The Library

c. sixth century CE

translated by E. A. Wallis Budge
1889

​NOTE

The Alexander Romance is often described as Antiquity's most successful novel. The Romance is a collection of legendary narratives about Alexander the Great that blend history, myth, and fantasy into a highly imaginative biography. Probably originating in the Hellenistic period, but certainly before the Latin translation of 334 CE, and later attributed falsely to Callisthenes (hence the “Pseudo-Callisthenes”), the text recounts Alexander’s miraculous birth, his conquests across the known world, and a series of fantastical adventures—such as encounters with strange peoples and monsters, journeys to the ends of the earth, and even ascents into the sky and descents beneath the sea. Over centuries, the work was translated and adapted into numerous languages. The Syriac version was probably composed somewhere in the seventh century CE and originated as a translation and adaptation of one of the two ancient Greek versions of Pseudo-Callisthenes. It omits some incidents and adds others but on the whole follows the same outline. The translation below is taken from E. A. Wallis Budge, The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes, published in 1889.

Preface by the Translator.

The Syriac version of Pseudo-Callisthenes which has come down to us may be divided into three books or sections, which agree broadly with the three divisions which we find in the Greek codex A and with those of the Latin translation by Julius Valerius; these books or sections contain forty-seven, fourteen and twenty-four chapters respectively. The order of some of the chapters in Book I. is different from those in the Greek text, but the whole book substantially agrecs with the Codex A.

In Book II. we have a lacuna of nearly eight chapters. The first sentence of Chap. VI. agrees with the first sentence of Chap. VI. of Müller’s Greek text (p. 61, col. 1), but the Syriac then passes on immediately to Chap. XIV. of the Greek (Müller, p. 69, col. 1). This break can probably be accounted for by supposing that a couple of quires had fallen out of either the Greek or the Arabic translation of it from which the Syriac version was made.

Book III. corresponds generally with Book III. of the Greek text but omits the ten chapters which are interpolated into the Greek text of Codex A from the work of Palladius.

Although the Syriac work printed in the following pages agrees tolerably closely with the Greek text of codex A and the Latin translation of Julius Valerius, it will be seen on examining these versions that it cannot be considered a translation of either the Greek or the Latin or to represent any of the Greek and Latin texts known to us. Incidents which are extant in the Greek and are wanting in the Latin are found in the Syriac: similarly incidents which are extant in the Latin and are wanting in the Greek are preserved in the Syriac. For example the incident of the Egyptians enquiring of the oracle what had become of Nectanebus is given by the Greck and the Syriac, but it is wanting in the Latin of Julius Valerius. Also the augury of Nectanebus related in Chap. XII. of the Greek and Syriac texts is wanting in the Latin. Again the correspondence between Zintés, Olympias and Philip, Alexander and Aristotle concerning the meagreness of the pocket money allowed to Alexander is given in the Latin and Syriac, but is wanting in the Greek text. The text of Aristotle’s letter to Alexander in which he warns him not to undertake the building of so great a city as Alexandria, which is given in the Syriac, is wanting in both the Greek and the Latin texts. Other similar variations will be found in the second and third book of the Syriac version.

THE HISTORY OF ALEXANDER
THE SON OF PHILIP KING OF THE MACEDONIANS.

​BOOK I.

[1] Now there used to be Egyptian sages, who were sprung from the families of the gods. They measured the earth, and stood thereon; they put in commotion the waves of the sea; and laid hold of the great Nile by its measure. They calculated the ordering of the stars of heaven. They delivered all these things to the world by the might of invincible words and by the powers of sorcery. Men say then of Naktibôs (Nectanebus) who was the last king of Egypt and was famed for great discoveries, that he was through his perfect knowledge the glory of Egypt, and to him were the creatures of the world subservient by reason of his magic. This king was a marvel, for when suddenly the hosts of the enemy were standing ready at his gate, and wished to come to battle, he used not to trouble his camp, neither did he bring weapons of war for the use of the men, nor polished iron that glittered, nor was it his wont to contrive the stratagems or plans which are necessary for war; but he used to go into his palace and to set a brazen basin in the middle of the hall and to fill it with rain water. He then made small models of ships and men in asphalt and placed them in the basin. And he took in his hand a rod of plane wood, and then uttered those words which he knew, and invoked the angels and Ammon the god of Libya. Now by this form of sorcery which took place in the basin, he was wont to contrive plans, until those models of ships and men which were in the basin went forth against the enemy and turned them back. In this manner he held constantly by his skill for a great length of time the kingdom of Egypt.

[2] After a while, a certain man, a spy from among the guards who were there, came to him and answered and said, “O Nectanebus, while as yet thou hast peace, seek deliverance for thyself, for behold innumerable multitudes of hosts of enemies are making ready and coming against thee, to wit the Tûrâyê (or mountaineers), the Alâni, the Gûrbarbedâyê, the Armenians, the Medes, the Arabs, the Midianites, the people of Adôrbâigân, the Belsâyê, the Alôsâyê, the Shabrônkâyê, the Alinikâyê, the Galatians, the Têbarinikâye , the people of Gurgân, the Chaldeans, the eaters of fish and of beasts of prey, multitudes without end of the nations from the regions of the East, mighty men, with a vast host, hastening to come to this land of Egypt which is thine. Consider now what is expedient and useful [to be done].”

When the spy had spoken after this manner, Nectanebus laughed and said to the scout, “Thou hast done well, and hast acted properly as regards the watch which was entrusted to thee, in that thou hast spied out these things for me; but thou hast spoken timidly and not courageously. For I have observed that host of men which is coming, and they have no strength, although their will is very ready. One little word of wisdom however is able to turn back many, and a man who does good things can overwhelm a multitude of armies in the waves of the sea.” And when he had spoken these things to the spy, he called him and said to him, “One dog is able to turn back many deer, and one wolf is able to destroy a whole flock of she-goats. Do thou, then, with those numerous horsemen that are under thy orders, go and keep thy watch carefully; for by one word I am able to overwhelm and drown in the waves of the sea this innumerable band of enemies.”

[3] And Nectanebus went into his palace, and put out all the people, and remained by himself. Then he filled the brazen basin with rain water, made those ships of asphalt spring up in the middle of the house, took the rod of plane wood in his hand, and began to speak those words which were full of terror. And when he had spoken them, he looked into the basin, and saw all the gods of Egypt leading the ships and guarding them. When he saw that Egypt was betrayed by her gods, he left his kingdom and fled. He shaved the hair of his head and his beard, and put on other apparel; then he took as much gold as he was able [to carry] and departed from Egypt, and went by way of Pelusium. Now when he had travelled through a multitude of countries and a number of nations, he came to Pella of the Macedonians, And he put on linen clothing like the Egyptian prophets and astrologers (“those who show the signs of the zodiac”), and sat in the midst of the highways, and the people of the land came to ask him questions. In those times he was renowned.

And after Nectanebus had gone away from the land of Egypt, all the Egyptians drew near to Hephaestus, the head of the race of the gods, and besought him with entreaty to show them what had happened to Nectanebus the king of Egypt, and at what place he had arrived. Then Hephaestus promptly sent to them an oracle concerning him by the hands of the priests, saying, “The king of Egypt who has fled, a mighty man and a warrior, but an old man, will after a time bring a new lord, a young man, mightier and more powerful than he, who will kill him and seize his land; and he shall traverse the world, and shall subjugate all the enemies of Egypt to your service.” And when the Egyptians had heard this oracle, they forthwith inscribed it with carved letters under the tablet of brass on the stone pedestal upon which [the statue of] king Nectanebus stood, that they might see what would be the issue of the oracle.

[4] And Nectanebus was going to and fro openly in Macedonia, and many people came to see him and to ask him questions. He was so renowned that even Olympias the queen desired to enquire of him as to what was about to happen. Now Philip, the husband of Olympias, had gone to war, and she commanded that Nectanebus should come to her. And when he had come and had entered the royal palace, he saw the beautiful countenance of the queen, whose countenance was more beautiful than the moon. He was a man innocent of women, but at the sight of Olympias his mind was excited and his heart burned with love for her. He stretched out his hand, and saluted Olympias, and answered and said to her, “Peace be with thee, O queen of the Macedonians.” Now he could not persuade himself to call her “lady,” for as yet the royal manner of speech was in his mouth. Olympias answered and said to him, “Peace be with thee, O doer of good things, and knower of everything; come, seat thyself”

And when he had sat down, Olympias said to him, “Art thou really an Egyptian? for in thy speech there is no lying.” Nectanebus answered and said to her, “Those who have had experience of me speak well [of me].” Olympias said to him, “By what wisdom and knowledge, or by what power, knowest thou to speak correctly what is going to happen?” Nectanebus answered and said to her, “O queen, well dost thou know how to put a question; for the interpreters of dreams are of many kinds, and the knowers of signs, those who understand divination, Chaldeans [or] augurs, and casters of nativities; the Greeks call the signs of the Zodiac (?) ‘sorcerers’ and others are counters of the stars. As for me, all these are in my hands, and I myself am an Egyptian prophet, a magus, and a counter of the stars.” And while he was saying these and other such like things to her, he was scrutinising her with great earnestness and intentness. Now when she saw in what manner he was looking at and scrutinising her, she answered and said to him, “O sage, whilst thou wert enumerating thy wisdom and skill in these things, why didst thou gaze on me lustfully?” Nectanebus answered and said to her, “I looked at thee carefully for the sake of becoming well acquainted with thee; for there is something which I heard a long time ago, and which I now remember. It was revealed to me of old by my god, who said to me ‘In the future thou wilt give augury to a queen, and everything that thou shalt say to her shall really come to pass.’ “

And when he had thus spoken to her with such like words, she straightway brought out into the midst a beautiful and magnificent table of ivory which belonged to the palace, set with splendid stones and of great value, the qualities of which the mouth of man knows not how to describe, for it was made of acacia wood and gold and silver. Three circles were fitted to it after the manner of belts. Upon the outer belt there was a representation of Zeus with the thirty-six decani surrounding him; upon the second the twelve signs of the Zodiac were represented; and upon the third the sun and moon. Then he set the table upon a tripod, and he emptied a small box which was set [with stones] after the manner of the table upon the table, and there were in it [models of] those seven stars that were in the belts, and in that one which was in the middle, which they call in Greek ‘the watcher of the hours’ (ton hōroskopon), were set by the crafts of art eight kinds of precious stones; and he arranged them upon the table with the other gems. Thus he completed his representation of the great heavens upon so small a table. He arranged a sun of crystal and a moon of adamant; and Ares, whom they call in Persian Vahrâm, of a red stone, the colour of blood; Nâbô the scribe, who is called in Persian Tîr, of an emerald; Bêl, who is called in Persian Hormazd, of a white stone; Baltî, who is called in Persian Anâhîd, of a sapphire stone of a dark colour, and the horoscope of copper (?), which is called in Persian Farnôj.

And after he had set these in order, he said to Olympias, “Tell me, O queen, the year, the month, the day and the hour of thy birth; and she told him. Then Nectanebus calculated his own nativity and that of Olympias, that he might know if the stars of both of them coincided exactly. And when he saw that they were precisely the same, he said to her, “It is fitting that thou shouldest tell me thy mind, and what thou wishest to ask, and what it is that thou desirest?” She said to him, “[I wish to ask] concerning my husband Philip, for I have heard a rumour that, after he returns from the war, he will divorce me, and will take another wife.” Then Nectanebus answered and said to her, “This report about thyself which thou hast mentioned, O queen, is false, in so far as that it will happen now shortly; after a time, however, it will actually be done. But I, being an Egyptian prophet and a magus, am able to help thee in many things, when thou hast need of it in any such matter as this. Now, however, it is granted unto thee - according to what thy nativity which is before me reveals - that a god of the land shall sleep with thee; thou shalt be pregnant by him, and thou shalt bear a son to him, who shall avenge thee upon Philip thy husband for the offence which he has committed against thee.” Olympias answered and said to him, “Who is this god who thou sayest will sleep with me ?” Nectanebus answered and said to her, “He will have horns on his head, and will be clothed in the rich apparel of Ammon the god of Libya.” Olympias said to him, “What is the age of this god, and what is his appearance, and the form of his figure ?” Then Nectanebus answered, “He is of middle age, and his form and appearance are thus; upon each side of his head he has the like of ram’s horns. Do thou, however, O queen, prepare thyself to sleep with him; but first of all in a dream thou wilt see this god who is going to sleep with thee.” Olympias answered and said to him, “When?” Nectanebus said to her, “It will not be far off, but to-day; therefore I counsel thee to prepare thyself magnificently like a queen, for in this very night he will unite with thee in thy dream.” Olympias said to him, “If it be that I see any such thing, I will not only hold thee to be a prophet, but I will worship thee as if thou wert a god.”

[5] Now when they had spoken these words with one another and conversed, Nectanebus went forth from the royal palace, and went out swiftly and speedily to the plain. Then he hastened to the desert, and gathered those roots which men use for dreams, and he pounded and pressed them all; and in a dream of the night Nectanebus by his magic sent to Olympias what she desired, so that in her dream she thought that she was actually sleeping with the god Ammon, and that he was embracing her, and that of his own free will he abode with her, and that when he had done with her he said to her, “O woman, behold, thy womb will avenge thee.”

[6] And when Olympias awoke from her sleep, great terror laid hold of her because of this dream; and she sent and called Nectanebus to her. And when he had come into her presence, she commanded that everyone should go forth from her. Then Olympias answered and said to Nectanebus, “Behold I have this day seen a dream according to what thou didst say unto me, and the god Ammon sleeping with me; but I wish that when I am awake, he should sleep with me continually. This I require of thee, and thou art able to supply this need. I wonder now if I shall obtain this through thee.” Nectanebus answered, “Nothing is more feeble than I, but inasmuch as thou desirest this, that thou mightest see him when thou art waking, it is right for me to consider, because a dream is one thing, but the thing that thou requirest is another. Now, I have thought that since thou hast this desire, bid them construct a place for me close by thy bedchamber, that, if thou art terrified when the god comes to thee, I who know thee may strengthen thee; for this god, when he comes to thee will be in the form of a serpent and will creep and crawl on the ground, sending forth loud hisses. Then he will return, and his horns will be in the form of those of a ram; thus will he be. Then he will return again, and will appear in the form of the hero Heracles; and he will return a third time, and appear in the form of Dionysus, decorated and ornamented with ringlets; and he will return yet again, coming back and appearing in my own form.

When Olympias heard these things, she said to him, “O prophet, thou hast spoken well; abide now in one of the bedchambers within the palace where I sleep, and if it happens that, being awake, I see such things and know that I am pregnant by the race of the gods, I will honour thee and will hold thee to be the father of the child.” Then Nectanebus answered and said to her, “Behold, I have told thee beforehand concerning the snake; now therefore fear him not, but trust thyself the more to him, and be fearless.”

[7] When therefore all these things happened as Nectanebus had said, the queen was not terrified at all at the change of the forms of the gods, but she feared when she slept with the form of the serpent. Now when he had done with her, he again stood over her, and set his mouth upon her mouth, and said to her, “An unconquerable seed, and one which shall not be subject to any man, flows into this womb.” And when Nectanebus had said these words, he went to his own bedchamber; and afterwards at this time he slept with her in the form of Ammon and of Heracles and of Dionysus.

And when she was great with child, she lifted up her eyes and saw Nectanebus, and she answered and said to him, “O prophet, what shall I do when Philip my husband returns from war and finds me pregnant ?” Nectanebus answered and said to her, “Fear not, O queen, this Ammon of the three-fold form is able to help thee in every way, and can show Philip in a dream [what has happened], that thou mayest be without blame and without care.” So for a long time Olympias was beguiled by these words, and played the harlot with a man, thinking he was a god.

Then Nectanebus the Egyptian king brought a hawk and muttered over it his charms, and made it fly away with a small quantity of a drug, and that night it showed Philip a dream. In his dream it showed him a god, whose form was fair, of middle age, with horns upon his head like the god Ammon, who was sleeping with Olympias. And when he had done with her, he said to her, “Behold thou hast in thy womb my seed, and thou shalt bear me a child who will avenge thee and Philip his father.” And in the same dream he saw as if a river like the Nile flowed and went forth from the couch on which they were lying; and [he saw] the figure of a man sewing linen. He saw too the womb of Olympias sealed with a gold ring, with a gem on which was engraved the head of a lion holding the sun in his claws, or in his paws, and there was a whip beside him, and a hawk which overshadowed him with its wings.

[8] Now when Philip had seen these appearances in his dream, he rose up early in the morning, and sent and brought into his presence the wise men the interpreters of dreams, and related before them the dream which he had seen. Then they answered and said to him, “O king Philip, as thou hast seen in the dream, so shall it be; behold, Olympias is pregnant, but she is pregnant by a god. Forasmuch as thou hast seen her womb sealed, surely it is pregnant; for an empty vessel is not sealed, but only one that is full. And whereas thou hast seen the form of a man sewing linen, this seed is Egyptian; for they do not sew linen in any other place but Egypt. And his fortune is not little, but great and mighty and glorious and renowned, because [the womb] was sealed with a seal of gold, and there is nothing more valued than gold, for even the gods are worshipped for the sake of gold. And the lion which held the sun in his claws, and the whip which was [engraved] on the ring, [shew that] he will go to the east, and will walk like a lion in his might; and he will subdue all countries and cities with his whip. And as for the god whom thou didst see, of middle age and with horns on his head, this is Ammon the god of Libya, and the seed is his.” Now when the learned in dreams had given the explanation in this manner, Philip believed of a certainty that Olympias was pregnant by a god.

[9] And when [Philip] had conquered, he returned from the war, and came to his own house and greeted Olympias. Then she was ashamed; and when he saw that she was agitated through fear of him, he answered and said to her, “To whom didst thou deliver thyself to be defiled, O Olympias ? He has not, however, defiled thee, for thou shalt bear a son by him, and shalt name him the son of Philip; for I have seen in a dream everything that has happened to thee, and therefore I leave thee in peace. Kings are able to contend with everything, but to contend with the gods they are not able.” And when he had said these things to her, he heartened her and Olympias regained her self-possession.

[10] Now it fell out one day, because Nectanebus was within the royal palace, that he heard Philip say to Olympias, “Thou art an erring woman, for thou art not with child by a god, but by one of the human race.” And while they were thus speaking together, Nectanebus by his sorcery changed his own form and assumed that of a huge serpent, and he hissed with a loud voice in the midst of the hall where Philip was standing, gliding in a terrible manner, and hissing as he went, so that all who heard quaked and trembled at his voice. And when Olympias saw her lover, she lay down upon her couch, while the monster reared himself up over her, and suddenly he straightened himself out. Then Olympias spread out her hands and embraced his neck, whereupon the serpent opened his mouth and placed his lips upon her lips, kissing her repeatedly just as a man kisses his friend out of love.

And while it was doing thus, everyone in the palace and Philip too saw it. Philip answered and said to Olympias, “O great queen Olympias, and all the rest of you who stand before me, I saw such a serpent as this when I was fighting with my enemies at yon time, and also the mind of many of the enemy was humbled and made weak thereby. But as for me, from this time forward I will glorify and praise myself because men will call me father of one sprung from a god.”

[11] Now after some days, when Philip was sitting in his summerhouse by the side of the royal reservoir of water, and all kinds of birds were pecking grain before and around him, he was reading in the book of the philosophers. Suddenly a half-bred hen which was being reared in the house happened to sit in Philip’s lap. Now she was but a small [bird], and when she had sat in his lap, she laid an egg thereon. When Philip saw this egg, he put it upon the ground; but the egg rolled about and broke, and immediately a small serpent sprang from within the egg and crawled round about it Then it turned back and began to enter the egg again, and when it had put its head within the egg, it died immediately.

Now when Philip saw such a wonder, he was sore afraid and was much troubled; and straightway he commanded, and they called the chief of the Chaldeans at that time, whose name was Antiphon, into his presence. And when he arrived, Philip related to him the matter just as it had occurred. And when he had told it to him, Antiphon answered and said, “O king Philip, the child that is to be born to thee will be a son, and he will be a king; he will traverse the whole world and subjugate all men by his power, and he will not be conquered by man; but when this [son of thine] shall retrace his steps and return to his own place, within a few days he shall die. For the serpent is a sign of royalty, and the egg is the whole world; and the serpent which went forth from thence and went round about it, when it returned and put its head into it, died immediately: even so in this manner, when he has traversed the whole world and returns to enter his own land, he will die,” And when he had spoken according to this augury, Philip gave him many gifts and he went home.

[12] Now when the time for the delivery of Olympias had arrived, she sat upon the childbed, and the birth-pangs began to pain her. Nectanebus was standing before her and calculating the stars of heaven. When he had made his calculation, he said to Olympias, “Rise up for a little, O queen, from the seat until an hour pass, for the sign of the Scorpion holds this hour, and Saturn and the Sun and the Balance are opposed to it, and a vast host of wild beasts devour him who is born in this hour. In this hour the signs of the heaven revolve swiftly; but be strong and restrain thyself, and pass by this hour, for in this hour Cancer [predominates], and Saturn was plotted against by his children, and he was born in Gemini; and he bound him and cast him into the ocean and he was deprived of his superiority, and Bêl obtained the throne of heaven in his place. In this hour Leopos (?) was born, who taught wandering. In this hour the horned Moon forsook the Balance, and descended from her height to the earth, and was united with the simple Endymion; and she gave birth to a beautiful son by him, but he died by the flame of fire, therefore whosoever is born in this hour dies by fire. In this hour home-loving Baltin (Aphrodite) was with her husband, and she was slain by the hand of Ares without sword and without wound. In this hour the women who worship Baltin (Aphrodite) set up mourning and weep for her husband. Let this hour pass, because the god Ares stands in it wrathfully and threatens. In this hour Ares the lover of weapons and the warrior, naked and unarmed, placed his trust in the men of (?) Electryone the daughter of the Sun, and he stands put to shame; therefore everyone born in this hour will be despised and of no account among men. Restrain thyself in this hour too, O queen, for the star of Nâbo the scribe holds the sign of the zodiac, and he was born in [the sign of] the horned Goat, and afterwards his children rid themselves of him, and were estranged [from him], and went to the desert. In this hour Rhea was born; do thou then sit upon the childbed, and bear bravely thy pains as best thou mayest, because Bêl is the lover of virgins. In this hour Dionysus was born, the gentle and humble, who makes to dwell in peace, who taught gentleness. And under this sign of the zodiac, Ammon with the ram’s horns was born over Aquarius and Pisces of Egypt (?). In this hour Bel was horn, the father of men, and the king of the gods, and the ruler of the world, who establishes royalty. In this hour give birth, O queen.” And when Nectanebus had finished speaking, the queen brought forth. And when the child fell upon the ground, suddenly there was the noise of thunders and lightnings, and mighty earthquakes, so that the whole world trembled.

[13] And when Philip saw these things, he said, “I had determined that thou shouldst not rear him, O woman, because he was not begotten by me; but since the several parts of the world have given such signs as these concerning him, he must be of the seed of the gods. Let the gods now rear him; let the name Alexander be given him in remembrance of the son who was borne to me by a former wife.” And when Philip had spoken thus, he gave orders that they should surely rear the boy with watchfulness, solicitude, and care; and he commanded all the towns of Thrace and Macedonia to bring crowns to him.

And the child grew, and was weaned; and he became strong, and increased in stature and wisdom; but as regards his form and appearance, he was neither like Philip, nor Olympias his mother, nor the god by whom he was begotten, but his features and looks differed from theirs, for his hair resembled the mane of a lion, and one eye was different from the other, one being white (light) and the other black (dark); and his teeth were sharp like a razor, and his steps were firm like those of a lion. From his person then it was evident what he was destined to become afterwards.

He had for his tutor in his boyhood a great man whose name was Lekrânîkos (?) the Pellaean; and his master in letters was Apos (?) the Lemnian; and his teacher in geometry, which is [used] for measuring lands, was Philip; and his master in the art of speaking with brevity was Arespimôn (?); and his teacher in philosophy was Aristotle the Milesian; and his instructor in war was Ardippos the Dmatskian (?).

And after a long time, when the child had reached boyhood and youth, he began to accustom himself to the manners and customs of royalty, for one of the gods had shown him in a vision [that he was to be a king]. When then he was with the boys at school, he used to hold contests with the rest of the boys, and he strove and did not stir from his place, until he had gained the victory over all of them.

Now at that time the princes of the Cappadocians brought as an offering to Philip from their herds of horses a foal of great size, bound with fetters of iron, for, said they, he devours men. And when Philip observed his appearance and beauty, he said to his friends, “True it is what is said in the proverb, for they say, ‘something bad springs up by the side of anything good’; but now since the chiefs of the Cappadocians, my friends, have brought me a present, accept it from them, and let him be kept in restraint and guarded in an iron-barred enclosure, and let the dead bodies of evildoers, by whom crimes worthy of death have been committed, and who are appointed to be slain by the decrees of the judges, be thrown to this [beast].” And when Philip had thus spoken, they executed his orders with all speed.

[14] And after these things, when Alexander was twelve years old, he went with Philip his father to war, and he practised horsemanship, and exercised himself along with skilful and brave horsemen. And his training was so good, that Philip himself applauded, and answered and said to him, “I love thee, my son, because thou art right well trained in the art of gaining the victory in war; but it grieves me that thy appearance does not resemble mine.” Now it fell out that Philip went to a certain city on some business, and certain thoughts were stirring in Olympias after the manner of women, and she commanded to call Nectanebus to her presence. And she answered and said to him, “Look by thy wisdom concerning me, and see what Philip meditates in his mind about me.” Then Nectanebus set a small table before her in the midst, and placed in order upon it the gems of the signs of the zodiac; and Alexander was sitting in that place. And he began to compute the signs of the zodiac, and answered and said to her, “O queen, the guidance of the will of the gods suffers not by anything which takes place by chance. The place of thy constellation is now exceedingly great beyond all expectation; so do not abandon thyself to care and doubt For I have observed and seen, and just now the Sun stands against the sign of the Baltin (Venus) of Philip, and quenches his desire and longing and turns him away from the love of women.” And Olympias answered and said to him, “Is the sign thus, O Nectanebus?” He answered and said, “It is thus; would that thou wert able to understand, that I might show thee this sign in the heavens, and thou mightest understand that it is even as I have said to thee.” When these words had been spoken, Alexander answered and said to Nectanebus his father, “My father, are all the signs of the zodiac to be recognised in the heavens as thou hast said?” And Nectanebus said, “Yes, my son.” Alexander says to him, “I wish to see them.” Nectanebus said to him, “This shall be this very night, if the sky be clear. Come with me to the open plain, and thou shalt see them, provided the sky be clear.” Alexander said, “My master, since thou knowest [the heavens] so accurately, it befits thee to know also thine own nativity.” Nectanebus said, “Yes, my son, I know also my own nativity.” Alexander said, “I desire to ask thee this [question], though thou knowest that it is not of a matter which concerns me that I ask, but it is necessary to learn what I have seen; now tell me of thy death, in what manner it will be.” Nectanebus said, “This is [the manner of] my death; I shall perish by the hands of my son.”

And while they had talked of these things together, the day had passed and the night was come, and the moon had risen in the heavens, and the signs of the zodiac were visible. Then Alexander walked behind his father, whom he knew not, and they went outside the city. Then Nectanebus lifted up his eyes, and said to the boy, “Observe how gloomy this sign of Saturn is, how much this [sign of] Ares resembles blood, how this [sign of] Balti (Venus) stands in joyfulness, how favourable is this [sign] of Nâbo the scribe, and how bright is the sign of Bêl.” And while the eyes of Nectanebus were fixed upon the signs, and both of them were walking along together, and there was a pit very near them, the boy Alexander pushed Nectanebus and pitilessly cast him into the pit. And when he had fallen, he answered and said to Alexander, “What wast thou thinking of in thy mind, O my son Alexander, that thou hast stretched out thy hand against me and hast cast me into this pit ?” Alexander answered and said to him, “O teacher, what is upon earth thou dost not know, [and yet] thou dost investigate that which is in the heavens; it did not become thee, seeing that thou knewest not what is upon earth, to dare to investigate and examine and vex thyself with what is in the heavens.” Then Nectanebus lifted up his voice and said to him, “I knew, O my son, that some such thing as this would befall me, but I was unable to help my life in any way, for no man is able to flee from what is decreed.” Alexander answered and said to him, “I blame also thy lack of knowledge, in that thou didst say that thy death would happen by the hands of thy son, and thou didst not know that thou shouldest die by my hands.” Then Nectanebus said, “I did indeed say that I should die through my son, and I have not lied in what I said, for thou thyself art my son.” Alexander said, “Am I thy son?” Then Nectanebus answered, “Hear, my son, what I say regarding thee, that thou mayest know about thyself!” So Nectanebus went on to speak from the beginning, of his being king when he was in Egypt, and of the rumour which was reported to him by the spy; of the divination in the bowl, and of his foreknowledge of the betrayal of Egypt by the hands of its gods; of his flight from Egypt, of his arrival in Pella, and of his teaching the ordering of the signs of the zodiac; of his thoughts concerning Olympias, of his desire for her love, and of his sorcery; of Ammon, and Heracles, and Dionysus, and of his union with Olympias, and of her pregnancy; of Philip’s dream, of the serpent, and of the heaven of constellations. And when he had spoken these words, his soul departed from him and he died.

Now when Alexander knew that Philip was not his father, but that he was begotten of the seed of Nectanebus, he was afraid to leave the body of Nectanebus in the pit lest wild beasts should devour it Then love of his father entered into his mind, and he took up the body upon his shoulders, and came back to the royal palace. When Olympias saw Alexander carrying the body of Nectanebus, she said to him, “A second Telamonian Ajax! what is this that thou art carrying, my son?” Alexander answered and said to her, “Aeneas carried his father upon his shoulders affectionately and lovingly, because [Anchises] was an old man and decrepit; but I carry this body cruelly and as a parricide.” Olympias said to him, “Hast thou slain thy father Philip?” Alexander said, “I have not slain Philip, but Nectanebus have I slain.” Olympias said to him, “Was Nectanebus then thy father?” Alexander said, “Yes; the gods sent him to thee according to the will which they had.” And he forthwith laid down the body from his shoulder and began to speak of the time of the night at which he went forth, and of the pointing out [by Nectanebus] of the constellations, and of the pit, and of his pushing [him in], and of what he said, and of his replies.

When Olympias heard all these things, she blamed herself, and [wondered] how Alexander was able to carry so great a body upon his shoulders; and in the midst of her affliction she derived consolation from the strength of the youth, [thinking] that, although she had fallen and had been led astray, it was no mean man that had seduced her, but a king of Egypt, and that her pregnancy had taken place by the fate of the gods. And when the boy had said these words, he turned to the corpse of Nectanebus, and buried his father as a son should do, and like an Egyptian in the burial place of his caste; and he said to him, “Who will be master of the constellations after thee, and will know who shall be king?”

[15] Then Philip returned from whence he had gone, and sent his servants to Polias the diviner at Delphi to ask of the diviner, that he might know who would be king after him. When they drew near, and came to the fountain of Castalia, they asked an augury. And the virgin Pythia answered them saying, “Say ye to Philip, the father and lord of Macedonia, ‘He that shall receive the kingdom, being sent by the gods, the rulers of the world, to this kingdom of the Macedonians, this is the sign that I have seen concerning him; he shall make the mighty steed which is called Bucephalus (the interpretation of which is Bull-head) run through Pella.’ “And when those who had been sent to bring the augury returned to Philip, they told this sign to him, and he, after he had received this augury, used to watch when he might see this sign; and he used to enquire of every one who made a horse run through Pella what its name was and how it was called.

[16] Now when Alexander was nearly old enough to reign, he went to a distance to the place [where Bucephalus was kept]; and he looked and saw from the door, and went out and saw the horse guarded by on iron grating, with its whole body bound with chains; and he saw that the horse was very excited and furious. By reason of the smell of the human bones and skulls which he devoured, the place itself was foul, and the horse emitted a foetid odour from his mouth. When Alexander saw the many human bones lying under him near his feet, he questioned those who had the care of him, saying, “I want to know what is the reason that this horse is bound in this manner ?” And they said to him, “This horse is a man-eater.” Now when Alexander heard this speech, he marvelled and drew near to the iron grating, and admired the strength and size and beauty of the horse. He was especially struck with wonder at his being so terrible and at his fierce appearance. And after the horse took no notice of him, he put his hands gently through the railings, and put a bit into his mouth; and the horse licked the hand of Alexander with his tongue. Then Alexander began to rub his side and legs, and he was quiet.

And when he saw that the horse was gratified, he commanded and they took away the railings from him. And he led the horse out, holding the bridle with his right hand, while with the left he stroked the horse’s body, and the horse wagged his tail like a dog. And when Alexander saw that he was so gentle, he led him by the bridle and brought him out into the street, and he saw upon the right side of the horse a birthmark in the form of a wolf, a sign that was born with him, and this wolf held a bull in its mouth. Then [Alexander] mounted and rode upon him, and made him run through the city [of Pella]. Now it happened that Philip was sitting upon the wall of the city, making the horsemen pass before him by number, and he enquired of them the names of their horses, if peradventure there might be one who had a horse called Bull-head, for he had learned the augury from the diviner. And while Philip was sitting upon the wall, Alexander came up to him at a gallop; and when Philip saw Alexander guiding the horse with his hand and standing upon his feet, he said, “My son Alexander, the whole oracle refers to thee; I believe that after my death thou wilt reign, and that thou wilt rule the whole world.”

[17] Then Alexander, after he had made the horse gallop, took him away and put him in his own stable; and he drew near to Aristotle the sage and saluted him, and answered and said, “Peace be with thee, my teacher.” And Aristotle answered and said to him, “Peace be with thee, Alexander; come and stand by the side of thy companions in order.” And when he had taken his place by the side of his fellows, Aristotle answered and said to him, “Be thou rich, O son of a king ! O excellent youth, filled with wealth, if the kingdom comes to thee after thy father, what wilt thou give me or wherewith wilt thou enrich me?” He replied, “O teacher, if the dominion comes to me, I will make thee a ruler.” And he said to another, “And thou, what sayest thou to me Kalkalva?” Kalkalva answered and said to him, “I will make thee my secret counsellor.” And he said to another, “And thou, what wouldst thou give me, Partion?” And he said, “I will make thee a companion and associate.” And he said to Alexander, “And thou, what wouldst thou give me, Alexander?” Alexander answered and said to him, “Ask not now concerning that which is future, and take not a pledge of me for the morrow: wait and see if I live until the morrow; and if I live, I will do that something, and times and seasons are commanded for me.” And Aristotle said, “Peace be with thee, O Alexander, ruler of the world! From thy nature thou art known to be the future ruler of the world.” Now Philip heard all these things concerning Alexander, and when he heard them he rejoiced greatly; he was however a little grieved in his mind that the looks of Alexander did not resemble his own.

Now Alexander was exceedingly liberal in everything; accordingly, that which his father and mother were wont to send him for expenses, he divided among his friends. Then Zintôs (Zeuxis), Alexander’s tutor, sent a letter to Philip and Olympias, and in it there was written thus: “To my lords Philip and Olympias from your servant Zintôs greeting. Know ye that what ye send to Alexander for his expenses is not sufficient for him, because he distributes it all in gifts; and now see and look into this matter, and do according to what appears right unto you.”

When Philip had read this letter, he wrote a letter to Aristotle, Alexander’s teacher [as follows]: “From Philip and Olympias to Aristotle, greeting. Our servant Zintôs, whom we have sent for the purpose of educating and training Alexander, has made known to us by letter that what we send him for expenses is not sufficient for him, because he gives many presents; now he thus informs us as if blaming and murmuring against thee, and it is of thee he complains.”

When Aristotle had heard this, he wrote a letter to Philip and to Olympias his wife and made answer [saying]: “In every way it beseems us [to acknowledge] that this giving of presents by Alexander proceeds from us and is the result of our teaching. Ye also yourselves have examined and seen that he is wise and superior in everything, and in knowledge and understanding he is not at all like [other] youths, but he is well fitted by his wisdom for the business of life; neither does he do anything unseemly or improper, but everything whatsoever ye command him that he does.”

Then Philip sent this letter to Zintôs the tutor, and he himself wrote to him thus and said: “From Philip and Olympias to our servant Zintôs greeting. We wrote and informed Aristotle, Alexander’s teacher, concerning his affairs, according to what thou didst write to us, and we desire that the answer which he sent to us should be conveyed to thee. Do thou therefore take it and read it, and do thou what is right and proper.”

After Aristotle knew that Alexander’s father complained of him, he wrote a letter to Alexander, and in it thus informed him: “From me to my son Alexander greeting. Philip thy father and Olympias thy mother have written and informed me, saying, ‘That which we sent for expenses is not sufficient for him, because he distributes it all in gifts.’ Now I know that thou wilt not do what is not right, and I know not from whom thou hast learned this practice, which thy father and thy mother disapprove of and I too; but if thou hast done anything which befits not thy skilled knowledge, in thy wisdom correct it, O wise and beloved son. Be thou well.”

When Alexander had read this letter, he immediately made answer to Aristotle: “From thy son Alexander to Aristotle, my master and chief and teacher, greeting. What my father and mother send me for expenses is not sufficient, nor is it adequate for me; and instead of doing that which was right when they heard that the amount was too small for my expenses, that is, to blame themselves, they now complain bitterly [of others].”

And Alexander also wrote a letter to Philip his father and Olympias his mother, in which was as follows: “From Alexander to Philip and Olympias greeting. That which ye have sent to me for my expenses by the hands of Zintôs is not sufficient, for I am Alexander; and, moreover, I have not spent it in an improper manner. I have also seen Aristotle’s letter, and I will never blame Aristotle, because from him I have received knowledge and instruction in good things: but I do blame you, because ye have shown such parsimony to me, who am your son, while ye also blame me and cease not, and think nothing good of me.”

[18] So the youth Alexander returned from school, being fifteen years of age, and came home with honour. And when Philip saw him, he embraced him and kissed him. Then Alexander said to his father, “Bid me, O my father, to embark in a ship and go to Pisa, for I would enter and see the horse and chariot races.” Philip says to him, “Dost thou desire to see the contest ?” Alexander says, “Nay, my father, but I will go thither myself to the contest, and will contend with them with horses and chariots, and I will moreover bring back the crown of victory.” When Philip heard these words, he rejoiced, and said to Alexander, “Go, my son, and good luck go with thee. I know, my son, that thou wilt not contend like a king’s son, but like a king himself; and I will entreat the gods that thou mayest return with victory, my son. Go now into the stables, and [take] forty colts and sixty wheels and chariots, together with harness and bridles and everything which thou mayest require, that thou mayest not lack horses in the contest. Take too ten thousand darics for thy expenses, and go, my son, and good luck go with thee; and keep thyself in good training, for this contest is great and renowned. And Alexander said, “Do thou but give me the command, and I will go without taking aught; for I have trained horses and exercised colts, which I myself have trained. Then Philip kissed Alexander, and admired him for his will and purpose, and said to him , “My son, everything shall be according to thy wish.”

And Philip went with him to the harbour, and commanded to bring a ship. Then he commanded to bring the horses, the chariots, and the baggage, and they brought them and placed them in the ship. And Alexander and his friend Hephaestion embarked in the ship. And they loosed the ship and departed from their kinsfolk. And when they had disembarked from the ship, they received many gifts from their friends; and Alexander commanded his servants to feed the horses regularly and to anoint them with oil; and he and his friend Hephaestion went to the place where the nobles were wont to walk.

And while he was walking in this place in the costume of an athlete, Nicolaus the king of Ârêtâ, who had brought a large retinue to the contest and combat, saw that Alexander was small in stature (now Nicolaus was huge in stature, rich in property, great in strength, and fair in appearance), and he answered and said, “Who is this ? and from what country does he come?” And when he had learnt that he was the son of king Philip, and had come on account of the contest, he answered and said to him, “Peace be with thee;” and Alexander answered him, “Peace be with thee; and who art thou?” Nicolaus said, “As whom dost thou greet me ? I am Nicolaus of Hâlêâ, and the son of Karyânâ. And Alexander said, “Do not boast of this, and be not insolent (?) on account of such things, and do not be out of thy senses because of thy royalty, because thou knowest not the manner of thy death; for thy fortune and fate, O Nicolaus, remain not in one place; for this fickle fortune has the habit of departing even from him that is great, and of going to him that is little.” Nicolaus said to him, “Thou hast spoken rightly as regards one that is weak, and hast made known that thy fate is thus; but my fate does not change in this manner, neither does it depart. Now, therefore, inform me of thy business, and for what reason thou hast now come hither, whether to see the contest, or to take part in it; for thy stature and thy appearance are not like those of an athlete.” Alexander said, “Get thee gone from my presence, for it is not to be seen that thou art in any way like me.” Nicolaus said, “I asked thee this question, for what thou hadst come hither, whether to see this contest or to take part in it, because thou art the son of Philip the Macedonian.” Alexander said, “If thou desirest to hear and to know, give me thine ear and I will tell thee. I am not one of those who will look on at the struggle, but I am one of those who will perform valiant deeds at the contest; and though I be little and short in stature, yet I am mighty in chariot races, and I will defeat the proud” When Nicolaus heard this speech, his gall was stirred up within him, and he answered and said, “Look and see to what a pass this strife of Zeus has come, that even a mere boy, the son of Olympias, has come to take part in it, and so we think that it is the sport of children. By the life of my father, if they should make only a sprinkling of drops of water come to his mouth upon his chariot, his soul would depart from his body.” Then he looked at him from head to foot, and despised him greatly, and spat, saying, “Go, get thyself a rag, and wipe away thy sweat with it, because thou art famished, and thy sweat is abundant.” And he shot out his lip at him, thinking him to be already dead and not alive. Then Alexander said to him, “Nicolaus, I swear this oath by the race of my gods and ancestors, and by my conception from the divine seed in the womb of my mother, that in this contest I will defeat thee in the strife of horses and chariots; and I will come to thy country, and will subdue thee and all the people therein with the point of my spear.” And when he had spoken these words, they separated one from the other.

[19] And on the third day all the athletes went prepared to the race-course and to the place of the contest with horses and chariots. Now the athletes were nine in number, and four of them were king’s sons; the fifth was Nicolaus, the son of Hêlââ and king Keryânâ; the sixth, Kestios, the king of the Philippians (?); the seventh, Ksosios (?), the king of Bithynia; the eighth, Alexander the son of Philip, the king of the Macedonians; and the ninth, Aristoteles of Pisa(?); with the rest of the . . . and the chariots from various places. Callimachus from Akîmtarnêtos (?), Anistippos (Aristippus) from Corinth, Trîdît (?) from Arôntîr (?), Sephîlââ (?) from Lêbâria (?), Elkârôn (?) from Phocis, Armitos (?) from Lôdâ (?), Nîkînâmos (?) from Krîmîtos (?), Pardânîs (?) from Klôphiôn (?), all these were assembled together in one place. And they placed a boat of silver in the midst of the race-course, and this boat was of pure silver. And they proclaimed the names of the horses that were yoked to the chariots, and they made the horses stand beside the gates. The first gate fell by lot to Nicolaus, the second to Kestos, the third to Bantîrâ Eustanîkâ (?), the fourth to Klîtmaos (Cleitomachus), the fifth to Adastâos (?), the sixth to Ksômios (?), the seventh to Kôrantîdos (?), the eighth to Alexander, the ninth to Nîkômos (?). Now these athletes were clothed in garments of various colours; the first had put on sky-blue apparel, the second and third scarlet robes, the fourth green vestments, the fifth and sixth yellow apparel, the seventh dark blue clothing, and the eighth and ninth purple raiment.

So they mounted the chariots, and the war trumpets were sounded; and the athletes punished the horses with bit and whipcord, and suddenly the horses started and went forth with a rush, each contending as to who should get first; and they urged on their horses with lashes. Now Ksîtos (?) got foremost, Nicolaus second, Timotheus third, Elîkiôr (?) fourth, Klinathmâchos (Cleitomachus) fifth, Philaeus (Piêris) sixth, Aristoteles seventh, Nicolaus eighth, and Alexander ninth. [They kept this order] in the first, second and third rounds; but in the fourth round the chariot of Kestios (?) was overturned, and the horses and chariot and rider fell head over heels. Then Nicodemus turned his horses to the left, and wished to pass through them all and get first in the race, but he too stumbled over the chariot of Kestios. Then Kimrênêos (?), when he wished to turn his horses to the right, was unable to pass because of those that were overthrown. Then Elîkiôr too stumbled over the chariot of Kimotheus, and fell. And Klinathmâchos (Cleitomachus) wished to turn back his horses and chariot from the midst [of the strife], but was unable to do so on account of the horses and chariots which were overthrown before and behind him; and he too fell. When Nicolaus saw that Alexander was behind all these, he wished that Alexander would pass on to the front, and that he might be behind him, in order to throw him down and kill him; and Nicolaus began to turn his horses aside from before those of Alexander. Now Alexander understood this artifice of Nicolaus who was wishing to kill him. When Nicolaus had turned his horses to the left, Alexander saw an empty space between two chariots which had been upset and overthrown, and he guided his horses before Nicolaus, and passed through that spot to the front. When Nicolaus saw that he had passed him, he guided his horses after him; but when he reached the spot through which Alexander had passed to the front, he was upset by the struggling of the horses which were down, and fell. Then Alexander began to urge on his horses alone; [but Nicolaus], in order to save himself, leaped out of his chariot, and stood upon his feet, and began to call out, saying, “O thou that art not able to conquer lawfully, there thou runnest by thyself! Every one knows that the foremost was overturned and fell, until the arena was full; and now thou runnest by thyself, and thinkest to receive the crown of victory !” Now, inasmuch as the people of Pisa were spectators and judges at this contest, they commanded all the tumult to cease, and made a proclamation by their heralds to all the people who were sitting in that place, saying, “O men of Pisa, dwellers in the city and its suburbs, and ye too, O Athenians, and ye people who have come from a multitude of places, we declare that we all have seen that, when Ksîtos (?) was first in the race, he was tripped up among the horses and fell, and the other six charioteers stumbled over him. Moreover Alexander drove on contrary to the rules of the contest. Let them therefore return, and bring back their horses.”

Then in accordance with this command, they brought Alexander back and ordered that other horses should be yoked to the chariots in the place of the eight on the left side, because that horse of Ksîtos (?) had been injured. And when they had spoken in this manner, and each charioteer had changed one of his horses and had put another in his place, then Alexander too changed one horse and yoked Bucephalus in his stead. So they all returned to the gate of the race-course; and when they were ready, the trumpet sounded again, and they all started together, and urged on their horses with severe lashing, all [running] furiously until they reached the farthest turn together. Now when they had reached the turn, Nîkîmos (Nicodemus) passed first, Elîkôr second, Philaeus third, Alexander fourth, Nicolaus fifth, Aristippus sixth, Krîtomachos (Cleitomachus) seventh, Timotheus eighth, Kastîs (?) ninth. They went the first, second and third rounds, and at the fourth round the horses of Aristippus lagged behind the horses of Kritomachus (Cleitomachus), and Kîmîs (Nicodemus) restrained his horses, and turned and went to one side. Then Alexander, who had been fourth, became first; and after him Nicolaus was foremost. He wished to let Alexander pass a little ahead that he might come up with him and kill him, on account of the enmity which existed between Philip, Alexander’s father, and himself, for Philip had taken by force a number of villages and their inhabitants from Nicolaus. Then Alexander, being full of wisdom, gave Nicolaus room to pass before him. Now after he had passed Alexander in this way, he was meditating some means whereby he might gain the crown of victory, so he stopped his chariot before Alexander, and beckoned with his hand to Nicanor (Elîkiôr ?) and Pîthâos (Philaeus ?), as much as to say, “Do ye who are behind me keep to the left side,” to the intent that they might get Alexander between them and might lay hold of him and kill him. Then Elîkiôr (?) and Pîthâos (Philaeus) turned their horses to the left behind Alexander; and when they had come close to Alexander’s chariot in this manner, so that Alexander was already contending with these two, then Nicolaus looked behind him from his chariot, and stooped down to lay hold of the thongs of the bridles of Alexander’s horses that his two allies might come up with him. Then Alexander turned his whip upon his horse Bucephalus, and smote him without sparing upon his back, until the horse was beside himself with rage and fury, and raised his fore feet in the air, and struck at Nicolaus, who died immediately with his hand upon the bridle of the horses. And again Alexander smote Bucephalus with the lash mercilessly and pitilessly, until the horse, from the pain of the blows, stretched forward his mouth and seized the right hand of Nicolaus between his teeth and lifted him from his chariot. Now Nicodemus, wishing to come to the assistance of Nicolaus, drove his horses with care, and when he had come alongside of Alexander’s chariot, he smote Bucephalus violently upon his head with a stick. Then Bucephalus let go Nicolaus, who was already dead, and seized Nicodemus by his left hand, arid dragged him from his chariot. Nicodemus, crying out and shrieking with pain, begged Elîkiôr to come to his assistance. Then Alexander guided his horses to the left, and when he (Elîkiôr) had come up alongside of Nicodemus, he (Alexander) turned again from the left [to the right], and Elîkiôr was tripped up by the axle of Alexander’s chariot wheels, and fell head foremost, he and the horses and the chariot; and he died together with his horses.

Then Alexander obtained the victory mightily and gloriously, and gained the four crowns of victory. And a herald proclaimed in the race-course, “These four crowns of victory belong to Alexander the son of Olympias and of Philip the king of the Macedonians; [the judges] have awarded them to him for his strength and his might and his victory.” Now the names of the horses that were yoked to Alexander’s chariot were these: the first Ksithîdos (Xanthus?), the second Îdâdô (?); the third Achlios (or Ulios ?); the fourth Bucephalus; and by the might and strength of these four horses he obtained the victory over four athletes, Nicolaus, Nicodemus, Elîkiôr and Phîlâdâos (Philaeus). Thus by good fortune Alexander won the crown, and with his horses obtained the victory; and he turned to go to his mother Olympias. Now when he had come to Iûnûsia (?) the priest, [he said to him], “Receive this crown which Zeus has given to thee;” and he answered and said to him, “Now thou hast vanquished Nicolaus; so also wilt thou vanquish all nations and peoples which dwell upon the earth and [all] thine enemies.”

[20] After Alexander had received this augury, he went to Pella. And when he had arrived there, he asked for his father; and he found his mother Olympias divorced by Philip and put away from being his wife. Now on that very day Philip was going to take a certain woman whose name was Cleopatra, the daughter of king Athlîs (Attalus), to be his wife. And when all the guests were seated before Philip, Alexander came in amongst those that sat at meat. And when he saw his father Philip reclining like a bridegroom at the head of the table, he went straight in with his horses, and said to his father, “Receive from me these crowns of victory, the fruits of this my first labour. I will give my mother Olympias to another king to wife, but I will not invite thee to the feast, even as thou hast not waited for me until I returned.” And when he had spoken these words, he drew near just as he was, in the dress of an athlete, and sat down by his father, with his garments unwashed from the mud and stains of the contest. At these words Philip was filled with anger.

[21] Now there was a certain man called Lysias, Philip’s jester, who was sitting with him on the same couch. This Lysias answered and said to Philip, “O Philip, thou possessest a number of countries; if from thy youth until now thou hadst had a wife like Cleopatra, thou wouldst now have had a son, and him not from adultery, and his look and face would have been exactly like thine.”

When Alexander heard this speech, he was at once greatly enraged, and he overturned the table which stood by the couch, and took a dish, and hurled it suddenly at the head of Lysias, whose soul immediately departed from him and he died. When Philip saw these things, he seized a carver’s knife, and leaped among the guests, and wished to stab Alexander; but when he got near to him, he stumbled and fell heavily. When Alexander saw this, he answered and said to him, “He who wishes to seize and enslave the land of Asia, is unable to go a single step among his guests, and cannot save himself from stumbling!” And having said this, he drew near and went and took the knife from the hands of Philip and smote the guests and left them half dead, Rphîthôn and Kîlîtârôn with the rest of their companions; and the house was filled with the slain as at yon time [when Ulysses slew] those who were because of Pkîtîrpos (Penelope).

[22] Now after Alexander had acted in this manner, and had taken vengeance upon the guests and gone forth, the servants took Philip who was sick and laid him upon a bed, and carried him into a bed chamber, and his sickness was very sore. After a few days, Alexander went to Philip, and sat by his side, and said to him, “O Philip (for now I call thee by thy name, and perhaps it might not be pleasing to thee were I to call thee father, nor from this time will I call thee by the name of father), I have not come to thee of my own will, - [for] thou art not my father, nor I thy son, - but I have come as a friend and an associate, that I may be a mediator between thee and thy wife in respect of that which thou hast violently done unto her. But since I stood up at the beginning, I will not make [many] words. Tell me this: did Alexander act in an unbecoming manner when he slew Lysias, who spoke that disgraceful speech mockingly? and didst thou thyself act well when thou didst rise up and lift a knife upon thy son? And thou wishest to take another woman to wife, and wantest to forsake the wife who has not done thee any wrong! Rise now and heal thyself, for thy disease is not bodily but mental; for a man becomes more ill through a mental than through a bodily ailment Now therefore I Alexander will go and beg of my mother and persuade her to make peace with thee again. My father, - I have again done wrong in that I have called thee father, but although I do not wish to call thee by this name, yet nature, acknowledges that which is the truth.” And when he had thus spoken, tears were flowing from Philip’s eyes.

When Alexander saw Philip weeping, he went to his mother, and said to her, “O my mother, be not angry any longer at that wrong which my father has done, for he has not forgotten the offence which thou thyself didst commit against him, and the more so since I am the mediator, whom they call a Macedonian, though I am in truth an Egyptian. Now therefore, O my mother, go in and first of all entreat thy husband that he may be reconciled to thee, for it is right that thou shouldest be subservient to thy husband inasmuch as thou art a woman.” And when he had spoken these things to his mother, holding her by her hand, he went to his father. Philip was lying on his bed, and had turned his face to the wall. Alexander answered and said to Philip, “O my father - for henceforward I will call thee father, and I do not shun what is right, - turn thy face hither, for behold I have brought my mother, and have set her before thee, having implored her with many prayers and much entreaty until she gave her consent. I have moreover persuaded and begged of her to forget the offence which thou didst commit against her and to put it away from her mind. And now do ye embrace one another before me who am your son, and be ye now reconciled, that I too may be happy in reconciling and re-uniting you who begat me, and in urging you to make peace with one another.” By this speech he reconciled his father and mother, and on account of this all who dwelt in Macedonia applauded Alexander, and every one held his wife in honour, and because of the death of Lysias, every one guarded his mouth from speaking calumny.

[23] Whilst these things were taking place, a certain city called Methônê had rebelled against the sovereignty of Philip, and he sent Alexander thither to make an end of the inhabitants by war. When Alexander had gone thither, he persuaded the people of the city by his words to return to the service of Philip; and the people of that city did so through Alexander’s words and admonition, and went back to the service of Philip.

When Alexander had returned from thence and come back, he found men in the garb of foreigners sitting at the gate of Philip. Alexander asked them, “Who are ye?” They said to him, “We are satraps, servants of Darius the king.” Alexander says to them, “For what purpose have ye come?” They say to him, “To receive the customary tribute from Philip thy father.” Alexander said to them, “By whom have ye been sent?” The satraps say, “We have been sent by Darius the king of the Persians.” Alexander said to them, “And for what is the tribute ye receive?” They say to him, “In lieu of lands and waters.” He says to them, “Why does your master lay tribute upon what God has appointed and given for food? It is not right for Philip, being a Greek, to give tribute to the Persians.

“By the good fortune of Zeus, this is a matter of greed and not of royalty; now therefore turn and go, and say to your lord Darius, ‘When Philip had no children, his hens used to lay golden eggs, but from the time that his son Alexander has been born, they have become barren, and do not lay eggs any longer. Now I will go thither in person, and will take the tribute from thee which until now thou hast received from my father.’” And when he had spoken these words to them, they departed from the gate of Philip, and he deigned not to give them a written answer. Now when those ambassadors perceived the pride, the greatness, and the understanding of Alexander; they wondered, and when they heard his wisdom and his well-trained words, they marvelled. And they hired and brought a very skilful painter, and said to him, “Paint Alexander accurately upon linen just as he is,” that they might take it to their own country. And when he had painted him, they took the picture and went to their own land; and Philip rejoiced, when he saw the wittiness of Alexander’s speech and the might of his deeds.

Again the country of the Armenians was disturbed, and Philip sent Alexander thither with a large army of soldiers, that he might either bring them to peace or contend with them in battle.

[24] And when Alexander had departed from his father, a certain man named Theosîdos - a small man and slight in body, purse-proud and honoured because of his money, who had come from the land of the Thessalonians and had a multitude of slaves, and whose mind and heart were inflamed with love for Olympian and because of his love for her he gave goods and gifts to many people of the city, and communicated his secret to them - this man sought to slay Philip by some means, for he saw that Alexander was not in the country. Now in those days there was in the city an amphitheatre which was called the Olympic, and certain people, partisans of Theosîdos, by his instruction and advice, begged Philip with tumult and clamour to go with them and see the contest of the athletes. And Philip, because he was unacquainted with the craft of Theosîdos, was persuaded to look on with them. Now in the middle of the spectacle the partisans of Theosîdos made a disturbance and an uproar in the theatre by his advice and command. Theosîdos himself was outside the theatre, and when he heard the uproar and disturbance, he rejoiced, and together with his partisans armed himself and went into the theatre, and gave people to understand that he had come in to assist Philip Then he brandished the spear that was in his hand, and pretending that he was going to smite another, cast it and pierced the heart of Philip, whilst feigning to be a helper of the king. Philip straightway fell to the ground, and Theosîdos with his companions went out at once from the theatre, because they thought that Philip was already dead, but his life yet remained in him. Then Theosîdos went swiftly to the royal palace, and going to Philip’s apartment, he seized Olympias unexpectedly and carried her off to another apartment in the palace, for he thought that Philip was dead, and he said to himself, “Alexander is still a boy, and Philip is dead; therefore, if I take Olympias to wife, I myself will become king.”

Now on that day Alexander returned with victory from the war with the Armenians, and came to the city of Pella; and when he saw that the whole city was in an uproar, he asked, “What is the reason that the city is thus disturbed ?” And when he had learned what had happened, he was furiously angry, and went on horseback to the palace, and found Theosîdos and Olympias there, and at once raising up his whip, he smote Theosîdos as Heracles smote Armînos (?), because he held Olympias in his embrace, for Theosîdos wished to escape and save himself. Now Alexander was very near slaying his mother too. And when Theosîdos had fallen, and Olympias saw her son Alexander, she lifted up her voice and wept at the change her fortune and lot had undergone. And when Alexander heard that Philip was still alive, he gave orders to carry Theosîdos tied to poles, and he went to his father. And when he saw that Philip was near death, he wept bitterly and bade them raise him up from the couch; and when they had lifted him up, he put a sword in his hand, and made Theosîdos stand before him, while his life was still in him, and he said to Philip, “This is he that slew thee.” And Philip said, “Is this he?” And Alexander said to him, “Yea, it is he.” Then Philip stabbed Theosîdos with the sword and slew him.

And he said, “O my son Alexander, my soul will not depart in sorrow, since I with my own hands have slain him that slew me. My son, mighty and great shalt thou be, for I call to mind the day of thy conception, when the god Ammon spoke to Olympias thy mother, saying, ‘Behold in thy womb is one who shall avenge the cause of his father and his mother;’ and thus my son has avenged the cause of both of us.” And immediately Philip died. And Alexander with his nobles and the princes of the Macedonians buried him honourably, and Olympias too went to the grave on foot.

[25] And when Alexander had returned from the grave, he gave orders to inform the Macedonians that they should assemble on the morrow in the midst of the city by the pedestal of the statue of Philip his father; and he himself came there, and all the Macedonians gathered together unto him. Then Alexander went up and stood by the statue of his father, and lifted up his voice, and said to the Macedonians, “To you I speak, ye inhabitants of the land, Macedonians, Thracians , Greeks, Thessalonians, and peoples of every race; to you too, O Amphictyons and the rest of all the peoples of the Greeks, and you Athenians and Corinthians; hear my speech and the counsel I with which I counsel you, and trust yourselves to me, and form a league with me, that we may go against the barbarians our enemies, and may free ourselves from the bondage of the Persians, and bring them into bondage to us, and subjugate them to ourselves.” And when he had said this, many applauded him; and he came down from the statue and gave orders to write letters to every country and city under his rule, as follows: “Let everyone who approves of my advice come to the city of Pella.”

Then many troops of men came with good and ready will, as if a god were urging them on. Then Alexander opened the door of his father’s treasury, and clothed every man with all kinds of armour. But when he commanded those who had carried arms in the bodyguard of Philip his father to take them up again, they answered and said to him, “O good king Alexander, we are grey-haired and aged men, and we have been with thy father Philip in a number of wars during the whole time he was in the world, and we have become wearied and exhausted by many battles, and we speak truly before thee when we say that we have not sufficient strength in our bodies to bear arms; therefore we now ask to be excused from military duty and service.”

When they had spoken these words, Alexander looked on them with a gloomy face and said to them in anger, “I desire particularly that ye should go with me to war. It is true that ye are grey-haired and aged, but all kinds of warfare have been experienced and seen by you more than by these young men, for the aged by their experience and knowledge are stronger than those who are in the vigour of youth. Many a time, therefore, when young men neglect the safety of their lives, and do something which it was not their intention to do, they come into difficulties and distresses thereby; but as for you, ye grey-headed and aged men, I know that ye first of all consider carefully, so that, when ye are about to do something, no mistake or [cause for] repentance may arise thereby. Now therefore go ye with me to the war, and be ye with me as ye were with my father; for I desire that ye go with me in this capacity, not that ye should make war, but go with me as persons of tried knowledge and experience. Ye will be a shield to the young men, and the knowledge of the aged will be thus mingled willingly with the strength of the young; and so we shall obtain a great victory, and the aged shall serve for knowledge to the youth, and shall rescue and deliver [them] from troubles like a shield. And this too I wish you to know, that the victory of the young is the life of the old, while the defeat of the young is affliction and trouble to the old. Therefore, ye veterans, rejoice and exult in the victory, and divide the crowns of victory with them, for by your knowledge and experience and understanding, ye veterans, the young men will become conquerors.”

With these words then Alexander encouraged Philip’s bodyguard, and persuaded them to go to the war; and they consented, and drew near and received arms from Alexander.

[26] The horsemen also gathered together to Alexander in countless numbers, as did the foot soldiers who served willingly, and the troops of Philip his father, 50,000; Thessalonians, 30,000; Greeks of every tribe, together with the Pokotolanians (Paphlagonians ?) and Lacedaemonians, 80,000; Skophians (Scythians ?), 60,000; Corinthians, 70,000 [besides the former 70,000 which he had sent]; in all 270,000. He armed these out of the armoury of Philip his father.

[27] And he made them embark in triremes and in large transport ships, and put to sea, and he made the Macedonians dwell by the sea Dîthâos (?) and Thrace, which was under his dominion.

[28] And [from thence] by Lucania and Sicily he came to Rome. And as soon as the inhabitants of Rome heard [of his arrival], they sent him six hundred talents of gold by the hands of their chiefs, together with the golden crown of Zeus which was in the Capitol, one hundred pounds of gold [in weight], and they brought it as a gift before Alexander. They also sent one thousand horsemen as auxiliaries to Alexander’s army, and they entreated him to take vengeance for them upon the Chalkidonians (Carthaginians), who had rebelled against them. Then Alexander said to them, “I will do you this favour because of this honour which ye have done me; and I will recompense you for this honour by subduing your enemies in war, while the victory in the war I will give to you.”

[29] Then Alexander set out from Italy, and came by sea to Africa. And when the generals of the Africans had heard the fame of him, they came to him and entreated him, saying, “Free our city from the Romans.” Then Alexander was angry at this speech, and said to them, “O Carthaginians, either be yourselves brave, or give tribute to the brave.” When they heard this speech, they set their faces to war, and they all went and armed themselves, and they could not be persuaded to come to Alexander. Then Alexander made war upon them; and when they fought, they were unable to stand before the army of Alexander. Then they returned and entreated him, saying, “Permit not the Romans to rule over us.” Again Alexander said to them, “Ye Carthaginians, I have [already] said to you, ‘Either be yourselves brave or give tribute to the brave.’ Now therefore go, and whatever tribute is right for you to give, of that give justly; for henceforward [the Romans] shall receive tribute from you.” When the Carthaginians saw that they had no remedy, they made a statue of brass to Alexander and set it in the midst of the city: and they made a box of wood and fastened it upon a stone in front of the feet of the statue. They then collected the tribute of their country for four years, and placed it in the box; and the Romans waited for four years, and then they came and took that tribute and carried it to Rome.

[30] And Alexander departed from the Carthaginians, and made some of the troops put to sea in ships and vessels, and commanded them to remain opposite the islands of the Plâthâyê while he went parallel to them on the land with a few troops to the country of Libya. From thence he dismissed all the troops of the Alômôhdâyê (?), because he offered sacrifices there to the god Ammon, especially because he remembered the words of Olympias his mother, which she spoke to him, saying, “Thou wert begotten by Ammon, the god of Libya.” And Alexander answered and said to the god, “If the words be true which my mother Olympias spoke to me saying, ‘I bore thee to the god Ammon of Libya,’ show it me to-day in a dream.” Now when Alexander was asleep, he saw in a dream the god Ammon speaking with him and saying, “Thou art of my race, and thou hast in thee parts of the characteristics of four gods; and if thou dost not believe that it is possible for a mortal and corruptible man to be born of the race of an immortal and incorruptible god, I tell thee that they are able, as men, to be of the race of the gods, not in respect of the nature of the body, but in respect of wisdom, intelligence and fore-knowledge. Therefore by the union of the race of the gods with men, they are able both to know and to do everything that is marvellous and difficult in the world. Now thou hast in thee somewhat of the race of the serpent, and of Heracles, and of Dionysus, and of Ammon. Through the serpent thou wilt encircle the whole world like a dragon; through Heracles thou wilt be strong like Heracles, and thou wilt show forth in thy person the finding of power and might; through Dionysus thou wilt be continually in pleasure, and merriment, and joy; and through Ammon who is like myself, thou wilt hold a rich sceptre, and thou wilt be lord of the world in royalty and wealth. As regards these words, have then no doubt.” When Alexander had seen all these things in his dream, he awoke from his sleep, and commanded that a statue of brass should be made to Ammon in the midst of the temple of Ammon, and he set it up on a pillar, and upon the base of the pillar he wrote thus: “This statue Alexander his son made to his father Ammon, and set it up in this temple.”

And again, when he was dreaming, he made supplication to the god Ammon, and said, “O my father, show me the place where to build a great city which shall be named after me, and from which my memory shall not pass away.” And again the god Ammon appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Alexander, king of the Macedonians, I grant thee to build a city in . . . in the fields where they plough the furrows, and it shall be famous and renowned, and possessions and wealth shall abound in it, and the supreme god shall dwell therein. Around it shall be the river Nile, and it shall water its fields with abundant moisture, and many shall be nourished by its produce, for this river without any [human] labour will lay the hamlets and arable lands beneath its irrigation, and no damage shall arise therefrom.”

[31] And when he had seen this vision in his dream, and had quitted the land of the Amôndîkâyê (?), a stag came towards him. When he saw that stag, he turned round and said to his nobles, “If it be granted me to build a city in this land of Egypt, when I command and shoot an arrow at this stag, it shall strike it.” And having taken the weapon, he shot an arrow at the stag, but the arrow glanced off the stag in its rapid flight, and having run a long distance it stumbled and fell by reason of the wound, and died on the spot. Then Alexander cried out and said, “O thou that didst die without feeling, thou hast shown me the place which I require therefore to this very day they call the spot upon which the stag died, “He that died without feeling.”

So Alexander ran and came to that spot, and on this side of the stag a sepulchral monument was built, and they call it, “The tomb of the god Âslîs (Osiris).” In this place too he commanded to offer sacrifices; and from thence he returned and came to the stag, and he found a large mound, and fifteen (twelve) towns lay around it, the names of which were: Stîlîmos, Pahhârâ, Imthâos, Aklios, Inôkpîlas, Pithônos, Lindos, Kiphrîn, Espâsîd, Mîmistîrâ, Phîlâos, and Hankîtos in the centre of the mound, which they called “the great city.” And when Alexander saw this, astonishment laid hold of him at the waters which were encircling the villages; and he wondered at the greatness of the waves how marvellous they were, for although they entered the sea, they did not mingle [therewith]. And he found there also a place which they called Melââ, and its waters used to enter the sea one cubit and make a great commotion. Then Alexander asked, “What is this place ? and who built it ?” And they said to him, “First of all Dios, whom they call Zeus, and next Irthâos (?).” And from these towns twelve rivers went forth and mingled with the sea. And Alexander saw that the greater number of these rivers, as well as the springs of the city, had been stopped up, and that all the streets and squares were destroyed; and there only remained two rivers which were not obstructed, and whose place of outlet was not destroyed, and whose mouth mingled with the sea: the name of the one was Lûkthesnêdos, which great river they call that of the god Serapis (this Serapis is Joseph the son of Jacob, whom the Egyptians used to hold as a god), and from it there went forth another which they call Ôkôrîda (or Eukôrîda), and yet another large stream which they call Klîdnâva; and the name of the other great river was Nûphîrtîr. When Alexander saw that spot around which mighty rivers and large streams ran, he remembered the dream which the god Ammon showed him, and he saw that there were fifteen (twelve) towns upon that one spot.

[32] And he heard that there was a temple of Zeus there, and one of Hêra, whom they call “the mother of the gods.” And when he had entered the temple, he bowed down there and sacrificed. And while he was examining the temple, he saw there two tablets of red marble, which were very beautiful, fixed under a statue, and upon them was engraved a legend in hieroglyphs, which ran thus: “After that I Sesonchôsis, the ruler of the earth (or world), was first recognised as lord upon earth, I erected this statue in honour of the great god the Sun, the equal of Serapis, in gratitude for the benefits which I have received from him.”

And when Alexander had read this legend, he considered Serapis to be the first god. He went also to the spot where he was told that the temple of this god existed, and in the temple he found a golden cup of the gods upon the ground, and on the cup there was written as follows: “I Ahlâ, the son of the mighty Prometheus, made this cup for the great god Serapis before mankind were brought forth.” And when Alexander had read this legend he said, “It is evident from this that Serapis is the first god, for this cup was fabricated when as yet Prometheus had not made men; and thus also did Ammon show me in a dream, saying, ‘I will grant thee to build a city where the first god dwells.’ And now I will supplicate this [god] and will entreat a favour from him, because Sesonchôsis too has shown me by his inscription that he appeared [as] the first god in this world.”

Then Alexander offered sacrifices to Serapis, and made supplication to him saying, “If indeed thou art he who has governed the world from olden time until now, and hast revealed thyself at the first as god, instruct me, O Serapis, how to build the city which I have in my mind, and I will give it the name of Alexandria; and inform me also whether they will make my name to pass away from it and will call it by the name of another king.” And when he had spoken these words, he slept; and he saw in his dream that the [god] took him by the hand and brought him up into a high mountain, and said to him, “Alexander, art thou able to lift up this mountain and to remove [it] to another place?” Alexander answered and said, “How can I, my lord?” Then the god said to him, “Even as thou art not able to remove this mountain, so another king will not be able to remove thy name from this city, nor to set his own name upon it.” And again Alexander said, “My lord Serapis, what might and strength shall there be in Alexandria that [men] shall carry its name into the world?” Serapis said, “In the same manner, when the city is built, [people] will call it ‘the great city’ and the fame of its greatness shall be spoken of in the whole world, and men innumerable shall dwell therein, who shall be famous through thee. Gentle winds too shall minister unto it with the favourable temperature, and the knowledge and craft of its inhabitants shall be renowned throughout the world, for I will build it with cunning, and I will be a helper to it. Storms shall not disturb the sea, neither shall drought nor heat be therein; winter and cold shall not remain therein, neither shall there be in it the mischief and destruction of demons, and there shall be but few earthquakes in it, and they shall not cause much damage therein, for these are caused by the envy of wicked devils. If the armies of all the kings of the earth were to encamp round about it, they would not be able to injure it in any way. It has been decreed that it shall be renowned in the world, and alive or dead, hither shalt thou come, and in the city which thou hast made to be inhabited, thou shalt have thy grave.”

[33] When Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander, heard of the building of the city, he sent to him saying thus, “Nay my lord, do not begin to build so great and mighty a city, nor to make people of various countries and tongues to dwell therein; peradventure they may rebel against thy service, and take the city from thee; and again, if [the people of] the city should hold a festival and games, the herald would not be able to make the proclamation in many days; and if all the winged fowl in creation were to be gathered together, and if thou didst store up all the barley meal in thy dominions in one spot, it would not suffice for the nourishment of the people that are in it.” And after this message had come to Alexander, great grief took hold of him, and he was anxious and perplexed; and he commanded them to call the Egyptian soothsayers who were skilled in augury, and related to them this message. And when the augurs had heard this message, and had seen that the king was in grief and trouble, they said to him, “O king, begin the building of the city, for it will be great, and renowned, and abounding in revenues, and all the ends of the earth will bring articles of trade to it. Many countries will be fed by it, but it will not be dependent on any country for sustenance; and everything manufactured in it will be esteemed by the rest of the world, and they will carry it to remote lands.” And when Alexander had heard this speech from the soothsayers, he gave orders to build the city from Dedaknâtos as far as Kaiôphâ.

[34] From thence he went into the middle of the country of Egypt, and commanded his troops to await him in Eslôna. And when he had come to Egypt, all the Egyptians, with the priests and prophets of their gods came to him, and glorified him with a loud voice, saying, “Welcome, O Sesonchôsis, the youthful god and ruler of the world;” for he went to the city of Memphis, and they seated him upon the throne of Hephaestus, and clothed him after the manner of the Egyptians. Then he saw there a statue of a king, which was made of black stone, and he read the letters which were engraved beneath its feet, and the legend ran thus: “The king of Egypt who fled, a mighty man and astute and aged, after a time died, [and] there became king a young man and strong, who shall surpass him in bravery, and shall go round the whole world by his might, and shall bring all mankind into subjection to the Egyptians, and shall give you might and power.” Then Alexander asked, “Whose statue is this?” And the prophets said, “Of the last king of Egypt, Nectanebus.” Alexander said, “And why are these letters inscribed beneath?” The prophets said, “It is an augury which the great god gave at the time when the Egyptians drew near to seek their king.”

When he heard this, he went up to the pillar on which the statue stood, and embraced the image with his arms, and kissed it, and answered and said to the Egyptians, “Ye men of Egypt, this is he that begat me, and this is my father. I am the youth whose father is Nectanebus; and he is concealed, but I am revealed to avenge your cause on your enemies. I am however astonished, how ye have remained and stayed in this country and have not utterly perished by the hands of your enemies, since the wall of your city is so weak, and ye have no fortified place for treasure houses; but I think that your preservation is chiefly due to the many rivers which encompass your territory. Now that tribute which ye were wont to give to Darius, give to me; not that I may put it in my treasury for my own use, but that I may use it for expenses for my city Alexandria, so that ye [really] give it to your protectors.”

Then they brought him much gold, and a crown of gold, and [other] presents and large gifts, and they took [them] before Alexander, and they went with him as far as Pelusium.

[35] Then he commanded his troops to get ready, and he took them and they went to the country of Syria. Then all the country of Syria gave the right hand to him, and came under his rule. And they drew near and came to Tyre. Because the Tyrians had heard from Apollo the augur, “When a mighty king shall march through the plain of Tyre, Tyre shall be taken away from its deep place,” the Tyrians of their own accord promptly drew up in battle array against Alexander, and fought with him, and slew many men of Alexander’s host, and would not allow them to enter the city. And Alexander was fiercely enraged, and his anger rose, and he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “O my lord Serapis, thou art a god and hast made me a king; show me now if I shall be able to take Tyre.”

And when he fell asleep, he saw in his dream the ranks of the singers (or satyrs), who were standing before Dionysus and singing and dancing, and they had garlands of young vine branches with their clusters on their heads; and Dionysus was standing and holding a Tyrian daric in his hand, and he gave it to Alexander; and a cluster of grapes from the garland on the head of Dionysus fell to the ground, and Alexander trod upon it and squeezed out the wine from it. When Alexander awoke, he gave orders to call those skilled in dreams; and when they came and heard the dream from him, they answered and said to him, “O king, it is granted to thee to take the land of Tyre; for the daric which Dionysus gave thee represents the country which is going to be delivered over to thee; and those grapes which thou sawest fall from the garland of Dionysus are the people of the city who are to fall and be crushed beneath the feet of thy hosts; and the wine which thou didst see is the blood of the slain which will be shed.” Then Alexander commanded to give gifts to those men skilled in dreams, and to assemble the troops, and to fight with the Tyrians.

And the Tyrians were conquered, and surrendered to Alexander; and Alexander made a war in Tyre, the fame of which has gone forth into the whole world. And the city and three noble and famous men from three towns were destroyed by Alexander in this contest. The towns were by the side of the city, and according to the name of the three towns he built a city and called its name Tripolis. And Alexander appointed the satrap of Phoenicia to take charge of and guard the country.

[36] Now when the ambassadors of Darius, who had been sent by their lord to Alexander, had departed, they spoke of the sagacity and wisdom and astuteness of Alexander. Then Darius asked them, “What manner of person is Alexander?” Then the ambassadors brought forth and showed him the likeness of Alexander the Macedonian which they had had painted, and when Darius saw the likeness, he gave orders to carry it to Roxana his daughter, and he bade them compare her height with that of the picture. And when he had measured the picture, he took it up and cast it with his hands to a distance, and he thrust out his lips in scorn as one mocks at a young child. But Roxana, the daughter of Darius, took the likeness in secret, and carried it to her bed chamber, and kept it there, and honoured it continually with sweet spices and odours, for from the time that Roxana saw it her love went forth to Alexander.

Now Darius was meditating in what way he could avenge himself on Alexander, first of all, because of his contempt for his ambassadors; and secondly, because, after his father Philip’s death, Alexander assumed the royal crown of his own will and became king; [and thirdly, because] Alexander had taken his troops and had come to the country of Darius and seized his lands. Then Darius sent to Alexander a whip and a ball and a box full of gold, and wrote him a letter, and gave it to his ambassadors to deliver to Alexander. And while Alexander was marching through the country [of Syria], the ambassadors of Darius met him, and gave him Darius’s letter. Then Alexander ordered the letter to be read, and found that there was written therein as follows: “From the king of kings and the kinsman of the gods, who is enthroned with the god Mithras, the son of the stars, Darius the Persian, to Alexander my servant, greeting. I have heard of thee that thou by thy evil destiny hast set thyself to come from thy land to mine and to do mischief. Now we command thee, withdraw and return, and go to thy mother, and sleep in the bosom of thy mother Olympias, for as yet thou art a child, and art in fact not educated; therefore I send thee a whip, wherewith thou mayest train thy youth; and a ball, wherewith thou mayest play with the boys of thine own age, and not meddle with the business of men; and a box full of gold for thy expenses, that thou mayest be able to retire and go back to thine own country, for I have heard of thee that thou art poor and mean and feeble; and therefore I have given orders that the tribute of Philip thy father shall be left with thee. Do thou therefore restrain thyself from worry and folly, and [check] this crowd of robbers which thou hast gathered together and brought with thee, for as the chief of a band of robbers dost thou go round about and disturb our cities. Art thou able to comprehend the number of the stars of heaven? If all the people in the world were to come as allies to thy army, thou wouldst not be able to make an end of and destroy the kingdom of the Persians, for I have tens of thousands of horses and warriors, even as the number of the sand which is upon the shore of the sea. And I have sent thee ten measures of sesame seed, that thou mayest know that I have myriads of troops even as these grains of sesame. I have also gold as [abundant as] the sunlight in the world; therefore I have sent thee a box [full of it], that if thou hast no money for expenses, thou mayest expend this on thyself, and, together with the robbers thy companions, mayest be able to return to thy country. Now therefore repent of the things thou hast done, and count thyself an offender; for if thou art not persuaded to do what thou art commanded by me, and in thy disobedience still persistest in this thy contention, we will give orders to send the police after thee to take thee and bring thee to us, for thou art not one of those after whom it is fitting to send [armed] men, but we will send the police against thee and they will fetch thee, not as the son of Philip but as a leader of robbers, and we will crucify thee upon a tree.”

[37] And when they had read the letter before Alexander, great terror fell upon all Alexander’s troops. And when he saw that the face of his troops was sad because of the words of Darius’s letter, he answered and said to his troops, “Ye men of Macedon, ye who are my fellow soldiers, wherefore are your minds troubled by the letter of Darius as if his words were true, or as if he had any power at all? Now this boasting and arrogance that is written in his letter is a mere pretence, and there is no truth in it; for among dogs there are some which are small and feeble, and yet they bark with a loud voice, thinking they may be able to effect something by their loud barks: and in the same manner does Darius act, for in reality he is unable to do anything; therefore he has written these words, that we might imagine them to be true. Do ye however prepare yourselves and be ready, and fight with all your strength, that we may be victorious; and do not do your duty sluggishly and feebly, that we may not be conquered: and now fight bravely, that we may receive the crowns of victory.” And when he had spoken these words, Alexander stretched out his hand, and took a handful of the sesame seeds which Darius had sent, and put them into his mouth, and ate some of them

[38] And when Alexander had spoken these words, he commanded them to call the ambassadors of Darius, and he said to them, “Go, tell your lord Darius, ‘Thy letter which thou didst write to me I have read, and I have understood the boasting and arrogance which are written therein. And now I send thee a whip, that thou mayest train thy youth; and a ball, that thou mayest play with the boys of thine own age; and a box full of mustard seed, that thou mayest know that my troops are more numerous than thine, even as these grains of mustard are more numerous than the grains of sesame which thou didst send me. And I send thee also a chain, that thou mayest bind thyself with it, for thou art worthy to be bound, and not to be a king. And now I go to seek thee, and I will take thee, and will crucify thee upon a tree.’” And when Alexander had spoken these words, he dismissed the ambassadors of Darius, and they went to their lord and told him all these things.

And when Darius heard these words, he was greatly troubled, and fear fell upon him, and he commanded them to gather together all his troops, and to prepare for battle against Alexander.

[39] And Alexander commanded his troops to make ready, and he went to the country of Cilicia. And when he had come to the river Cydnus, he desired to bathe in it, for the water of the river was clear and beautiful. And when he had gone down into the water, his limbs were benumbed, and cold seized him, and he fell sick, and his life was despaired of. And when his troops saw that he was sick, they were greatly troubled, and they wept, and said, “Woe to us, for our lord the king is dead.” And when Philip the physician heard that Alexander was sick, he came to him, and saw that the king was in danger of death. And Philip made a potion for him, and gave it to him to drink.

And when Alexander had taken the potion, he recovered from his sickness, and he rose from his bed, and he commanded them to give gifts to Philip the physician, and he honoured him greatly.

[40] And after this Alexander went to the country of Cappadocia, and he subdued it, and he went to the country of Armenia, and he subdued it also. And he went to the country of Media, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Persia, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Assyria, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Babylon, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Susa, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Elymais, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Parthia, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Hyrcania, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of Bactria, and he subdued it. And he went to the country of India, and he subdued it.

And Alexander took possession of all these countries, and he reigned over them, and he became king over all the kings of the earth.

[41] And after this Alexander went to the country of the Brahmans, and he saw there men who went naked, and who dwelt in the mountains, and who had no houses, and who lived upon herbs. And Alexander marvelled at them, and said to them, “Why do ye live in this manner?” And they answered and said to him, “We live thus because we desire nothing of the world, and we have no care for anything that is in it. For we know that the world is nothing, and that all the things that are in it are nothing; and we desire only to be free from care, and to live in peace.” 
And when Alexander heard these words, he marvelled greatly at them.

And after this Alexander returned from the country of the Brahmans, and he went to the country of the Scythians, and he subdued it, and he went to the country of the Amazons, and he subdued it also.

[42] And when Alexander was ready, with the spoil which he had taken, to go to Achaia, there too he captured a number of cities, and others of them he made horsemen and foot-soldiers.
And he departed from thence and went to the city of Pieria, which is in Bebrukia, of which city people say that the Nine Muses (that is, the Sciences) went forth from it.
And from thence he came to Phrygia, that is Ilion, and in that place he offered sacrifices to Hector, whom in the Persian tongue they call Sôtî; and he made offerings to Achilles, and to the river Âlîs, which they call Pôlîs, and to the rest of the warriors.

[43] And Alexander departed thence and came to Macedonia, and when he had entered there he found his mother Olympias recovering from her sickness; and he remained there with her a few days, and departed thence. And after these things he came to Abdera. and when the people of Abdera heard it, they shut the gates of their city that Alexander might not enter it. And when Alexander saw this, he was exceedingly angry, and gave orders to set fire to it. And when the inhabitants of the city saw that they were setting their city on fire, they cried out with a loud voice and said to Alexander, “O king Alexander, we have not closed the gates of the city on this account, as if we wished to fight against thee, but we have shut them for this reason, lest when Darius hears of it, he may think we have delivered up the city into thy hands of our own will, and may utterly destroy us out of the world.” Then Alexander said to them, “Open the gates according to your former custom; for I am not going to enter your city at present, but at the time when I shall have conquered Darius.”

[44] And he departed thence, and came to Kûsîtîres and to Nûtîrâ, to the shore of the river Ustîn, and he saw the lake which they call “the second death”, and the country was a place of cannibals; and a scarcity of food overtook them in that place, and they had nothing to eat and were distressed in their souls therein. Alexander bade them slay the horses which were in the camp, that the horsemen and foot-soldiers might eat; and they ate and were satisfied; but they were all grieved about the horses, and were all without horses.

Then Alexander said to them, “O my comrades, ye are alive instead of the horses, and in very deed ye are more needed than they. I know that horses are also necessary, but God forbid that ye should die, for of what use would the horses be then? But now our horses being dead and we alive, we shall be able by our strength to find a land of food, where we shall also find horses. Horses may be found in many places, but Macedonians cannot be found everywhere.” And by these words he persuaded his forces.

[45] And he departed thence and came to the Locri, whence they obtained food and horses; and they remained there one day. And from thence he came to Akrantîs; and thence he went to the temple of Apollo, and there he begged and entreated of the priest to ask an oracle from Apollo for him. And the priest said to him, “Thou art not permitted to ask an oracle from here.” When Alexander heard these words, he was angered and said to the priest, “If thou dost not ask an oracle for me, I will take this tripod of divination and carry it away from here, even as Heracles did to his gods when they did not wish to give him an oracle.” Having spoken these words, he straightway took the tripod of divination, which king Krithithos [Croesus] of Lydia had made, from its place, and put it upon his shoulders. And when he had taken it, he heard a voice from within the temple which said, “Alexander, if Heracles did any such deed as this, he did it to the gods his equals; but thou art a mortal man. Strive not with the immortal gods, that the gods may be thy helpers and may tell thy power in the world.” And when he had heard a voice like this, again another voice from within the temple answered and said: “O Alexander, listen to the oracle of Apollo which I have heard, and hearken and I will speak to thee. Men shall tell of thy power and thy name in the world, and thy name shall last for ever, because thy might and thy deeds will be great and glorious.” When Alexander had heard these words, he said, “O Apollo, henceforward I will believe this augury, as I likewise so believed thy father at yon time.”

[46] And he departed thence and began to march towards Thebes. And when he had drawn nigh and arrived at Thebes, he demanded of them four thousand men to recruit his army. But when they heard this request, they closed the gates of the city, and answered him never a word, but straightway armed themselves and mounted the wall. And four hundred men said from the wall to Alexander, “Come and fight, or else depart from our city.” When he heard this speech, he laughed, and answered and said, “Men of Thebes, who of your freewill have shut yourselves up, and who now command me saying, ‘Either fight or depart from our city,’ I am therefore going to fight with you, and by the fortune of Zeus, I will not make war with you as with brave and tried men, but I will fight with you as I would with weak and despicable fellows who are fit for nothing. Therefore shall ye be smitten with the point of the spear, because ye have of your own free will shut yourselves up in a cage. It is fitting to fight with valiant men and warriors in a plain or in a level place; but for effeminate men who live in cages it is good that they should be shut up in chambers and die like young girls.”

And when he had said this, he commanded a thousand horsemen to ride round the wall, and to shoot arrows at those who stood upon the wall. He likewise commanded two thousand footmen to destroy the foundations of the wall with picks and spades, and the upper part of it with long hooks and iron crowbars. He also commanded four hundred other foot-soldiers to set fire to the gates of the city with burning torches, and other foot-soldiers to let go the battering rams with violence against the wall and to shatter the wall. Now the battering ram is a warlike instrument used for the assault of cities, made of a huge log, the head of which is bound with iron, and fashioned in the shape of a ram’s head; and it is fitted and fixed upon a revolving wheel, and men urge it forward with force from a distance, and grasp it and let it go with great violence, and it goes with impetus and strikes the wall or the gate, and wherever it strikes it makes a breach. Meanwhile Alexander with ten thousand men, slingers and casters of javelins was fighting against one of the gates of the city. And when the fire had taken hold of the wall on all sides, and the arrows and missiles from the slings were shaking the wall everywhere, and were shot over the wall into the midst of the city, and fell like lightnings when they flash from heaven to earth, the people who were wounded with the stones from the slings were many, and within the city and in the houses they were smitten by the arrows and missiles, and died.
The city of the Thebans was burning three days and three nights; and on the fourth day, the gate of the city, at which Alexander was fighting, fell down all at once, and Alexander entered the city with a number of men; and when he had entered he commanded to throw open the other gates. And the four thousand horsemen with their horses entered the city, and Alexander commanded them and said to them, “Slay all the people of the city.” Now the walls of the city and the houses were broken up by the fire and were falling down. Then the army of the Macedonians made haste to slay the people, as the king had commanded them; and on a sudden much blood was shed in the city. When Alexander saw the great bloodshed and the destruction of the Thebans, he rejoiced in his mind and was glad.

As the Macedonians desisted not from slaughter, neither were the blades of their swords sated with blood, and the Thebans, since they had no deliverance nor place of refuge, were perishing [before them], a certain singer who was a Theban by race, a man well trained and wise and of understanding, and who knew the Macedonian language, - this man, when he saw that the whole city of Thebes was on fire, and that every class of people in it were perishing, groaned bitterly like a man who was mourning for his country. Then he took his pipe in his hand and chanted skilfully and cunningly in the Macedonian tongue in strains doleful and sad and full of lamentation, and came before Alexander. Now by that mournful song and lugubrious strain Alexander’s anger was a little pacified, and he spoke with a loud voice to his forces saying, “Fellow soldiers, this singer knows how to work ill, for that implacable anger [of mine] against the Thebans, behold, he has extinguished.”

And when the singer came into the presence of Alexander, he said, “Mighty king, great in power, and rich in knowledge, listen with compassionate heart to the voice of the Thebans thy servants who have rightly received their chastisement, who have not understood that thy power is like unto that of the gods. Now therefore we worship thee as a god, and take thee as a lord, the greatest of the gods. All we Thebans are in thy victorious hands that never yield: let thy mind be pacified and spare us. Know also that the destruction of the Thebans will be an injury to thyself in the first place, because thou too art a Theban and a son of our divine race, and thy serpent’s head, which [thou dost inherit] from thy father, is from here; for the country belongs to Zeus. Dionysus, glorious in his being, and beautiful and splendid in his appearance, was born here; and Heracles, the hero of the twelve labours, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, appeared here; and Ammon, clothed with pride and . . . his horns, was born in Thebes. All these gods are thy fathers and thy progenitors; and when they were born, they were born for the rest and the peace and the joy of men, and their aid and protection were extended over all mankind.

“Do thou too, therefore, rest from thine anger, and turn again to thy compassion; put away wrath, and draw nigh to gentleness; for thou too art of the race of the gods. Turn not away thy face from this beautiful gate which they call after Dionysus, which is now burning with flames of fire and ready to fall; and do not uproot this place built with oxen (?), for a temple like this [has never been] made in all [the world]. With a kind heart turn thy face [toward us], and look upon thy servants; for behold, small and great are perishing by one blow! Spare this great temple, thou that art of the race of the three gods; despise not the strength of the mighty Heracles, nor the pride of the glorious Ammon, nor the watchfulness of the beloved Dionysus. That these walls are thus rent asunder and falling is a great disgrace to the Macedonians. Knowest thou not, king Alexander, that thou thyself art a Theban, and that Philip was not thy father? Look and spare and have pity on the Thebans thy countrymen, for behold they all entreat thee with supplication, with the gods upon their hands, and they are seized with weeping on account of thee. Look at this Heracles, who for the sake of the peace of mankind wrought twelve wondrous deeds in the world. Do thou also be like him, and turn thy wrath to mercy; and as the rain that waters the ground, do thou too in thy mercy rain down goodness upon them. Please all the gods, and do not ignorantly uproot the city of thy ancestors. Look, O king; and see, for this wall Zethus the shepherd made, and Amphion who sang to the lyre, and they dwelt therein; and in this place Cadmus took Harmonia to wife; and in this place Aphrodite committed adultery with the Thracian. Do not then stupidly and without counsel uproot and destroy this place, founded by all the gods. For Zeus the first of the gods slept in this place three nights and begat children here, and then ascended to heaven. This high altar which thou seest is that of Hera, the mother of the gods, and this tripod of divination belonged to Teiresias; and all augury went forth from here. In this place Ardîpos perished by the hands of Phôkos, and this river which thou seest is . . . and this is the fountain the pipes of which are silver, which the gods gave. This place dense with foliage belongs to Artemis; she came to bathe therein, and the lustful Actaeon appeared to her naked, but he was severely punished by her, because he desired to see what was not lawful. And in this mountain which thou commandest to be destroyed, Artemis followed the chase. Why then dost thou despise in this manner the gods whose offspring thou art? for thou art of the race of Heracles.”

While the singer was chanting these verses to Alexander in a lugubrious voice, anger seized on Alexander and he gnashed his teeth, saying, “O thou of evil race, fellow-counsellor and plotter with devils, thou stringest words together to the sound of the pipes, and thinkest that thou wilt be able to lead Alexander astray with words strung together and learned by heart, and knowest not that thou art leading thyself astray and not me. Even if this city be really, as thou sayest it is, the dwelling-place of the gods, thou knowest now that it has been destroyed on account of the baseness of the Thebans. Its temples too have been polluted and defiled, and therefore it is right that I should purify them by fire, because, according to what thou thyself hast said, the city belongs to my ancestors. This too I desire to know; since ye know, as ye yourselves say, who I am and by whom I was begotten, and that I am the offspring of the gods whose temples are here, why did ye come forth with battle and war against your own countryman ? It would have been far more fitting, had ye given horsemen and foot-soldiers to aid me, and had ye thought within yourselves saying, ‘Alexander is our countryman, and now that he is in difficulties it is good for us that we be his helpers;’ it would also have been right for you to have received the Macedonians with kisses and affection as if they were your brethren. But now that ye have contended in war with Alexander, and have made trial of his arms, and have seen that ye are not able to stand before him, ye string words together, saying, ‘Alexander is a Theban and our own countryman.’

“Now therefore I make known to you that ye should not have contended with nor opposed in war one that is your countryman, more especially one who is of the race of the gods, as ye yourselves have said; and on account of this deed ye are all guilty of death; but everyone who up to the present has escaped death I will let live for the sake of the skill of this singer. Go whithersoever ye please, for ye shall no longer have a home in Thebes, and no one shall be allowed to make mention again of the name of Thebes, and whoever shall name its name shall die; for henceforth this name shall no longer be a name, and this city shall be no city.”
Then he straightway expelled from the country those Thebans who remained alive, and he himself departed with his troops.

[47] Those Thebans whom Alexander had expelled from their country went to Apollo at Delphi to divine and to ask an oracle, if a time would come to their country when their city should be rebuilt. Then the Pythia drank of the water of the fountain of Castalia, that she might receive an oracle therefrom: and straightway she answered and said to them, “When the three athletes Polynicus, Antimachus [Clitomachus] and Tarkâtîs (?) hold contest with one another, then will Thebes be rebuilt.” When they heard this oracle, they turned and came from thence, and were continually awaiting [the fulfilment of] this augury.

Alexander went to Corinth, and arrived there while the Olympic games of the Corinthians were going on. Then the people of Corinth asked Alexander to become a spectator of the Olympic games with them; and Alexander consented, and went to the place of the contest, and sat with the Corinthians, and distributed crowns and gifts to the athletes who were victorious in the contest. On that same day a man from the city of the Thebans was present at the Olympic games, and he contested bravely in the athletic exercises, and his name was Antimachus [Clitomachus]. Now this man had written down his name and held himself ready to contest with three athletes. And when the man came into the arena, he threw two of them dexterously and skilfully to the ground, at which even Alexander marvelled and applauded him greatly. And when he came to Alexander to receive the crown, Alexander said to him, “If thou art able to throw this third man also, go, first of all take up the contest with him, and then return, and thou shalt receive the three crowns at one time and gifts, and whatsoever favour thou shall ask of me I will give thee.” Now when this athlete took up the third contest, he exhibited in it many tricks of skill in wrestling, and then he threw his adversary to the ground.

And when he rose up from off him, and came to receive the crowns, the herald said to him, “What is thy name, and from what city art thou, that I may proclaim concerning thee and may make known thy deeds?” He said to the herald, “My name is Antimachus [Clitomachus] but I have no city.” Alexander said to him, “How is it that so brave and expert and trained and skilful a man as thou art, who in one contest hast thrown three athletes, and who art now about to receive from me the crowns of victory, hast no city?” The athlete said, “O illustrious king and doer of good things, formerly, when Alexander was not king, I had a city; but after Alexander became king, he destroyed my city and made its name no name.”

Then Alexander recognised him by his speech to be a Theban, and handed to him the three crowns of victory, and bade the herald proclaim him to be of the city of Thebes; “but”, said he, “I command the city to be built anew, because of these three gods who aided him in this contest.”

BOOK II.

[1] Again Alexander set out from Corinth and came to Plataeae, a city of the Athenians, where they worship Persephone; and when he entered the temple of the god he found a priestess weaving purple. And as soon as she saw Alexander she said to him, “King Alexander, it is granted to thee to be renowned and chief among all men.” When Alexander heard this speech, he commanded gifts to be given to her. A few days after, he who was ruler in the land went into the temple; and when the priestess saw the ruler, she said to him, “They will now speedily remove thee from this thy rule.” The ruler however did not believe her, but he laughed in his anger and said to the priestess, “O woman unworthy of the office of divination, when Alexander entered this place, thou saidst to him, ‘Thou wilt be chief and famous among all mankind’; and now when I come thou sayest to me, ‘They will remove thee from thy rule.’ Now I will make an interpretation of this augury of thine on thyself.” So he gave orders and expelled her from her office of priestess, and set another in her place. Then the priestess said to the ruler, “Be not angry at this, for the gods determine beforehand everything that is to be, and indicate it to men in various countries, especially concerning the affairs of governors and rulers and distinguished men. When Alexander entered this place, it fell out that I had just thrown purple upon the garment which I was weaving and had begun to weave; now purple is a well-known sign of royalty: but now, when thou didst enter, I was cutting off the garment from the loom, and this is a sign that the end is come to thy work, and that they will remove thee from the rule.” When Alexander heard that the ruler had removed that priestess from her office, he commanded that she should bo reinstated therein, and he made another ruler in his place. And it was straightway done as Alexander had commanded.

But the ruler who was dismissed went to the Athenians, and related to them everything which Alexander had done to him. When the Athenians heard this, they considered it, and it displeased them much, and they reproached Alexander. When Alexander heard this, he wrote a letter to the Athenians, and put in it as follows. “From king Alexander to the Athenians. Since my father died, I have by destiny received the kingdom, and I have subdued most of the nations of the regions of the west, and all of them have received me with good will as king. I have also taken from them troops as auxiliaries to my army, and by their strength I have subdued the country of Europe, and have destroyed from its very foundations the city of the Thebans who of their own will did wickedness. And now I am come to this region of Asia, because I desire to know how ye will receive me. Therefore I have not written a letter of many words to you, but I speak briefly. Ye Athenians, either be brave, or surrender to the brave, and give a thousand talents of gold every year (as tribute).”

[2] And when the Athenians had read this letter, they returned answer: “We the ten orators that are in Athens write thus to Alexander. During the time that thy father was alive, we were much afflicted by his living; and when he died, we were very glad at the death of Philip thy father (whose bones ought to be dug up), whom all the Greeks too hated. And now in the same manner we are incensed against thee, that a foolish boy and impudent, wicked and audacious, should demand a thousand talents every year, and under such a pretext should stir up war with us. Now however, if it be that thou really seekest war, come against us thus in battle array, and we shall be ready.”

When Alexander had read this letter, he wrote another letter to them. “From Alexander to the Athenians. I have sent Prôdis thither to cut out your tongues and to seize those ten orators who are in your city, and to bring them to me as they deserve; and ye who have not known how to be persuaded by words will then be persuaded by the blaze of fire and the conflagration, at the time when ye see the demolition and destruction of your city. Now therefore send to us those ten orators, that perchance our thought may be for good and our pity be upon the land.”
Again they wrote in reply to him: “We will not send them to thee, neither will we do that thing on account of which thou desirest to make war, namely to give tribute.” Now when they were gathered together, Aeschines the orator stood upon his feet, and said to the people of the land: “Men of Athens, what is this delay that ye meditate so upon a thing like this ? If ye desire to send us to Alexander, send us; and if not, we ourselves will go to Alexander trustfully. Now Philip was a lover of wars, and his star was given to battles and contests; but Alexander was trained by the hands of Aristotle, and he was at school with us. And we are confident that when we go to Alexander, he will be ashamed before us who are his teachers and fellow-learners, and his furious disposition will turn to love.”

And when Aeschines had spoken thus, Dêmâtheos (Demades), a young orator stood upon his feet and said: “How long, O Aeschines, wilt thou send forth from thy mouth such timid and alarming words, saying, ‘Let us not fight with Alexander.’ What is this demon of timidity that has power over thee, that thou speakest such words to the people of Athens, and givest them such counsel ? Dost thou desire by such counsel as this to make enmity between us and the king of the Persians on account of this silly and proud boy, who has adopted the impudence and insolence of his father, and now wishes to intimidate the Athenians? and even thou wishest to cast terror upon them now. Why pray should we fear to fight with Alexander ? We who have chased away the Persians, we who have conquered the Lacedaemonians and the Corinthians, we who in battle have put to flight the Phocians, we who have routed the Zacynthians, shall we be concerned because of this boy Alexander ? As to what Aeschines has said, that when Alexander sees his teachers, he will be ashamed before them, and will turn away his wrath, and his disposition will become loving towards us as towards his friends, - he has disgraced us all; he has turned out and removed one who was a ruler in our land and has put in his place another who is our enemy.” And the youthful orator went on: “Aeschines has said, ‘When he sees us, he will be ashamed before us,’ but he wishes in this way to deliver us naked into his hands. Let us fight,” said he to them, “with that headstrong Alexander, for the disposition of the young is ever set upon pride, and their strength loves battle. Some will say, ‘Alexander destroyed the Tyrians’; but they do not know that the Tyrians were fit for naught. Others will say, ‘Alexander razed the city of the Thebans’; but they do not know that the Thebans were worn out and exhausted by continual battles and wars, wherefore Alexander prevailed over them. Others again will say, ‘ He led captive the Peloponnesians’; but this was not because of bravery, but owing to a scarcity of food and a famine in their land. Now I remember the mighty Xerxes who essayed the sea with boats and ships and galleys, and covered the dry land with his horsemen, and darkened the brightness of the atmosphere with the sheen of his weapons, and filled the land of the Persians with Greek slaves. If then we turned back from here so great a prince and warrior as Xerxes, and broke his boats and ships on the sea, and drove away his horsemen from the land, - I do not mean wo who are here present, but Kûdkânôr and Antiphon and Mîsîchîs and Keryâdklîs and the rest of the mighty Athenian warriors who were among us at that time, - shall we now be afraid to make war with this impudent boy Alexander ? If however ye wish to send us to Alexander, we are willing to go and die. But we tell you that words are our weapons, and that we are not different from dogs which have merely voice; and ye know that very often the sound of the barking of ten dogs is sufficient to deliver a flock of timid sheep from the claws of the wolves.”

[3] And when Demades had spoken all these words in the assembly, the Athenians rose and begged of Demosthenes that he would stand up and give counsel beneficial to the commonwealth. Then Demosthenes stood upon his feet and made a sign with his hand to the assembly to be silent. And when they were silent, he said to them: “Fellow citizens, - I do not call you Athenians, because I myself am an Athenian and not a stranger, - ye know that our lives are the life of the commonwealth and that our death in the same way is its death. Therefore it becomes us with great deliberation to give the advice which will give life to the commonwealth. For this reason too it is necessary for us to conquer. If we are able to fight with Alexander, let us fight; but if we are not able, let us submit to him. Now Aeschines, who has made a speech, has spoken to you craftily; he did not say to the people to fight with Alexander, neither did he say not to fight. He is a very aged man, and has given many good and fitting counsels in many assemblies. On the other hand, Demades is a young and inexperienced man, and therefore he has said, ‘O Athenians, we - to wit Antiphon, and Krintmâkhos, and Kandnâkîr, and Amnismâkhos, and Kardânâkêlos, - turned back Xerxes the mighty king and the rest of those vast crowds and many kings.’ But the people of the Athenians of whom thou hast made mention, who were famed of old for their prowess, O Demades, we have not with us now; those mighty warriors whose names thou hast called to mind as having been of old with us in Athens, that we might fight against Alexander trusting in their strength. But as they are long dead, and we have no other warriors in Athens like unto them, I do not wish that we should fight with Alexander, for every time has its own strength. We orators then, our strength and our weapons are words, but in power to fight we are weak. O Demades, what thou didst say, thou saidst rightly. During the time that he was king, the mighty Xerxes was defeated in many battles; but Alexander has carried on thirteen wars and has not been defeated in one of them, on the contrary he has seized many countries without any fighting and has captured famous cities. Demades has said, ‘The Tyrians are of no use in battle; and the Thebans, who were never before defeated in battle, were weary and worn out and exhausted, and therefore they were defeated; the Peloponneaans were defeated on account of the scarcity and famine, and not by the hands of Alexander.’ He heard that there was a famine in their land, and he, who was ready to go against them in war, sent them clothes and food from Macedonia; and when the general Antigonns saw Alexander doing thus, he said to him, ‘Dost thou send clothing and food to people with whom thou wishest to make war ?’ Alexander said, ‘It is much better that I should fight with them and subdue them than that we should fight with them in a starving condition and utterly destroy them.’ Now as regards this ruler in whose stead Alexander commanded another to be put, why are ye angry ? He is a king, and that ruler wished to withstand him. If ye judge the case rightly, ye will all be grateful to Alexander in this matter, and will be angry with the ruler, because he is a mere ruler, and when he removed a priestess and prophetess of the gods, Alexander restored her to her place.”

[4] And when Demosthenes had spoken such words as these, and had given the people of the country this advice in this speech, he received much praise from the Amphictyons and was applauded in a variety of ways. Demades stood silent, while Aeschines applauded; Lysias agreed with Demosthenes, and Plato said, “This is my opinion too.” Dadnadkînôs said, “I too am persuaded by this advice; and Herlîtâ said, “Let it not be otherwise”; while to the rest of the people of the country what Demosthenes had said appeared good.

And again Demosthenes said: “As Demades said, king Xerxes filled the land of the Persians with Greek captives; and he praised and applauded Xerxes, who turned the Greek captives into slaves for the Persians. And now he wants to make war with Alexander, who is a Greek, and wishes to bring the Persians into subjection to the Greeks. Demades in his speech praised him that is an enemy, and wishes to make an enemy of him that is a friend and fellow countryman.
“Consider this too, ye Athenians: no king has ever carried war into Egypt, except Alexander the son of Philip alone, and even he, when he went, did not go with the object of making war, but to consult the oracle, in what place it was granted to him to build a city after his name, from which his name should never be forgotten. He received the oracle, and built the city, and completely finished it; and [it is] the [Alexandria] which is in the country of Egypt that was under the Persians. [The Egyptians] entreated him that they might be with his army as auxiliaries against the Persians. Then Alexander, filled with wisdom, made answer to them, saying, “It is far better for you, ye Egyptians, to remain dwelling in your own country by the banks of the Nile, and to till your land by its overflowings, than to put on the weapons of Arês and to march far away to war. So the Egyptians came under Alexander’s rule, and he built a city in the land of Egypt and gave it to the Greeks. It is for this reason that, when the army of the Macedonians is under service and engaged in fighting, the Egyptians supply it with clothing and corn. In this manner he made Egypt subject to the Greeks, and brought men of all nations to it and made them dwell therein. Just as that land is abundant in crops and tillage, in the same way that city too is become very populous, and they pay large taxes and tribute to the Greeks. If then the Egyptians, who are loved by the Greeks, have taken upon themselves to give tribute to Alexander the Greek, and have counted him to be their lord, why do ye, who are Greeks, wish to be enemies of Alexander and fight with him ? Go forth then to fight with Alexander; but Fortune is his slave.”

[5] And when Demosthenes had spoken these words, the Athenians were unanimously convinced, and they sent to Alexander a golden crown of victory weighing fifty pounds, together with a letter of thanks and gratitude and praise. They wrote down too therein the speech and opinion of each man upon this matter, and sent them to him. And they chose the oldest and best known men from among the Athenians and sent them on an embassy to him, but the ten orators they did not send to him. Then the ambassadors went to Alexander at Plataeae and laid the crown and the letter before him. When Alexander had read this letter and had heard the counsel of Acschines and the teaching of Demosthenes and the bold words of Demades and the consenting of the people and the praise of the Amphictyons, Alexander composed another letter to them and wrote to them as follows :

“From Alexander the son of Philip and Olympias to the Athenians. I will not write to you as king until I make all cities subject to the Greeks; but I write to you to send me the ten orators; not that I am going to do them any harm, but that I may salute them as masters and teachers, It is no plan of mine to come against you with weapons and troops, lest ye should count me an enemy; but I think of coming to you with those ten orators, instead of with nobles and princes, and of setting you free from many anxious thoughts and cares. Ye however think otherwise, because ye know your own minds and thoughts, and are aware that ye are guilty in regard to us. At the time when the Scythians fought with the Macedonians, ye were auxiliaries to the Scythians; but when the Corinthians made war with you, the Macedonians assisted you and delivered you from the hands of the Corinthians. We erected a statue of Athena in Macedonia, while ye have swept away from its place the statue of my mother which stood in the temple of Athena in your city. Do ye think that this recompense is just which ye have made unto us? because ye remember all these things, therefore ye are in trouble, saying, ‘ Alexander will seek revenge upon us.’ And because your own minds and thoughts and the deeds which are done by your hands are perverse and crafty continually, therefore ye expect the same behaviour from others. Moreover ye have not left a single man of the glorious and honoured men that are among you whom ye have not despised and ill treated. Ye confined in prison Euclid; and ye cruelly oppressed Tirmastênîs (?), who was the counsellor of right measures, who went to king Cyrus as an ambassador on your behalf. Did ye not disgrace Alcibiades, who was a good general over you. Did ye not also slay Socrates, who was a herald in Hellas? Philip my father too, who assisted you in three wars, ye treated ungratefully. And now ye blame Alexander, who took vengeance for you upon a ruler who had removed your priestess of the goddess Athena, whereas I reinstated her and dismissed the doer of the deed and set up another in his stead. I have read the letter which ye sent me, and by the speeches made the counsel given in your assemblies I have learned of your disturbance. Now Aeschines gave you good advice, and Demades courageously and bravely invited you to war, and Demosthenes gave you excellent counsel. Now then let the Athenians be brave, and let them have no fear of me, and let them fight for freedom; for it would be a disgraceful thing that, while I am fighting for your freedom, ye should not be fighting for yourselves. At present however I require nothing from you, until I conquer Darius.”

[6] Then Alexander departed from thence and went to Macedonia (Lacedaemon). And he came to the border of Persia and encamped by the river Tigris. And Alexander went on an embassy to Darius as far as Babylon.

And the Persians came and informed king Darius; and when they had spoken, and Darius had seen Alexander, he bowed himself down and did reverence to Alexander, for he imagined him to be the god Mithras, who had descended from heaven and had come to assist the Persians, for his aspect resembled that of the gods; for the crown of gold that was fastened on his head resembled the rays of the sun, and the robe which he had on was woven with fine gold, and the pieces of armour which were upon his arms were wrought with fair silver, and his sandals were of gold, and his belt was made of pearls and emeralds. And Darius was standing and examining his apparel, and ten thousand horsemen, who formed his body guard, were standing near him. Then Darius asked Alexander, “Who art thou?” Alexander said, “I am the ambassador of Alexander and I have brought a message from him to thee. Thus he says: ‘Thou hast delayed to make war on me, and the Macedonians say that because the heart of Darius is timid in battle, therefore he is reluctant (?) to fight.’ Now therefore, do not delay but send word to me when thou desirest to come to battle.” Then Darius said to him, “Peradventure thou thyself art Alexander, and not an ambassador”, for Alexander spoke very boldly, and not gently like an ambassador. Darius said to him, “I am not frightened at thy words. Do thou now, according to the custom of ambassadors, partake of a meal with me, for so did Alexander treat my ambassador.” Then Darius reclined upon his couch, and his nobles and princes sat at meat before him. The first was Darius, the second Bar-nôrag his brother, the third Vashingî, the fourth Dôzyâg, the fifth Bâmar, the sixth Zâdmihr, the seventh Vârdâr, the eighth Knî’ar, the ninth . . . the king of the barbarians, the tenth Prôdîs the chief of the host, the eleventh Prîyôz the general, the twelfth Rĕbîthmâs; and opposite Darius, in the middle, sat Alexander who was the ambassador.

[7] And all the people were wondering at him because he was small in stature, but his words were very keen. And when they had eaten, they called for wine in a jar. Every golden cup which they passed to Alexander, he poured the wine upon the ground and placed the vessel in his bosom; when they saw what he was doing, they told Darius; and Darius, when he heard it, rose from his couch, and came to Alexander and said to him, “O doer of valiant deeds, why dost thou act in this manner, putting all the drinking cups in thy bosom ?” Alexander said, “When my master Alexander makes a feast for his nobles, he gives all the golden drinking cups to them, and I thought that thou wouldst act in the same way; but now, since thou hast not a similar custom, behold the drinking-cups are before thee, command and I will restore thy gold to thee.” Then Darius said, “I too command that they leave thy gold to thee.” Meanwhile all the Persians were looking at Alexander and marvelling, because his words were mighty and full of knowledge. When then a certain lord, whose name was Pûsâk (Pasarges), who had once been sent by Darius to Macedonia, on an embassy to Philip, Alexander’s father, had carefully scrutinised Alexander, he recognised him, and said to Darius in the Persian language, “O doer of good things, king Darius, give orders that they guard this ambassador most carefully, for he himself is Alexander, and I recognise him by his appearance and know that it is he.”

When Darius and his nobles and princes heard this, they began to speak with one another, and to watch Alexander closely. Then Alexander perceived this, and rose up from the banqueting hall, and sprang towards the king’s gate, with all the vessels of gold, which he had in his bosom; and at the king’s gate he found a sentinel, holding in his hand a flaming torch of cedar-wood, and he slew him and took it from him. And he mounted a horse and dug his heels into its flanks, at the same time holding the blazing torch of cedar-wood before its eyes; and the horse by the light of the fire galloped furiously down the road and came to the bank of a river. Then messengers went out after him in haste, but the greater part of them fell into pits and holes because of the darkness of the night. Now Alexander by the might of the gods crossed the river, but when he had reached the other side and the fore feet of the horse rested on dry land, the water which had been frozen over suddenly melted, and the hind legs of the horse went down into the river. Alexander however leaped from the horse to land, and the horse was drowned in the river. When the messengers came to the bank of the river and saw that Alexander had crossed over, while they were unable to pass over after him, they marvelled and said one to another, “Great is Alexander’s luck, which has given him a passage over so great a river and he has been able to cross it.”

And when they returned, they came to Darius and informed him of Alexander’s escape and of his crossing the river. Darius was in great trouble, and a sign suddenly appeared to him; for the picture of king Xerxes, whom Darius loved, was painted on the wall of the banqueting room, and suddenly it peeled off from the wall and fell to the ground under the very eyes of Darius. After Alexander had crossed the river, he rested from his running and from his toil, and getting on his feet, he walked on; and in the darkness of the night he saw Âmôrôs (Eumelus) the general standing by himself, in great trouble because of Alexander and weeping. Then Alexander told Âmôrôs all the things which had befallen him.

[8] And then he took him and went to the army, and commanded the whole army to be gathered to one place, and he himself stood in the midst of them. And when he saw that his army was despised in the sight of Darius, he said to himself, “O heavenly Zeus, give victory to this small band of Macedonians;” and when he had counted them, the army of Macedonians consisted of a hundred and thirty thousand, besides the rest of the peoples that were with him; and they were all skilful and brave. Then Alexander went up to a high place and said to his troops: “My fellow-soldiers and friends, I know that our army is small, but it is not right for us to be afraid on this account, for one man of us through his bravery is better than a hundred of them. The bees that make honey are very numerous, and whithersoever they fly they darken the air by their flight, but when a little smoke comes near them, they all flee away and are dispersed. Now the army of Darius is like nothing but a swarm of bees; therefore fear them not.” And when Alexander had spoken thus to his troops, he inspired them with courage and stirred them up and incited them to fight.

[9] And he departed from thence and came to the river Estrakînôs (Strangas). Then Darius encouraged his troops, saying, “Fear not, though ye be very few in number;” and Darius was troubled on account of the smallness of his army. And when he found that the river was frozen, he crossed the river and commanded the heralds to cry with a loud voice and to invite the Macedonians to battle. Now the troops of the Persian phalanx were without number and were prepared for war with weapons of all sorts and with chariots and with long scythes. Then Alexander clad in armour came at the head of the Macedonians, and he was riding upon the horse called Bucephalus, which no man dared to approach, for the power of the gods was upon him. Then from the camps of both sides the horns and trumpets sounded the fearful blasts of war, and the two armies closed with one another. And from the second to the fifth hour the fight was so fierce that the whole river side and the valley and the ravines were filled with the corpses and blood of the slain. Now although such was the case, the troops of the Greeks did not turn their faces from the fight And when Darius saw that a great number of the mighty men of his army were dead, and that the Macedonians did not turn their faces from the battle, fear fell upon his heart, and he turned the reins of the horses of his chariot, and the whole host of warriors turned back after him. Then Alexander’s foot soldiers armed with long scythes pursued them and mowed them down like corn in the field. And Darius being languished came to a certain river, and finding it frozen, he himself crossed over it in his chariot; but when the army of Darius came to the bank of the river, the troops began to cross over it, and suddenly the ice of the river melted under them, and the army was drowned in the river, and those that remained upon the other side of the river were slaughtered by the Macedonians.

Then Darius went into his palace, and threw himself upon his face on the ground, and began to weep for the army of the country, for all the warriors of the country were dead and had perished, and for the land which had been emptied of its mighty men; and he began to say:

“Woe is me, which of the stars is it that has destroyed the kingdom of the Persians? I, Darius, who subdued many lands and cities and nations, and reduced a multitude of islands and towns to slavery, have now entered my palace in flight and discomfiture. I who with the sun traversed the world - but in brief; it is not right for a man to rely upon his destiny, for if his luck turn and there be an opportunity, it lifts up and exalts the most despised of men and seats him above the clouds, while it brings down the lofty from his height and casts him into the depths.”

[13] Then Alexander gave orders to wash the body of Darius, and to array him in royal apparel, and that all the officers of the Macedonian and Persian armies should march in full armour before Darius; and he together with the Persian nobles bore the bier of Darius, and he went on foot to the grave, and the bier of Darius was carried to the grave upon their shoulders. When the Persians saw these things, they applauded Alexander’s care for Darius; and their minds were led away by love for him. And when Alexander had buried Darius with honour and had returned from the grave, the whole army of the Persians submitted to him. Then Alexander ordered a proclamation to be written to the rest of the people in the land of Persia as follows :

“From Alexander the king, whose father is the god Ammon and whose mother is the queen Olympias, to all the Persians that dwell in the cities and towns of the land of Persia, greeting. I desire that all men should live and not die an evil death; and now God has made me master of the country of Persia, and has exalted me over you. Let the lords, the nobles of your country, who served of old in the army of Darius, come now and march with me in my army, even as they formerly marched with Darius. Let them not accept any other master in their thoughts save me, Alexander. And I will give orders that every single man of you shall retain his own religion and gods and laws, and shall keep his festivals and his sacrifices, and no one shall be allowed to do anything to you by violence. Every one shall rejoice in his own possessions, save the gold and silver which we command to be gathered together and to be conveyed to our city to be coined into money and into dinars bearing my image; and we order that, if zûzê or darics be found with you, even though our own money be struck, they shall be left there with you. Let all the lords (satraps) and generals, together with the rest of the people who are fit for war, come to help my army. Nation shall not be mingled with nation, neither shall one man go from his own land to another, except those who travel for the sake of merchandise, and even of these not more than ten or twenty shall be allowed to go. Till the land and dwell in it in prosperity as in the days of Darius the king; for we desire that prosperity and abundance should be in your land. Whosoever of you desires to go to Hellas to trade and to come back from Hellas to the land of Persia, shall be allowed to go and to come. And I command the lords (satraps) and all the inhabitants that are on this road from the bank of the Euphrates to Hellas to divide and measure the road in equal portions, to pave it with stones and lime, to set up mile stones, and to write directions at the turnings of the roads, that every man may know by the writings whither the road goes, and may not have trouble and be compelled to ask questions on the road. And we command that what Darius gave every year, year by year, to the temple of the ministers of the gods for the salvation of his soul, shall now be given each year where it is due, from the crops and taxes of the land, for the salvation of his soul. And let them make a feast and offerings every year on his birthday as they do upon the birthday of king Cyrus. And we command that damsels, the daughters of free men, virgins whom men have not known, shall enter into the temple of the god whom my mother Olympias worships, for the space of one year for the service of the gods; and they have arrived at the age for marriage, they shall go forth from the ministry, and shall receive a dowry of five thousand dinars from the treasury of the god, and shall marry. And ire command that all youths and men who are in the country of the Persians shall train themselves continually in warlike exercises and arms until we come to them and select from them those that please us. And if there be any one now who is well trained in horsemanship and arms, weapons shall be given him out of the armoury of the king, and a war horse, and a beaker of gold worth twelve dinars, each weighing eight mithkâls, and five cups of silver, each of them holding what a man can take at a draught, and one suit of Persian raiment, and a belt of gold; and he shall be sent to the army. And if there be any one of them who is trained in war and who has made himself a famous name, there shall be given to him a Persian crown of gold, and a suit of white raiment, and two cups of gold, and one hundred darics, and seventy staters; and his likeness shall be painted and shall be sent to the temple of the god of Alexander. We command too that the priests of the gods shall be held in honour by all men, and they shall set a crown of gold upon their heads, and shall wear purple clothing; especially on festival days. We desire also that ye shall bring before the priests any dispute which ye may have one with another, and they shall decide it, and terminate the matter for them with moderation.”

After Alexander had composed this writing, he turned and looked upon the hosts of the Macedonians and Persians with a sad face, and he made known to them and said, “He whom I have removed from his kingdom was a great and mighty king; but he was not my lord, neither did I slay him. Now the men who slew him are those whom I know not, and it befits me to give them great gifts, and high posts, and honours; and lands, and many men, because they have slain mine enemy.”

When Alexander had made this speech, every Persian regarded his fellow, and the colour in their faces was changed by reason of fear, and one said to another, “Alexander is trying to search out our minds, wishing to know who it is that slew Darius.” And again he said to them: “I am Alexander. Him that slew mine enemy I seek to honour, whether he be Macedonian or Persian; let him come and fear not; for I swear by the gods, and by the life of my mother Olympias, that I will make renowned and great him that slew Darius, and I will exalt him over my troops.”

When Alexander had sworn this oath, the Persian host began to weep. Then the evildoers Bâgîz and Ânâbdêh came near to Alexander of their own free will and answered and said to him, “O king, doer of good things, it is we who slew Darius.” When Alexander heard this, he commanded that they should be bound, and should be carried to the grave of Darius, and impaled upon a lofty stake. Then these evildoers said to him with a loud voice, “Our lord, the oath which thou hast sworn by all the gods and by the life of Olympias thy mother is false.” Then Alexander said: “I spoke not this word of persuasion for your sakes, but for the sake of the armies who stand listening, because I was unable to bring you into the way of justice in any other manner than this. Had I not done so, I should have appeared to be rejoicing in the death of Darius, the more so as I accounted him an enemy. But my supplication and entreaty to the gods was this, that I might be enabled to destroy him that slew Darius; for how can a man who was not true to his lord, but who slew his lord audaciously and unmercifully, be true to us ? See then, we do not lie with respect to the oath which we have sworn; for now, just as I swore to you, I will make you a spectacle and a marvel to the whole camp, and I will lift you up on stakes.” So he straightway commanded them to be led away and impaled upon high stakes. Then all the hosts of the Persians applauded Alexander.

[14] After a few days Alexander wrote a letter to the mother and wife of Darius as follows. “From king Alexander to Îrândokht and Estĕhar (Stateira) greeting. At the time when king Darius opposed us with hostility, we sought to avenge ourselves according to the will of God. Although we sought the victory over Darius, we did not desire his death. On the contrary, our desire was that he might live and be under our dominion. We found him however stabbed by the hand of his troops and lying upon the ground, with very little life left in him. I was very grieved for him, and because of my sorrow I threw over him the purple robe with which I was clothed, and covered him. And I asked him, ‘Who is he that slew thee ?’ But when he had begun to give me instructions concerning his mother and his wife and Rôshnâk (Roxane) his daughter, his life departed from him, and he was unable to speak to me concerning other matters. We therefore sought out the evil-doers by stratagem, and found them, and slew them as they deserved. We ordered the body of Darius to be buried and to be guarded honourably and fittingly. And we commanded a new grave to be made beside the grave of his father, and his body to be embalmed with spices, and to be laid in the grave. And now we bid you keep yourselves from sorrow and grief, for we will re-establish you in your royalty; therefore remain where ye are, until we have arranged the matters which require arrangement. We command also that Rôshnâk the daughter of Darius be our consort; therefore do reverence to Rôshnâk as to the wife of Alexander.”

Then they made answer to him and wrote to him as follows: “From Îrândokht and Estĕhar to king Alexander greeting. We make supplication to the heavenly gods, the gods whom Olympias your mother worships, the gods who have bowed down the crown of Darius and brought it to the ground, and have taken the supremacy and dominion from the Persians, that they may make you lord of the world for ever and aye, and that they may exalt you and magnify you in words and in knowledge and in. power above all nations. We know that we shall live happily under your wings; and we wish that we may find your luck to be good, and the days of your life without number, because you have not treated us as enemies are wont to treat their captive enemies when they fall into their hands. We have therefore no anxiety in our minds, for in seeing you we see Darius; and from henceforth we will write that all the people that are in the land shall make supplication and prayer to the gods that you may rule the land and the world for over and aye, and may your dominion be like that of Hormizd (Ahuramazda). Rôshnâk (Roxane) greets you with reverence because it has pleased you that she should be your consort; and we shall be very joyful on the day that we see your marriage feast, and Zeus gives you Rôshnâk to wife.” And they wrote another proclamation to all the hosts of the Persians, as follows: “Do not suppose that Darius is dead, for Darius is alive, because the kingdom belongs to Alexander, and Rôshnâk, the daughter of Darius, is the wife of Alexander. Therefore take ye all the gods that are in Persia, and go to meet Alexander, and honour him as a god, and pray to the gods on his behalf that his dominion may be for ever and aye; for the kingdom of the Persians belongs to Alexander, and he has exalted it greatly.”

When Alexander had read this writing, he said: “These words are strange and useless; I do not seek that men should honour me as they do the gods, for I am a mortal man, and I am afraid of anything like this, for there is a heavy penalty for a man when he goes beyond his proper limit I applaud you and praise your knowledge, for when I made trial of your wisdom it pleased me; and I wrote a letter to Olympias my mother and begged of her the favour that she would come to my marriage feast, if it so pleased her.”

On this account . . . Alexander wrote a letter to Rôshnâk as follows: “From Alexander to Rôshnâk my sister greeting. I send thee clothes and other ornaments for thine own self, and to Îrândokht the mother of Darius, and Estĕhar (Stateira) his wife, for themselves. Accept then and keep for thyself these clothes and ornaments. First of all be pleasing to the gods; then pay due reverence to Îrândokht and Estĕhar, and hold them in honour; and fear thou the command of Olympias my mother, and do not exalt thyself beyond measure. If thou doest these things, both I and thou shall be praised exceedingly and all the gods be well pleased with us.” Then Alexander took Rôshnâk to wife.

BOOK III.

[1] And Alexander heard that Porus the king of the Indians had prepared troops and was wishing to come to the assistance of Darius, but when he heard that Darius was dead, he returned to his own land. And Alexander with all his hosts offered up sacrifices; then taking his army and troops, he went against Porus the king of the Indians. Now when he had gone round about and had marched for many days through a desert and torrents and terrible places and many rivers, all the chiefs of the army were worn out and said among themselves, “We have fought a great deal, we have had enough of war, and there is no need for us to fight any longer. We rightfully fought with Darius, for he imposed tribute upon us, and used to required impost and poll-tax from us every year, and we therefore destroyed Darius as was meet But now this war is unnecessary, because we are marching against the Indians, who never at any time made war with the Greeks, through this fearfully desert country, being weary and fatigued and worn out with toil. Alexander is brave and a lover of wars, and he wishes to seize all foreign countries; but why should we, who have toiled all this time and are worn out with many battles, go about with him ?”

And when Alexander heard these things, he commanded that all his forces should be assembled, and he gave orders for the Persian army to stand by itself, and for the Greek and Macedonian armies to stand by themselves. And Alexander said to them with a loud voice: “To you I speak, you Macedonians and Greeks, my fellow soldiers and auxiliaries. You know that the Persian troops are now in my hands, and are neither enemies of mine nor yours. If you give me orders and it pleases you that I should go by myself, I will go by myself; but I will speak now to you and call to your mind that I by myself was victor in the previous wars; and henceforth, with whomsoever I choose to fight, I by myself will be victor. In the war with Darius you were encouraged by my knowledge and my thoughts, because you did not understand the customs of the Persians neither did you know their skill. I stood at your head, and it was I who first went to Darius, and I escaped from the hands of Darius, from the river Gush and from my other straits. Turn now and go to Macedonia, and guide yourselves wisely if you are able, for there is no enemy in your way. If I hear that you have been able to guide yourselves and to arrive safely in Macedonia, I shall know and believe and be convinced that bravery is yours.” And when he had spoken these words, all the hosts of the Greeks and Macedonians fell upon their faces and entreated Alexander, saying, “Be reconciled to us, and put away anger from thy heart, and forgive us this folly, and we will be with thee unto the end.”

[2] Now after a few days Alexander arrived with his troops at a flourishing district in the territory of the Indians. And at that time the letter carriers of Porus the king of the Indians came to him, and brought a letter from Porus to Alexander, in which was written as follows: “From Porus the great king of the Indians to Alexander. I have heard of thee, that thou doest damage in countries and cities, but what art thou able to do to the gods and how canst thou fight against them? Fate came to Darius king of the Persians; thou didst hurl thyself against him, and so thou thinkest that just as thou didst become strong and didst lift thyself up against Darius, so thou art able to exalt thyself against others. But I am he that has never been conquered; I am not only king of men but of the gods also; and the proof I give to thee is this, that the god Dionysus returned defeated by the hands of the Indians. I do not now advise thee, but I command thee to go quickly to Hellas thy country, for thou art not able to intimidate me by the war which thou didst carry on with Darius and with the other nations through whose feebleness thou hast become exalted; and so thou thinkest that thou art a mighty man and more exalted than king Porus, the lord of gods and men. Turn now, go back, and depart to thy country Hellas. If we had wanted Hellas, we would have taken it before king Xerxes. But because it is a wretched place and has nothing worthy of a king, we have scorned and despised it and have not subdued it. Therefore I say to thee, every man desires to acquire whatever is good and excellent, and never desires what is hateful. So now for the third time I say to thee, turn and go back, for thou art not able to do anything, therefore do not covet.”

When Alexander had spoken to the troops in this manner, he encouraged them mightily and he made answer to Porus by letter as follows: “From Alexander to Porus, the king of the Indians, greeting. The minds of all the troops that are with me have been made proud by these words which thou hast written to me, and their desire has been made the more ready for war by what thou hast said, that there is nothing beautiful and noble to be found in Hellas. By thy saying too that the desire and longing of each man goes after what is beautiful, by reason of this saying I and my forces now long to do battle and to make war with thee. Thou hast by thy words greatly encouraged us against thee, for we Greeks are poor, and there is nothing costly in our land, while you Indians are rich and what is costly abounds in your land. And now our mind and longing and desire are set upon the fair things which are to be found in your land, and we will fight with all our heart until we take that which belongs to you. Thou didst also write that thou art king of gods and men, and thou hast exalted thyself above the gods; but I am going to contend in war with thee as with a warrior, and I am not going to do battle with thee as with the gods; for all the weapons in the world are unable to contend against the gods, and how can mortal man contend with Him, before the cold of whose winters and the crashes of whose lightnings and thunders the world is unable to stand? And just as thou art not afraid of me by reason of the war which I carried on with Darius and with other nations, even so I am not afraid of these perverse words which thou hast written to me.”

Then Alexander commanded that this letter should be read before his troops, and he said to them: “My fellow soldiers, let not your minds be afraid because of these words of king Porus which he has written to me in his letter. Be mindful too of those words which Darius used to write to me. Verily I say unto you that the barbarians and dwellers in all these regions are all as stupid and as ignorant as the wild beasts that live in their country. Leopards and lions and elephants and panthers are over confident by reason of the strength of their bodies, and it is well known that they can be easily captured by the knowledge of man with stratagems and artifices. In the same way the kings who dwell in these regions, and all the barbarians, are proud by reason of the number of their troops, but they will be easily defeated by the knowledge of the Greeks.”

[3] After Porus had seen this letter, he commanded the whole army to be assembled, and a number of elephants to be brought to the conflict, and mighty wild beasts with them. And when the Macedonians and Persians drew near and came to the ranks of Porus, they saw and trembled, for they observed that the ranks were formed of wild beasts and not of men; and even Alexander himself was afraid, because he was accustomed to fight with men and not with wild beasts. Then he sat down and reflected in his mind, and gave orders to bring such brazen images as could be found among his troops. And when the images were collected, which were in the form of men and quadrupeds, - now they were about twenty-four thousand in number - he ordered a smith’s furnace to be set up; and they brought much wood and set fire to it, and heated those images in the fire, and the images became glowing coals of fire. Then they took hold of them with iron tongs, and placed them upon iron chariots, and led the chariots before the ranks of the warriors; and Alexander commanded horns and trumpets to be sounded. When the wild beasts that were in the ranks of the king of the Indians heard the sound of the trumpets, they rushed upon the ranks of Alexander’s army; and since the brazen images which were full of fire were in the van, they laid hold of them with their mouths and lips, and burnt their mouths and their lips. Some of them died on the spot, and some of them retired beaten and fled away to the camp of the king of the Indians. The wise Alexander, having turned back the wild beasts by this artifice, began to fight with the Indians themselves.

Now the battle by day time was very fierce, and the Persian troops prevailed over the Indians in fighting on horseback and with bows and arrows, and many men died on both sides. The horse which was called Bucephalus, upon which Alexander rode, by the sorcery of Porus threw Alexander off his back. Then by reason of this Alexander was in great tribulation, and he went on foot, holding and leading with his hand the horse which was called Bull-head, for he thought, “Peradventure he may fall into the hand of the enemies.” And the troops of Alexander did battle with the Indians continually for twenty days, and they were weary and sore enfeebled, and because of their fatigue they wished to surrender to the Indians.

[4] When Alexander perceived that his forces were desirous of doing this, he commanded them to cease [fighting]. He then drew near to the van, and cried with a loud voice to Porus and said to him: “O Porus, king of the Indians, there is neither renown nor glory when a king destroys his troops; but if thou art now willing, let the troops rest, and I and thou alone will fight together.” When Porus heard this speech, he rejoiced and agreed with him to do so, saying, “I will fight with thee alone;” for he saw that Alexander was very small in stature, while he himself was very tall. Now Porus was five cubits high, and Alexander three cubits. Then Alexander commanded his troops to stand in order, and Porus also commanded his troops to do likewise. The two came to the contest on foot; and when they had approached one another, there was suddenly a confusion and a great noise in the ranks of the Indians; and Porus was alarmed and turned round and looked upon his forces. When Alexander saw that Porus had turned round and was looking behind him, he ran at him and stabbed him under the shoulders and drove the weapon out beneath his navel and slew him.

When the Indians saw that Porus was slain, they came to fight. Then Alexander said to the troops of the Indians, “You wretched Indians, your king is dead, and will you fight ?” The troops of the Indians answered and said to him, “We are fighting that we may not become captives.” Then Alexander said to them: “Return to your city and do not fight, because I will leave you free and will impose no tax upon you; for I know that the offence was not of you, but of Porus.” Now Alexander said this because he saw that his own troops were few and he was not able to meet in battle the legions of the Indians. Then Alexander commanded the body of Porus to be buried honourably, and he made ready to go to another place, which was called Ratnîrôn, that he might fight with them, for he heard that they were sages and naked and that they dwelt in huts and holes of the earth.

[5] When these people heard that Alexander was come, they sent certain sages that were among them to Alexander with their letter. And when he saw their letter, be found written therein as follows, “From the Brahmans, the naked sages (gymnosophists), to the man Alexander greeting. We write to thee thus: if thou desirest to come in order to make war with us, thou wilt gain nothing at all from us, for we have no property at all that can be taken away from us by war; and if thou desirest to take away that which we have, thou canst only take it away by entreaty, for our property is knowledge, and knowledge cannot be taken away by war; but even this thou art not capable of learning, for the heavenly will distributed and gave to thee war, and to us knowledge.” When Alexander had read this letter, he went to them peaceably, and he saw that they were all naked, and that they dwelt under booths and in caves, and that their wives and children went about the plain like sheep.

[6] Then Alexander asked one of them, “Have you no graves here ?” The Brahman said, “The place where we live is our house, and it is also our grave; here then we lie down, and bury our bodies continually in it, that our training and our teaching may be in this world and that the term of our life in yonder world may be for ever and aye.” And he asked another Brahman, “Which men are the more numerous, those that are dead or those that are alive ?” The Brahman said, “Those that are dead are the more numerous, for those who will hereafter come are not to be counted among those who are now alive; and you must know of yourself what innumerable myriads have died through thee and these few legions that are with thee.” He asked another Brahman, “Which is the mightier, death or life ?” The Brahman said, “life; for when the sun rises and becomes warm like life, he covers over the feebleness of night by the beams of his radiance, and becomes strong. So also they who are dead are fallen beneath the darkness of death; but when life rises upon them like the sun, they will again come to life.”

He asked another Brahman, “Which is the older, the earth or the sea?” The Brahman said, “The earth, for the sea too is placed upon the earth.” He asked another Brahman, “Which is the most wicked of all living things?” The Brahman said, “Man.” Alexander said, “Tell me how so.” The Brahman said, “Ask thyself how many beings go about with thee, that thou mayest wrest the lands and countries of other living beings, thy fellow creatures, from their owners, and hold them thyself alone.” Alexander was not enraged at this speech, for he wished to hear. He asked another Brahman, “What is kingdom?” The Brahman said, “Greed and brief power, and arrogance, and the insolence of wicked doings.” He asked another Brahman, “Which existed first, night or day?” The Brahman said, “Night; for a child is first of all created in darkness in the womb of his mother, and then when he is brought forth, he sees the light” He asked another Brahman, “Who is he whom we cannot deceive by lying?” The Brahman said, “He to whom all secrets are revealed.” He asked another Brahman, “Which limbs are the better, those on the left side or those on the right” The Brahman said, “Those on the left; for the sun shines on the left side; and a woman suckles her child first from the left breast; and when we sacrifice to God, we make our offering to him with the left hand; and kings hold the sceptre of their kingdom in their left hand.”

And when Alexander had asked this question, he said to them, “Whatsoever you desire ask of me all of you at once, and I will give it you.” The Brahmans said, “We ask of thee immortality.” Alexander said, “I am not master over immortality, because I am mortal.” The Brahmans said, “Since thou art mortal, why dost thou make all these wars and battles? When thou hast seized the whole world, whither wouldst thou carry it ? for since thou art mortal, it will remain with others.” Alexander said, “All these things happen by the providence and the will of heaven, and we wait on the heavenly command; for just as the waves of the sea are not lifted up unless the wind blows upon them, nor do the trees shake when there is no wind, so neither are men able to do anything without a command from above. I very much desire to rest from wars, but if all men were of one mind and one will, the whole world would be a wilderness and without cultivation; no man would sail on the sea in ships, neither would any cultivate the earth, and there would be no generation of children. How many unlucky men are there, who have got mixed up with these wars which I have carried on, and whose possessions have perished from them ! And on the other hand, how many lucky men have there chanced to be, who have become enriched by the possessions of others ! Every one of us then who plunders something from another leaves it again to someone else, and we depart naked and empty.” When Alexander had spoken these words, he turned away from the Brahmans, and he was much fatigued and worn out by the journey, for the country through which he was marching was pathless, and no one had ever marched through it before.

[7] Then Alexander composed a letter to Aristotle his master concerning everything that had happened to him, and he wrote to him thus:

“ From Alexander to our master Aristotle greeting. I desire, O my teacher, to write and inform thee of what has happened to me in this land of the Indians. When then we had drawn near to the place called Prasiakê, which, as they say, is the great city of the Indians and at a distance from the shores of the Great Sea, we saw figures of men; and when we came close up to the spot, we saw men feeding upon the shores of the sea, and their faces were like those of horses, and they lived upon fish. And when we had called aloud to some of them, for we wished to enquire of them concerning that place, we perceived that their speech was barbarian. And we saw in the midst of the sea something of which they said that it was the grave of the ancients and very old, and that there was much gold in it. And I desired much to go in a boat to the island, but those barbarians suddenly hid their boats, and did not leave more than twelve. Then I gave orders to seize those twelve boats, and I was going to embark in them and go to the island, but my dear friend Philon, and Hephaestion, and Kartîl [Craterus], and other friends, would not allow me to embark in a boat and go to the island. Philon said to me, ‘ Bid me go in a boat first and cross over to the island; and if (which God forbid) there be anything evil, I shall die before thee; and if it be otherwise, I will come back and do thou also pass over; for if Philon perishes, Alexander can find many friends like Philon, but if (which God forbid) Alexander were to perish, his like could not be found in the whole world.’ Then I gave way and bade them embark in the boats and go over to the island; and when they had embarked in the boats and had drawn near the island, the thing turned out to be an animal and not an island at all; and it sank and vanished suddenly in the sea, and my friend Philôn disappeared in the vortex of the waters and perished; and I was in great trouble and deep affliction. Then I ordered those barbarians to be seized, but they fled away and hid themselves.

And we remained where we were for eight days. And we saw a wild beast like an elephant, but its body was much larger than an elephant’s; and when we saw it, we ran at it with our weapons, but it suddenly fled away from our sight And when we saw this, we came from thence to Prasiakê disheartened and in sorrow. And since we have traversed a number of the countries of the world, and have seen many wonderful sights, I thought that I would write and inform thee, O my teacher; for I have seen beasts of all kinds and shapes, and wonderful sights, and marvels, and various and divers species of reptiles; but the most wonderful thing of all was this, that I saw the failing of the sun and of the moon, which takes place in its appearance, which is in winter and from time to time; and so I thought it necessary for me to write to thee about each one of these things.

Now when I had slain Darius and had taken his country and had traversed it, I found therein a number of treasuries, and there was much gold therein, ingots and cups of gold for mixed wine, which were set with gems of various sorts; some of them held ninety measures of wine, and some fifty measures; and there were goods of various kinds.

And we began our march from the Caspian gates unto the border of the Indians; and we heard that that country was a desert and a wilderness, and that wild beasts and snakes and other kinds of evil reptiles were abundant therein. And I commanded the trumpeters to sound at the tenth hour of the day, and to beat the drums; and from the tenth hour of the day to the third hour of the night the phalanx was marching, and so we went on the whole night When it was day and the sun had spread abroad his rays, I commanded the trumpeters to sound, and the whole phalanx to encamp until the third hour of the day; and I commanded the horsemen and foot soldiers to wear shoes and greaves and breastplates and arm-pieces of raw hide on account of the evil reptiles of that country, for no man was able to walk about without such clothing, lest perchance he himself should become the cause of his own death.

Having marched along so strange a road as this for twelve days, we drew near to a city which was situated between rivers; and we commanded a ditch to be made along the banks of that river. We saw in that river a reed the height of which was thirty cubits, and its thickness as that of a garland which a man puts on his head. The whole city was overshadowed by these reeds; and when we observed the city, it was not built upon the ground, but upon the reeds. We found in that river a boat, and when we had embarked therein, we went and observed, and it was exactly as we had seen at a distance. When we tasted the water of the river, it was more bitter than bitter herbs; and I was very much annoyed when I observed its bitterness, for I did not find sweet water in that place. My ditch was dug along the bank of the river for two miles; and some of my fellow soldiers, thirty and six in number, scornfully cast off the skin garments from their backs, and wished to bathe in the river. When they had gone down to the water, a number of reptiles rose up against them, and seized those men, and dragged them into the river, and killed them in the water. When I saw these things, I crossed over again to the other side of the river. And when I saw the innumerable reptiles, I was in every way afflicted and distressed, and I departed from that place. And I commanded the horns to sound a halt from the sixth hour of the day until the eleventh. I saw too that the foot-soldiers and horsemen were drinking their own urine because of thirst. Now when we had departed thence, another obstacle fell in our way, for we drew near to a lake, and we found therein every species of animal and reptile. When we tasted those waters, we perceived that they were sweeter than honey, and we were very glad. And when the phalanx halted and went on foot towards the lake, they saw upon its shore a pillar with an inscription which ran thus: ‘I Sîusînîkôs (Sesonchosis), the ruler of the world, have caused this lake to be made for the watering of those who live on and travel by sea.’
When the night drew nigh, I ordered a couch to be prepared and a fire to be lighted around it, and I commanded that each horseman and foot-soldier should likewise light a fire by the side of his head. When I lay down upon my couch, the moon rose soon after, - it was about the third hour of the night, - and wild beasts of various kinds came forth from the jungle and came to the lake. Out of the earth too and from the sand white and red scorpions issued, each of which was a cubit long. And in the midst of the phalanx there sprang up snakes with horns on their heads, some red and some white, and they bit and killed a number of the men, and there was a great outcry and weeping heard from within the camp. We saw a lion that came to drink water, and he was larger than the oxen that are in our country; and we saw beasts with horns on their noses, and they were larger than elephants. We saw also wild boars that were larger than the lion, and the tusks of each of which were a cubit long; we saw too wolves and leopards and panthers and beasts with scorpions’ tails, and elephants, and wild bulls, and ox-elephants, and men with six hands apiece; and we saw men with twisted legs and teeth like dogs and faces like women. And we were afflicted in our soul and were in grief. Then I commanded my troops to put on every man his skin clothing, to take his weapons in his hand together with wood and fire, and all to go in a body to the jungle and set it on fire. When we had done this, a great number of reptiles hastened of their own free will to the fire, some of which were burnt therein, and some were slain by the hands of my troops and perished. Of the wild beasts we slew some and others fled away.

After the moon had set and it was dark, an animal which was bigger in its body than an elephant and which they call mashkglath in the language of the country, came into the ditch and wished to spring upon us, but I straightway called out to my troops to take courage and stand ready. Now the longing and desire of the animal was to enter the ditch and to kill men, and suddenly it rushed into the ditch and killed twenty-six men, and amid loud noises and struggles it too perished by the hands of my troops; and after it was dead, we with three hundred men dragged it with great toil from the ditch and lifted it out And we looked amid the darkness and saw reptiles which they call night-foxes, the length of which was from six to eight cubits. We saw also water crocodiles, the length of each of which was twelve cubits; and we saw bats which were as big as eagles, and their teeth were like those of men. We saw likewise night-ravens, the beaks and claws and talons of which were like those of eagles, and they sat around the lake, and did not harm human beings, neither did they come near the fire. My troops killed a great number of them, and when it was day they all hid themselves.

And we departed from thence and came to a wood, and in that wood there were trees bearing fruit, and their fruit was very luscious; and within the wood there were wild men; whose faces resembled ravens, and they held missiles in their hands, and their clothing was of skins. When they saw us, they cast missiles at my troops and slew some of them; and I commanded my troops to shout and to charge them at full speed; and when we had done this, we slew six hundred and thirty-three of them, and they slew of my horsemen one hundred and sixty-seven. And I ordered the bodies of those that were dead to be taken up and to be carried to their own country. We remained in that place three days and fed upon the fruit of the trees, because we had no other food.

And we departed thence and came to a river in which there was a copious spring of water; and I gave orders to encamp there that my troops might have a little rest At the ninth hour of the day, behold a creature half beast, half man, which in its body was like a wild boar reared upright; and it was not at all afraid of us. I commanded my troops to catch it, and when they drew near to it, it was not at all afraid and did not run away from them. Then I ordered a naked woman to go towards it, that we might easily seize it; but when the woman went up to it, the beast took hold of the woman and rent her, and began to devour her. When we saw this, we went against it at full speed, and smote it and killed it. Then we departed from the country of the beast-men, for there was a countless number of men like this in it, and we slew myriads of them, because we all stood ready with arms. And I gave orders to cut down all their wood and to set it on fire, and we burnt them together with their wood.

And we departed thence and arrived at the country of the people whose feet are twisted; and when they saw us, they began to throw stones, and they threw accurately and aimed at us. When I saw that they slew some of my troops, I ran at them alone with my sword drawn, and by great good luck I stabbed the chief of those people with twisted feet. The rest were afraid, and ran away, and hid themselves under the rocks in various places; and there were some among them with asses. We set out again from thence and came to another place where there were men with lion’s heads and scaly tails.

From thence we set out again and came to a river. And upon the bank of the river there was a tree, which grew and increased from dawn until the sixth hour, and from the sixth hour until evening it diminished in height until there was nothing to be seen of it. Its smell was very pleasant, and I gave orders to gather some of its leaves and fruit, when suddenly an evil wind burst forth upon my troops and distressed them pitilessly; and we heard the sound of violent blows, and swellings and weals appeared upon the back of my troops; and after this we heard a voice from heaven like the sound of thunder which spoke thus: ‘Let no man cut ought from this tree, neither let him approach it, for if you approach it, all your troops will die.’ And there were birds too which were like partridges. And I commanded that they should not cut aught from that tree, nor kill any of the birds. There were also stones in that river, the colour of which when in the water was deep black, but when we brought them out, they were quite white, and when we threw them in again, their colour again became deep black.

And from thence we set out and halted by a spring. And when we had marched through a desolate wilderness, we arrived at the ocean which goes round the whole world. And while we were going along the shores of the sea, I commanded the phalanx to encamp; and I heard the voice of men speaking in the Greek tongue, but I did not see them, nor did we see anything else in the sea except something like an island, which was not very far from us. Then a certain number of my troops desired to go to that island by swimming; and when they had stripped off their clothing and plunged into the sea, beasts in the form of men, but whose bodies were very large, came up from the deep and seized twenty of my soldiers, and plunged down into the depths.

Then we departed thence through fear, and came to a certain place. And the people who were in that place had no head at all, but they had eyes and a mouth in their breasts, and they spoke like men, and used to gather mushrooms from the ground and eat them. Now each mushroom weighed twenty pounds. And those men were like children in their minds, and in their way of life they were very simple.

And from thence we set out and came to a certain place which was waste; and in the midst of that place there was a bird sitting upon a tree without leaves and without fruit, and it had upon its head something like the rays of the sun, and they called the bird the ‘ palm bird ‘ (phoenix).

Then we set out from thence and came to a place amid groves of trees which were large, and in these woods there were wild beasts like the wild asses of our own country. Each of them was fifteen cubits in length, and as they were not dangerous, my troops killed a number of them and ate them.

Then we marched on our road sixty-five days, and arrived at a place which they call Obarkia (?). And on the seventh day we saw two birds, the bodies of which were very large, and their faces were like the face of a man; and suddenly one of them said in the Greek language, ‘O Alexander, thou art treading the land of the gods,’ and again it said to me in the same language, ‘ Alexander, the victory over Darius and the subjection of king Porus are enough for thee.’ And when we had heard such words as these, we turned and came back from the country of the Obarkenâyê (?).

Then I gave orders to set out from this place, and we came thence to the foot of a certain mountain. This mountain was very high, and a temple had been built on the top of it, the height of which was a hundred cubits. When I saw this, I marvelled greatly. It was girt round with a chain of gold, and the weight of the chain was three hundred pounds. I gave orders to open the door of the temple that I might go in with my troops. When we went in, we found in it two thousand five hundred steps of sapphire, and we saw inside a very large chamber the windows around which were of gold, and in them there were thirty figures of gems and of gold. And when we drew near to the chamber, we saw that the whole temple was of gold, and over its windows there were golden images, figures of Pan and the Satyrs, who were musicians, and in the windows there stood dancers. In the temple a golden altar was placed, and by it stood two candlesticks of sapphire, the height of each of which was forty cubits. Lamps of gold were set upon them, which shone like the light of a lamp. And upon the altar instead of fire was placed a lamp made of stone, which shone like a star. In the temple a couch of gold was placed, which was set with gems; its length was forty cubits, and cushions of great value were laid upon it; the form of a huge man reclined thereon, and an effulgence shot forth from him like the lightning flash. Over him was spread a garment worked with gold and emeralds and other precious stones in the form of a vine, the fruit of which was of gold set with gems, and before the couch an ivory table was placed. When I saw this, I was unwilling to draw near hastily and uncover his face and see who it was. Then I sacrificed in the temple to the god and did reverence, and I turned away and came out. And when I had come out and was in the doorway of the temple, there was suddenly a terrible sound like the noise of thunder, and like the noise of the uproar and billows of the sea. And when that roaring noise ceased, I heard a voice from within the temple which said to me thus: ‘ King Alexander, rest and cease from thy toils; enter not the temple of the gods, neither reveal their mysteries; for he whom thou hast seen upon this couch is I Dionysus, and I tell thee that it is given to thee to conquer in this war for which thou art prepared, and to come to our country to rest, and they shall reckon thee among our number.’ When I heard a voice like this, my mind was in fear and joy, and I again sacrificed and did reverence to him; and I went out to go about that place and to record this sight in it.

Then I gave orders to kill those fifty Indians our guides, who had led us astray in such roads and places, and to throw them into the sea; and we turned to the road towards Prasiakê, and arrived at a region abounding in trees, where I commanded my troops to rest a little. And when I desired to set out from thence, at the sixth hour of the day, a wonderful sign happened to us; now this sign took place on the third day of the month of Ab. First there came suddenly a mighty wind, which tore up all the tents in our camp from their places, and we all fell upon the ground. Then I commanded my troops to pitch their tents again, and to make firm their tent pegs and to keep carefully on the watch. But before their tents were pitched, a dense and black cloud appeared, and its mist was so dark that no one could see his fellow. And we saw in the midst of that dense cloud in the air a fire burning in the darkness; and we also saw in front of that fire about the distance of two miles a black cloud; and when the fire drew nigh, the fire blazed forth from within that black cloud until the whole was fire. This sign appeared continually in this manner for three days; and for five days we did not see the light, but snow fell upon us; and out of the mass of my troops some were caught in the snow outside of the tents and died, and when the sun rose, many of our men perished. We desired to set out from thence but were unable, because the country was a plain, and the snow stood three cubits high from the ground; so because of the difficulty and hardness of the journey we remained where we were thirty days. And after staying thirty days where we were, we set out from thence, and on the fifth day we came to the city of the Prasiakâyê, and took the treasury and the goods which were in it.

Then all the Indians who lived in that city came to me of their own free will and spoke to me thus: ‘O great king, no living man has ever walked in the cities of the kings, and the mountains of the nations, and the temples of the gods, which thou hast seen and in which thou hast walked; and henceforth there is no king in the world who may be compared with thee. Command us now to do whatever seems right to thee, for we too will be obedient to thee, and will lay all the gold and silver that is in our country before thee.’ Then said I to them, ‘If there be anything renowned, or any marvel in your country, which a king ought to see, show it to me, and I will not ask any other thing of you.’ Then a certain Indian said to me, ‘King Alexander, we have something famous, which it is right that thou shouldst see. We will show thee therefore two talking trees, which talk like human beings.’ And as soon as he had said this speech, I commanded them to beat him, as one who had said something which he was not able to show. Then he said to me, ‘O king, doer of good things, I have not lied in what I have said to thee.’ Then I rose up from there and went a journey of fifteen days with the Indian, and we arrived at a certain place, and he spoke thus: ‘This is the end of the south quarter of the world, and from here onwards there is nothing at all except a wilderness, and ravening beasts and evil reptiles, and none of us is able to advance beyond this place.’ When he had said this to me, he brought me into a beautiful garden, the wall of which was not of stones nor of clay, but trees were planted round it and were so dense that not even the light of the sun or the moon was seen through them; and in the midst of the garden there was another enclosure which was hedged round, and they called it the temple of the sun and of the moon.

And two trees were there, the like of which for length and breadth I had never seen. Their length was immeasurable, and so I thought that their tops were near unto heaven. Their appearance was like unto the cypresses which are in our country, and they grew up within the enclosure; and they said that one of them is male and the other female. They said of the male that he is the sun, and that the female is the moon, and in their language they call the one mîtôrâ, and the other mâyôsâ. Skins of all kinds of animals were lying there, before the male skins of males, and before the female skins of females; but no vessels of iron or brass or tin or clay were found there at all. And when I asked them, ‘Of what are these the skins?’ they said to me, ‘Of lions and leopards, because those who worship the sun and moon are not allowed to wear any other clothing but skins.’ Then I asked them about these trees, ‘ When do they speak?’ And they said to me, ‘That of the son in the morning and at midday and towards evening, at these three times it speaks; and that of the moon in the evening and at midnight and towards the dawn.’ Then the priests that were in the garden came to me and said to me, ‘ Enter, O king; purely, and do reverence.’ Then I called my friends Phormiôn (Parmenion), Artarôn (Craterus), Gôrôn (?), Philip, Miktôn (Machetes), Tarnsargôthâ, (Thrasyleon), Thirtakîth (Theodektes), Phîlêa (Diiphilus), and Khadkliôn (Neokles); twelve men I took, and we began to enter the temple. The chief priest said unto me, ‘O king, it is not meet to bring into the temple tools of iron.’ Then I bade my friends take their swords and put them outside the enclosure, and I ordered these twelve alone of all my troops to go in with me without their swords, but I gave orders that they should first go round about the trees, because I thought that they might have brought me there treacherously; but after they had come in and had gone round about, they said to me, ‘There is nothing at all here.’ Then I took hold of the hand of one of the Indians and went in there, that when the tree spoke, the Indian might interpret for me; and I swore to him by Olympias my mother, and by Ammon, and by the victory of all the gods of the Macedonians, ‘ If I do not hear a voice from this tree as soon as the sun sets, I will slay you all with the sword.’

As soon as the sun had set, a voice came from that tree in a barbarous tongue; and when I asked the Indian ‘What is this voice from this tree ?’ he was afraid to explain it to me and wished to hide it. Then I straightway understood, and I took hold of the Indian and led him aside and said to him, ‘ If thou dost not explain this voice to me, I will kill thee with a hard and bitter death.’ And the Indian whispered in my ears, ‘The explanation of the voice is this: thou wilt shortly perish by thy troops.’ Then I and my friends went again into the temple by night, and when I had drawn near to the tree of the moon, and had done reverence to it, and placed my hand upon it, again at that moment from the tree a voice came in the Greek tongue, ‘ Thou shalt die at Babylon.’ And when I together with my friends were marvelling at this wonder, my mind was troubled and sorrowful, and I desired to put the glorious and beautiful crown which was upon my head in that place; but the priest said to me, ‘ Thou canst not do this, unless thou choosest to do it by violence, for laws are not laid down for kings.’

Then, as I was in trouble and sorrow because of these things, my friends Parmâôn (Parmenion) and Philip tried to persuade me to sleep and to rest myself a little. I did not consent however, but remained awake the whole night. When the dawn was near, I and my friends together with the priest and the Indians again entered the temple; and I and the priest went to the tree, and I laid my hands upon it and questioned it, saying, ‘Tell me if the days of my life are come to an end; this too I desire to know, if it will be granted me to go to Macedonia, and to see Olympias my mother, and to ask after her welfare, and to return again.’ And as soon as the sun had risen and his rays had fallen upon the top of the tree, a loud and harsh voice came from it, which spoke thus, ‘ The years of thy life are come to an end, and thou wilt not be able to go to Macedonia, but thou wilt perish in Babylon after a short time by the hands of thy kinsfolk, and thy mother too will die a hideous death by the hands of thy kinsfolk, and in the same way thy sister also; but do not ask further concerning this matter, for thou wilt hear nothing more from us.’ Then I took counsel with my troops, and we set out again from thence and marched along the road a journey of fifteen days. And when we had gone straight forward on our march, we arrived at the country of Prasiakê, I Alexander with these Indians and with my troops. The Indians who dwelt in that land brought offerings to us, and they brought offerings to us also from far countries. They brought to us skins of fishes which were like leopard’s skins, only they were larger, and there were in them teeth, some of which were one cubit long and some three cubits; the ears (gills) of these fishes were each six cubits long, and the weight of each of them was a hundred pounds; and the teeth of these fishes were some of them two cubits long and others three. [They also brought things] like oyster shells, each of which held fifty cups of water, and which were very beautiful in appearance; and thirty purple sponges, and fifty white ones, and various other things.

Then we set out from the country of Prasiakê, and set our faces straight for the east. And when we had gone a journey of ten days along the road, we came to a high mountain; and some of the people that lived on the mountain said to us, ‘ King Alexander, thou art not able to cross over this mountain, for a great god in the form of a dragon lives in it, who protects this country from enemies.’ And I said to them, ‘ In what place is the god ? ‘ They said to me, ‘ He is a journey of three days from here by yon river.’ And I said to them, ‘ Does this god change himself into another form?’ And they said to me, ‘ Enemies never dare to come to this country through fear of him.’ And I said to them, ‘ Is he able to keep off enemies from all your coasts ? ‘ And they said, ‘ No, only on that side where his dwelling is.’ And I said to them, ‘ Has this god a temple ? and do you go to his presence and know him ? And they said, ‘ Who can go near unto him that can swallow an elephant by drawing in his breath?’ And I said, ‘ Whence know you this, since you go not near him ? ‘ And they said, ‘ We know that a number of people are swallowed up by him every year, besides two oxen which they give to him regularly every day for food from our land, and he also kills men.’ And I said, ‘How do you give him these two oxen to eat?’ They said, ‘ He that is set apart for the service of the god selects oxen from the land, and takes two of them each day in the morning, when as yet he has not come forth from his temple, and goes down to the bank of the river; and he ties the legs of the oxen, and throws them upon the bank of the river, and he goes up to the top of the mountain; and when the god comes forth from his temple, he crosses over that horrible river, and swallows up those oxen.’ And I said to them, ‘Has this god one place for crossing, or does he cross wherever he pleases ? ‘ And they said, ‘ He has but one place for crossing.’ Then I bethought me that it was not a god but a phantasy of wicked demons.

I took some of the people of the land with me, and set out from thence, and came to the bank of that river. And I commanded them to place the oxen as they were accustomed to do, and I and my troops stood upon the top of the mountain. And we saw when the beast came forth from his den and came to the bank of the river. When I saw the beast, I thought that it was a black cloud which was standing upon the bank of the river, and the smoke which went forth from its mouth was like unto the thick darkness which comes in a fog. And we saw it crossing the river, and when as yet it had not reached the oxen, it sucked them into its mouth by the drawing in of its breath, as if cast by a sling, and swallowed them. When I had seen this, I gave orders next day that they should put two very small calves instead of the two big oxen, that the beast might be the more hungry on the following day. After it had found the two calves, it was obliged to cross over again on that day; and when it had crossed over for the second time, by reason of its hunger, it went wandering from this side to that but found nothing. And when the beast desired to come on towards the mountain, all my troops with one voice raised a shout against it; and when it heard the shout, it turned and crossed the river. Then I straightway gave orders to bring two oxen of huge bulk, and to kill them, and to strip off their hides, and to take away their flesh, and to fill their skins with gypsum and pitch and lead and sulphur, and to place them on that spot. When they had done this, the beast according to its wont crossed the river again, and when it came to them, it suddenly drew both of the skins into its mouth by its breath and swallowed them. As soon as the gypsum entered its belly, we saw that its head fell upon the ground, and it opened wide its mouth, and uprooted a number of trees with its tail. And when I saw that it had fallen down, I ordered a smith’s bellows to be brought and balls of brass to be heated in the fire and to be thrown into the beast’s mouth; and when they had thrown five balls into its mouth, the beast shut its mouth, and died. And we set out from thence and came to a region in which was a high mountain, and a river which they call Barsâtîs (?) went forth from it; and they told us that there was a god in this mountain, and that the whole mountain was of sapphire. Then I and my troops ascended the mountain, and it was full of fountains and springs of water; and the people of that country said to me, ‘Do not march confidently in this mountain, for its gods are mighty.’

Then I ordered sacrifices to be offered to that place, and suddenly from the mountain there came a multitude of kinds and sounds of singing. When I heard this, I again did reverence; and I heard a voice from the mountain which spoke to me thus in the Greek tongue, ‘ King Alexander, go back, and advance no farther; for from here onwards the country belongs to men who by their knowledge and power have conquered and subdued a number of armies.’ And I answered and said, ‘ Since it has pleased you thus to speak, inform me whether, if I go by myself, I shall return alive from thence.’ And the gods answered and said to me, ‘ Go thyself, for it is given to thee to see something beautiful.’ I answered again and said, ‘ What is the beautiful thing which I shall see ? ‘ And the gods said to me, ‘ Thou shalt see a king, a son of the gods, from whose country an honoured priest goes to a number of countries, and thou shalt learn how from something small something so noble may arise.’ When I had heard this, I commanded a city to be built by that mountain, and a brazen statue to be erected upon it, and I ordered it to be named ‘Alexandria, the queen of the mountains.’

And I commanded my troops to remain in that place, and I with twenty of my friends arose and arrived at a place which they call Kâtôn (? Cathay); and we stayed where we were three days, and we set out from thence and marched a journey of ten days through mountainous roads and watery lands. And again we marched a journey of fifteen days through a desert and arrived at the confines of Sîn (China). When we arrived in China, I gave myself the name of Pîthâôs, the ambassador of king Alexander. When we approached the gate of the king of China, they went in and informed him of my arrival, and he gave orders to question me outside. Then Gundâphâr (Gondophares), the chief of his army, questioned me concerning my coming to China, and I said to him, ‘I am an ambassador of king Alexander.’ And Gundâphâr said to me, ‘ Why hast thou come hither ?’ And I said, ‘ I have been sent to the king of China; my message is to him; and it is not right for me to utter the message which I bring from my master before thee.’ Then Gundâphâr went in to the king of China and informed him, and the king ordered the palace to be decorated, and silk curtains to be hung up, and a golden couch to be prepared; and he bade them call me.

When I entered his presence, I did not make obeisance to him, and he questioned me, and said to me, ‘ Whence comest thou ?’ I answered and said, ‘ I am the ambassador of king Alexander.’ And he said to me, ‘ Who is Alexander ?’ I said, ‘ He is a Macedonian, the lord of the world, and the bearer of the sovereignty of the Persians and Indians.’ And he said to me, ‘Where is the land of Macedonia?’ I said, ‘In the western quarter of the world, at the place where the sun sets.’ And he said to me, ‘ Where didst thou leave this Alexander ?’ And I said, ‘He is near, and not far off; lo, he is by the river Bîrsâtôs (?). And he said to me, ‘ Why has he sent thee?’ And I said, ‘ My lord Alexander has been set by the gods as lord over the kings of the world, and I am come to bring thee to him, and my message is this: Thus saith Alexander, I have been established over all the kings of the world by the will and decree of the heavenly gods, and over all rulers will I be chief and commander; whosoever accepts willingly this my sovereignty, his whole territory shall remain his and he shall continue in his dominion; but whosoever receives me not, his country and his dominion are no longer his. And if thou dost not believe me that it is so, ask and learn what greatness and renown Darius the king of Asia had in the world, for he was a warrior and a conqueror, and yet afterwards, because of his obstinacy, to what a place was he abased and degraded ! Porus too, the king of the Indians, who was so great and mighty, and fertile in artifices and stratagems, and versatile and rich in every craft, and so thought that he was not only lord of men but also chief and lord of the gods, learn what an end befell him through his obstinacy. Now I have heard concerning thee that thou hast good and great knowledge and understanding, and I thought that I would not come against thee with camps and troops as against an enemy, but I have sent an ambassador to thee as to a friend, that thou mayest come to me of thine own free will, and that I may see and taste of the treasure of thy knowledge by the fruit of thy words from the gates of thy mouth; and if there is anything worthy of being seen in thy land, bring it with thee that I may see it’ Then he questioned me and said to me, ‘ Is King Alexander mighty in body ? ‘ And I said to him, ‘No; on the contrary, he is very small.’ And he said to me, ‘ To-day thou must make merry with me after the manner of ambassadors, and to-morrow thou shalt receive the answer to thy message.’ When the hour of the banquet was come, the king of China commanded, and they made me sit in the banquetting hall among the lower seats.

When the banquet was finished, he ordered them to prepare a sleeping apartment in the royal palace, and bade me sleep there; and in the morning, while it was yet dark, he ordered me to be brought in before him. When I entered, I did reverence to him. When he saw that I made obeisance to him, he was perplexed concerning me, and ordered me to be questioned again. When I had repeated ray message afresh before him, he said to me, ‘ Thy message is that of yesterday, but thy deeds are not those of yesterday; yesterday thou wast one thing, and to-day thou art another.’ I said to him, ‘Thou hast spoken rightly, O king, for yesterday I myself by the words of my message was clothed in the person of Alexander; in me, O king, thou didst see Alexander, and in the speech of my lips thou didst hear that of Alexander; but to-day I am Pîthâôs the ambassador.’ Then he commanded and they brought a cloak, and he said to me, ‘Shew me how Alexander is formed in stature.’ And I said, ‘In stature Alexander resembles me.’ And he said to me, ‘Is not the king taller than thou?’ And I said, ‘No.’ Then he gave orders to measure my height and breadth and to cut the cloak according to my measure. And when they had cut it, he ordered it to be rolled up and sealed, and he said to me, ‘Pîthâôs, go and carry this answer from me to king Alexander, and say to him: I have heard thy message which thou hast sent to me, and of thy fortune, thy bravery, and thy exaltation. Thy victory then over Darius, and thy might, and thy victory over Porus, and thy subjection too of a number of nations. I do not think that such exaltation as this is caused by thy good fortune alone, but I imagine that it arises from their bad luck, and particularly because everything that comes to pass is given by fortune. Now to thee fortune and luck have been given by fate, and such elevation as this, which was not granted to Darius and Porus who were before thee. Therefore it is meet for thee to know that thou shouldst have no confidence in fortune, and that thou shouldst not weary thyself more, and that thy hands should not become the executioners of those who have drawn nigh to and reached the end of the days of their life, for the name of executioner is a disgraceful one. And as regards thy message to me concerning my coming to thee, behold, by the words of my mouth I stand before thee, and I speak with thee by the tongue of Pîthâôs. Be not angry then because my body comes not to thee, and do not come to our country with warfare, for we have never at any time surrendered. I do not speak these things for thy sake, as if we were stronger than thou art, but I say this on my own account; for shouldst thou come against us, and our luck let go its hold of us, as it did of Darius and of king Porus, thou wilt slay us all, and thy hands will be our executioners, for none of us will accept bondage in his lifetime. And let this also be in thy mind, that, if thy luck turn somehow against thee, this great name of thine and might of thine will perish by fate, for this lying fortune does not remain constantly in one place. We men then who thus work and plan, and by a great deal of expense and toil and executioner’s work slay a number of men of our kind and race, and seize a number of countries, afterwards, whether we will or no, everything leaves us and departs, and of the number of countries which we seize, and the numerous regions which we subdue, a piece of land the size of this cloak comes to us.’

Then he straightway gave the cloak into my hands, and a crown of gold studded with pearls and jacinths, and . . . a thousand talents; ten thousand pieces of undyed silks, and five thousand brocaded silks; two hundred figures of cane, and one hundred painted (?) skins, and one thousand Indian swords; five wild horses, and one thousand skins of musk, and ten snakes’ horns (?) each of which was a cubit long: and he said to me, ‘Carry this offering from me to Alexander.’ Now I was minded not to accept them, but I thought afterwards, ‘If I do not take them, peradventure he may have doubts of me and may find out that I am Alexander.’

So I and my friends returned from thence and came to the body of my troops; and I commanded them to set out from thence, and we came through mountains and a difficult country to a plain and a desert region. And from thence we marched a journey of twelve days through the desert. And in that desert we saw numbers of wild animals which were like our gazelles, but their heads and their teeth were different, and they were like foxes. And we saw the animals from whose navels they take the musk. On the thirteenth day we arrived at a camping place of savage barbarians, who were very well furnished with horses and arms. When those savages saw us, they came against our encampment with arms and war; and when we saw that they had come for war, I commanded my troops to make ready, and when they had come near, my troops shouted and we joined in battle together. Now when we had closed with one another in fight, by good luck it so happened that I slew the chief of those thieves with the sword; and when they saw that their chief was slain, and that many were killed on both sides, they turned their backs and fled from us. And I commanded my troops that the wives and children of these savages should be slain and their possessions pillaged.

And we set out from thence and came to a country which they call Sebâzâz (?). All the people of that land, together with the priests of their gods, came to us with offerings and spices, and we remained in that country ten days, and I commanded all the priests of that land to offer sacrifices.

And we set out from thence, and came to a country which they call Sôd [Sogd], and the country was very populous. I saw there a large river going forth on the south-west quarter, and that river was difficult to cross; indeed there was no means of crossing it whatever. I was greatly troubled and supplicated all the gods that are in Macedonia and Ammon the god of Libya, and I vowed that if they would aid me to cross this river with my troops, I would build a city on the other side and set up a temple of the gods in it. When the people that were in that country heard of our coming, they sent to me saying, ‘Do not pass over into our territory, for we will not allow thee to come into our territory.’ And when I heard this message, I ordered those ambassadors to be bound and guarded; and I asked them, ‘ Where is he that is ruler and chief in this land ? and in what town does he dwell ? and how many of the nobles of the land has he with him ?’ The ambassadors said, ‘Swear to us by the gods that thou wilt do us no harm, and we will carry thee and show thee the spot, for all the nobles of this country are in that place.’ Then I swore to them by all the gods, saying, ‘If you show me rightly, I will not kill you; but if you say aught otherwise, I will kill you together with the others that are in the towns.’ And as the gods willed, I gave orders to take each of those eight ambassadors by himself and to question him, and when we got the statements of all of them, we found that they agreed.

I ordered my troops to get ready and Kôkaros (?), the chief of the host, to question one of the ambassadors who was bound; and with fifty horsemen I set out early in the night to go and spy out the road and to observe the town, because it was night and we did not know the custom of the country, and owing to this I was afraid. Then a kundâkôr went and explored the way; he returned and came to me and said to me, ‘The road is easy and the town is not large.’ Then I and my troops went to the town, and I commanded the horns to be sounded and the troops to encircle the town; and I ordered much wood to be brought and fire to be kindled around the whole of the town, and the troops to stand outside the fire; and I commanded them also to kill everyone who should flee from the town. When the people that were in the town heard the sound of the horns, they came forth from the houses and saw the fire round about the town, and some of them wished to flee; and as they fled from the town, they died by the hands of my troops. Then their chief and the nobles that were in the town came forth from the town and said with a loud voice, ‘King Alexander, let thy wrath turn to favour, and do not order thy servants to be slain.’ Then I commanded them to come to me; and when they came, I gave orders to guard them vigilantly.

And we came to the country of the Sundîkâyê; and when I saw that the whole country yielded to me, I commanded a city to be built there and to be called Samarkand. I ordered a temple to be built therein to the goddess Rhea, whom they call Nânî , and when they had built it, I ordered it to be painted with gold and with the choicest paints, and a Greek inscription to be written thereon; and I commanded that all the Sundikâyê should come to that place and should make a feast to Rhea and offer sacrifices to her. When the Sundikâyê had done this in their country, they were firmly reconciled to Alexander in friendship and love.

And again we set out from thence and went to the river Bartêsîtôs (?), the interpretation of which is ‘crystal.’ When the king saw that the river was large and difficult to cross, he ordered all the carpenters and artificers that were in Sôd to be brought, and bade much wood to be given to them; and he commanded Espistâhândos (?) to build a thousand Alexandrian boats. And he ordered the bows of the boats to be very sharp (?), and he bade two cables to be made of the bark of trees, each of them fifty cubits in thickness, and ordered men to cross over to the other side of the river in boats and to construct a kind of tower there. When they had made it, I gave orders to measure the breadth of the river, and to bring all those boats to the bank thereof, and to fasten them all to the one rope, and to one another with planks of wood; and to the other rope they fastened thousands of bags of ox-hide filled with air; and I commanded them to take the rope across and to fasten the end of it to the tower. When they had fastened the rope, be ordered a strong rope to be tied to the boats from the one side to the other, and a number of men to pull with ropes from that side. And when the head of the boats reached the middle of the river, the boats went on and were stretched out by the force of the current (?), and the bridge became straight. And he commanded a number of men to pull on this side and on that, and in the middle, with the rope which was fastened on the bank of the river, lest the boats, with the rope by which they were tied, should knock upon the stones and be broken. And when the bridge reached the rope, the ships at first struck the skins with violence, but the shock was broken and lightened by the skins. Thus he constructed the bridge by his skill and craft, and he ordered the troops to pass over.

When we had crossed the river and had gone a journey of two days, I saw a river that was copious and abundant in its flow, and towns with numerous hamlets and country houses were round about it, and the people of that country were simple in mind, and the country was rich in crops, and there was plenty of corn and fruit therein. I commanded the phalanx to halt in that place, and we remained where we were for five months. I ordered a large city to be built there; and on account of the beauty and desirability of the country, I commanded that it should be named afresh, and to the city I gave the name ‘a part of Cush,’ which is called in Persian Behli. And I ordered two temples to be built in the city, the one to Zeus, and the other to Rhea; and I commanded them to be constructed with lime and stone and at much outlay; and I commanded a statue to be made in brass of myself and another of my friend Îdmâlos (?), and to be set up in those temples. And by reason of the fairness and beauty of the country, some of the Greek troops that were with me desired to stay there; and I gave orders that five hundred men should remain and dwell there, more particularly for the honour of those temples; and I commanded sacrifices to be offered and a great feast to be made.

And from thence we set out and came to a river, on the bank of which I commanded the phalanx to encamp, and we rested where we were for five days. And when I gave orders to set out from thence by night, Paryôg the . . . and his band came against us. My soldiers had let loose their horses and cattle to graze quietly along the bank of the river, and Paryôg and his band seized all the horses and cattle, and went into a wood, and led them away from the bank of the river. When I heard these things, I took a band of foot-soldiers and some Macedonian troops, and we pursued after Paryôg that day along the river by means of the prints of the horses’ hoofs which had been imprinted on the bank; and we went after him a journey of one day, but we did not overtake him. Then I made a vow to the god Ammon and made supplication to him, saying, ‘If we overtake Paryôg and his band, in the place where I overtake him I will build a city to thy name, O Ammon, and will set up in it a temple to thee.’ When I had gone five miles along the road, the earth was covered with water, and the hoof marks of the horses were no longer seen. I ordered the foot-prints of the horses to be sought for around the water and the wood; and when they had looked for the foot-prints but did not find them, I knew that the god Ammon would come to our assistance. And I ordered them to set fire to the skirts of the wood all round, so that Paryôg and his troop were not able to bear the flame of the fire. Then they all came out from the wood, and my conquering troops fought with Paryôg and slew him, and he died. And of Paryôg’s band some died by the fire, two hundred and seventy men, and a thousand and three hundred others perished by the hands of my troops; and we got our horses and our cattle. We made the whole camp rest there, and I commanded earth to be brought for all the waters which were detained there, and the place where all the waters were to be filled up, and a city to be built upon it, and a temple to be made therein to the god Ammon. And we were in that spot four months, and when the city and the temple were finished, I commanded men to be brought from various places to dwell therein, and I called its name Margiôs (Margiana), that is Mârô (Merv), and I offered sacrifices to the god Ammon there.

[8] When then we were ready to go from the country of Margiana to the land of the Persians, I desired also to go quickly and without delay to the country of the Samrâyê and to see their kingdom, for the kingdom of the Samrâyê was renowned among the Athenians and in the land of Hellas, and they were wont to say of it that all the walls of the city were of whole stones, the length of each being three stades, which make a mile. It has one hundred and twenty gates, and the gates are all bound with iron and brass outside, for iron is abundant in their country; and all the houses that are built in that city are of hewn stone from their foundations to their roofs. Over their country a woman reigned, who in her appearance was very beautiful; she was of middle age, and was a widow; and she had three sons, and her name was Kundâkâ (Candace), the lady of the Samrâyê. To this lady Alexander composed a letter and wrote to her thus: “From king Alexander to queen Candace greeting; and to the generals of the country of the Samrâyê greeting. When I went to Egypt, I saw there your graves and dwelling-places; and when I asked the priests of that country, they told me that you dwelt in Egypt a long time, and that the god Ammon was with you as a helper. And after some time, by the oracle of Ammon, the god of his own accord sent to our border, saying, that I should go to your border and should sacrifice to him. If it pleases you, do you also come to the border with the images, that we may hold a festival together.”

Then Candace, when she had read this letter, made answer to him thus: “From Candace, the queen of the Samrâyê, and from all the generals of the Samrâyê, to king Alexander greeting. When of old we went to the land of Egypt, we went by the command of the oracle of Ammon, and he himself was with our army. Now too he has commanded us, saying, ‘ Beware lest you move me from my place; neither shall you go to another spot; but if any man shall come to your country, fight with him as with an enemy.’ Thou wilt not catch us with this impudent speech of thine, for we are inspirited with the same spirit as thyself, even more than the illustrious and renowned who are in thy army. I have troops to the number of eight hundred thousand, who are ready and prepared to fight with the evil one. Thou therefore hast done well, since thou hast proposed this in honour of the god Ammon; but if thou desirest to offer sacrifices to the god Ammon, do thou come by thyself, and let not an army come with thee. Farewell.” And my ambassadors brought from her one hundred solid missiles of gold; five hundred ass-goats, which they call in Persian khar-bôz; of different kinds of the bird which is called pâipâ (parrot) two hundred; two hundred apes; a crown of gold set with emeralds and pearls for the god Ammon who is within the border of Egypt; twenty unpierced pearls; thirty unpierced emeralds; and eighty small boxes of ivory. And she sent to us of different kinds of beasts three hundred and fifty elephants; three hundred leopards; eighty animals which are called rhinoceros, and in Persian markedad or bargedad; four thousand hunting bears and leopards; three thousand dogs that eat men; three thousand buffaloes for killing; three hundred leopard-skins and one thousand three hundred teak rods: and she said thus, “Do thou take these things, and inform me in writing if thou art lord over the whole world.”

[9] Then Alexander accepted these things and sent to her Kdîmiôn (Cleomenēs) the Egyptian as an ambassador with a letter to the queen. And when Candace heard from Alexander how he had taken different countries and captured cities and overcome and subdued mighty kings, she bade a certain painter of hers, a Greek, arise and go to the place where Alexander was, and paint for her his face and figure accurately, without the king’s being aware of it, and bring it to her. And when the painter had gone and painted the portrait of Alexander and brought it to her, Candace took the likeness and hid it in a certain place.

Then it fell out that a son of Candace, whose name was Kandâros (Candaules) with his wife and a few horsemen, came to the country of the Amazons to perform the mysteries of the gods; and it came to pass that the chief of the Marnîkâyê slew his horsemen and took his wife, and Candaules escaped with a few horsemen, and came to the camp of Alexander. Then the guards of Alexander’s camp took him and brought him before Ptolemy, the second in the kingdom, Alexander being asleep. Then Ptolemy questioned him, “Who art thou ?” Candaules said, “I am the son of queen Candace.” He said to him, “What art thou doing here ?” Candaules said, “I and my wife, with a few horsemen, came to the country of the Amazons, as is our wont every year, to perform the mysteries of the gods; this time, however, the chief of the Marnîkâyê saw my wife, and came against me with a large troop, and wrested my wife from me, and slew a number of the horsemen that were with me; and now I am come back that I might fetch a number of troops and do battle with him.” And when Ptolemy heard this, he arose and went in to the king and awoke him, and related these things which he had heard before him. When Alexander heard this, he rose up early in the morning, and gave his crown to Ptolemy, and arrayed him in his purple robe, and said to him, “Go before me, as if thou wert king, and call me Antôgnâyâ [Antigonus], the chief of the host.” And when they had gone out, Alexander spoke before Ptolemy these words which he had heard.

So Ptolemy went forth and looked upon the troops; and the troops thought that it was Alexander, and grief and trouble fell upon their hearts, and they said one to another, “What else pray is this Alexander who is rich in plans meditating?” When Candaules saw this, fear took hold of him, for he thought, “Peradventure they will slay me.” And Ptolemy gave orders and questioned Alexander after the manner of kings, saying, “Antigonus, who is this man ? “Antigonus said, “This is Candaules, the son of queen Candace, from whom, while he was journeying along the way, the chief of the Marnîkâyê carried off his wife by force; what, O king, dost thou counsel and command me to do ?” The king said, “I counsel and command thee that thou shouldst take my troops, and go and fight with the Mârônîkâyê, and deliver his wife from thence. On account of the dignity and wisdom of Candace his mother, thou shalt rescue his wife, and give her back to him.” When Candaules heard this, he was glad. Antigonus said, “Since it is pleasing to thee, O king, I will go and carry out this matter; only do thou give orders that they supply me with troops.”

[10] Then Ptolemy in the guise of Alexander commanded troops to go with Antigonus. Antigonus came to that place while it was yet day, and said to Candaules: “Come, let us hide ourselves on one side until it is the night, for if the Mûrîkâyê see us, they will speedily tell their chief, and he in his anger will slay the woman before the fight, and what joy will there be in our victory when thy wife is dead ? Let us tarry now, and enter the city at night; and we will set fire to it, and in the midst of the crush in the city, they shall bring thy wife to thee, for our fight is not with the country, neither is it for the government of the city, but for the sake of bringing back one woman.” When Antigonus had spoken these words, Candaules fell upon his face and made obeisance to him, saying, “How admirable is this wisdom and knowledge of thine, Antigonus! It were right that thou thyself shouldst be Alexander, and not merely the chief of the host” When it was night, they went to the city; and when the people of the city were awakened out of their sleep and asked concerning the cause of the conflagration, Alexander commanded his troops to shout with a loud voice, “It is Candaules the king with his vast army, and he commands you, saying, ‘ Either restore my wife to me, or I will burn your whole city with fire.’ “Then the people by reason of their fear went in a great crowd to the palace of their chief, and carried off the woman from his bed, and brought her and gave her to Candaules. Then he made obeisance to Antigonus, and praised his counsel, and thanked him, and they returned together to the camp of Alexander. And Candaules embraced Antigonus, and said to him, “O my lord, trust thyself to me and come with me to my mother that I may give thee gifts.” Then Antigonus rejoicing at this speech said to him, “Ask permission for me from the king, for I myself am desirous to come and see the city.” Then he sent to the king saying, “Send Antigonus as an ambassador to my mother.” Ptolemy called Candaules and said to him, “Do thou, O Candaules, salute thy mother in writing, and receive Antigonus my general as ambassador, and send him back to me too in health, for he restored thee along with thy wife, and will carry thee to thy mother.” And Candaules said, “O king, I accept this man from thee on these conditions, as if he were Alexander, and I will send him back to thy kingdom to thee in health with gifts.”

[11] Then Alexander took with him one division of the army, with cattle and chariots, and went. And as they were marching along the road, they saw a mountain of beryls, which in its height reached the clouds, and it was thickly crowded with lofty trees and fruits, but its trees were not like the trees which are in the country of the Greeks. The apples for example which we saw were as large as the citrons which are in the country of the Greeks; the clusters of grapes were like the clusters of dates in our country; and the nuts were as big as melons. Snakes were coiled round the greater number of the trees, and each of them was as big as a ferret with us; the apes upon the trees were larger than bean with us; and there were a number of animals of different kinds; and the mountains were the caves and paths of ibexes. Then Candaules said to me, “Antigonus, this place is the temple and dwelling-place of the gods, and many times they appear in these spots. Now then, if thou pleasest, when thou art on the way back, offer up a sacrifice to them that they may reveal themselves to thee.” When Candaules had said this, we journeyed on and arrived at the royal palace. And when we drew near, his mother and brethren came to meet us; and when they wished to embrace Candaules, he said to them, “First of all salute the saviour and deliverer of myself and wife, Antigonus, the ambassador of Alexander king of peace.” And when he went on to tell them severally of the carrying away of his wife and of the assistance which came from Alexander’s army and of the knowledge and wisdom of Antigonus, his mother and brethren embraced and kissed Antigonus, and prepared a great and splendid feast for him, and they ate.

[12] On the following day Candace put on the royal apparel, and set the crown upon her head, and was so ornamented that, when Alexander saw her, he thought that he was looking upon Olympias his mother. Tho whole roof of the house in which she sat was painted with gold, and its walls were all set with precious stones and gems, and the cushions which were in the house were all woven with silk and fine gold; the legs of the couches were of magnificent beryls, and the tables in the house were of ivory, and the pillars of the house, their bases and their capitals, were made of precious beryl stones; statues of Corinthian brass stood upon the tops of the pillars, and the pillars were of purple stone, and representations of chariots and of men were engraved upon them; and these carvings were so marvellous that everyone who saw them thought that the horses were going to run. Some of the stones were wrought in the form of elephants, which were standing in battle and holding enemies in their trunks. Statues of all the gods of the nations stood round the whole house, and others were standing on pillars; and the roof of their house appeared from the inside as if all the plane-trees and cedars of the earth were growing there; and there was the representation of a lake round about it, so that the whole house was reflected by the waters that were painted in it. When Antigonus (that is to say Alexander) saw this, he marvelled and wonder laid hold on him. And Candaules entreated his mother that gifts and offerings should be given to this ambassador as befitted the greatness of his knowledge. Then on the following day Candace took Alexander by the hand, and led him into a chamber. The whole chamber was inlaid with white marble like the heavens, and by reason of the splendour of the marble everyone who saw it thought that the sun was shining in it; and the beams of the roof were of a wood which they call ôbmiôn, which wood no woodworm attacks, neither does it burn in fire. The foundations of the house were not laid upon the ground, but upon square beams which were very thick; and beneath it, at its four corners, were chariot wheels, and elephants were drawing them; and whithersoever the queen went to war, she dwelt in it and lived in it.

Then Alexander said to Candace, “O queen, all these things would be worthy of admiration, if they were in the country of the Greeks, but here they are not very marvellous, for there are many mountains like these here, in which are to be found beryl stones of divers colours and variegated in many ways.” Candace answered with indignation and said to him, “Thou hast spoken rightly, Alexander.” When Alexander heard that Candace called him by his own name, he was troubled and he turned his face backward. Candace said to him, “Wherefore dost thou turn thy face backwards because I called thee by thy name Alexander ?” Alexander said, “My lady, Antigonus is my name, and Alexander is the king who sent me hither.” Candace said, “I know that Alexander is the king, and thou thyself art Alexander, and now I recognise thee from the look of thy picture ;” and straightway she took him by the hand and led him into another chamber, and showed him the likeness, and said to him, “See if thou canst recognise the face in this painting.” When Alexander saw the painting of himself, his mind was perturbed, and he began to gnash his teeth. Candace said to him, “Why art thou troubled, and why dost thou gnash thy teeth at me, O bearer of the sovereignty of the Persians and Indians, who hast gained the victory over the Persians, and triumphed over the Parthians ? Without war and without an army hast thou now fallen into the hands of queen Candace. Know then, Alexander, that it is not right for a man to glorify himself in his mind as though all wisdom and knowledge belonged to him alone, for though his wisdom be very great, one may be found who is wiser than he.”

When Alexander heard this, he stood up in a rage and gnashed his teeth, and Candace spoke thus to him: “Why art thou angry ? and for what reason dost thou gnash thy teeth, O thou who art so great a king ? “Alexander replied: “I am a wretched man, inasmuch as I have no sword.” Candace said to him: “Suppose thou hadst a sword, what wouldst thou be able to do ? “Alexander said: “If I had a sword, I would either slay thee, that thou mightest no longer be in the world, or I would stab myself, because I of my own freewill have exposed myself to ridicule.” Candace said to him: “Thou hast spoken these words also valiantly and royally; but now weary not thyself, neither let thy mind nor thy will be perturbed, for as thou hast rescued my son and my daughter-in-law, and hast brought them in safety to me, so also will I protect thee from the barbarians, and will send thee away from here under the name of Antigonus. For if the barbarians should hear that thou art Alexander, they will slay thee, because thou didst slay Porus the king of the Indians, for my daughter-in-law is a daughter of Porus. Henceforward let thy name be called Antigonus, and I will keep this secret.”

[13] And when she had spoken these words to him, they both went out; and she called her son and daughter-in-law and said to them, “Son Candaules, and thou too, my daughter Mâlâpsâ, had you not obtained the help of Alexander’s troops, we should never have seen one another, neither you me, nor I you. Now therefore it is right that thou shouldst send this ambassador of Alexander’s away from here with honour and glory.” Then her other son Kerâtôr said: “My mother, Alexander has delivered my brother and his wife; but my wife is angry and says, ‘ Alexander slew my father Porus, and I now desire that thou wilt slay this ambassador of Alexander to avenge my father’.” Candace said: “My son, what profit wilt thou gain by this, that this ambassador be slain here? for though thou shouldst slay this ambassador here, Alexander will not be grieved.” Candaules said: “I will not allow him to die, because he delivered myself and my wife, and it is right that I should send him away safe from hence to Alexander.” Then Kerâtôr said, “If thou send this man away from here, there will be war between thee and me.” Candaules said, “I do not desire this; but if thou seekest war, I too am ready.”

Now Candace was in great trouble and affliction because of this matter, for she thought that peradventure her sons would fight with one another on this account, so she called Alexander privily and said to him: “O Alexander, thou hast been on every occasion astute and abundant in knowledge and fertile in expedients and skilled in contrivances; and now art thou able to do nothing to prevent these my sons fighting with one another for thy sake?” Then Alexander answered and said: “Hear ye, Kerâtôr and Candaules; if you slay me here, do not imagine that Alexander will be distressed on my account, or that he will sorrow for me, (though it is not right to kill an ambassador even in war,) because, if you slay me here, Alexander has many ambassadors like me. But if you desire that I should deliver Alexander into your hands without trouble, I am able to do it; but do you now promise me what you will give me, and how many towns and cities you will give, that henceforward I may live with you in this country, and I will go and persuade Alexander to come hither, as if you had asked him that you might honour him with great and excellent offerings; and I know that I am able to bring him hither without any body of troops, and when he comes here, you can easily take him and revenge yourselves on him.” When Kerâtôr heard these words of his, he was persuaded and promised Alexander a number of his own towns. Then Candace, marvelling at the knowledge and understanding of Alexander, called him secretly and said to him, “O Alexander, would that thou also wert my son, for by the knowledge and wisdom which thou hast thou art able to subdue all nations.”

And next day Candace dismissed Alexander and gave him gifts, a royal crown of gold set with . . . and a breastplate of gold set with beryls and chalcedonies and other precious stones, and a purple cloak like stars woven with gold; and she sent some of her own horsemen with him.

[14] Then he went forth from thence and arrived at the hill of which Candaules had told him that it belonged to the gods. He offered sacrifices in that place, and he went into a cave, and saw in that cave a blackness out of the midst of which stars were shining, and suddenly he heard behind him a noise of dead bodies and the sound of an uproar. Then Alexander trembled and stood up silently to see what it was; and suddenly the darkness disappeared, and he saw the form of a man reclining upon a couch, and his eyes were like sparkling stars. And he said to Alexander, “Peace be with thee, Alexander; dost thou know who I am?” Alexander said, “Nay, my lord, nay.” Then he said to him, “I am Sêsânkôs (Sesonchosis), the ruler of the world, and from the time that I died I am with the gods; I, who am immortal, am not so renowned as thou art” Alexander said to him, “How so, my lord ?” He said to him: “I took the whole world and subdued a number of nations, yet now there is no remembrance of me on earth; but thou art renowned on account of the city of Alexandria the Great which thou hast built; thy name will be famed for ever. But now come within and see the Maker of all natures.” And when Alexander had gone within, he saw a fiery cloud and the great god Serapis seated upon a throne. And Alexander said, “My lord, I saw thee in the vision at Thebes as thou didst sit, and behold I see thee here too.” Then Sesonchosis said, “My lord Serapis dwells in one place, but reveals himself everywhere.”

Then Alexander said, “My lord, how many years longer shall I live ?” Sesonchosis said: “It is well for mortal man when the day of his death is hidden from him; for when he learns when his death shall take place, from the day that he knows concerning his death he considers himself as already dead. But as for thee, when thou establishest and completest a great and famous city, thou shalt enter it, whether with death or without death, and the people of the city will receive thee, and will do reverence to thee as to a god, and thy grave shall be in that spot”

[15] When Alexander had heard these words from the messenger (or angel), he set out on his road, and the generals of his forces came to him on the way, and straightway put his crown upon him, and arrayed him in royal apparel. Now Alexander had made ready to go to the country of the Amziôs (Amazons), which was the land of women. These Amazons are women, who have one breast like a man’s and one like a woman’s. When Alexander drew near and had arrived in the country of the Amazons, he composed a letter and wrote to them as follows: “From Alexander to the Amazons greeting. You have heard concerning the war which we had with Darius, and of that with Porus the king of the Indians, and how I slew them. And after I had slain them, I went to the country of the Indians, and saw there the Brahmans and their sages, and received tribute from them, and allowed them to remain in their own land, and they sacrificed to the gods on my behalf. And I turned away from them, and now I have made ready to come to you. Come you then to meet me and receive me, for I am not coming to make war nor to do anything evil; but I come to see your country, and I will benefit you.”

When they had read the letter, they wrote him an answer as follows: “From the Amazons and the chiefs of the hosts of our camp to Alexander greeting. We write to thee that thou mayest know, before thou comest hither and before thou enterest our country, that perhaps when thou comest hither, thou wilt be obliged against thy will to retreat and turn back. In this letter too we will inform thee of all our affairs, and what is the condition of our country, and in what state it is. By our nature we are women, but owing to our bravery we are superior to men. We live upon an island in the sea Meznîkos, and there is a sea round about it, the beginning and end of which are unknown, and there is only one place of crossing over to us. We who dwell in the island are in name virgins, and are in number two hundred and eighty thousand. We have no man with us, and no male is found among us; for our husbands live on the other side of the sea. At the time of the year when we slay horses and offer sacrifices to Zeus and to Hephaestus, during that festival we cross over to the other side of the sea, and we make a feast together with the men for thirty days, and those who wish to stay with their husbands stay. She that conceives remains where she is until she gives birth to a child; and if she bears a female, she leaves it with fosterers on the other side of the sea for seven years, and then they bring her over to this side to us. Should any unfriendly people come against us in battle, and it be necessary for us to make war with them, we go forth to battle one hundred and thirty thousand strong upon equipped horses, and the remainder keep watch in the camps and on the islands. Our husbands come after us; and if it happen that some women of us die while we are doing battle with the enemy, our husbands take their bodies and carry them to the islands. If the troops of the enemy be mighty and powerful and numerous, and do battle with us for many days, should any of our women slay any of the enemies’ host, we give them a crown from the altar of Zeus. If it fall out that we rout an enemy who is stronger than we, and that they are conquered by us, it is a great disgrace to those mighty and powerful enemies that they are conquered by the hands of women and turn their backs in flight; but on the other hand, should it happen that the enemy has the advantage over us in war, and we turn and come to our islands in discomfiture, it is not accounted a brave deed to those men, neither is their victory deemed creditable to them, because it is merely women whom they have conquered. Do thou therefore consider this, for peradventure it may happen thus even to thee. My lord the king, if it please thee, retire, and we will each year give thee as a gift what is right. Do thou then make a reply to our letter on this subject as thou art bound to do, and we are in our camp on this summit prepared and ready.”

[16] When Alexander had read this letter, he smiled, and ordered an answer to be made to this letter of theirs as follows: “King Alexander to the Amazons greeting. We have taken and subdued three ends of the world, and have been victorious over them; and now it would be a great disgrace to us if we did not come to your country. Now, if you desire your own destruction and that of the rest of the people in your land, remain where you are upon the top of the mountain: but if you desire to live and to dwell in your country, and are not desirous to experience a trial of our strength, cross over to this side, and come to see us with your husbands in the plain, and receive us, and I swear by the soul of my mother and by the fortune of Hera the mother of the gods, and by Athena the lady of battles, and by Artemis the great goddess, that I will do no evil unto you. But whatever tribute you are willing to give for the benefit of my troops, I will accept it from you. Let as many horsewomen as you please come to my army, and I will give each of you five dinars as the pay of each month, besides the food of the horsewomen and of the horses; and I will keep them in my army one year, and then I will send them away to their own places, and do you send others in their stead.”

When this letter had been read and they had taken counsel among themselves, they made answer to him as follows: “From the chiefs of the Amazons and all the generals to Alexander greeting. We grant thee power to come and see our country. And afterwards we will give to thee each year a thousand pounds of gold for a crown; and those who bring them to thee shall remain in thy camp a year. If it should happen that any of them fall in love with men, let them marry them and dwell in the land. Do thou send to us the number of the women who die and of those who remain, that we may send to thee other women in their stead. And henceforward we will obey thee far or near, for we have heard of thy excellence and thy goodness and thy might and thy power. And what are we more than the rest of the world that we should not receive thee as lord ? Farewell.”

[17] Then Alexander made ready, and when he drew near to the country of the Amazons, Zeus rained so great a rain upon them that the hoofs of all the cattle and horses rotted away by reason of the quantity of rain, and the saddles of the horses and the pack-saddles of the cattle were destroyed. After the rain had ceased, a fierce and powerful heat came upon us, which no one of us was able to endure; and then came lightnings and thunderings and mighty sounds from heaven to such a degree that many of the horsemen fell upon their faces through fear. When we had crossed over the river Zûtâ (?) and saw the country, the whole country was decorated with temples and altars, like the land of the Indians. When we saw the abundant rain, we remembered the snow which fell upon us in the country of Prasiakê; and when the people that were dwelling in that land saw all the rain and the ill, they said that it happened because of Alexander. They came to Alexander and said to him, “O good king, depart from our land, and we will give thee sixty mighty elephants trained to war and one hundred thousand chariots.” Then Alexander gave orders to accept them from them, and he departed thence. Then those five hundred horsewomen came to meet him, bringing the gold, and they stood in Alexander’s presence and laid the gold before him. When Alexander had seen the country of the Amazons, he ordered sacrifices to be offered to all the gods that were in the land.

And he set out from thence, and on the way a letter met him. “From Aristotle to Alexander greeting. I have heard that thou hast laboured in many battles and wars, and that thou hast also taken and subdued a number of countries and many cities. Thou hast been able to do all these things by the aid of the gods, for at present thou art but thirty years of age, and by the assistance of the gods thou hast performed such deeds as no other lord has been able to do in a number of years. Therefore thou art under many obligations to the gods, and now the time has come for thee to pay them back with sacrifice and incense, for great is thy debt to the gods who have honoured thee, and thou wilt not be able to pay it in a short time.”

When Alexander had read this letter, he and his host returned to Babylon. And when he had drawn near to Babylon, he wrote a letter to his mother Olympias in which he wrote as follows.

“From Alexander to Olympias my mother, greeting. In a former letter I informed thee accurately concerning the things which I did previously, from the beginning as far as the country of Asia; and now it appears to me that I ought to inform thee by writing of all that took place afterwards, after I arrived at Babylon. I Alexander took my forces consisting of brave and mighty warriors one hundred thousand, and I made ready to depart from Babylon. In ninety-five days I arrived at the cave of Heracles, and I saw two statues, one of gold and the other of silver; the length of each was twelve cubits and the breadth two cubits; and I did not believe them to be solid but thought that they were cast. Then I commanded the troops of my army to halt, and I sacrificed to Heracles, and I ordered the golden statue to be bored with a borer; and when I perceived that it was all of gold and that it was solid, I commanded that the shavings from the boring should be weighed, and they weighed one thousand three hundred mithkâls of gold. And we set out from thence and marched to a mountainous place, and came to a broken country, and in that place the darkness was so dense that the troops were unable to see one another. We remained in that place seven days, and from thence we came to a warm region. In that place there was a great river in a level plain, and on the banks of that river women dwelt in the guise of Amazons, but they surpassed the Amazons in their bodies and their beauty; they were clothed in black garments, and they all went armed on horseback; and all their arms were of silver, for in the place where they dwelt there was neither iron nor brass. They dwelt on the bank of the river on the other side, and when we came to the bank of the river, we found no crossing whereby we might pass over to the other side, for the river was very deep and very wide, and upon its bank on this side there were a number of savage animals. These women crossed over to this side of the river by night and carried off some men of my troops, and we were unable to cross over after them to the other side.

[18] And from thence we departed and began to come to the shore of a great sea; and we arrived at a place on the right of which was a high mountain, and on the left the sea; and in that place we sacrificed a number of white horses to Poseidon, the divinity of the sea, and we made a hunt there. And from thence we departed to a place, the ground of which was not visible to us by reason of the darkness and blackness; and thenceforward there was no land. We found five ships, and having embarked in them we put to sea. On the third day we arrived at a city, of which they say that it is the city of the sun, and the circumference of that city is twenty miles. In the middle of it was an altar, and upon it there was a chariot, which was made of fine gold and emeralds, and a priest of the sun stood upon it; and in that place we sacrificed to the sun. From thence we came a journey of one day, and found a great darkness, and there was no road, so I gave orders to light branching lamps of silver, and to carry them before my troops.

And we retired from thence and arrived at the river Sakhan, which divides Asia and Europe; and thence we made ready and came to the palace of Khusrau and king Pâkôr; and in that palace we saw a number of ingenious things which are needed for great purposes. And there was a room made within it, and a statue of one of the gods of the Greeks stood there, and they say that at the time that king Xerxes was alive, when any of his enemies were preparing to come to his land with war and battle, a voice issued from this statue. And a cage of gold was suspended from the ceiling of the room, within which cage a golden dove was confined; and they say that when the voice came from the statue in the speech of men, this dove interpreted it When I desired to take this dove from thence and to send it to the country of the Greeks, they said to me, ‘Do not take it, because this dove counsels this god.’

And I also saw something worthy of admiration in the palace of Shôshan the fortress; for I saw there large globes of silver, each of which, they say, would hold three hundred and sixty measures of wine, and on the outside round about there were carved horses and their riders fighting, and in the middle the gods sitting in assembly; and they say that they brought these globes from Egypt, the country of Zeus, at the time when the Persians were masters over Egypt. When I desired to know how great were these globes, I offered sacrifices to the gods, and commanded one of the globes to be filled with wine, and I gave orders to my troops to sit down, and at that meal there was not used more than one globe full of wine. Now when they had consumed the wine, it happened according to what I had heard. And I entered a large house, and I found there a very large cup, and upon it was carved a representation of the battle which king Xerxes fought in ships with the Greeks. And in the house a seat of gold was placed, which was set with gems, and there was a sort of canopy over it, and a golden harp with strings was placed upon it; and they said that this harp used to play of itself, without anyone striking it. Around the throne were thirty cups of gold, and it had eight steps, and over it there stood a golden eagle whose wings spread over the whole of it A root was there like a vine, out of which sprouted seven shoots, and the bunches of grapes were wholly of fine gold set with gems. But why need I write to thee of the abundance of the gold and silver? Gold and silver are so abundant that I am unable to describe the quantity thereof.”

[19] When he had sent this letter to Olympias his mother from Babylon, the day of his death was come, and a sign to this effect happened as follows. A certain woman, one of the inhabitants of that country, gave birth to a child, who from his buttocks upwards had the form of a man, and from his buttocks downwards a number of forms of animals, all of them separate, that is to say, a lion, a leopard, a wolf, and a wild dog, all the heads apart and separate; they were so well defined that everyone who saw them knew at once to what beast each head belonged; and the human body died as soon as it was born. Then the woman, as soon as she had given birth to it, covered it over and carried it to the palace of Alexander; and she said to one of Alexander’s servants, “Speak to him about bringing me into his presence, that I may show the king a wonderful sign, the like of which he has never seen.” Now Alexander was asleep within, and it was noon; and when he had been roused up from his sleep, and had heard concerning the woman, he commanded that she should be brought in before him. Then the woman said, “Give orders, O king, that everyone go forth from before thee.” And when everyone had gone forth from the king’s presence, she uncovered it and exhibited it before the king, saying to him, “Look upon this prodigy, O king, to which I have given birth.”

When Alexander had seen it, wonder and amazement laid hold on him, and he straightway commanded the Chaldaeans who were skilled in portents to be called. When they came, he said to them, “Tell me exactly what this sign indicates, for if you do not speak the truth, your heads shall be taken off” Then one of those skilled in portents sighed, and having waited a little said to the king, “O king, thou wilt not live any longer, and they do not allow thee to remain among the number of the living, as this sign portends.” When Alexander heard this, he praised him and said, “Explain how thou understandest this sign.” He said to him, “O ruler of all men, the sign is thus: this human body and this child are thyself and these bodies of beasts are all the nations. As soon as it was born, this human body died, while those of all the beasts are alive. Now thou, O king; who art lord of all nations, art about to die, whilst they all, being alive, will escape from under thy hands. Therefore, O king; when I saw that this sign referred to thee, I was deeply grieved.”

When he had spoken these words, he went forth from Alexander’s presence; and the woman took the child, and carried it out, and burned it with fire. When Alexander had heard all these things, he was in grief land trouble, and sighing, he said, “O Zeus, it would have been right that I should have finished all my plans and then died; but since it has appeared good to thee thus, command that they receive me as the third dead.” This speech he said for this reason: Dionysus was a man, and because of the name and fame and power that he made for himself, he was reckoned when dead among the number of the gods; and in like manner Heracles; therefore Alexander spoke of himself as ‘the third dead,’ because these had not gained such name and fame and might as Alexander.

[20] At this time Olympias the mother of Alexander sent him a letter containing an accusation against Antipater, and Alexander was very grieved because of his mother’s anger against Antipater. When Antipater knew that Alexander was angry with him, and became aware that he wished to slay him, he sent Alexander a quantity of gold. Alexander commanded that it should be accepted; but although he took the gold, he did not set right his mind with Antipater. When Antipater knew the secret plans that Alexander had formed against him, he dissolved a deadly drug in a vessel, and gave some of it to his son Keshandrôs (Cassander) and furnished him with many offerings and sent him to Alexander, bidding him to seek some means and in one way or other to give the poison to Alexander.

When Cassander arrived at Babylon, he found Alexander offering sacrifices, and a feast was prepared for the generals of the provinces. Then Cassander drew near to Ôliyâs (Iollas), the chief of the king’s cup-bearers, and entered into a secret plot with him. Now this Iollas had been scourged a few days before for some cause by Alexander, so that his mind was excited against him, and therefore Cassander found an opportunity against Alexander. They took Mîtrôn (Medius) with them into the secret - now this Mîtrôn was Alexander’s chief friend - , and he took upon himself to administer the poison to him. When Alexander and his friends were sitting at table and were drinking and talking cheerfully - now on that day Alexander was very merry, for many of his friends had come to him from various countries, and had brought him crowns of victory - after they had finished the meal, Mîtrôn drew near to Alexander and said to him, “O king, since to-day thou hast had great joy with the rest (?) of thy friends, bid thy dearest friends, who love thee most, to drink wine with thee in a chamber.”

When Alexander heard the speech of Mîtrôn, he ordered Priskôs, Markânos, Lôsios (Lysias), Prîtôn, Rekîthâros, Ksîdâros (Cassiodorus), Nicolaus, Krîmîos, Harkîtandîs, Tarkânâ, Philip, and Menîdâros (Menander) to be invited. Now of all these persons only Priskôs, Krîmîos, Harkîtandîs, Cassiodorus, and Lysias, were unacquainted with the secret, bat all the rest were eager participators in it, and were with Iollas the chief of the cup-bearers and Cassander in the matter, and had sworn oaths among themselves. When Alexander had sat down, and they had all taken their seats in his presence, Iollas the chief of the cup-bearers mixed the poison and gave the cup to Alexander. When Alexander had drunk, he straightway felt great pain; he immediately commanded some of that wine to be brought and to be poured out to all his friends. Although he was grievously tortured by the intensity of the pain, he bore up and was neither excited nor alarmed; and his friends also continued drinking.

After his friends had gone out from his presence, he thought that perchance he was seized with pain by reason of the quantity that he had drank, and he took birds’ feathers and put them into his throat, for so he was accustomed to do from time to time. After he perceived that nothing did him good, for the poison had flown through all his body, he was unable to restrain his groans, for the pain was too strong for his body. On the following day at dawn he desired to take counsel with his friends, but he was unable to make a testament, because his tongue was paralysed. Then Cassander wrote to Macedonia to his father Antipater, “the deed for which I came hither has taken place, and has received a glorious consummation.”

When Alexander had been seized at Babylon with a grievous sickness, he commanded at night everyone to go forth from the chamber in which he was lying, and he also commanded Rôshnâk (Roxane) his wife to go to another chamber. Now one of the doors of the house opened on to the river Euphrates, and he ordered that door to be opened, and said, “There is no need for the guards to keep their watch.” When everyone had gone forth and it was midnight, he rose up from his bed, and extinguished the lamp which was burning before him and went forth by that door, and crawled on his hands and feet to the bank of the river, and was going to cast himself in. Then his wife Rôshnâk hastened at once and took hold of him, and with weeping and loud and mournful sighs said to him, “Hast thou left me, Alexander, and art thou become thine own executioner? Bitter is the lot which has fallen to my share, and evil and cruel is that which has happened to me by fate. I was left an orphan by my father Darius in my childhood, and now in my youth I shall be left by thee a widow.” Then Alexander said, “Be not distressed, O Rôshnâk, for everything happens in its season; but be silent, and tell this secret to no one.” Then Rôshnâk took Alexander by the hand and led him back to his bed.

And when it was day, Alexander commanded Krîskôs, and Lysias, and Ptolemy to come into his presence alone, and every one else to be put out. And they came into his presence. Then he ordered a testament to be written. And Krîskôs was doubtful in his mind, for he thought, “Peradventure he will give all his possessions to Ptolemy alone, for he loved him very much during his life, and Olympias his mother loved him.” Then Krîskôs swore an oath with Ptolemy, “If Alexander gives all his property to me, thou shalt have one half of it; and if he gives it to thee, do thou give me a half.” And having written the document, they were commanded to write the testament.

[21] Then a report of an uproar and tumult among the Macedonian soldiers was heard; and they all came clothed in armour to the gate of Alexander, for they thought that Alexander had not been seized with sickness, but that the generals of the army had slain him by treachery; and they were going to fall upon them and kill them. When Alexander heard the outcry and uproar, he asked, “What is this disturbance?” Then Krîskôs informed him concerning the uproar and tumult When Alexander heard of the real love and affection of the Macedonian soldiers towards himself, he ordered them to carry him and to convey him to the hippodrome. And he commanded that the troops of the Macedonian camps should be armed, and that they should pass before him in their suits of armour. Then Krîskôs went out from before the king, and told the Macedonians, and convinced them that Alexander was not dead, but had been seized by sickness, “But (said he) put you on your armour, and go to the royal hippodrome, for there you are to pass before him in review.” When the Macedonians heard this, they girded on their armour and went to the hippodrome. And they carried Alexander thither on his bed. So the Macedonians passed in their armour before Alexander; and when they lifted up their eyes and saw Alexander, suddenly the colour of their faces was changed, and their hearts were so oppressed by weeping and mourning that, in the face of that sadness and suffering and grief mingled with sighs, even the light of the sun became obscure and dark. Then Pînâklêôs (Phainocles ?) an old Macedonian warrior and hero, wept aloud when he saw Alexander, and said to Alexander in the Greek tongue, “O king, doer of good things, Philip thy father ruled over us kindly and firmly, and thou too, O king, hast been likewise good and merciful and kind to us. But since we love thee, and thy rule is pleasing to us, and we desire and enjoy it, why dost thou wish to forsake us, and to part from us and to leave us ? for through thy departure from us all Macedonia will be destroyed, and by thy death we ourselves will all perish. It is better that we should die with thee, for thou hast made us renowned and famous; through thee we have subdued countries and kingdoms, and through thee we have brought enemies into subjection. Henceforth what is the good to us of weapons of iron and brass, when we have lost thee, O most skilled in weapons ? With thee we have marched through deserts and dark mountains, through rough and difficult and hard and impassable places; and now we will go to the next world with thee.” When he had spoken these words, tears streamed down from Alexander’s eyes, and each one of the Macedonians drew his sword and was going to slay himself. Then Alexander sprang up from the couch on which he lay, and sat upon the cushions, and said to the Macedonians, “O my servants and friends and fellow-soldiers, why do you add pain to pain so that I should taste death by dying before my own death?” Then he commanded the troops of the Macedonians to go to their camps, and he bade them bear him upon his bed and carry him to his palace.

[22] Then they bore him and carried him to his palace, and he commanded Prîskôs to bring the testament and to read it before him. Then Archelaus the scribe brought the testament, and in it there was written as follows:

From Alexander to Ammon and to my mother Olympias, greeting. Inasmuch as the gods have willed that I should be taken from the assembly and dwelling of men to the assemblies and dwellings of the gods, I too have thought that it would be expedient and helpful for me, and I have thought that it would be right for me to inform you thereof. Do thou then, my mother, not be grieved nor distressed at my departure, for such is the will of God, but console thyself in thy wisdom and be glad. I have appointed and sent all my generals for thy honour that they may make thee exceedingly glad. I Alexander in this testament command: the Macedonians and the Greeks shall keep themselves in training and guard the country from enemies and be always vigilant; they shall keep the temples of the gods and the royal palace, and preserve them in prosperity and in joy.

Let there be given every year to the princes that are in Egypt darics to the amount of one hundred pounds from the crops and taxes of the country, for I have commanded my body to be carried thither; and let the expenses which are requisite and necessary for the grave in which my body is laid be given to the priests according to their desire from the revenues of the kingdom. I also command that the offence wherewith the Thebans offended me be forgiven them, and that three hundred talents of gold be given them for the restoration of their city. I also command that there be given from Egypt every year twenty thousand bushels of wheat, and from Asia twenty thousand bushels. I also command that Krêtênôr (Craterus) shall be ruler and governor of the Macedonians; and over Egypt shall be Ptolemy; and over Asia Krîskôs (Perdiccas). I also command that seventy talents of gold be given to the army of the Macedonians. I also command that Archelaus take this testament and carry it to the temple of the god Ammon. And let there be in the land of Alexandria food and abundance of corn, and let skilful workmen of all kinds be ready, and when Ptolemy comes thither bringing my body, let them prepare quickly a grave for the burial of my body, and let there be no hindrance nor delay to him.

I also command that if Rôshnâk (Roxana) my wife give birth to a son, he shall be king, and they shall call his name after one of the kings of the Macedonians, according as they please; but if she give birth to a girl, let the Macedonians choose and set up as king whomsoever they please; and if they find (?) Bêlîrôs the son of Mîlêkôs (?), he shall be lord over them.

Olympias my mother shall dwell in Rhodes, and Lysimachus shall rule over the country of Thrace; and his wife shall rule over the Thessalonians, because she is my sister, the daughter of Philip the king of the Macedonians. Over Hellas Pîtasdrôn (?) shall rule; and over Pamphylia and Lycia Antigonus shall rule; and over Great Phrygia Andreas shall rule; and over Cilicia Pîôr (?); and over Syria and as far as the Rivers Python shall rule; and Seleucus clothed in armour shall rule over this Babylon, and his wife over Nicaea; and Âdîmîs (Eumenes) shall rule over Paphlagonia and Cappadocia; and Mempath (Meleager) shall rule over Phoenicia and Coele Syria; and over Egypt Ptolemy, and Cleopatra the sister of Alexander’s wife shall be given to him; and my wife Rôshnâk shall rule from this Babylon of mine to the country of Adôrbaijân and Persia and Media, and I command that she shall be given to Prîskôs (Perdiccas) to wife.

And I command that they shall make for the interment of my body a coffin of fine gold, two hundred and fifty talents in weight, and let them lay the body of me Alexander the king of the Macedonians in it; and let them fill it with white honey which has not been melted, and let them deliver it to the Macedonians. Let them send one suit of my royal apparel and my golden throne to the city of Athens, to the temple of the virgins; and let them send all my arms to Persia, with one hundred and fifty talents of gold; and let them send to the temple of the gods which is in Macedonia the dragons’ heads of gold weighing one hundred talents, and one hundred signet rings of gold, and a thousand ivory cups. Let them send one hundred and fifty talents of gold to the Philippians (Milesians) for the restoration of their city; and the remainder of the gold and silver, and the whole of the possessions which I have brought from the country of the Indians, let them be given to my mother Olympias. Let them deliver over Sôd - that is to say Samarkand - to Philip; and let them give Abarashahr and Gurgân to Pîtâpôlîs (?), and Garmâniâ (Kermân) to Thlipaitmôs (Tlepolemus); and as for Persia let the lords of the various provinces hold them, and let Pîsôn (?) be ruler over them. I also command that they shall bring some of the Dôsîn, who dwell in tents, and call them “sojourners in Alexandria.” Now as I have said above, they shall lay my body in a golden coffin, and they shall lift it on to a chariot, and sixteen docile mules shall draw it, and the army of the Macedonians, with Ptolemy and the other generals, shall guard it, and carry it to Egypt; and they shall give for the expenses of the journey one thousand talents of gold from the revenue of the kingdom, and for the mules which shall draw the chariot one thousand six hundred talents.

[23] When Alexander had given these commands, he straightway died; and they did even as Alexander had commanded. And when they had taken the body of Alexander and placed it upon a chariot, all the Macedonians in Babylon began to make a mourning and outcry with bitter weeping and sore lamentation. And when he had arrived at Mephyâ (Memphis), when the people of the land heard it, they came to meet him with all kinds of music, and they praised the body of Alexander with doleful voices, saying, “Thou art welcome, O god Sîsnâkîs (Sesonchosis), ruler of the world.” They kept the body of Alexander in that place twelve days, and each day they made elegies and lamentations and weeping over him afresh; and they wished to retain his body there. Then the priests of Serapis said to them, “This body of Alexander must not be laid here, but they must carry it to the city which he built; for in the place where the body of Alexander is laid, there will be wars and contests continually, for in his lifetime he had continually the desire for war and battle.” So Ptolemy made a grave for the body of Alexander in Alexandria, as he had been ordered, and there did he lay the body of Alexander; and they call that place “The tomb of Alexander” unto this day.

[24] Alexander waged numerous battles and great wars, and he defeated and routed and put to flight mighty and powerful kings. He lived in this world thirty-two years and seven months, and of these he had rest for only eight years in this world. He subdued of the barbarians twenty-two kings; and of the Greeks thirteen. He built thirteen cities, some of which are flourishing to this day, but some are laid waste. The first is Alexandria which was built after the name of the horse called Bucephalus, the interpretation of which is Bull-head; the second is Alexandria the fortified Rôphôs (?); the third is Alexandria the Great; the fourth is Alexandria in the dominion of king Porus; the fifth is Alexandria in the land of Gelênîkôs (? Granicus); the sixth is Alexandria in the country of the Scythians; the seventh is Alexandria on the shore of the sea (or river); the eighth is Alexandria which is near Babylon; the ninth is Alexandria which is in the country of Sôd, that it to say, Samarkand; the tenth is Alexandria which is called Kûsh, that is Balkh; the eleventh is Alexandria which is called Margenîkôs, that is to say Môrô (Merv); the twelfth is Alexandria which is upon the farther bank of the rivers in the country of the Indians; and the thirteenth is Alexandria which is in Egypt. And after Alexander died in Babylon by poison, the name of the day upon which he died was called “The slayer of young men,” for Alexander was a young man. Alexander reigned as king twelve years and seven months and there was none among all the kings on earth that fought and made war and conquered like Alexander until the day he died.