BEGINNING OF HIS REIGN.
B.C. 336
Philip is reconciled to Olympias and Alexander.--Olympias and Alexander
returned.--The great wedding.--Preparations for the wedding.--Costly
presents.--Celebration of the wedding.--Games and spectacles.--Statues
of the gods.--Military procession.--Appearance of Philip.--The
scene changed.--Assassination of Philip.--Alexander proclaimed
king.--Alexander's speech.--Demosthenes' Philippics.--The Greeks
suspected of the murder.--The Persians also.--Alexander's new
position.--His designs.--Murderers of Philip punished.--Alexander's
first acts.--Parmenio.--Cities of Southern Greece.--Map of Macedon and
Greece.--Athens and Corinth.--Thebes.--Sparta.--Conquests of
Philip.--Alexander marches southward.--Pass of Thermopylae.--The
Amphictyonic Council.--March through Thessaly.--Alexander's traits of
character.--The Thessalians join Alexander.--He sits in the Amphictyonic
Council.--Thermopylae.--Leonidas and his Spartans.--Death of
Leonidas.--Spartan valor.--Alexander made commander-in-chief.--He
returns to Macedon.
Alexander was suddenly called upon to succeed his father on the
Macedonian throne, in the most unexpected manner, and in the midst of
scenes of the greatest excitement and agitation. The circumstances
were these:
Philip had felt very desirous, before setting out upon his great
expedition into Asia, to become reconciled to Alexander and Olympias.
He wished for Alexander's co-operation in his plans; and then,
besides, it would be dangerous to go away from his own dominions with
such a son left behind, in a state of resentment and hostility.
So Philip sent kind and conciliatory messages to Olympias and
Alexander, who had gone, it will be recollected, to Epirus, where her
friends resided. The brother of Olympias was King of Epirus. He had
been at first incensed at the indignity which had been put upon his
sister by Philip's treatment of her; but Philip now tried to appease
his anger, also, by friendly negotiations and messages. At last he
arranged a marriage between this King of Epirus and one of his own
daughters, and this completed the reconciliation. Olympias and
Alexander returned to Macedon, and great preparations were made for a
very splendid wedding.
Philip wished to make this wedding not merely the means of confirming
his reconciliation with his former wife and son, and establishing
friendly relations with the King of Epirus: he also prized it as an
occasion for paying marked and honorable attention to the princes and
great generals of the other states of Greece. He consequently made his
preparations on a very extended and sumptuous scale, and sent
invitations to the influential and prominent men far and near.
These great men, on the other hand, and all the other public
authorities in the various Grecian states, sent compliments,
congratulations, and presents to Philip, each seeming ambitious to
contribute his share to the splendor of the celebration. They were not
wholly disinterested in this, it is true. As Philip had been made
commander-in-chief of the Grecian armies which were about to undertake
the conquest of Asia, and as, of course, his influence and power in
all that related to that vast enterprise would be paramount and
supreme; and as all were ambitious to have a large share in the glory
of that expedition, and to participate, as much as possible, in the
power and in the renown which seemed to be at Philip's disposal, all
were, of course, very anxious to secure his favor. A short time
before, they were contending against him; but now, since he had
established his ascendency, they all eagerly joined in the work of
magnifying it and making it illustrious.
Nor could Philip justly complain of the hollowness and falseness of
these professions of friendship. The compliments and favors which he
offered to them were equally hollow and heartless. He wished to secure
_their_ favor as a means of aiding him up the steep path to fame and
power which he was attempting to climb. They wished for his, in order
that he might, as he ascended himself, help them up with him. There
was, however, the greatest appearance of cordial and devoted
friendship. Some cities sent him presents of golden crowns,
beautifully wrought, and of high cost. Others dispatched embassies,
expressing their good wishes for him, and their confidence in the
success of his plans. Athens, the city which was the great seat of
literature and science in Greece sent a _poem_, in which the history
of the expedition into Persia was given by anticipation. In this poem
Philip was, of course, triumphantly successful in his enterprise. He
conducted his armies in safety through the most dangerous passes and
defiles; he fought glorious battles, gained magnificent victories, and
possessed himself of all the treasures of Asiatic wealth and power. It
ought to be stated, however, in justice to the poet, that, in
narrating these imaginary exploits, he had sufficient delicacy to
represent Philip and the Persian monarch by fictitious names.
The wedding was at length celebrated, in one of the cities of Macedon,
with great pomp and splendor. There were games, and shows, and
military and civic spectacles of all kinds to amuse the thousands of
spectators that assembled to witness them. In one of these spectacles
they had a procession of statues of the gods. There were twelve of
these statues, sculptured with great art, and they were borne along on
elevated pedestals, with censers, and incense, and various ceremonies
of homage, while vast multitudes of spectators lined the way. There
was a thirteenth statue, more magnificent than the other twelve,
which represented Philip himself in the character of a god.
This was not, however, so impious as it would at first view seem, for
the gods whom the ancients worshiped were, in fact, only deifications
of old heroes and kings who had lived in early times, and had acquired
a reputation for supernatural powers by the fame of their exploits,
exaggerated in descending by tradition in superstitious times. The
ignorant multitude accordingly, in those days, looked up to a living
king with almost the same reverence and homage which they felt for
their deified heroes; and these deified heroes furnished them with all
the ideas they had of God. Making a monarch a god, therefore, was no
very extravagant flattery.
After the procession of the statues passed along, there came bodies of
troops, with trumpets sounding and banners flying. The officers rode
on horses elegantly caparisoned, and prancing proudly. These troops
escorted princes, embassadors, generals, and great officers of state,
all gorgeously decked in their robes, and wearing their badges and
insignia.
At length King Philip himself appeared in the procession. He had
arranged to have a large space left, in the middle of which he was to
walk. This was done in order to make his position the more
conspicuous, and to mark more strongly his own high distinction above
all the other potentates present on the occasion. Guards preceded and
followed him, though at considerable distance, as has been already
said. He was himself clothed with white robes, and his head was
adorned with a splendid crown.
The procession was moving toward a great theater, where certain games
and spectacles were to be exhibited. The statues of the gods were to
be taken into the theater, and placed in conspicuous positions there,
in the view of the assembly, and then the procession itself was to
follow. All the statues had entered except that of Philip, which was
just at the door, and Philip himself was advancing in the midst of the
space left for him, up the avenue by which the theater was approached,
when an occurrence took place by which the whole character of the
scene, the destiny of Alexander, and the fate of fifty nations, was
suddenly and totally changed. It was this. An officer of the guards,
who had his position in the procession near the king, was seen
advancing impetuously toward him, through the space which separated
him from the rest, and, before the spectators had time even to wonder
what he was going to do, he stabbed him to the heart. Philip fell down
in the street and died.
A scene of indescribable tumult and confusion ensued. The murderer was
immediately cut to pieces by the other guards. They found, however,
before he was dead, that it was Pausanias, a man of high standing and
influence, a general officer of the guards. He had had horses
provided, and other assistance ready, to enable him to make his
escape, but he was cut down by the guards before he could avail
himself of them.
An officer of state immediately hastened to Alexander, and announced
to him his father's death and his own accession to the throne. An
assembly of the leading counselors and statesmen was called, in a
hasty and tumultuous manner, and Alexander was proclaimed king with
prolonged and general acclamations. Alexander made a speech in reply.
The great assembly looked upon his youthful form and face as he arose,
and listened with intense interest to hear what he had to say. He was
between nineteen and twenty years of age; but, though thus really a
boy, he spoke with all the decision and confidence of an energetic
man. He said that he should at once assume his father's position, and
carry forward his plans. He hoped to do this so efficiently that every
thing would go directly onward, just as if his father had continued to
live, and that the nation would find that the only change which had
taken place was in the _name_ of the king.
The motive which induced Pausanias to murder Philip in this manner was
never fully ascertained. There were various opinions about it. One
was, that it was an act of private revenge, occasioned by some neglect
or injury which Pausanias had received from Philip. Others thought
that the murder was instigated by a party in the states of Greece, who
were hostile to Philip, and unwilling that he should command the
allied armies that were about to penetrate into Asia. Demosthenes, the
celebrated orator, was Philip's great enemy among the Greeks. Many of
his most powerful orations were made for the purpose of arousing his
countrymen to resist his ambitious plans and to curtail his power.
These orations were called his Philippics, and from this origin has
arisen the practice, which has prevailed ever since that day, of
applying the term philippics to denote, in general, any strongly
denunciatory harangues.
Now Demosthenes, it is said, who was at this time in Athens, announced
the death of Philip in an Athenian assembly before it was possible
that the news could have been conveyed there. He accounted for his
early possession of the intelligence by saying it was communicated to
him by some of the gods. Many persons have accordingly supposed that
the plan of assassinating Philip was devised in Greece; that
Demosthenes was a party to it; that Pausanias was the agent for
carrying it into execution; and that Demosthenes was so confident of
the success of the plot, and exulted so much in this certainty, that
he could not resist the temptation of thus anticipating its
announcement.
There were other persons who thought that the _Persians_ had plotted
and accomplished this murder, having induced Pausanias to execute the
deed by the promise of great rewards. As Pausanias himself, however,
had been instantly killed, there was no opportunity of gaining any
information from him on the motives of his conduct, even if he would
have been disposed to impart any.
At all events, Alexander found himself suddenly elevated to one of the
most conspicuous positions in the whole political world. It was not
simply that he succeeded to the throne of Macedon; even this would
have been a lofty position for so young a man; but Macedon was a very
small part of the realm over which Philip had extended his power. The
ascendency which he had acquired over the whole Grecian empire, and
the vast arrangements he had made for an incursion into Asia, made
Alexander the object of universal interest and attention. The question
was, whether Alexander should attempt to take his father's place in
respect to all this general power, and undertake to sustain and carry
on his vast projects, or whether he should content himself with
ruling, in quiet, over his native country of Macedon.
Most prudent persons would have advised a young prince, under such
circumstances, to have decided upon the latter course. But Alexander
had no idea of bounding his ambition by any such limits. He resolved
to spring at once completely into his father's seat, and not only to
possess himself of the whole of the power which his father had
acquired, but to commence, immediately, the most energetic and
vigorous efforts for a great extension of it.
His first plan was to punish his father's murderers. He caused the
circumstances of the case to be investigated, and the persons
suspected of having been connected with Pausanias in the plot to be
tried. Although the designs and motives of the murderers could never
be fully ascertained, still several persons were found guilty of
participating in it, and were condemned to death and publicly
executed.
Alexander next decided not to make any change in his father's
appointments to the great offices of state, but to let all the
departments of public affairs go on in the same hands as before. How
sagacious a line of conduct was this! Most ardent and enthusiastic
young men, in the circumstances in which he was placed, would have
been elated and vain at their elevation, and would have replaced the
old and well-tried servants of the father with personal favorites of
their own age, inexperienced and incompetent, and as conceited as
themselves. Alexander, however, made no such changes. He continued the
old officers in command, endeavoring to have every thing go on just as
if his father had not died.
There were two officers in particular who were the ministers on whom
Philip had mainly relied. Their names were Antipater and Parmenio.
Antipater had charge of the civil, and Parmenio of military affairs.
Parmenio was a very distinguished general. He was at this time nearly
sixty years of age. Alexander had great confidence in his military
powers, and felt a strong personal attachment for him. Parmenio
entered into the young king's service with great readiness, and
accompanied him through almost the whole of his career. It seemed
strange to see men of such age, standing, and experience, obeying the
orders of such a boy; but there was something in the genius, the
power, and the enthusiasm of Alexander's character which inspired
ardor in all around him, and made every one eager to join his standard
and to aid in the execution of his plans.
Macedon, as will be seen on the following map, was in the northern
part of the country occupied by the Greeks, and the most powerful
states of the confederacy and all the great and influential cities
were south of it. There was Athens, which was magnificently built, its
splendid citadel crowning a rocky hill in the center of it. It was the
great seat of literature, philosophy, and the arts, and was thus a
center of attraction for all the civilized world. There was Corinth,
which was distinguished for the gayety and pleasure which reigned
there. All possible means of luxury and amusement were concentrated
within its walls. The lovers of knowledge and of art, from all parts
of the earth, flocked to Athens, while those in pursuit of pleasure,
dissipation, and indulgence chose Corinth for their home. Corinth was
beautifully situated on the isthmus, with prospects of the sea on
either hand. It had been a famous city for a thousand years in
Alexander's day.
[Illustration: MAP OF MACEDON AND GREECE.]
There was also Thebes. Thebes was farther north than Athens and
Corinth. It was situated on an elevated plain, and had, like other
ancient cities, a strong citadel, where there was at this time a
Macedonian garrison, which Philip had placed there. Thebes was very
wealthy and powerful. It had also been celebrated as the birth-place
of many poets and philosophers, and other eminent men. Among these was
Pindar, a very celebrated poet who had flourished one or two centuries
before the time of Alexander. His descendants still lived in Thebes,
and Alexander, some time after this, had occasion to confer upon them
a very distinguished honor.
There was Sparta also, called sometimes Lacedaemon. The inhabitants of
this city were famed for their courage, hardihood, and physical
strength, and for the energy with which they devoted themselves to the
work of war. They were nearly all soldiers, and all the arrangements
of the state and of society, and all the plans of education, were
designed to promote military ambition and pride among the officers and
fierce and indomitable courage and endurance in the men.
These cities and many others, with the states which were attached to
them, formed a large, and flourishing, and very powerful community,
extending over all that part of Greece which lay south of Macedon.
Philip, as has been already said, had established his own ascendency
over all this region, though it had cost him many perplexing
negotiations and some hard-fought battles to do it. Alexander
considered it somewhat uncertain whether the people of all these
states and cities would be disposed to transfer readily, to so
youthful a prince as he, the high commission which his father, a very
powerful monarch and soldier, had extorted from them with so much
difficulty. What should he do in the case? Should he give up the
expectation of it? Should he send embassadors to them, presenting his
claims to occupy his father's place? Or should he not act at all, but
wait quietly at home in Macedon until they should decide the question?
Instead of doing either of these things, Alexander decided on the very
bold step of setting out himself, at the head of an army, to march
into southern Greece, for the purpose of presenting in person, and, if
necessary, of enforcing his claim to the same post of honor and power
which had been conferred upon his father. Considering all the
circumstances of the case, this was perhaps one of the boldest and
most decided steps of Alexander's whole career. Many of his Macedonian
advisers counseled him not to make such an attempt; but Alexander
would not listen to any such cautions. He collected his forces, and
set forth at the head of them.
Between Macedon and the southern states of Greece was a range of lofty
and almost impassable mountains. These mountains extended through the
whole interior of the country, and the main route leading into
southern Greece passed around to the eastward of them, where they
terminated in cliffs, leaving a narrow passage between the cliffs and
the sea. This pass was called the Pass of Thermopylae, and it was
considered the key to Greece. There was a town named Anthela near the
pass, on the outward side.
There was in those days a sort of general congress or assembly of the
states of Greece, which was held from time to time, to decide
questions and disputes in which the different states were continually
getting involved with each other. This assembly was called the
Amphictyonic Council, on account, as is said, of its having been
established by a certain king named Amphictyon. A meeting of this
council was appointed to receive Alexander. It was to be held at
Thermopylae, or, rather, at Anthela, which was just without the pass,
and was the usual place at which the council assembled. This was
because the pass was in an intermediate position between the northern
and southern portions of Greece, and thus equally accessible from
either.
In proceeding to the southward, Alexander had first to pass through
Thessaly, which was a very powerful state immediately south of
Macedon. He met with some show of resistance at first, but not much.
The country was impressed with the boldness and decision of character
manifested in the taking of such a course by so young a man. Then,
too, Alexander, so far as he became personally known, made a very
favorable impression upon every one. His manly and athletic form, his
frank and open manners, his spirit, his generosity, and a certain air
of confidence, independence, and conscious superiority, which were
combined, as they always are in the case of true greatness, with an
unaffected and unassuming modesty--these and other traits, which were
obvious to all who saw him, in the person and character of Alexander,
made every one his friend. Common men take pleasure in yielding to the
influence and ascendency of one whose spirit they see and feel stands
on a higher eminence and wields higher powers than their own. They
like a leader. It is true, they must feel confident of his
superiority; but when this superiority stands out so clearly and
distinctly marked, combined, too, with all the graces and attractions
of youth and manly beauty, as it was in the case of Alexander, the
minds of men are brought very easily and rapidly under its sway.
The Thessalians gave Alexander a very favorable reception. They
expressed a cordial readiness to instate him in the position which his
father had occupied. They joined their forces to his, and proceeded
southward toward the Pass of Thermopylae.
Here the great council was held. Alexander took his place in it as a
member. Of course, he must have been an object of universal interest
and attention. The impression which he made here seems to have been
very favorable. After this assembly separated, Alexander proceeded
southward, accompanied by his own forces, and tended by the various
princes and potentates of Greece, with their attendants and
followers. The feelings of exultation and pleasure with which the
young king defiled through the Pass of Thermopylae, thus attended, must
have been exciting in the extreme.
The Pass of Thermopylae was a scene strongly associated with ideas of
military glory and renown. It was here that, about a hundred and fifty
years before, Leonidas, a Spartan general, with only three hundred
soldiers, had attempted to withstand the pressure of an immense
Persian force which was at that time invading Greece. He was one of
the kings of Sparta, and he had the command, not only of his three
hundred Spartans, but also of all the allied forces of the Greeks that
had been assembled to repel the Persian invasion. With the help of
these allies he withstood the Persian forces for some time, and as the
pass was so narrow between the cliffs and the sea, he was enabled to
resist them successfully. At length, however, a strong detachment from
the immense Persian army contrived to find their way over the
mountains and around the pass, so as to establish themselves in a
position from which they could come down upon the small Greek army in
their rear. Leonidas, perceiving this, ordered all his allies from
the other states of Greece to withdraw, leaving himself and his three
hundred countrymen alone in the defile.
He did not expect to repel his enemies or to defend the pass. He knew
that he must die, and all his brave followers with him, and that the
torrent of invaders would pour down through the pass over their
bodies. But he considered himself stationed there to defend the
passage, and he would not desert his post. When the battle came on he
was the first to fall. The soldiers gathered around him and defended
his dead body as long as they could. At length, overpowered by the
immense numbers of their foes, they were all killed but one man. He
made his escape and returned to Sparta. A monument was erected on the
spot with this inscription: "Go, traveler, to Sparta, and say that we
lie here, on the spot at which we were stationed to defend our
country."
Alexander passed through the defile. He advanced to the great cities
south of it--to Athens, to Thebes, and to Corinth. Another great
assembly of all the monarchs and potentates of Greece was convened in
Corinth; and here Alexander attained the object of his ambition, in
having the command of the great expedition into Asia conferred upon
him. The impression which he made upon those with whom he came into
connection by his personal qualities must have been favorable in the
extreme. That such a youthful prince should be selected by so powerful
a confederation of nations as their leader in such an enterprise as
they were about to engage in, indicates a most extraordinary power on
his part of acquiring an ascendency over the minds of men, and of
impressing all with a sense of his commanding superiority. Alexander
returned to Macedon from his expedition to the southward in triumph,
and began at once to arrange the affairs of his kingdom, so as to be
ready to enter, unembarrassed, upon the great career of conquest which
he imagined was before him.