great port of Miletus For the siege of Miletus, see Arrian 118 3–119 11.
giant wooden horse It has been suggested that the wooden horse was really a battering ram. The battering ram seems to have been invented by the Assyrians, but apparently was not used by the Greeks until the fifth century B.C.—see Connolly (1981), p. 276.
“There is no citadel” Cic Att 16 (1 16) 12.
impregnable from land Connolly (1981)., p. 289.
a Thessalian called Diades Vit 7 Intros, 14, 10 13 3–8.
one eternal substance Ar Meta 983 b6 8–11, 17–21.
Aristotle regarded him as the first philosopher Ar Meta 983b18.
“Go back at once inside the city” Ibid., 1 19 2.
The Rhodian general Diod 17 22 1.
“Where were the men with bodies like these” Plut Mor 180a.
defeat the Persian navy from dry land Arrian 1 20 1.
it stood on a barren peninsula For the siege of Halicarnassus, see Arrian 1 20 2–23 6 and Dio 17 23 4–27. For the Bodrum peninsula, see Engels, pp. 34–35.
members of the same family: Hecatomnus For the story of the Hecatomnids, see Hornblower, passim.
“It seems that the effeminacy of man” Strabo 14 2 16 [656].
swallowed his ashes Aul Gell 10 18.
“I do not need your chefs” Plut Alex 22 7–10.
promised to be a challenge See Fuller, pp. 200–206, for an account of the siege.
“came near to being captured” Arrian 1 21 3.
“Alexander did not really know what to do” Diod 17 26 7.
all fire-raisers to be put to death Diodorus 17 27 6 and Arrian 1 23 6 both report that that Alexander razed Halicarnassus to the ground. This is extremely unlikely, if he had ordered that the citizens should be well treated and that arsonists were to be executed. Perhaps the king destroyed some houses as firebreaks or to make space for siege equipment around one of the citadels occupied by the enemy (the other was an island).
“News of the general’s activity” Diod 17 29 3.
five hundred talents for their costs Curt 3 1 20.
“to some revolutionary purpose” Arrian 1 25 5.
“You have no time for Philip’s men” Curt 8 1 36. This was Cleitus, speaking in 328 at the drunken symposium he did not survive, in Curtius’s plausible words.
the advice of Isocrates Isoc 5 119–26.
Chaeronea, fatal to liberty See John Milton, “To the Lady Margaret Ley,” sl. 7.
His tactics were as clear-cut as his strategy Marsden, pp. 4–5.
CHAPTER 7. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Arrian 2 1–13 predominates, with anecdotes by Plutarch and backup from Diodorus 17 29–39. Quintus Curtius 3 1–12 at last comes into play. The reconstruction of Issus is indebted to Fuller and to Hammond (1980). Polybius’s attack on Callisthenes adds useful details.
no mean city This famous phrase was spoken by St. Paul, Acts 21:39.
“attack of cramp, violent fever” Arrian 2 4 7ff, Curt 3 5 1–15, 6 1–20, Diod 17 31 5–6, and Plut Alex 19 1–10. It was said that the river water into which the king dived was pure, cold, and crystalline. Modern evidence suggests that it was warm, brown, and sluggish.
What was the matter with him? For this account of the cause of Alexander’s illness, I depend on Engels (July 1978). Scholars disagree; Green (p. 220), for example, posits a bronchial event which the river dip translated rapidly into pneumonia. But local conditions and the recorded symptoms point to malaria.
Cilicia would be a dangerous place Bosworth, p. 57.
“Either to send generals” Diod 17 30 1–2. The account of Darius’s two Council meetings is to be found in Diod 17 30 and Curt 3 8. The historicity of these episodes is uncertain, but the issues raised were real enough.
It was perhaps 100,000 men The ancient sources differ on Persian numbers. Arrian (2 8 8) and Plutarch (Alex 18 4) estimate 600,000 Persian soldiers in total, while Diodorus (17 31 2) proposes 500,000, Justin (11 9 1) offers 400,000, and Quintus Curtius (3 9 1–6) 119,000. Modern scholars find these numbers unlikely. It would be very difficult to feed more than 100,000 soldiers in the given location. We will not go far wrong if we guess the total size of Darius’s army at Issus to be no larger than 100,000, including 11,000 cavalry, 10,000 Persian Immortals, and 10,000 Greek mercenaries.
“He will come and find you” Arrian 2 6 6.
“In fact, he is probably already on his way” Plut Alex 20 3.
“If giving advice brings danger of death” Curt 3 8 6.
“In [Parmenion’s] view, it was imperative” Ibid., 3 7 9–10.
“You, stranger, should eat” Arrian 2 5 4.
“he then gave orders for the men to be taken around” Curt 3 8 15.
eleven and a half miles Poly 12 19 4.
outrageously optimistic talk Arrian 2 7 3–9.
a shallow river, the Pinarus The location of the Pinarus is uncertain. The two candidates are today’s Payas and Deli Chai Rivers. I accept Engels (1978), who has chosen the Payas. He has carefully calculated that the Deli Chai is too far for the Macedonian army to have reached it in time for the battle before sunset.
“wanted the battle to be decided” Curt 3 11 1.
stood richly robed Ibid., 3 3 15–16.
as late as half past four Engels (1978), p. 52.
had placed the Euphrates Arrian 2 13 1.
a long casualty list Fuller, p. 162.
“I myself happened,” he writes Plut Mor 341c.
for more than twenty miles Diod 17 37 2.
Ptolemy, one of his close friends Arrian 2 11 8.
“Let’s wash off” Plut Alex 20 7.
“he saw that the basins and jugs” Ibid., 20 7–8.
When Alexander sat down There is nothing against these stories and I regard them as historical; but I have to admit that they are almost too good to be true, illustrating as they do stereotypical Persian “unmanliness” and Alexander’s perfect manners. If false, they are consistent with what we judge Macedonian attitudes to be and with Alexander’s sexual coolness.
sounds of women wailing…“Don’t worry” Arrian 2 12 4–6; Plut Alex 21 1–7.
The king consecrated three altars Ibid., 3 12 27.
cremation of the fallen Ibid., 3 12 14.
soldier as well as a general Curt 3 11 7.
Amyntas with four other Greek defectors Arrian 2 13 2–3.
“put an end to their labors” Just 11 9 6.
CHAPTER 8. IMMORTAL LONGINGS
Arrian 2 16–24 and Curtius 4 2–4 guide us through the siege of Tyre, with an anecdote from Plutarch, Alexander 24. Fuller (pp. 206–18) is helpful. For Alexander’s visit to Siwah, Arrian 3 3 and 4, Curtius 4 7, Diodorus 17 48 2 to 51, and Justin 11 11.
gusts of snow See Curt 3 13 for the collection of Darius’s treasure.
“From now onwards, like dogs” Plut Alex 24 3.
oversight of lowland Syria Our sources do not make it clear exactly what Parmenion’s responsibilities were.
first woman he had sex with Ibid., 21 4.
“of a gentle disposition” Ibid., 21 7.
“These Persian women” Ibid., 21 10.
“irritated their eyes” Herod 5 18.
as little attention as if they were stone statues Plut Alex 21 11.
strongly objected to the sexual trafficking For the three following anecdotes, see Plut Alex 22 1–4.
“monarch to monarch” Arrian 2 14 3. Arrian’s version of these letters may have been composed by the author, as the records of speeches are in ancient histories. They express what the author felt would have been appropriate, what should have been said. Books of Alexander’s correspondence were published in antiquity, many of which are works of fiction and
all of which are in any case lost. But Alexander’s reply to Darius, intelligent, dry, impatient, and direct, leaves a powerful impression of authenticity, and I accept it as such.
“I would accept those terms” Plut Alex 29 4. This famous exchange between Alexander and Parmenion may have been made in response to Darius’s third overture for peace, just before the Battle of Gaugamela (Diod 17 54 and Curt 4 10 18–34). It seems unlikely that the general would have objected at this very late stage, so I go with Arrian.
“It is for you, then” Arrian 2 14 8–9.
The man, dressed in rags Diod 17 47 1–6, Curt 4 1 16–26, Plut Mor 340d, Justin 11 10 7–9. There is no need to reject this magical tale, but it may well conceal a conventional bout of civil strife with a democrat taking over from an aristocratic or oligarchic ruler. The details are lost forever.
perfume made from henna Poll 6 105.
two and three quarter miles Pliny 5 17 76.
Herodotus paid a visit Herod 2 44.
“You say, Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ ” Ibid., 27:3–7.
income in kind included Ezek 27, passim.
“Your end will be sudden” Ibid., 27:36.
preferred alliance to capitulation Curt 4 2 2.
“pay his dues to Heracles” Just 11 10 10.
“I will either enter your city” Ibid., 4 2 5.
“Because they were doing Darius a good turn” Diod 17 40 3.
“When we have conquered Egypt” Arrian 2 17 4.
“famous fighters loaded down” Curt 4 2 20.
women, children, and men Just 11 10 14; Diod 17 40 1.
a ten-day campaign Plut Alex 24 6–8.
protect his supply lines Engels pp. 55–57.
“Trusting to his speed and agility” Plut Alex 24 12–13.
“Laid about him with his sword” Il 10 483–484.
“Under fire from all directions” Arrian 2 23 3.
“The Macedonians stopped at nothing” Ibid., 2 24 3–4.
Sidonian sailors saved many defenders Curt 4 4 15.
Two thousand men of military age Diod 17 46 4.
hit by a catapult bolt For this episode, see Arrian 2 27 1–2 and Curt 4 6 17–30.
For a long time he remained Curt 4 6 19–20.
a corpulent black eunuch FGrH 142 FS.
the most testing of sieges The accounts of Arrian and Curtius do not fully agree, and Alexander’s successful building of a mound could hardly have been achieved within the two-month duration of the siege. My reconstruction is as plausible as I can make it.
a carrion bird dropped Arrian 2 26 4, Curt 4 6 10–13.
October was a bad month For the description of the march to Pelusium, see Engels, p. 50.
recognized as pharaoh Alex Rom 34.
Setep en Ra, mery Amun Karnak F 377 (room XXIX) Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (1999), pp. 232–33.
“The Lion, Great of Might” Pedestal from the temple of Alexander at the Bahariya Oasis. See Bosch-Puche, The Egyptian Royal Titulary of Alexander, JEA, 99, 138–39.
“to treat the Greeks” Plut Mor 329b.
“wanted to catch up with [Alexander]” Curt 4 8 7–8. Aristobulus has Alexander return from Siwah the way he came, whereas Ptolemy has him cross the desert for a second visit to Memphis (Arrian 3 4 5). The former version is preferable (see Engels, pp. 62–63), but Alexander may have made a return visit to Memphis after founding Alexandria. Hector could have died either on the journey north before the Siwah adventure, or after it, as Curtius has it.
“an island in the rolling seas” Od 4 354–59.
“she had conceived Alexander” Just 11 11 2–4.
“an overwhelming desire” Curt 4 7 8.
A severe wind storm blew up For the journey to Siwah, Engels, pp. 62–63.
move involuntarily where it willed Rather like table-turning or the Ouija planchette.
path to the shrine The temple’s ruins still exist. They were excavated by Ahmad Fakhry in the mid-twentieth century; see his Siwa Oasis (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1990).
“[Zeus] is by nature the father of us all” Plut Mor 180d.
“Once there [in Siwah]” Arrian 3 4 5.
Parmenion’s son Philotas wrote Curt 6 10 26–27.
“We have lost Alexander” Ibid., 6 11 24.
“He was seized with a passion” Arrian 3 1 5.
CHAPTER 9. AT THE HOUSE OF THE CAMEL
The chief sources for the Battle of Gaugamela are Arrian 3 1–15 and Curtius, with modern support from Marsden’s brilliant monograph and Fuller (pp. 163–80). Plutarch Life of Alexander 31–34 contributes color. Some of the evidence is confused or wrong, but it is possible to put together a plausible and verisimilar narrative. We do not know exactly what happened, but enough to say what could have happened.
Camel’s House Plut Alex 31 6.
September 30, 331 B.C. Or September 29, if those scholars are correct who argue that the battle was fought on September 30 rather than October 1, as usually believed.
“agleam with the watch-fires” Plut Alex 31 10.
“I will not steal my victory” Ibid., 31 12.
worrying about his tactics Curtius and Arrian do not say so explicitly, but Alexander came near to losing his nerve. I assume that only when he had determined his remarkable battle plan did he stop worrying.
grandest so far of his arts festivals For this arts festival, see Plut Alex 29.
“If I conquer Laconia” Plut Mor 511a.
“a certain degree of immunity” For this episode, see Jacoby FGrH 135 F2 and Aesch Ctes 162.
was on a confidential mission Green, p. 281.
logistical planning For Alexander’s march from Tyre to Gaugamela, see Engels, pp. 64–70.
an estimated five days Ibid., p. 66.
the Tigris in September Arrian 3 7 5 and Curtius 4 9 18–21 wrongly describe a deep and fast current.
nearly total lunar eclipse The fact and date of the eclipse have been computed in modern times and by the Babylonians (see, for example, Bert van der Spek, “Darius III, Alexander the Great and Babylonian Scholarship,” Achaemenid History, vol. 13 (2003), pp. 289–346).
“Sunset to moonrise” 2 9th ahû tablet of Enûma Anu Enlil; obv. 59–61.
“for eight years he will exercise kingship” Ibid. An inexplicably accurate prophecy, as we shall see later.
death of Darius’s wife, Stateira Curt 4 10 18–34.
the unlikely story Plut Alex 30 1.
the traditional Persian manner It is not certain what this might be. According to Zoroastrian practice, dead bodies were pollutants and should not be buried in the ground. They were exposed on high towers where they decomposed and were eaten by birds. Their bones were then collected and kept. Achaemenid kings were buried in rock tombs; the founder of the dynasty, Cyrus the Great, was laid in a small stone mausoleum.
a third peace initiative Diodorus 17 54 1–6 and Curtius 4 11 place this before they mention Stateira’s death, but Justin 11 12 7–16 makes it follow after. As a late source, he is not usually to be preferred, but this is an exception. The initiative is too close to the battle to be credible. It was so generous in its offer that it is more psychologically plausible to regard it as a consequence of the Great King’s emotion at bereavement and his gratitude to Alexander for his respectful behavior. However, the point is a fine one. See Green, p. 287.
The Great King agreed The deal Darius proposed recalls the Treaty of Troyes, under which the victorious Henry V of England married the French king’s daughter and became his heir.
how two suns could occupy Diod 17 54 5.
about 44,000 infantry I have taken my Macedonian numbers from Marsden (passim). Other modern scholars offer simil
ar estimates.
wearing his armor Plut Alex 32 8–11.
quite a sight on the battlefield Alexander’s carelessness of his safety prefigures that of Nelson wearing all his decorations at the Battle of Trafalgar.
if he really was the son of Zeus Plut Alex 33 1.
backed by the veteran mercenaries Some modern opinion supposes that they were on horseback. This is a mistake.
“If he has got some infantry” Xen Hip 5 13, 8 19.
force of a hundred chariots We are not told what happened to the other chariots, but presumably they met the same fate as those facing the Companions.
“The cavalry sent out to engage” Arrian 3 14 2.
Mazaeus on the right Diod 17 59 5. The literary sources describe two separate incidents—an outflanking gallop to the Macedonian camp to retrieve the imperial women, and the Persian and Indian cavalry pouring through a gap in the phalanx to the baggage deposit area. There is some confusion of identity, but no good reason for conflating them, as some suppose.
no difficulty breaking in Ibid., 59 7; Curt 4 15 10–11.
“retained her former demeanor” Curt 4 15 11.
Persian and Indian cavalry Fuller, p. 176.
“The commanders of the infantry reserve” Arrian 3 14 6.
Parmenion sent off a dispatch rider I follow Marsden, pp. 61–62.
“what ensued” Arrian 3 15 2.
Implausibly high estimates Arrian 3 15 6.
best guess for Macedonian losses Oxy XV 1798.
“Once the battle” Plut Alex 24 1.
CHAPTER 10. “PASSING BRAVE TO BE A KING”
“Passing brave” Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great, Part, Act 2, sc. 5: “Is it not passing brave to be a King, / And ride in triumph through Persepolis?”
“Alexander was proclaimed” Plut Alex 34 1.
The enemy corpses on the battlefield Curt 5 1 11.
Alexander the Great Page 51
