by Amanda
event in this statelet and of course Alexander was granted special
privileges to consult the oracle. He was allowed inside the temple, while
his companions had to wait outside and like ordinary pilgrims ask their
own questions to the oracle, if they had any, from there. The way it usually
worked was that the boat of Ammon would be carried in a procession and
the priests would observe and interpret its motions as questions to the
oracle were asked. The answers were normally just ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but
Alexander was most probably instead or also given much more complex
verbal answers. The oldest known sources do not record what questions
Alexander asked, which has naturally given modern historians an
unlimited scope for speculation. There were no Greek or Macedonian
witnesses present to hear what Ammon told Alexander and Alexander
himself never revealed what he had been told, so we will never know what
really happened inside the temple at Siwah. Nonetheless, the visit to Siwah
changed the Macedonian king. Being far away from Siwah and Egypt, he
continued to worship Ammon and ask his oracle questions. For the rest of
his life he considered himself to be the son of Ammon. When soldiers at
Opis found the idea amusing, he burst into a rage. From Ephippus we learn
that in 324 at Ecbatana Gorgus of Iasus publicly crowned Alexander with
a gold wreath as the son of Ammon. The king would also appear as the
incarnation of Ammon with a purple robe and the horns of a ram. An
innumerable number of coins struck after Alexander’s death present him
with Ammon’s horns, which gave rise to the Arab myth of Alexander the
two-horned ( Dū’l-Karnain) later immortalised in the Quran. We know that
the moment Alexander entered the Siwah temple he would have been
greeted by the priest, like in the case of every pharaoh, as the son of
Ammon. But such a standard greeting, which Alexander would have
experienced on numerous occasions in Egypt, could not have made such
an impression so as to affect him for the rest of his life. Therefore in that
temple he must have heard something more, something that confirmed
what he already strongly believed in or a very specific prediction that soon
turned out to be true and therefore convinced Alexander of the oracle’s
total credibility. The speculations of ancient Greek authors on this subject
are diverse: Alexander may have asked if he would be victorious in all his
wars and eventually rule the world or he may have asked if all his father’s
150 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14a (= Str., 17.1.43); Arr., An. , 3.3.3-6; Diod., 17.49.3-6; Curt., 4.7.6-15; Plu., Alex. , 26.11-27.4; It. Alex. , 50-51. Engels 1978, pp. 61-63; Bosworth 1980, pp. 272-273; Hamilton 1999, pp. 68-71.
From Abydus to Alexandria
211
murderers had been punished. The alleged response to the latter question
stated that his father was Ammon-Zeus and that those responsible for
Philip’s death had suffered the consequences of their crime. Of course
these are merely assumptions saying more about the authors themselves
than about Alexander.151
Having had his divine affiliation confirmed, Alexander left Siwah and,
via the site where Alexandria was to be founded, returned to Memphis. It
was during his second stay at the Egyptian capital, most probably in April
331, that reinforcements sent by Antipater arrived: 400 Greek mercenaries
and 500 Thracian riders. Moreover, at this time Alexander received envoys
from Greek states. It was also probably then that he gave instructions
concerning the emission of coins by the Memphis mint, which struck
bronze coins bearing the king’s portrait. The start of this particular
emission did not have to coincide with Alexander’s stay in Egypt, it could
equally well have been started later by Cleomenes of Naucratis. The
decision to use the ruler’s image instead that of a god, though shocking to
contemporary Greeks need not have been a consequence of Alexander’s
superhuman aspirations. It could equally well have resulted from the
traditions of the satrapy mint in Memphis. For modern historians these
small coins as well as contemporary coins from Naucratis are significant
in that they provide some of the earliest images of Alexander.152
Among the Greek envoys there were delegates from Erythrai bearing
positive news for the king from the Athena’s oracle and delegates from
Miletus reporting miraculous events at Didyma, which belonged to
Miletus. When it was ruled by the clan of Branchidae Didyma used to
have a great temple and oracle to Apollo. Their pro-Persian stance during
the Ionian Uprising and Persian wars forced the Branchidae to leave
Didyma and find refuge in Central Asia. The Temple of Apollo was
damaged at the start of the 5th century while the oracle fell silent and the
sacred source ran dry. Then at the start of 331 the water began to flow
again – a consequence of stones being removed as some historians
presume. The oracle was thus reactivated, this time not run by the now
151 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14a (= Str., 17.1.43); Arr., An. , 3.4.5; Curt., 4.7.16-32; Diod., 17.51; Plu., Alex. , 27; Fragmentum Sabbaiticum, FGrH, 151 F1.10; Just., 11.11; Ps.-Callisth., 1.30; It. Alex. , 53; Ephippus, FGrH, 126 F5 (= Ath., 12.53); Syll.3 313. Wilcken 1967, pp. 124-127; Parke 1967, pp. 224-227; Bosworth 1977;
Bosworth 1988, pp. 281-284; Goukowsky 1978, pp. 23-25; Heisserer 1980, pp.
182-191; Kuhlmann 1988, pp. 141-142; Hammond 1996, pp. 127-129; Badian
1996, pp. 17-19; Hamilton 1999, pp. 68-70. Quran: 18.83-98.
152 Arr., An. , 3.5.1. Borza 1967; Engels 1978, pp. 62-63; Price 1981; Touratsoglou
2000, pp. 62-63; Le Rider 2003, pp. 224-237.
212
Chapter IV
absent and probably forgotten Branchidae but by a city nominated official
called the prophetes. With a wonderful understanding of politics the first
prophesy to come from the oracle in over one and a half centuries was
addressed to Alexander, and it was with this message that the envoys from
Miletus came to Memphis. According to Callisthenes, Alexander’s court
historian, Apollo was to state that Alexander was the son of Zeus as well
as foretell his victory at Gaugamela, Darius III’s death and the revolt of
Agis III. The historically verifiable parts of this tale include the
reactivation of the Didyma oracle. The Milesians must have learned of
Alexander’s aspirations to the divine origins even before he had left for
Siwah. It is quite possible that in bringing Alexander such good news the
envoys from Miletus were hoping the monarch would graciously offer to
finance the rebuilding of the Didymaion. But for this they would have to
wait another thirty years when the decision to fund this project was made
by the newly proclaimed descendent of Apollo, Seleucus I Nicator.153
153 Callisth., FGrH, 124 F14 (= Str., 17.1.43). Bosworth 1977, pp. 57-59, 74-75;
Bosworth 1988, p. 282; Parke 1985, p. 62; Fontenrose 1988, pp. 15-16.
CHAPTER V:
KING OF ASIA
1. From Memphis to Mesopotamia
In the late spring of 331 Alexander set off from Memphis to Asia for the
decisive battle against Darius III. Shortly before the Mace
donian army left
Egypt an unfortunate accident occurred in Alexander’s closest circle: an
overloaded boat sank and one of the passengers was, Hector, Parmenion’s
son. The young man managed to swim to the shore but died soon
afterwards. Alexander honoured Hector with a grand funeral in Egypt. The
month the Macedonian army set out was more probably May and not April,
as some have suggested. In April work was started on the building of
Alexandria and it would have taken some time to cover the almost 250 km
distance to Memphis, then Alexander received the envoys and performed
other duties required of a monarch before he left his domain. Late spring
was a particularly good time for large armies to march in Egypt and
Palestine for that was the harvest season when it was easy to supply
soldiers with their basic diet, grain. Moreover, after the winter rains the
streams and wells had enough water for their needs. The march was
carefully arranged. Even the entertainment and contests during the
stopover at Tyre had to be prepared in advance in order to bring over to
Phoenicia the best Greek performers. We know that engineers had
constructed bridges over the Nile and canals some time before the army set
off. Once the march started, the Macedonian fleet sailed to keep up with
the soldiers on the land. The Macedonian naval and land forces both
reached Tyre around mid June 331, after the army had interrupted its
march with a short campaign in Samaria (Chapter IV.5).1
The stay at Tyre did not last longer than a few weeks. Alexander once
again visited the Temple of Melqart-Heracles with a procession, sacrifices
and expensive votive offerings. For the army he arranged sports
competitions and artistic performances. A stage was specially prepared for
1 Arr., An. , 3.6.1; Curt., 4.8.7-8. Engels 1978, pp. 63-64; Seibert 1985, p. 90;
Dąbrowa 1988, pp. 64-65.
214
Chapter V
dithyrambic and theatrical contests. The contestants included the finest
Athenian actors, Thettalus and Athenodorus, who in order to perform in
front of Alexander’s soldiers cancelled a drama competition in Athens
during the festival of Dionysus. The cost of a fine that the Athenians had
as a consequence imposed on Athenodorus was covered by Alexander. In
the contest at Tyre the Macedonian king applauded Thettalus but his
highest ranking officers, who were appointed the official judges,
announced Athenodorus the victor. However, the Macedonian king’s
treasury was not burdened with the overall costs of these expensive artistic
events with the very best performers. Alexander allowed or instructed the
kings of Cyprus to play the role of choregoi (rich Greek citizens who paid
for such theatrical performances). The most distinguished patrons were
Pasicrates of Soli and Nicocreon of Salamis. It also may have been on this
occasion that another famous actor, Lycon of Scarphe, included in a
comedy recital a verse requesting ten talents, which an amused Alexander
duly paid him.2
Among the king’s more important obligations at Tyre was the
receiving of envoys from allied Greek states. Ambassadors from Athens
brought Alexander a gold crown and yet again congratulated him on his
victory at Issus. It was then that after successive pleas the Macedonian
king finally relented and released the captured Athenians who had fought
on the Persian side at Granicus when their state was officially a member of
the League of Corinth. Envoys from Rhodes and Chios also received
favourable responses to their complaints about the Macedonian garrisons
stationed on their islands, whereas Alexander’s allies from Mytilene and
Cyprus were rewarded for opting for the right side in the maritime war.
Other matters Alexander dealt with at Tyre concerning Greece will be
discussed later on in this chapter. Alexander no doubt made many
administrative decisions before he left the city, the most important of
which would have been the re-employment in the king’s service of
Harpalus, who had returned from Megara after his infamous flight from
Tarsus. No doubt out of appreciation for his financial and administrative
skills, Alexander persuaded Harpalus to come back and again appointed
him his treasurer. The collection of taxes in Phoenicia Alexander entrusted
to the Macedonian Koiranos and in Asia Minor to Philoxenus, whereas
Menander, who up until then had commanded the mercenaries, replaced
Asander as satrap of Lydia. The most important change occurred in Syria,
where the Iranian aristocrat Arimmas, whom Alexander had appointed at
the start of 332, was now replaced by the Macedonian Asclepiodorus. The
2 Arr., An. , 3.6.1; Plu., Alex. , 29.1-6; Plu., mor. , 334d-e; Curt., 4.8.16. Hamilton 1999, pp. 75-76; Nawotka 2003, pp. 112-113.
King of Asia
215
reason for this change was Arimmas’s failure to solve the logistical
problems concerning the march of the Macedonian army. Not for the last
time in the history of Alexander’s state administration it turned out that
Iranian satraps appointed – in accordance with Achaemenid tradition – by
right of birth proved themselves incapable of performing set tasks up to
the standards required by their new ruler. It may have been the case that
Arimmas’s incompetence forced the Macedonian army to remain in Tyre
for longer than originally planned in order to allow the new satrap to
complete the necessary logistic preparations. Having settled all the most
pressing administrative and political matters, at the start of July 331
Alexander and his soldiers set off from Tyre to the town of Thapsacus on
the Euphrates.3
The Macedonian army reached Thapsacus in the Athenian month of
Hekatombaion (July/August). Darius III had crossed the Euphrates at that
same place in December 333 during his escape after the Battle of Issus. It
was well known that the great river could be crossed at this point for the
town’s Semitic name, Tiphsah, means ‘passage’ or ‘ford’. The Euphrates
at Thapsacus became navigable for ancient river traffic. The town’s exact
location is today unknown but of the numerous suggested sites two have
recently aroused the greatest interest: today’s Dibse, which is situated by
Asad Lake, or Qal’at Najim, which is some 80 km up river. Both these
sites are now in modern Syria on the west bank of the Euphrates.4 Taking
into account the route the Macedonian army took on the eastern side of the
Euphrates, the more northern location (Qal’at Najim) seems more likely.
Initially, the army must have marched along the Phoenician coast from
Tyre to the place that later became known as Seleucia. Thence it would
have turned east, first through the Orontes Valley and then through Aleppo
towards the Euphrates. Along the coast the Macedonian forces could have
been kept supplied by their fleet and then by the fertile farmlands that
stretched all the way to Aleppo. This was a route that had been taken by
ancient armies before Alexander and would be taken by other armies after
him. The entire distance from Tyre to the Euphrates would have been
&nb
sp; approximately 600 km, whereas the distance of the section from Seleucia
to Thapsacus would have been c. 240 km. Therefore Curtius’s statement
that the march lasted 11 days would probably only apply to this later
section. The army crossed the Euphrates using two pontoon bridges. There
were approximately 6,000 Persian soldiers in the area commanded by the
3 Arr., An. , 3.6.2-7; Curt., 4.8.11-15; It. Alex. , 53-54. Engels 1978, p. 64; Bosworth 1980, pp. 278-285; Dąbrowa 1988, pp. 65-66; Hammond 1996, pp. 131-132.
4 Arr., An. , 3.6.4. Honigmann 1934; Bosworth 1980, p. 222; Seibert 1985, p. 91;
Lendle 1988.
216
Chapter V
experienced soldier and satrap Mazaeus, but instead of attacking
Alexander’s army they observed its progress from a distance. The decision
not to fight at the Euphrates crossing and the kind treatment Mazaeus later
received from Alexander at Babylon has inclined some historians to
speculate as to whether the Persian may have earlier made a secret
agreement with the Macedonian king. However, there is nothing to suggest
this in the ancient sources and the sheer disproportion in military strength
may have dissuaded Mazaeus from engaging the enemy on the Euphrates.5
From Thapsacus Alexander could have next marched his army along
the Euphrates towards Babylon to face the Great King’s army. According
to Xenophon, the same route was taken 70 years earlier by Cyrus the
Younger, who intended to seize the Persian throne from his brother
Artaxerxes II. However, such a route posed serious logistical and physical
problems. If the Macedonians reached the Upper Euphrates sometime
around the end of July or beginning of August, their march to Babylon
would have been in the middle of the Mesopotamian summer, when
temperatures frequently rise above 40oC. Covering the distance between
Thapsacus and Babylon, 1,000 stades (180 km), would have been a
physically extremely demanding task for the soldiers. Most of the route