Alexander

by Guy Maclean Rogers

  customs simply as a slide into luxury and extravagance. But Alexander’s actions can be seen and

  explained in a different way.

  The news that Bessus was wearing the tiara of the Persian kings and had declared himself king of

  Asia created some complex military, political, and cultural problems for Alexander. The solution to

  the military problem was thought to be the easiest: Bessus had to be hunted down and killed.

  The political and cultural problems were far trickier. If Alexander was, as he himself had

  declared, king of Asia, he had to act, and be seen to act, as a king of Asia traditionally had done.

  Alexander had little choice then but to dress like the Persian king and to adopt at least some of the

  ceremonials of the Persian court. To do so would help to legitimize his rule over all of Persian Asia.

  To be the king, Alexander had to play the king.

  Unfortunately, the more realistic his performance was, the greater was the risk he ran of alienating

  the Macedonian veterans, who had been persuaded to fight the Persians by speeches deriding the

  latter as barbaric and effeminate. Now, suddenly, Alexander had become the object of his own

  ridicule. Alexander was becoming the barbarian.

  Although the veterans of Philip displayed an open revulsion toward the extravagance and adoption

  of foreign customs, at this point Alexander faced no open opposition, only grumbling in the ranks.

  Resistance to his policies came only later, after a series of setbacks that undoubtedly damaged the

  army’s morale.

  The army was proceeding toward Bactria, pursuing Bessus and pacifying all the areas that had at

  least nominally been under Persian rule, when Nicanor, a son of Parmenio, and the commander of the

  hypaspists, suddenly died. Because of a shortage of supplies, Alexander could not halt the main army

  to attend the funeral. Philotas, Nicanor’s brother, was left with 2,600 men to conduct his brother’s last

  rites, while Alexander hastened on after Bessus.

  But while Alexander was en route, more bad news came: Satibarzanes had murdered Anaxippus

  and the forty javelin men with him. He was arming the Areians and concentrating them at Artacoana

  (on the border of modern Afghanistan), and had decided to join Bessus and to assist him in attacking

  the Macedonians wherever an opportunity should arise. Suddenly, there were two rebellions.

  In response, Alexander, leaving Craterus in command on the spot, marched seventy-five miles in

  two days to Artacoana with the Companions, the mounted javelin men, the Agrianes, and the

  battalions of Amyntas and Coenus. But by the time he reached Artacoana, Satibarzanes had fled. After

  killing and enslaving as many of those who had a hand in the revolt as he could catch, Alexander

  appointed a new governor of Areia.

  Craterus and his troops now rejoined Alexander, who marched on to the Drangian capital of

  Phrada (modern Farah, in western Afghanistan). This region had been under the control of Barsaentes,

  one of the conspirators who had mortally wounded Darius. When Barsaentes had learned of

  Alexander’s approach, he had run away to the Indians living to the west of the Indus, but they arrested

  him and returned him to Alexander, who had him put to death for his treachery to Darius. That took

  care of one problem, but soon Alexander was to face a much more deadly threat.

  CHAPTER 13

  Anticipation

  THE CONSPIRACY OF DIMNUS

  It was at Phrada in October 330 that Alexander learned of a plot against his life. The revelation of the

  plot, its investigation, and its aftermath would leave several of the highest-ranking officers in the

  Macedonian army, including Philotas, the commander of the Companion cavalry, and his father,

  Parmenio, Macedon’s greatest general, dead. Ever since, historians have debated whether Philotas

  actually was involved in some kind of conspiracy. Some have made the case that Alexander himself

  initiated a plot against Philotas and Parmenio at Phrada to get rid of powerful officers who had been

  closely associated with his father, Philip.

  Although all the main sources report the episode, almost predictably, Curtius Rufus, who lived and

  wrote during the early Roman imperial period, provides the fullest account, complete with speeches

  from Craterus (who had commanded the left of the phalanx at Issos and Gaugamela); Alexander;

  Philotas; and Amyntas, a commander of the phalanx. When reading Curtius, we should never forget

  that he wrote his history of Alexander during an era when ghastly treason trials dominated the Roman

  political scene.

  In Curtius’ account, Dimnus, a man of slight influence with the king, revealed to his young

  boyfriend Nicomachus that a plot to assassinate Alexander had been hatched. The assassination was

  to take place in two days’ time. Dimnus also confided in his young friend that he was involved in the

  plan, along with some brave and distinguished men.

  Pressed by Nicomachus, Dimnus named the conspirators: Demetrius, one of Alexander’s personal

  bodyguards; Peucolaus; Nicanor (not Parmenio’s son); Aphobetus; Iolaus; Dioxenus; Archepolis; and

  Amyntas (not the phalanx commander).

  Nicomachus soon divulged what he had been told to his brother Cebalinus. Alarmed, Cebalinus

  immediately determined to inform the king. Not being permitted to enter the royal quarters right away,

  Cebalinus told his story to Philotas and insisted that it be reported to Alexander without delay.

  But Philotas did not tell Alexander. The next day Cebalinus made the same request. Philotas

  replied that he was seeing to it, but still he did not report the existence of the plot to the king.

  Having lost patience, Cebalinus revealed the story of the conspiracy to a young nobleman named

  Metron, who was in charge of the armory. Metron promptly hid Cebalinus amid the shields and

  swords. When Alexander happened to enter the armory, Cebalinus accosted him and at last betrayed

  the plot to the king. Guards were dispatched at once to arrest Dimnus, but Dimnus killed himself (or

  was killed, according to other sources) during his arrest.

  Alexander then ordered Philotas into the royal quarters and asked why he had not reported

  Cebalinus’ story. Philotas said that he had feared that reporting an argument between a male prostitute

  and his lover would make him an object of ridicule.

  Alexander consequently held a meeting of his closest friends, including Craterus, to whom

  Nicomachus was induced to repeat his story. Craterus, who perhaps was hostile to Philotas because

  of their competition for advancement in the army, pointed out that while Philotas always could plot

  against Alexander, Alexander would not always be able to pardon Philotas.

  Alexander’s other friends argued that Philotas would not have suppressed evidence of a conspiracy

  unless he was one of the ringleaders or at least an accomplice; any loyal soldier would have run to

  the king on hearing such charges. The unanimous decision of Alexander’s friends was that Philotas

  should be interrogated under torture to force him to name his accomplices in the crime.

  Cavalrymen then were posted at all the entrances to the camp with orders to block the roads so that

  no one could slip off secretly to Philotas’ father, Parmenio, who was governor of Media at the time,

  in charge of strong forces. A man named Atarrhias with 300 attendants was sent to arrest Philotas. As

  the shackles were being plac
ed upon him, Philotas is reported to have said, “Your majesty, the bitter

  hatred of my enemies has triumphed over your kindness.”

  THE TRIAL OF PHILOTAS

  The next day, Philotas was put on trial before 6,000 soldiers. In keeping with traditional Macedonian

  procedure, the king acted as the prosecutor in the case. The body of Dimnus was brought out.

  Alexander accused Parmenio of heading the plot against his life, and charged Philotas as an

  accomplice who had suborned Peucolaus, Demetrius, and Dimnus. Philotas’ silence about the plot

  masked his criminal intent, he alleged.

  Arrian, whose source Ptolemy was there in Phrada at the time, reports that this was the most

  damning proof of Philotas’ guilt: he admitted that he had some knowledge of the plot against

  Alexander, but had said nothing about it, despite the fact that he visited Alexander’s tent twice a day.

  Alexander also produced a letter Parmenio had written to his sons Nicanor and Philotas, advising

  them to take care of themselves and their people, for this was how they would accomplish their

  purpose. Curtius comments that the letter did not seem to contain evidence of a dangerous plot.

  Alexander’s accusations were supported by speeches made by Amyntas, son of Andromenes, and

  Coenus, Philotas’ own brother-in-law, who accused him of being a traitor to king, country, and army.

  In his defense, Philotas pointed out that Dimnus had never mentioned him among the conspirators.

  He argued that he had been silent about what he had been told because he thought that what was

  coming to his ears was only a lovers’ quarrel.

  A lesser officer who had risen from the ranks, Bolon, then got up and reminded the army of

  Philotas’ high-handed manner, his wealth, and his rejection of Alexander’s divine parentage. Bolon’s

  speech aroused the assembly, and the trial was adjourned until the next day. That night, under torture

  led by Craterus, Philotas implicated Parmenio in a plot to kill Alexander, a plot hatched after Darius’

  defeat but unconnected to Dimnus’ plot. Parmenio was said to have been inspired by a certain

  Hegelochus, a great-nephew of Attalus, who had objected to Alexander’s adoption of Zeus as his

  father.

  ANTICIPATION

  The next day Philotas’ confession was read out to the assembly. Demetrius the bodyguard made a

  confident and vigorous defense. Philotas, unable to walk, but able to speak and accuse others,

  implicated a certain Calis, who confessed on the spot that he and Demetrius had planned the crime.

  When the signal was given, all those named by Nicomachus were stoned to death according to the

  Macedonian customary practice.

  Philotas’ death, however, did not put the matter to rest. It was at this time also that Alexander the

  Lyncestian was put on trial for treason. Having survived, seemingly against the evidence, when his

  two brothers were executed for their involvement in Philip’s death, he had been charged subsequently

  with plotting against the king but had been kept alive for three years under guard.

  His hearing had been delayed because of his relationship to Antigonus (or Antipater, in Curtius).

  But now he was brought before the Macedonians and executed, “lacking words to defend himself.”

  Amyntas, the son of Andromenes, and his brothers, Polemon, Attalus, and Simmias, also were brought

  to trial for conspiracy on the grounds of their closeness to Philotas. Most people were inclined to

  believe them guilty, particularly because Polemon had fled at the arrest of Philotas. But Amyntas

  made a vigorous defense and the brothers were acquitted. Amyntas then went off and retrieved

  Polemon. Amyntas died of an arrow wound during the siege of a village shortly thereafter. From his

  acquittal all he gained, said Arrian, was that he died with his good name intact. (His younger brothers

  survived Alexander’s reign.)

  Alexander also had to deal with Parmenio. Polydamas, a friend of Parmenio, indeed one of the

  dispatch riders sent by Parmenio to Alexander during the battle of Gaugamela, was ordered to hasten

  to Ecbatana by racing camel, along with two Arab companions, with a letter from Alexander

  addressed to Cleander (commander of mercenaries and Coenus’ brother), Sitalces, and Menidas.

  Two letters also were sent along to Parmenio. One was a letter from Alexander; the second was a

  forged letter from the now dead Philotas. After Parmenio read the letter from Alexander and while he

  was reading the forged letter from his son, Cleander and the others stabbed him to death. The letter

  addressed to Cleander, Sitalces, and Menidas had informed them of the plot and ordered them to

  assassinate Parmenio.

  Those who subsequently expressed regret at Parmenio’s death or sent letters home expressing

  anything contrary to the king’s interest Alexander then formed into a single unit called the atakton

  tagma, or “Disciplinary Company.” In addition, the Companions (cavalry) were split into two

  separate divisions, with Hephaestion and Cleitus appointed as hipparchs (cavalry commanders) of

  the two divisions. Ptolemy was appointed a royal bodyguard in place of the executed Demetrius.

  Phrada, where the plot was exposed, examined, and exterminated, Alexander renamed Prophthasia,

  “Anticipation.”

  THE DEATHS OF PHILOTAS AND PARMENIO

  The story of the conspiracy at Phrada and the executions of Philotas and Parmenio have provoked

  widely varied reactions. Some historians have concluded that there was indeed a plot against

  Alexander’s life at Phrada; that Philotas was part of it; and that Parmenio’s assassination was a brutal

  and unfortunate, but necessary, consequence of Philotas’ implication.

  Others, while not doubting that there was some kind of conspiracy afoot, nevertheless have argued

  that there is no evidence that Philotas was part of the plot hatched by Demetrius and Calis. He was

  never named as a conspirator by Nicomachus or Cebalinus, and only implicated himself and his father

  under torture. Indeed, some modern historians have argued that the whole affair was a cunning plot by

  Alexander to get rid of Philotas, and especially Parmenio, whom Alexander wanted to replace

  because he believed that the old general might serve as a lightning rod for opposition to his adoption

  of Persian customs.

  Dimnus’ suicide (or his death resisting arrest) strongly suggests, however, that there was a real plot

  against Alexander’s life at Phrada in the autumn of 330. Furthermore, that one of Alexander’s

  personal bodyguards, Demetrius, was apparently one of the conspirators, shows that the plot was

  serious and potentially lethal to Alexander. Demetrius had immediate, easy, and continuous access to

  the king. Alexander could hardly have forgotten that his own father, Philip, had been assassinated by

  another guard (Pausanias).

  Moreover, according to Curtius Rufus at any rate, Philotas had been told by Cebalinus what he had

  learned about the plot from his brother Nicomachus. What he had learned very likely included the

  information that Demetrius the bodyguard was one of the conspirators. Although there is no evidence

  of Philotas’ direct involvement in the actual conspiracy, his failure to disclose the fact that one of

  Alexander’s elite bodyguards allegedly was plotting against the king really was more than just

  “passive disloyalty.” It was treason.

  If a minor officer in the U.S. Army reported the existen
ce of a conspiracy to assassinate the

  president, a conspiracy that allegedly included a member of the presidential security detail, to one of

  the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chief did not disclose the contents of the report immediately and in

  full, and this fact was subsequently discovered, the chief would be removed from command and

  court-martialed without delay. So Philotas was arrested, put on trial, and executed according to

  traditional Macedonian procedure and customary law for his treasonable failure to disclose to

  Alexander what he had been told.

  THE REVENGE OF ATTALUS

  The judicial assassination of Parmenio was a terrible and sad consequence of his son’s treason.

  Parmenio had been Philip’s one and only general, and he was as responsible for the Macedonian

  victories at the Granicus, Issos, and Gaugamela as Alexander himself. If Parmenio and the Thessalian

  cavalry under his general command had not fought so tenaciously at those three major battles,

  inevitably against the best of the Persian cavalry, Alexander never would have had the opportunity to

  launch his decisive Companion cavalry thrusts.

  To the aged general Parmenio, Alexander and the younger Macedonians owed more than they ever

  could repay. Parmenio was, in some sense, Alexander’s second father; he certainly was the godfather

  of his great victories in battle. Of all the Macedonians, he alone could—and did—check Alexander’s

  impulsiveness.

  But Parmenio’s murder after Philotas’ execution does not prove that Alexander had been plotting

  against Philotas and Parmenio, let alone that the king concocted the whole story of the Dimnus

  conspiracy to entrap Philotas. Even if Alexander had arranged for Philotas to be told a story about a

  plot to assassinate himself in order to entrap his cavalry commander, he never could have known that

  Philotas would not have reported the story to him immediately. In that case, Philotas would have

  emerged as a hero for having alerted the king to the existence of a dangerous plot against his life.

  Alexander did not plot against Philotas or Parmenio, whose execution could not be avoided after

  Philotas’ execution. In Ecbatana, Parmenio commanded at least 5,600 Greek mercenaries and had a