts of Pamphylia with such expedition
that many historians have described and extolled it with a height of
admiration, as if it were no less than a miracle, and an extraordinary
effect of divine favor, that the waves which usually come rolling in
violently from the main, and hardly ever leave so much as a narrow beach
under the steep, broken cliffs at any time uncovered, should on a sudden
retire to afford him passage. Menander, in one of his comedies, alludes
to this marvel when he says,
Was Alexander ever favored more?
Each man I wish for meets me at the door,
And should I ask for passage through the sea,
The sea, I doubt not, would retire for me.
Then he subdued the Pisidians who made head against him, and conquered
the Phrygians, at whose chief city Gordium, which is said to be the seat
of the ancient Midas, he saw the famous chariot fastened with cords
made of the rind of the cornel-tree, about which the inhabitants had a
tradition, that for him who should untie it, was reserved the empire
of the world. Most authors tell the story of Alexander, finding himself
unable to untie the knot, the ends of which were secretly twisted round
and folded up within it, cut it asunder with his sword. But Aristobulus
tells us it was easy for him to undo it, by only pulling the pin out
of the pole, to which the yoke was tied, and afterwards drawing off the
yoke itself from below.
Darius was by this time upon his march from Susa, very confident, in the
number of his men, which amounted to six hundred thousand. But Alexander
was detained in Cilicia by a sickness, which some say he contracted from
his fatigues, others from bathing in the river Cydnus, whose waters were
exceedingly cold. None of his physicians would venture to give him any
remedies, they thought his case so desperate, and were so afraid of the
suspicions and ill-will of the Macedonians if they should fail in the
cure; till Philip, the Acarnanian, seeing how critical his case was, but
relying on his own well-known friendship for him, resolved to try the
last efforts of his art, and rather hazard his own credit and life,
than suffer him to perish for want of physic, which he confidently
administered to him, encouraging him to take it boldly, if he desired
a speedy recovery, in order to prosecute the war. At this very time,
Parmenio wrote to Alexander from the camp, bidding him have a care of
Philip, as one who was bribed by Darius to kill him, with great sums of
money, and a promise of his daughter in marriage. When he had perused
the letter, he put it under his pillow, without so much as showing it
to any of his most intimate friends, and when Philip came in with the
potion, he took it with great cheerfulness and assurance, giving him
meantime the letter to read. This was a spectacle well worth being
present at, to see Alexander take the draught, and Philip read the
letter at the same time, and then turn and look upon one another, but
with different sentiments; for Alexander's looks were cheerful and open,
to show his kindness to and confidence in his physician, while the other
was full of surprise and alarm at the accusation, appealing to the gods
to witness his innocence, sometimes lifting up his hands to heaven, and
then throwing himself down by the bedside, and beseeching Alexander to
lay aside all fear, and follow his directions without apprehension. For
the medicine at first worked so strongly as to drive, as it were, the
vital forces into the interior; he lost his speech, and falling into a
swoon, had scarcely any sense or pulse left. However, in a very short
time, by Philip's means, his health and strength returned, and he showed
himself in public to the Macedonians, who were in continual fear and
dejection until they saw him abroad again.
Darius, in the meantime marched into Cilicia, at the same time that
Alexander advanced into Syria to meet him; and missing one another in
the night, they both turned back again. Alexander, greatly pleased with
the event, made all the haste he could to fight in the defiles, and
Darius to recover his former ground, and draw his army out of so
disadvantageous a place. For now he began to see his error in engaging
himself too far in a country in which the sea, the mountains, and the
river Pinarus running through the midst of it, would force him to divide
his forces, render his horse almost unserviceable, and only cover and
support the weakness of the enemy. Fortune was not kinder to Alexander
in the choice of the ground, than he was careful to improve it to his
advantage. For being much inferior in numbers, so far from allowing
himself to be outflanked, he stretched his right wing much further out
than the left wing of his enemies, and fighting there himself in the
very foremost ranks, put the barbarians to flight. In this battle he was
wounded in the thigh, Chares says by Darius, with whom he fought hand to
hand. But in the account which he gave Antipater of the battle,
though he owns he was wounded in the thigh with a sword, though not
dangerously, he does not mention who it was that wounded him.
Nothing was wanting to complete this victory, in which he overthrew
above a hundred and ten thousand of his enemies, but the taking of the
person of Darius, who escaped very narrowly by flight. However, having
captured his chariot and his bow, he returned from pursuing him, and
found his own men busy in pillaging the barbarians' camp, which
(though to disburden themselves, they had left most of their baggage
at Damascus) was exceedingly rich. But Darius's tent, which was full of
splendid furniture, and quantities of gold and silver, they reserved
for Alexander himself, who after he had put off his arms, went to bathe
himself, saying, "Let us now cleanse ourselves from the toils of war
in the bath of Darius." "Not so," replied one of his followers, "but in
Alexander's rather; for the property of the conquered is, and should be
called, the conqueror's." Here, when he beheld the bathing vessels, the
water-pots, the pans, and the ointment boxes, all of gold, curiously
wrought, and smelt the fragrant odors with which the whole place was
exquisitely perfumed, and from thence passed into a pavilion of great
size and height, where the couches and tables and preparations for an
entertainment were perfectly magnificent, he turned to those about him
and said, "This, it seems, is royalty."
But as he was going to supper, word was brought him that Darius's mother
and wife and two unmarried daughters, being taken among the rest of the
prisoners, were all in mourning and sorrow upon the sight of his chariot
and bow, imagining him to be dead. After a little he sent Leonnatus to
them, to let them know Darius was not dead, and that they need not fear
any harm from Alexander, who made war upon him only for dominion. But
the noblest and most royal part of their usage was, that he treated
these illustrious prisoners according to their virtue and character, not
suffering them to hear, or receive, or so much as to apprehend any thing
that was unbecoming. So that they seemed rather lodged in some temple,
or some holy chambers, where they enjoyed their privacy sacred and
uninterrupted, than in the camp of an enemy. Yet Darius's wife was
accounted the most beautiful princess then living, as her husband the
tallest and handsomest man of his time, and the daughters were not
unworthy of their parents.
In his diet Alexander was most temperate, as appears, omitting many
other circumstances, by what he said to Ada, whom he adopted, with the
title of mother, and afterwards created queen of Caria. For when she out
of kindness sent him every day many curious dishes, and sweetmeats,
and would have furnished him with some cooks and pastry-men, who were
thought to have great skill, he told her he wanted none of them, his
preceptor, Leonidas, having already given him the best, which were "a
night march to prepare for breakfast, and a moderate breakfast to create
an appetite for supper." Leonidas also, he added, used to open and
search the furniture of his chamber, and his wardrobe, to see if his
mother had left him any thing that was delicate or superfluous. He was
much less addicted to wine than was generally believed; that which gave
people occasion to think so of him was, that when he had nothing else to
do, he loved to sit long and talk, rather than drink, and over every cup
hold a long conversation. For when his affairs called upon him, he would
not be detained, as other generals often were, either by wine, or sleep,
nuptial solemnities, spectacles, or any other diversion whatsoever; a
convincing argument of which is, that in the short time he lived,
he accomplished so many and so great actions. When he was free from
employment, after he was up, and had sacrificed to the gods, he used to
sit down to breakfast, and then spend the rest of the day in hunting,
or writing memoirs, giving decisions on some military questions, or
reading. In marches that required no great haste, he would practice
shooting as he went along, or to mount a chariot, and alight from it
in full speed. Sometimes, for sport's sake, as his journals tell us, he
would hunt foxes and go fowling. When he came in for the evening, after
he had bathed and was anointed, he would call for his bakers and chief
cooks, to know if they had his dinner ready. He never cared to dine
till it was pretty late and beginning to be dark, and as wonderfully
circumspect at meals that every one who sat with him should be served
alike and with proper attention; and his love of talking, as was said
before, made him delight to sit long at his wine. And no prince's
conversation was ever so agreeable, yet he would at times fall into a
temper of ostentation and soldierly boasting, which gave his flatterers
a great advantage to ride him, and made his better friends very uneasy.
After such an entertainment, he was wont to bathe, and then perhaps
he would sleep till noon, and sometimes all day long. He was so very
temperate in his eating, that when any rare fish or fruits were sent
him, he would distribute them among his friends, and often reserve
nothing for himself. His table, however, was always magnificent, the
expense of it still increasing with his good fortune, till it amounted
to ten thousand drachmas a day, to which sum he limited it, and beyond
this he would suffer none to lay out in any entertainment where he
himself was the guest.
Among the treasures and other booty that was taken from Darius, there
was a very precious casket, which being brought to Alexander for a great
rarity, he asked those about him what they thought fittest to be laid up
in it; and when they had delivered their various opinions, he told them
he should keep Homer's Iliad in it. Nor did Homer prove an unprofitable
companion to him in his expeditions. For, after he had become master of
Egypt he determined to found a great and populous city, and give to it
his own name. And when he had measured and staked out the ground with
the advice of the best architects, he chanced one night in his sleep to
see a wonderful vision; a gray-headed old man, of a venerable aspect,
appeared to stand by him, and pronounce these verses:
An island lies, where loud the billows roar,
Pharos they call it, on the Egyptian shore.
Alexander upon this immediately rose up and went to Pharos, which, at
that time, was an island lying a little above the Canobic mouth of the
river Nile, though it has now been joined to the main land by a mole.
As soon as he saw the commodious situation of the place, it being a
long neck of land, stretching like an isthmus between large lagoons and
shallow waters on one side, and the sea on the other, the latter at the
end of it making a spacious harbor, he said, Homer, besides his other
excellences, was a very good architect, and ordered the plan of a city
to be drawn out answerable to the place. To do which, for want of chalk,
the soil being black, they laid out their lines with flour, taking in
a pretty large compass of ground in a semicircular figure, and drawing
into the inside of the circumference equal straight lines from each end,
thus giving it something of the form of a cloak or cape. While he was
pleasing himself with his design, on a sudden an infinite number of
great birds of several kinds, rising like a black cloud out of the river
and the lake, came and devoured every morsel of the flour that had been
used in setting out the lines; at which omen even Alexander himself was
troubled, till the augurs restored his confidence again by telling him
it was a sign that the city he was about to build would not only abound
in all things within itself, but also be the nurse and feeder of many
nations.
The great battle of all that was fought with Darius, was not, as most
writers tell us, at Arbela, but at Gaugamela, which, in their language,
signifies the camel's house, forasmuch as one of their ancient kings
having escaped the pursuit of his enemies on a swift camel, in gratitude
to his beast settled him at this place, with an allowance of certain
villages and rents for his maintenance. It came to pass that in the
month Boedromion, about the beginning of the Feast of Mysteries at
Athens, there was an eclipse of the moon, the eleventh night after
which, the two armies being now in view of one another, Darius kept
his men in arms, and by torchlight took a general review of them. But
Alexander, while his soldiers slept, spent the night before his tent
with his diviner Aristander, performing certain mysterious ceremonies,
and sacrificing to the god Fear.
In the meanwhile the oldest of his commanders, and chiefly Parmenio,
when they beheld all the plain between Niphates and the Gordyaean
mountains shining with the lights and fires which were made by the
barbarians, and heard the uncertain and confused sound of voices out of
their camp, like the distant roaring of a vast ocean, were so amazed
at the thoughts of such a multitude, that after some conference among
themselves, they concluded it an enterprise too difficult and hazardous
for them to engage so numerous an enemy in the day, and therefore
meeting the king as he came from sacrificing, besought him to attack
Darius by night, that the darkness might conceal the danger of the
ensuing battle. To this he gave them the celebrated answer, "I will not
steal a victory," which, though some at the time thought it a boyish and
inconsiderate speech, as if he played with danger, others regarded as an
evidence that the confided in his present condition, and acted on a true
judgment of the future, not wishing to leave Darius, in case he were
worsted, the pretext of trying his fortune again, which he might suppose
himself to have, if he could impute his overthrow to the disadvantage of
the night, as he did before to the mountains, the narrow passages, and
the sea. For while he had such numerous forces and large dominions still
remaining, it was not any want of men or arms that could induce him
to give up the war, but only the loss of all courage and hope upon the
conviction of an undeniable and manifest defeat.
After they were gone from him with this answer, he laid himself down
in his tent and slept the rest of the night more soundly than was usual
with him, to the astonishment of the commanders. Not only before the
battle, but in the height of the danger, he showed himself great, and
manifested the self-possession of a just foresight and confidence. For
the battle for some time fluctuated and was dubious. The left wing,
where Parmenio commanded, was so impetuously charged by the Bactrian
horse that it was disordered and forced to give ground, at the same time
that Mazaeus had sent a detachment around to fall upon those who guarded
the baggage, which so disturbed Parmenio, that he sent messengers to
acquaint Alexander that the camp and baggage would be all lost unless he
immediately relieved the rear by a considerable reinforcement drawn out
of the front. This message being brought him just as he was giving the
signal to those about him for the onset, he bade them tell Parmenio that
he must have surely lost the use of his reason, and had forgotten,
in his alarm, that soldiers, if victorious, become masters of their
enemies' baggage; and if defeated, instead of taking care of their
wealth or their slaves, have nothing more to do but to fight gallantly
and die with honor. When he had said this, he put on his helmet, having
the rest of his arms on before he came out of his tent, which were
a coat of the Sicilian make, girt close about him, and over that a
breastpiece of thickly quilted linen, which was taken among other booty
at the battle of Issus. The helmet, which was made by Theophilus, though
of iron, was so well wrought and polished, that it was as bright as the
most refined silver. To this was fitted a gorget of the same metal, set
with precious stones His sword, which was the weapon he most used
in fight, was given him by the king of the Citieans, and was of an
admirable temper and lightness. The belt which he also wore in all
engagements, was of much richer workmanship than the rest of his armor.
It was the work of the ancient Helicon, and had been presented to him
by the Rhodians, as a mark of their respect to him. So long as he
was engaged in drawing up his men, or riding about to give orders or
directions, or to view them, he spared Bucephalas, who was now growing
old, and made use of another horse; but when he was actually to fight,
he sent for him again, and as soon as he was mounted, commenced the
attack.
He made the longest address that day to the Thessalians and other
Greeks, who answered him with loud shouts desiring him to lead them on
against the barbarians, upon which he shifted his javelin into his left
hand, and with his right lifted up towards heaven, besought the gods,
as Callisthenes tells us, that if he was of a truth the son of Jupiter,
they would be pleased to assist and strengthen the Grecians. At the same
time the augur Aristander, who had a white mantle about him, and a crown
of gold on his head, rode by and showed them an eagle that soared just
over Alexander, and directed his flight towards the enemy; which
so animated the beholders, that after mutual encouragements and
exhortations, the cavalry charged at full speed, and were followed in a
mass by the whole phalanx of the foot. But before they could well come
to blows with the first ranks, the barbarians shrunk back, and were
hotly pursued by Alexander, who drove those that fled before him into
the middle of the battle, where Darius himself was in person, whom he
saw from a distance over the foremost ranks, conspicuous in the midst
of his lifeguard, a tall and fine-looking man, drawn in a lofty chariot,
defended by an abundance of the best cavalry who stood close in order
about it, ready to receive the enemy. But Alexander's approach was so
terrible, forcing those who gave back upon those who yet maintained
their ground, that he beat down and dispersed them almost all. Only a
few of the bravest and valiantest opposed the pursuit, who were slain
in their king's presence, falling in heaps upon one another, and in the
very pangs of death striving to catch hold of the horses. Darius now
seeing all was lost, that those who were placed in front to defend
him were broken and beaten back upon him, that he could not turn or
disengage his chariot without great difficulty, the wheels being clogged
and entangled among the dead bodies, which lay in such heaps as not only
stopped, but almost covered the horses, and made them rear and grow so
unruly, that the frighted charioteer could govern them no longer, in
this extremity was glad to quit his chariot and his arms, and mounting,
it is said, upon a mare that had been taken from her foal, betook
himself to flight.
This battle being thus over, seemed to put a period to the Persian
empire; and Alexander, who was now proclaimed king of Asia, returned
thanks to the gods in magnificent sacrifices, and rewarded his friends
and followers with great sums of money, and places, and governments of
provinces.
From here he marched through the province of Babylon, which immediately
submitted to him, and was much surprised at the sight in one place where
fire issues in a continuous stream, like a spring of water, out of a
cleft in the earth, and the stream of naphtha, which, not far from this
spot, flows out so abundantly as to form a sort of lake. This naphtha,
in other respects resembling bitumen, is so subject to take fire, that
before it touches the flame, it will kindle at the very light that
surrounds it, and often inflame the intermediate air also. The
barbarians, to show the power and nature of it, sprinkled the street
that led to the king's lodgings with little drops of it, and when it was
almost night, stood at the further end with torches, which being applied
to the moistened places, the first at once taking fire, instantly, as
quick as a man could think of it, it caught from one end to another, in
such a manner that the whole street was one continuous flame.
Alexander, in his own letters, has given us an account of his war with
Porus. He says that two armies were separated by the river Hydaspes,
on whose opposite bank Porus continually kept his elephants in order of
battle, with their heads towards their enemies, to guard the passage;
that he, on the other hand, made every day a great noise and clamor in
his camp, to dissipate the apprehensions of the barbarians; that one
stormy, dark night he passed the river, at a distance from the place
where the enemy lay, into a little island, with part of his foot, and
the best of his horse. Here there fell a most violent storm of rain
accompanied with lightning and whirlwinds, and although he saw some of
his men burnt and dying with the lightning, he nevertheless quitted the
island and made over to the other side. Here, apprehending the multitude
of the enemy, and to avoid the shock of their elephants, he divided his
forces, and attacked their left wing himself, commanding Coenus to fall
upon the right, which was performed with good success. By this means
both wings being broken, the enemies fell back in their retreat upon the
centre, and crowded in upon their elephants. There rallying, they fought
a hand to hand battle, and it was the eighth hour of the day before they
were entirely defeated.
Almost all the historians agree in relating that Porus was four cubits
and a span high, and that when he was upon his elephant, which was
of the largest size, his stature and bulk were so answerable, that he
appeared to be proportionably mounted, as a horseman on his horse. This
elephant, during the whole battle, gave many singular proofs of sagacity
and of particular care of the king, whom as long as he was strong and in
a condition to fight, he defended with great courage, repelling those
who set upon him; and as soon as he perceived him overpowered with his
numerous wounds and the multitude of darts that were thrown at him, to
prevent his falling off, he softly knelt down and began to draw out the
darts with his proboscis. When Porus was taken prisoner, and Alexander
asked him how he expected to be used, he answered, "As a king." And
Alexander, accordingly, not only suffered him to govern his own kingdom
as satrap under himself, but gave him also the additional territory of
various independent tribes whom he subdued.
Some little time after the battle with Porus, Bucephalas died, as most
of the authorities state, under cure of his wounds, or as Onesicritus
says, of fatigue and age, being thirty years old. Alexander was no
less concerned at his death, than if he had lost an old companion or an
intimate friend, and built a city, which he named Bucephalia, in memory
of him, on the bank of the river Hydaspes.
Aristobulus tells us that Alexander died of a raging fever, having, in a
violent thirst, taken a copious draught of wine, upon which he fell into
delirium, and died on the thirtieth day of the month Daesius.
But the journals give the following record. On the eighteenth of the
month, he slept in the bathing-room on account of his fever. The next
day he bathed and removed into his chamber, and spent his time in
playing at dice with Medius. In the evening he bathed and sacrificed,
and ate freely, and had the fever on him through the night. On the
twenty-fourth he was much worse, and was carried out of his bed to
assist at the sacrifices, and gave order that the general officers
should wait within the court, whilst the inferior officers kept watch
without doors. On the twenty-fifth he was removed to his palace on the
other side the river, where he slept a little, but his fever did not
abate, and when the generals came into his chamber, he was speechless,
and continued so the following day. The Macedonians, therefore,
supposing he was dead, came with great clamors to the gates, and menaced
his friends so that they were forced to admit them, and let them all
pass through unarmed along by his bedside. The same day Python and
Seleucus were despatched to the temple of Serapis to inquire if they
should bring Alexander thither, and were answered by the god, that they
should not remove him. On the twenty-eighth, in the evening, he died.