Book 8.1-8
Translated in the Loeb Classical Library by J. C. Rolfe, and now in the public domain
Chapter 1
1 Alexander, having brought the rock under his sway with more fame than glory, divided the army into three parts, since the roving nature of the enemy made it necessary for him to spread his forces about. He gave the lead of one part to Hephaestion, of a second to Coenus, and he himself commanded the third. 2 But the barbarians were not all of the same mind; some were subdued by his arms, still more submitted without a contest. To the latter he ordered to be assigned the cities and lands of those who had persisted in rebellion. 3 But the Bactriani who had been dispossessed devastated, in company with 900 horsemen of the Massagetae, the neighbouring villages. To check them, Attinas, the governor of that region, led out 300 horsemen, being unaware of the ambuscade that was being laid. 4 For in the woods—and it chanced that they were close to a plain—the enemy hid an armed force, while a few drove flocks before them, in order that the hope of booty might lead Attinas unawares into the snare. 5 Accordingly he, marching in disorder and in loose formation, was following them, thinking only of plunder; but when he had passed by the woods, those who had taken post there suddenly attacked him and slew him with all his men.
6 The report of this disaster was quickly brought to Craterus, who came to the spot with all his cavalry. The Massagetae, for their part, had already fled, but 1000 of the Dahae were slain, and by their slaughter the rebellion of the whole region was ended. 7 Alexander also, having again subdued the Sogdiani, returned to Maracanda. There Derdas, whom he had sent to the Scythians dwelling east of the Bosphorus, met him with envoys of that people.
8 Phrataphernes also, satrap of the Chorasmii, a neighbour to the Massagetae and the Dahae, had sent messengers to promise his obedience. 9 The Scythians asked that he should marry the daughter of their king; if he considered her unworthy of the alliance, that he should suffer the leading men of the Macedonians to contract marriages with the great ladies of his race; they promised that the king himself also would come to him. 10 Both deputations were courteously heard and Alexander remained in camp for a few days, waiting for Hephaestion and Artabazus; when they joined him, he passed into the district called Bazaira.
11 There are no greater indications of the wealth of the barbarians in those regions than their herds of noble wild beasts, confined in great woods and parks. 12 For this purpose they choose extensive forests made attractive by perennial springs ; they surround the woods with walls and have towers as stands for the hunters. 13 The forest was known to have been undisturbed for four successive generations, when Alexander, entering it with his whole army, ordered an attack on the wild beasts from every side. 14 Among these when a lion of extraordinary size rushed to attack the king himself, it happened that Lysimachus, who was afterwards a king, being beside Alexander, began to oppose his hunting-spear to the animal; but the king pushed him aside and ordered him to retire, adding that a lion could be killed by himself alone as well as by Lysimachus. 15 And in fact Lysimachus, once when they were hunting in Syria, had indeed alone killed a lion of remarkable size, but had had his left shoulder torn to the bone and thus had come into great peril of his life. 16 The king, taunting him with this very experience, acted more vigorously than he spoke ; for he not only met the wild beast, but killed him with a single wound.
17 I am inclined to believe that the story which without evidence spread the report that Lysimachus was exposed by the king to the attack of a lion arose from the incident which we have just mentioned.
18 But the Macedonians, although Alexander had been successful in his attempt, nevertheless voted in the manner of their nation that he should neither hunt on foot nor without being accompanied by selected officers or friends. 19 He, after having laid low 4000 wild beasts, banqueted in that same park with his entire army. From there the king returned to Maracanda; and having accepted Artabazus' excuse of old age, he made over his province to Clitus the Black. 20 It was he, an old soldier of Philip and distinguished by many exploits in war who at the river Granicus covered the king with his shield when he was fighting bareheaded, and with his sword cut off the hand of Rhosaces, when it threatened the king's life. 21 And Hellanice, his sister, who had reared Alexander, was loved by the king as dearly as if she were his own mother. It was for these reasons that he entrusted to Clitus' faith and protection the strongest part of his empire.
22 And now, after being bidden to prepare for a march on the following day, Clitus was invited to one of the king's usual prolonged banquets. There, when the king had been heated by an abundance of wine, having an immoderate opinion of himself, he began to boast of his exploits, to the displeasure even of the ears of those who knew that what he said was true. 23 But the older men remained silent until he began to belittle the deeds of Philip and to boast that the famous victory at Chaeronea had been his work, but that the glory of so great a battle had been taken from him by the malignity and jealousy of his father. 24 That Philip, when a quarrel had arisen between the Macedonian soldiers and the Greek mercenaries, being disabled by a wound which he had suffered during that disturbance, had fallen to the ground and could find no other expedient to protect himself better than feigning death ; but that he had protected his father's body with his shield, and with his own hand had slain those who were rushing upon him. 25 This Philip could never bring himself to admit, being unwilling to be indebted for his life to his son. Also, that after the campaign which he himself had made without Philip against the Illyrians when victorious he had written to his father that the enemy had been routed and put to flight; and that Philip had nowhere been present. 26 He said that praise was due, not to those who had witnessed the initiatory rites of Samothrace at a time when Asia should have been laid waste by fire, but to those who by the greatness of their deeds had surpassed belief.
27 These and similar things the young soldiers heard with pleasure, but they were odious to the older men, especially because of Philip, under whom they had lived longer, 28 when Clitus, who was himself by no means wholly sober, turned to those who were reclining below him, and quoted a line of Euripides in such a tone that the sound could be heard by the king rather than the words made out, 29 to the effect that it was a bad custom of the Greeks to inscribe on their trophies only the names of kings ; for the kings stole the glory won by the blood of others. Therefore Alexander, for he suspected that the words had been somewhat malicious, began to ask those next to him what they had heard Clitus say. 30 And when they maintained an obstinate silence, Clitus, gradually raising his voice, spoke of the deeds of Philip and the wars which he had waged in Greece, rating them all higher than the present victories.
31 From this there arose a dispute between the younger and the older soldiers. And the king, although he appeared to hear with patience the words in which Clitus belittled his glory, had become exceedingly angry. 32 But when it seemed that he would control himself if Clitus would put an end to the talk which he had wantonly begun, as he did not in any way moderate it, the king became more exasperated. 33 And now Clitus even ventured to defend Parmenion and extolled the victory of Philip over the Athenians above the destruction of Thebes, being carried away, not only by wine, but by a perverse spirit of contention. 34 Finally he said: "If someone must die for you, Clitus is the first choice; but when you award the prizes of a victory, those bear off the palm who most wantonly mock the memory of your father. 35 You assign to me the province of Sogdiana, so often rebellious, and not only untamed but not even capable of being subdued. I am sent to wild beasts, to which Nature has given incorrigible recklessness. 36 But of what concerns me I have nothing to say. You scorn the soldiers of Philip, forgetting that if old Atarrhias here had not called back the younger men when they shrank from battle, we should still be lingering around Halicarnassus. 37 How then would you have subdued all Asia with those young men of yours? That is true, in my opinion, which your uncle is known to have said in Italy, that he had encountered men, you women."
38 Nothing among all the taunts which Clitus had inconsiderately and rashly uttered had more aroused the king than the honourable mention made of Parmenion. Yet he restrained his resentment, content with ordering Clitus to leave the banquet. 39 And he added nothing else than that perhaps if Clitus had spoken at greater length, he would have taunted him with having saved his life; for of this he had often arrogantly boasted. 40 And when Clitus still delayed to rise, those who had reclined next to him laid hands upon him and with remonstrances and warning were trying to lead him from the room.
41 As he was being taken away, anger also was added to his former drunkenness, and he shouted that the king's back had been protected by his own breast, but that now, after the time of so great a service had passed, even the memory of it was odious. 42 Then he also reproached the king with the murder of Attalus, and finally, mocking the oracle of Jupiter, whom Alexander claimed as his father, he said that he himself had spoken to the king more truly than his "father" had done.
43 By now Alexander was filled with such great wrath as he could hardly have mastered when sober. In fact, his senses having long since been overcome by wine, he suddenly leaped from his couch. 44 His friends, in a panic, having not even put down their cups but thrown them aside, arose in a body, their thoughts centered upon the result of the act which he was about to commit with such impetuosity. 45 Alexander, wresting a lance from the hands of one of his guards, and attempting to kill Clitus, who was still raging with the same unbridled language, was prevented by Ptolemy and Perdiccas.
46 Throwing their arms about his waist, they kept holding him back while he continued to struggle; Lysimachus and Leonnatus had even taken away the lance; 47 the king, invoking the loyalty of his soldiers, cried that he was being seized by his closest friends, as had lately happened to Darius, and ordered the signal to be given with the trumpet for the soldiers to take arms and come to the royal quarters. 48 Then truly Ptolemy and Perdiccas threw themselves at his knees and besought him not to persist in such unrestrained anger, but rather to take time for reflection; that to-morrow he would manage the whole matter with more justice.
49 But his ears were closed, deafened by wrath; and so, beside himself, he rushed into the vestibule of the royal quarters, and snatching a lance from the sentinel on guard, stood at the entrance where those who had dined with him must pass out. 50 The rest had gone, and Clitus was coming out last without a light, when the king asked who it was. Even his voice clearly indicated the ferocity of the crime which he meditated. 51 And Clitus, no longer mindful of his own anger, but remembering that of the king, replied that it was Clitus and that he was leaving the banquet. 52 As he was saying this the king ran the lance into his side, and bespattered with the blood of the dying man, cried: Go now to Philip and Parmenion and Attalus!"
Chapter 2
1 Nature has dealt ill with men's minds, in that we generally weigh acts, not beforehand, but after they are done. For the king, after anger had left his mind and even his intoxication had been dispelled, clearly perceived, but too late, the enormity of his crime. 2 He saw then that he had killed a man who had indeed immoderately abused freedom of speech, but who in any case was eminent in warfare, and if he was not ashamed to admit it, the saviour of his life. A king had usurped the detestable function of an executioner, and had punished licence in language, which might have been imputed to wine, by an abominable murder. 3 The whole vestibule swam with the blood of one who but now had been his guest, the sentinels stood aloof from him, amazed and as if stupefied, and solitude gave freer opportunity for repentance. 4 Therefore, tearing the lance from the body of the prostrate man, he turned it upon himself. And he had already brought it against his breast, when the sentinels flew to him, and in spite of his resistance wrested it from his hand, lifted him up, and carried him into his tent. 5 He had thrown himself on the ground, while all the whole royal quarters rang with his groans and piteous wailing. Then he tore his face with his nails, begging those who stood around him not to suffer him to survive such a disgrace.
6 Amid prayers like these the whole night was spent. And while he was considering whether he had been driven to commit such a great crime by the anger of the gods, it occurred to him that he had not paid the annual sacrifice to Father Liber at the appointed time. Hence it was evident that the murder committed amid wine and feasting was a manifestation of the anger of that god. 7 But the king was still more disturbed because he saw that the minds of all his friends were terror-stricken, that no one would dare hereafter to converse a with him, but he must live in solitude like a savage beast which now inspires terror in other beasts and at other times is itself in fear of them.
8 Later, at dawn, he ordered the body to be taken into his tent, all bloody as it still was. When it was placed before him, he said with eyes filled with tears: "This is my requital to my nurse, whose two sons met death at Miletus for my glory, this her brother, the sole comfort of her bereavement, I have slain at a banquet. 9 Where will the poor woman turn now? Of all her kindred I alone am living, and I am the only one whom she will not be able to look upon with kindly eyes. And I, the assassin of my preservers, shall return to my native land without being able even to offer my hand to my nurse without reminding her of her bereavement!" 10 And since he did not put an end to his tears and laments, by order of his friends the body was removed.
11 The king lay in seclusion for three days." When his attendants and body-guards knew that he was resolved upon dying, they all burst into the tent, and although for a long time he resisted their entreaties, they with difficulty prevailed upon him to take food. 12 And in order that he might feel less shame for the murder, the Macedonians decreed that Clitus had been justly put to death, and that they would even have deprived him of funeral rites, if the king had not ordered that he be buried.
13 Then, after having spent ten days near Maracanda, chiefly that he might recover from his shame, he sent Hephaestion with a part of the army into the region of Bactriana to prepare supplies for the winter. 14 The province which he previously had intended for Clitus he gave to Amyntas. He himself came to Xenippa; this is a place bordering on Scythia, and it is occupied by many populous villages, since the fertility of the soil not only holds the natives but also attracts newcomers. 15 It had been the refuge of the Bactrian exiles who had revolted from. Alexander; but after it was learned that the king was coming, these were driven out by the natives and were gathered together to the number of about 2500. 16 They were all horsemen, accustomed to brigandage even in time of peace; at that time too their savage natures had been made more reckless, not only by the war, but also by despair of pardon. Hence they made an unlooked-for attack upon Amyntas, a general of Alexander, and for a long time had held the contest in balance; 17 finally, after having lost 700 of their number, of whom the enemy took 300 prisoners, they turned their backs to the victors, but by no means unavenged: for they killed eighty of the Macedonians, and 350 besides those suffered wounds. 18 Yet they received pardon even after a second revolt.
19 After these had been received in surrender, the king with his whole army came into the region which they call Nautaca. The satrap was Sisimithres, who had two sons born of his own mother; for among those people it is lawful for parents to cohabit with their children. 20 He, having armed his subjects, had blocked the narrowest part of the entrance to the region with a strong fortification. Near by flowed a torrential river, which a crag in its rear protected; 21 through this the natives had made artificially a road, of which the entrance receives light through a cave, while the inner parts are dark unless a light has been carried in. A continuous passage, known only to the natives, gives access to the plains. 22 Although the barbarians with a strong force were guarding the pass, which was protected by its natural situation, nevertheless Alexander, bringing up his battering-rams, shattered the fortifications which had been artificially added, and laid low many of the defenders with slings and arrows. When he had scattered these and put them to flight, passing over the ruins of the fortifications, he brought his army to the crag. 23 But the river intervened, where the waters from the summit came together and flowed into the valley, and it seemed a task of great labour to fill up so vast an abyss; 24 nevertheless he ordered trees to be felled and rocks to be brought together. And great panic had struck the barbarians, who were unfamiliar with such works, when they saw a dam quickly a raised.
25 As a result the king, thinking that they could be forced by fear to surrender, sent Oxartes, of that same nation but under his sway, to persuade their leader to deliver over the crag. 26 Meanwhile, to increase the dread, at the same time towers were brought up and bolts hurled from artillery leapt about. Accordingly, the enemy made for the top of the crag, disapproving all other defense. 27 But Oxartes began to urge Sisimithres, who was fearful and distrustful of his affairs, to try the faith rather than the strength of the Macedonians, and not to delay the haste of a victorious army which was on its way to India ; for anyone who opposed it would bring upon his own head the disaster aimed at others.
28 And Sisimithres for his part was not disinclined to surrender, but his mother, who was also his wife, declaring that she would die rather than come into the power of any other, turned the mind of the barbarian to what was more honourable than safe, and he felt ashamed that freedom was more highly valued among the women than among the men. 29 Accordingly, dismissing the intermediary for peace, he had decided to stand a siege. But when he had repeatedly measured the strength of the enemy against his own, he began to regret having followed the advice of the woman, which seemed to be rash rather than necessary, 30 and quickly recalling Oxartes, he replied that he would surrender to the king, begging only this one thing, that he would not betray the advice and wish of his mother, in order that he might more easily obtain pardon for her also. 31 Therefore, sending Oxartes ahead, he followed with his mother and children and with a band of all his kindred, not even waiting for the pledge of parole which Oxartes had promised. 32 The king, after sending on a horseman to order them to return and await his presence, came up, and having sacrificed victims to Minerva Victoria, restored his rule to Sisimithres, giving him hope of a still greater province if he cuitivated his friendship with loyalty. 33 He ordered Sisimithres two sons, whom their father had delivered to him, to follow, in order to serve as soldiers with him.
34 Then, having left the phalanx to subdue those who had revolted, he went on with the cavalry. The road, which was steep and impeded by rocks, they endured at first as well as they could; presently, when not only were the hooves of the horses worn down, but their bodies also were wearied, many were unable to follow and the line became thinner from time to time, the excessive toil overcoming their shame, as usually happens. 35 Yet the king, from time to time changing horses, pursued the fugitives without interruption. The young nobles who were accustomed to attend him had given out except Philippus; he was a brother of Lysimachus, and had just arrived at manhood, and, as was readily apparent, a youth of a rare character. 36 He, incredible to relate, on foot for 500 stadia accompanied the mounted king, and although Lysimachus often offered him his horse, yet he could not be induced to leave Alexander's side, although he wore a cuirass and was carrying his arms.
37 This same youth, when they had come to the wood in which the barbarians had hidden, made a splendid fight and protected the king as he fought hand to hand with the enemy. 38 But after the barbarians left the wood in scattered flight, the spirit which had sustained the young man's body in the ardour of battle left him, and suddenly a sweat broke out on all his body and he leaned against the nearest tree trunk. 39 Then, when he was not sustained even by that support, he was taken in the king's arms, and there swooned and died. 40 In the midst of his sorrow another severe grief came to the king. Erigyius had been one of his illustrious generals; and he learned, a little before his return to the camp, that he had died. The funeral of each was performed with every splendour and honour.
Chapter 3
1 Next he had decided to attack the Dahae; for he had learned that Spitamenes was there. But this affair, like many others, Fortune, never wearied in indulging him, finished for him in his absence. 2 Spitamenes burned with immoderate love for his wife, whom he dragged with him as his companion into every danger, although she could hardly endure the toil of flight and constant changes of exile. She, worn out by hardships, from time to time made use of a woman's blandishments to persuade her husband at last to cease his flight, and having experienced Alexander's clemency, to placate one whom he could not escape. 3 She had borne him three children, who were now grown to manhood; having put these in their father's arms, she begged him to consent at least to pity them: and it gave greater effect to her prayers that Alexander was not far off. 4 Spitamenes, thinking that he was being betrayed, not advised, and that undoubtedly through confidence in her beauty his wife desired as soon as possible to be surrendered to Alexander, drew his scimitar and would have slain her if he had not been prevented by the hurried intervention of her brothers.
5 However he ordered her to quit his sight, adding a threat of death if she should show herself before his eyes, and to satisfy his longing he began to pass his nights with concubines. 6 But his deep-seated love was inflamed through disgust with his present associates. Therefore, again devoted to his wife alone, he did not cease to beg her to refrain from giving such advice, and to endure whatever lot Fortune should offer them, saying that to him death was a lighter thing than surrender. 7 But she excused herself for having advised what she thought expedient, perhaps with feminine weakness, but yet in a loyal spirit, saying that for the future she would submit to her husband's authority. 8 Spitamenes, won by this feigned compliance, ordered a prolonged a banquet to be prepared, from which he was carried to his chamber heavy with wine and half-asleep. 9 As soon as his wife saw that he was sunk in a deep and heavy slumber, she drew a sword which she had hidden under her robe, cut off his head, and, bespattered with blood, handed it to a slave who had been her accomplice in the crime.
10 Attended by the slave, with her robe all blood-stained as it was, she came into the camp of the Macedonians and ordered it to be announced to Alexander that there was something that he ought to hear from her own lips. 11 He at once ordered the barbarian woman to be admitted. When he saw her bespattered with blood, thinking that she had come to complain of some outrage, he bade her tell him what she wished. 12 But she desired that the slave whom she had ordered to stand in the vestibule should be brought in. Because the slave had the head of Spitamenes hidden under his robe, he was suspected, and when some men searched him, he showed them what he was hiding. 13 A pallor had made the features of the bloodless face unrecognizable, and it could not be known who it was ; therefore the king, being informed that the slave was bringing a man's head, came out of his tent, and upon inquiring what had happened, learned the truth from the slave's confession. 14 Thereupon, as he considered the varied aspects of the case, his mind was moved by conflicting thoughts. He believed that it was a great service to him that a deserter and a traitor, who, if he had lived, would have caused delay to his important affairs, had been killed ; on the other hand, he was repelled by the great crime, in that the woman had treacherously killed a husband who deserved well of her, the father of their common children. 15 Yet the atrocity of the deed prevailed over gratitude for the service, and he ordered notice to be given her to leave the camp, lest by this example of barbarian lawlessness she might affect the character and mild dispositions of the Greeks.
16 The Dahae, learning of the murder of Spitamenes, bound Dataphernes, his partner in the revolt, and surrendered him and themselves to Alexander. He, thus freed from the greatest part of his present cares, turned his attention to avenging the wrongs of those who were being ruled greedily and tyrannically by his governors. 17 As a result, he made over to Phrataphernes Hyrcania and the Mardi with the Tapuri, and commanded him to send him under a guard Phradates, whose successor he was." For Arsames, governor of the Drangae, Stasanor was substituted, while Arsaces was sent to Media, in order that Oxydates might be recalled from there. In place of Mazaeus, who had died, Stamenes was made governor of Babylonia.
Chapter 4
1 After these matters had been arranged, he withdrew the army from winter quarters a after two months' stay, intending to go to the region which is called Gazaca. 2 The first day allowed a quiet march, the following day was, it is true, not yet stormy and gloomy, yet it was darker than the preceding one, and did not pass without threat of growing trouble, 3 on the third, lightning nickered from every quarter of the heavens, and the light which now shone through and now was hidden, began, not only to dazzle the eyes of the advancing army, but even to terrify them. 4 There were almost continual peals of thunder, and bolts of lightning striking everywhere were seen, so that the armv, stunned and deafened, dared neither to halt nor to advance; 5 then suddenly a rain-storm bombarding them with hail poured upon them like a torrent. At first indeed they had received the hail successfully on the cover afforded by their shields, but finally their stiffened hands could no longer hold their slippery weapons," nor could they themselves determine in what direction to turn their bodies, since on every side greater violence of the storm met them than that which they were trying to avoid. 6 Hence, having broken ranks, the army went wandering all through the woods, and many, worn out by fear (not yet by toil), had thrown themselves upon the ground, although the extreme cold had hardened the rain and hail into solid ice. 7 Others had leaned against the trunks of trees; this served as a support and refuge for very many. 8 But it did not escape them that they were choosing a place to die, since when they ceased to move, the vital heat left them; but inactivity of body was welcome to them in their weariness, nor did they shrink from dying as the price of resting. As a matter of fact, the force of the disastrous storm was not only violent but also persistent, and the light, that natural solace, in addition to the tempest, which was like night, was obscured also by the shade of the woods.
9 The king, who alone was able to endure such a disaster, went about among the soldiers, brought together those that were scattered, lifted up those who had fallen, and pointing out the distant smoke that rolled up from some huts, urged each man to resort to the nearest places of refuge. 10 And nothing contributed more to their safety than that they were ashamed to fail the king, who in spite of redoubled toil was able to endure the hardships to which they themselves had succumbed. 11 Moreover, necessity, which in adversity is more effective than reason, found a remedy for the cold; for they began to cut down the woods everywhere with adzes and set fire to the heaps and piles of wood. 12 You would have thought that the forest was ablaze with a continuous conflagration and that amid the flames hardly room was left for the troops. This heat aroused their benumbed bodies, and gradually their breath, which the cold had checked, began to pass freely. 13 Some took refuge in the huts of the barbarians, which necessity had tracked out though they were hidden in the inmost part of the woods, others in the camp which they pitched on ground that was indeed wet, but already the severity of the weather was moderating. That plague destroyed 2000 soldiers, not counting sutlers and batmen. 14 It is reported that some were seen stuck to the trunks of trees, looking as if they were not only alive but even talking together, still keeping the posture in which death had overtaken them.
15 It chanced that a Macedonian common soldier, hardly able to stand up and hold his weapons, had nevertheless reached the camp. On seeing him the king, although he himself was just then warming himself beside a fire, leaped up from his chair, and taking his armour from the exhausted and hardly conscious soldier, bade him sit in his own seat. 16 For a long time the man did not realize where he was resting nor by whom he had been rescued. At last, when he had recovered his vital heat and saw the royal seat and the king, he arose in terror. 17 Alexander, looking kindly at him, said: "Do you understand, soldier, how much better the lot of you soldiers is than if you were living under the king of Persia? For with the Persians, to have sat in the king's seat would have been a capital crime, with you it has saved your life."
18 On the next day, having called together his friends and the leaders of his forces, he ordered it to be proclaimed that he himself would make good all that had been lost. 19 And he kept his promise. For Sisimithres had brought in many pack-animals and 2000 camels, besides flocks and herds; these were distributed equally and saved the soldiers both from loss and from hunger. 20 The king, greatly pleased by the requital made him by Sisimithres, on his way to the Sacae he ordered the soldiers to carry with them cooked food enough for six days. Having devastated all that region, he gave Sisimithres a gift of 30,000 cattle from the booty.
21 From there he came into the province governed by Oxyartes, an illustrious satrap, who submitted himself to the power and good faith of the king. Alexander restored his dominion to him, and made no further requirement than that two of the satrap's three sons should serve as his soldiers. 22 Oxyartes delivered to him also the son who was left with him, and prepared a banquet of oriental magnificence, at which he entertained Alexander; 23 while this was being celebrated with great friendliness, the satrap ordered thirty high-born maidens to be brought in. Among these was his own daughter, Roxane by name, maiden of remarkable beauty of person, and of a dignity of bearing uncommon among barbarians.
24 She, although she had entered among an elite group, yet drew the eyes of all to her, especially of the king, who by now had less mastery over his passions amid the constant indulgence of Fortune, against whom mortal man is not sufficiently on his guard. 25 And so he, who had looked upon the wife of Darius and his two maiden daughters, to whom none save Roxane could be compared in beauty, with no other feeling than that of a father, was then so transported b with love for this little maiden, of obscure birth in comparison with royal stock, that he said that it was important for establishing his empire that Persians and Macedonians be joined in wedlock ; that only in that way could shame be taken from the conquered and haughtiness from the victors. 26 Achilles also, he said, from whom he traced his ancestry, had united with a captive maiden; lest the vanquished should think that a wrong was being done to them, he wished to be joined with Roxane in lawful wedlock.
27 The father was elated with unexpected joy on hearing the king's words and Alexander, in the full tide of his ardent passion, ordered a loaf of bread to be brought in according to his country's custom—this among the Macedonians was the most sacred pledge of those contracting marriage—which was cut in two with a sword and tasted by each. 28 I suppose that those who established the customs of the race wished by a frugal and common food to show to those who were about to unite their resources with how little they ought to be contented. 29 In this way the king of Asia and of Europe took to himself in wedlock a woman who had been brought in among the entertainments of a banquet, intending to beget from a captive a son who should rule over victors. 30 His friends were ashamed that a father-in-law had been chosen from among the surrendered amid wine and feasting, but since after the murder of Clitus freedom of speech had been banned, they pretended assent by expression of their faces, which most readily play the slave.
Chapter 5
1 But the king, intending to go on to India and from there to the Ocean, lest there should be any disturbance in his rear which could interfere with his plans, ordered 30,000 of the younger men to be selected from all the provinces and brought to him under arms, intending to have them at once as hostages and as soldiers. 2 Furthermore, he sent Craterus in pursuit of Haustanes and Catanes, who had revolted from him, of whom Haustanes was taken prisoner, Catanes killed in battle. Polypercon also reduced to submission the region which is called Bubacene. 3 Accordingly, when everything was in order, he turned his thoughts towards an Indian war. That region was considered rich, not only in gold, but also in gems and pearls, and was highly developed rather for luxury than for magnificence. 4 Those who knew said that the equipment of the soldiers gleamed with gold and ivory; consequently Alexander, not to be outdone in anything, since he surpassed all other men, added silver plates to the shields and put golden bits on his horses, and adorned the cuirasses also, some with gold, others with silver. There were 120,000 armed men who followed the king to that war.
5 And now, when all was ready in advance, thinking that the time was then ripe for what he had long perversely planned, he began to consider how he might usurp divine honours. He wished, not only to be called, but to be believed to be the son of Jupiter, as if he could rule men's minds as well as their tongues, 6 and he ordered the Macedonians to pay their respects to him in the Persian fashion and to salute him by prostrating themselves on the ground. In his desire for such things he did not lack pernicious adulation, the constant evil of kings, whose power is more frequently overthrown by flattery than by foes.
7 And this was not the fault of the Macedonians—for none of them could endure to impair any jot of his native customs—but of the Greeks, who had debased their profession of the liberal arts by evil habits:— 8 Agis, an Argive, the composer of the worst of poems next after Choerilus, and Cleo, from Sicily, the latter indeed a flatterer, from a defect not only in his own nature, but also in his nation, and other sweepings h of their own cities; these were mingled by the king even with his nearest friends and the leaders of his greatest armies. These at that time were opening Heaven to him, boasting that Hercules and Father Liber and Castor with Pollux would give place to the new deity.
9 Therefore on a festal day he ordered a banquet to be prepared with all magnificence, to which not only Macedonians and Greeks, the chief of his friends, but also nobles of the enemy were invited. When the king had taken his place at table with these, after feasting for a little while he left the banquet. 10 Cleo, as had been prearranged, began the conversation by expressing admiration for the king's glorious deeds. Then he enumerated their obligations to him; these, he said, could be requited in only one way, namely, since they knew that he was a god, by admitting it and paying for such great favours by the slight expense of incense. 11 The Persians indeed were not only loyal but also wise in worshipping their kings among the gods; for the majesty of the empire was the protector of its safety. Not even Hercules and Father Liber had been acknowledged as gods until they had overcome the jealousy of those who lived with them: future generations believed only so much about each man as his own time had vouched for. 12 But if the rest of the company were in doubt, he himself would prostrate himself on the ground when the king entered the banquet. The rest ought to do the same, and especially those endowed with wisdom ; for it was by those that a precedent in worshipping the king ought to be shown.
13 Quite clearly this speech was directed against Callisthenes. The austerity of the man and his ready freedom of speech were odious to the king, as if he alone were delaying the Macedonians, who were prepared for such obsequiousness. 14 He then, when silence ensued and the rest were looking at him alone, said: "If the king had been present at your talk, surely the words of no one would be needed to reply to you; for he himself would beg that you should not force him to descend to foreign and alien rites, nor would you expose his highly successful exploits to odium by such flattery. 15 But since he is not present, I am replying to you in his behalf that no fruit is at the same time both durable and prematurely ripened, and that you are not giving divine honours to your king, but taking them from him. For there is need of time for a man to be believed to be a god, and it is always thus that future generations requite great men. 16 But I pray for a late immortality for the king, in order that his life may be long and his majesty eternal. Divinity sometimes overtakes a man, it never accompanies him. 17 You mentioned Hercules and Father Liber just now as examples of consecration to immortality. Do you believe that they were made gods by the decree of a single banquet ? Their mortal nature was removed from sight before Fame transported them to Heaven. 18 Forsooth you and I, Cleo, make gods, from us the king will receive endorsement of his divinity ! I should like to try your power; make someone a king, if you can make a god. Is it easier to bestow heaven than empire? 19 May the propitious gods have heard without offence what Cleo said, and suffer things to go on in the same course in which they have flowed up to now. May they allow us to be content with our habits. I am not ashamed of my fatherland, nor do I desire to learn from the vanquished how I ought to do honour to my king. For my part, I admit that they are the victors if we accept from them the laws under which we live."
20 Callisthenes was heard with favourable ears as a defender of the public liberty. He had forced, not only assent, but also words, especially of the older men, to whom the change of their long-standing customs to those of strangers was distasteful. 21 And the king was not unaware of anything that was said on one side and the other, since he was standing behind the curtains which he had caused to be spread round the couches. Therefore he sent word to Agis and Cleo to put an end to the discussion and to allow only the barbarians, when he entered, to prostrate themselves after their custom, and a little later, as if he had transacted some unusually important business, he returned to the banquet. 22 When the Persians paid reverence to him, Polypercon, who was reclining above the king, in mockery began to urge one of them, who touched the ground with his chin, to strike it harder against the earth, and thus aroused the anger of Alexander, which he had already been unable to contain. 23 Accordingly he said: " You, then, will not adore me? To you alone do we seem to be deserving of ridicule?" Polypercon replied that the king did not seem to deserve ridicule, nor he himself contempt. 24 Then the king dragged him from his couch, hurled him to the ground, and when he had fallen on his face, said: "Do you not see that you have done the same thing which a little while before you ridiculed in another?" And ordering that he should be put in prison, he broke up the banquet.
Chapter 6
1 Polypercon, indeed, he pardoned after he had been held in custody for a long time; against Callisthenes, who had formerly been suspected because of insubordination, his anger was more persistent. For satisfying this an opportunity soon arose. 2 It was the custom, as was said before, for the leading men of the Macedonians to entrust their sons to the king on their coming of age for duties not very different from the services of slaves. 3 They kept watch at night in turn close to the doors of the room in which the king slept. By these youths concubines were brought in by a different entrance from that before which the armed guards were posted. 4 They also received the horses from the grooms, brought them to the reigning king when he was about to mount, and accompanied him in the chase and in battle, besides being thoroughly trained in all the accomplishments of liberal studies. 5 The special honour was paid them of being allowed to sit at table with the king. No one had the power of chastising them by flogging except the king himself. 6 This troupe among the Macedonians was a kind of training-school for generals and governors of provinces; from these also their posterity had the kings from whose stock after many ages the Romans took away all power.
7 So then, Hermolaus, a high-born boy belonging to this royal band, because he had been first to attack a wild boar which the king had intended to strike, by his order was punished by scourging. Being indignant at this disgrace, he began to complain about it to Sostratus. 8 Sostratus was a member of the same troupe and an ardent lover of Hermolalis; when he saw the lacerated body of which he was enamoured, perhaps being already angered with the king for some other reason also, he induced Hermolaus, who was already incensed on his own account, to give and receive a pledge to join with him in forming a plot to kill the king. 9 And they did not execute the plan with youthful impetuosity; for they chose with care those whom they would admit as associates in the intended crime. They decided to include Nicostratus, Antipater, Asclepiodorus and Philotas; through these there were added Anticles and Aphthonius and Epimenes. 10 But for carrying out the plan no easy road at all lay open; for it was necessary that all the conspirators should be on guard the same night, in order not to be interfered with by those who were not in the plot, but it happened that they were on watch on different nights. 11 Therefore in changing the order of guard-duty, and in other preparations for carrying out their design, thirty-two days were spent.
12 The night had come on which the conspirators were due to be on guard, rejoicing in their common fidelity, of which the lapse of so many days had been a proof. Not one had hope or fear changed ; so great among all was either their anger against the king or their loyalty to one another. 13 They were standing, then, at the door of the room in which the king was dining, in order to escort him to his bedchamber when he had left the table. 14 But his own good fortune, as well as the good company of the diners, led all to be lavish with their wine; games at the banquet also extended the time, while the conspirators now rejoiced because they would attack him when sleepy, and now were anxious lest he should prolong the feast until daylight. 15 For others were due to take their places as guards at dawn, and their turn would not come again until after seven days, and they could not hope that the fidelity of all would endure until that time.
16 But when daylight was already at hand, the banquet came to an end and the conspirators received the king, rejoicing that the opportunity was offered for committing their crime, when a woman, of unsound mind, as it was thought, who was accustomed to haunt the royal quarters because she seemed by inspiration to foretell the future, not only met the king as he came out, but put herself in his way, and showing disturbance of mind in her face and eyes, warned him to return to the banquet. 17 He jestingly replied that the gods gave good advice, and recalling his friends, extended the time of the entertainment until nearly the second hour of the day.
18 Now the others of the troupe had taken over their posts, to watch before the door of the king's bedchamber, yet the conspirators remained there, although their turn of duty was completed ; so persistent is a hope which human minds have eagerly conceived. 19 The king, addressing them more kindly than usual, bade them go and rest themselves, since they had stood watch all night. He gave each man fifty sestertia and praised them because even after their turn had passed to others they had continued on guard.
20 And they, deprived of their great hope, went to their homes. The others for their part waited for the night of their guard-duty; Epimenes, either because of the affability with which the king had received him along with the other conspirators, or because he believed that the gods opposed their design, had a sudden change of heart and disclosed the plan to his brother Eurylochus, whom before he had wished to have no part in the plot. 21 All had the torture of Philotas before their eyes, and so Eurylochus at once took his brother by the hand and came into the royal quarters, then having aroused the body-guard, he declared that what he had to say concerned the king's life. 22 Both the time at which he had come and the anxious expression of both brothers, betraying surely a troubled mind, as well as the sadness of one of them, alarmed Ptolemy and Leonnatus, who were on watch at the door of the king's bedchamber. Therefore opening the doors and bringing in a light, they awoke the king whom wine had buried in deep sleep. He gradually collected his thoughts and asked them what they had to say. 23 Without delay Eurylochus said that the gods had not entirely turned against their family, since his brother, although he had dared an impious crime, yet repented of it and through himself rather than anyone else would reveal it; that the conspiracy had been planned for that very night which was passing, the ringleaders of the abominable design were those whom the king would least suspect. 24 Then Epimenes explained everything in order and gave the names of the participants. It is certain that Callisthenes was not named as taking part in the plot, but it was said that he was accustomed to lend ready ears to the boys when they abused the king and criticized his conduct. 25 Some add that when Hermolaus complained to him also that he had been flogged, Callisthenes had said that they ought to remember that they were now men; but whether that was said to console him for suffering lashes, or to excite the resentment of the youths, was uncertain.
26 The king, awakened in mind and body, when he pictured the great danger which he had escaped, at once gave Eurylochus fifty talents and the rich estate of a certain Tiridates and restored his brother to him even before he begged for his life, 27 but the authors of the crime, and among them Callisthenes, he ordered to be kept in fetters. When these had been brought into the royal quarters, since he was wearied by wine and loss of sleep he rested all day and the following night. 28 But on the next day he called a general assembly, at which the fathers and relatives of those concerned were present, who were not without anxiety even for their own lives, for according to the law of the Macedonians a they were doomed to die, since the lives of all were forfeit who were related by blood to the guilty parties. 29 The king ordered the conspirators except Callisthenes to be brought in, and without hesitation they confessed what they had planned. 30 Then, when all cried out against them, the king himself asked what he had done to deserve the plotting of such a crime against him.
Chapter 7
1 The rest were struck dumb, but Hermolaus said: "We verily, since you ask as if you did not now, made a plot to kill you because you have begun, not to rule us as free men, but to lord it over us as if we were slaves." 2 First of all his own father Sopolis, crying out that he was also the murderer of his parent, arose and putting his hand over his son's mouth, declared that one who was crazed by his crime and his misfortunes ought not to have a further hearing.
3 But the king, silencing the father, ordered Hermolaus to tell what he had learned from his master Callisthenes, and Hermolaus said: "I take advantage of your favour and tell you what I have learned from our own calamities. 4 How small a part of the Macedonians survive your cruelty; how few too of the noblest blood ? Attains and Philotas and Parmenion and Lyncestes Alexander and Clitus, so far as our enemies are concerned still live, they stand firm in battle and protect you with their bucklers, and for your glory, for your victory they suffer wounds. 5 These you have magnificently requited; one stained your table with his blood, another died not even a simple death. The leaders of your armies, stretched upon the rack, furnished entertainment to the Persians, whom they had conquered. Parmenion was butchered without a trial, the man through whom you had slain Attalus. 6 For in turn you use the hands of the wretched to inflict death, and those who shortly before served as the tools of your murders you suddenly order to be butchered by others."
7 Thereupon all cried out at Hermolaus, his father had drawn his sword against him and beyond doubt would have slain him if he had not been prevented by the king ; he, however, ordered Hermolaus to continue, and asked that they should hear with patience one who was adding to the reasons for his punishment. 8 Therefore, when they had been with difficulty restrained, Hermolaus went on: "How generously," said he, "do you permit boys inexperienced in speaking to plead! But the voice of Callisthenes is shut up in a dungeon, because he alone is able to speak. 9 For why is not he brought before you, when even those who have confessed are heard ? No doubt because you fear to hear the free words of an innocent man, and cannot even endure his look. 10 And yet I insist that he is guilty of nothing. They are here who with me planned a glorious deed; there is none who says that Callisthenes was implicated with us, although he has been marked out for death by the most just and long-suffering of kings. 11 These, then, are the rewards of the Macedonians, whose blood you use up as if it were superabundant and mean. But for you 30,000 mules carry captured gold, while your soldiers will bring home nothing save gratuitous scars.
12 "Yet we could have endured all these things until you delivered us to the barbarians and by a novel fashion made the victors pass under the yoke. It is the Persians' garb and habits that delight you; you have come to loathe the customs of your native land. Therefore it was the king of the Persians, not of the Macedonians, that we wished to kill, and by the law of war we justly pursue you as a deserter. 13 You wished the Macedonians to bow the knee to you and to venerate you as a god, you reject Philip as a father, and if any of the gods were regarded as greater than Jupiter, you would disdain even Jupiter. 14 Do you wonder if we, who are free men, cannot endure your haughtiness ? What do we hope for from you, since we must either die when innocent, or, what is more dismal than death, must live in slavery? 15 You truly, if you can have a change of heart, owe much to me. For from me you have begun to know what honourable men cannot endure. For the rest, do not load with punishment the bereaved old age of our near of kin. Order us to be led to execution, so that we may accomplish by our death what we had sought from yours." Thus spoke Hermolaus.
Chapter 8
1 But the king replied: "My patience shows how false is what that wretch has said, taught by his master. 2 For although he has pleaded guilty to the worst of crimes, I have not only heard him, but I have compelled you to hear him, knowing well that when I allowed this brigand to speak he would show the same madness by which he was driven to wish to kill me, whom he ought to have honoured as a father. 3 Lately when he conducted himself so insolently in the chase, I ordered him to be chastised according to the custom of our country, one which was practised by the most ancient of the kings of Macedonia. This both ought to be done, and pupils endure it from their teachers, wives from their husbands; we allow even slaves to flog boys of his age. 4 This is my cruelty towards him, for which he wished to avenge himself by an impious murder. For towards the rest, who permit me to follow my natural disposition, how mild I am it is superfluous to say to those who are not unaware of it.
5 "That Hermolaus does not approve the punishments of traitors, since he himself has deserved the same treatment, by Heaven! I am not at all surprised. For when he praises Philotas and Parmenion, he is helping his own cause. 6 As for Lyncestes Alexander although he was convicted by two witnesses and by his own letter of having plotted against my life, I put off his punishment for three years, until you demanded that at last he should atone for his crime by the penalty which he had deserved. 7 Attalus, before I became king you remember to have been an enemy to my life. As for Clitus, would that he had not forced me to be angry with him! I endured his rash tongue, as he abused you and me, longer than he would have put up with me if I had said the same things. 8 The clemency of kings and leaders depends not only upon their own dispositions, but also upon those of their subjects. Commands are made mild by obedience, but when men's minds have lost reverence and no distinction is observed between the highest and the lowest, force is needed to resist force. 9 But why should I wonder that that fellow has charged me with cruelty when he has dared to reproach me with avarice ? I am unwilling to call you up one by one, for fear of making my generosity odious to me, if I make it offensive to your modesty. Just look at our whole army; those who before had nothing except their arms now sleep on silver couches, load their tables with gold, possess troupes of slaves, and cannot carry the weight of the spoils taken from the enemy!
10 "But, he says, the Persians, whom we have conquered, are in high honour with me! In my opinion at least, the surest indication of my moderation is that I do not rule even the vanquished tyrannically. For I came into Asia, not in order to overthrow nations and make a desert of a half part of the world, but in order that those whom I had subdued in war might not regret my victory. 11 Therefore those are serving in the army with you and are shedding blood in defence of your empire, who, if they had been treated tyrannically would have rebelled. That possession is not lasting of which we are made owners by the sword; the gratitude for acts of kindness is everlasting. 12 If we wish to hold Asia, not merely to pass through it, our clemency must be shared with its people ; their faith in us will make a stable and lasting empire. And it is certainly true that we have more than we can carry. But it is the way of insatiable avarice to wish to fill still fuller a vessel which is already overflowing. 13 Yet I am accused of transferring the customs of the vanquished to the Macedonians! True, for I see in many nations things which we should not blush to imitate; and so great an empire cannot fitly be ruled without contributing some things to the vanquished and learning from them.
14 "That was almost enough to make one laugh, when Hermolaus demanded of me that I should oppose Jupiter by whose oracle I am recognized as his son." Have I control even of the responses of the gods? 15 He offered me the title of son; to accept it was not unfavourable to the very plans in which we are engaged. Would that the people of India may believe me to be a god. For wars depend upon reputation, and often even what has been falsely believed has gained the place of truth. 16 Do you think it was to gratify my luxury that I adorned your arms with gold and silver? I wished to show to those who are accustomed to nothing cheaper than those metals that the Macedonians, who are invincible in other things, cannot be outdone even in gold. 17 Therefore I will first of all captivate the eyes of those who despise everything that is usual and humble and will show them that we are coming, not because we are desirous of gold and silver, but to subdue the whole world. It is this glory, parricide that you are, that you wished to interrupt and to deliver the Macedonians to the conquered nations by killing their king!
18 "But now you urge me to spare your relatives! You all certainly ought not to have known what I had resolved to do about them, in order that you might die with greater grief, if you have any memory and regard for your near of kin; but I long ago abandoned that custom to which you refer, of killing the innocent kinsmen and relatives along with the guilty parties, and I guarantee that they will all hold the same rank that they had before. 19 Now as to your Callisthenes, to whom alone you seem to be a man because you are an assassin, I know why you wish him to be given audience; it is that in the presence of this company those reproaches which you have sometimes hurled at me and sometimes heard may be repeated from his lips. If he were a Macedonian, I should have presented him along with you, a master most worthy of such a pupil; as it is, being an Olynthian, he has not the same privilege."
20 After these words he dismissed the assembly, and ordered those who had been condemned to be handed over to the men who belonged to the same cohort. They put them to death with torments, in order by cruelty to show their loyalty to the king. 21 Callisthenes also expired in torture, although he was guiltless of forming any design against the king's life; but he was by no means suited to a court and to the character of flatterers. 22 Therefore there was no one whose death roused greater hatred of the king among the Greeks, because he had not only put to death a man endowed with noble character and accomplishments, one who had called him back to life when he had resolved to die after the death of Clitus, but had even tortured him, and that without a trial. 23 This act of cruelty, when it was too late, was followed by repentance.