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  with a greater accent put on ostentation rather than refinement. The ancient

  authors present a colourful description of how the Macedonian elites in

  Asia brazenly revelled in this newly acquired wealth. Their account is

  derived from the early Hellenistic historian Phylarchus – whose source

  was most probably the book of Alexander’s court chamberlain Chares –

  9 Arr., Ind. , 21-36; Arr., An. , 6.28.5-6; Str., 15.1.5, 15.1.12-13; Diod., 17.106.4-7; Curt., 10.1.10-16; Plu., Alex. , 68.1, 68.6. Högemann 1985, p. 72; Bosworth 1988, p.

  140; Hammond 1996, pp. 236-239; Ashley 1998, pp. 99-102; Hamilton 1999, p.

  190.

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  Chapter VII

  and Agatharchides of Cnidus. ‘Phylarchus in the twenty-third book of his

  Histories and Agatharchides of Cnidus in the tenth book of his work On

  Asia say that Alexander’s courtiers also indulged in extravagant luxury.

  One of these was Agnon, who wore gold studs in his military boots.

  Whenever Cleitus, who was called the White, had business to transact, he

  walked about on purple cloths while conversing with those who had

  audience with him. Likewise Perdiccas and Craterus, who were lovers of

  gymnastic sports, always had in their train piles of goatskin that would fill

  a stadium, under cover of which, after appropriating a place in the

  encampments, they would carry on their exercise; they were also followed

  by a long train of animals carrying sand to be used in the wrestling-school.

  Again Leonnatus and Menelaus, who were fond of hunting, had in their

  luggage curtains measuring a hundred stadia, with which they surrounded

  the hunting-grounds and pursue the quarry.’ Similar anecdotes are also

  told about other Macedonian officers.10 The greatest financial resources

  were at the disposal of Alexander’s childhood friend, Harpalus, who was

  in charge of the royal treasury. Either out of conviction that Alexander

  would never return from India alive or simply because of his carefree

  nature the extravagance of Harpalus’ lifestyle was quite outrageous. To his

  table he had fish brought over at great expense all the way from the Red

  Sea. He founded exotic gardens. At Tarsus he set up what resembled a

  royal court and there made his life even more enjoyable in the successive

  company of two exceptionally expensive Athenian courtesans Pythonice

  and later Glycera. After Pythonice died, he honoured her memory with the

  construction of a cenotaph at Athens and a temple. He had Glycera live in

  a palace where people were to greet her like royalty, which also meant

  performing the Persian ceremonial bow of proskynesis.11

  There were also more worrying signals concerning the gross

  incompetence or even rebellion of Alexander’s Macedonian and Asian

  subjects. The king received the first news of disturbances in Arachosia and

  Drangiana from his father-in-law, Oxyartes. Craterus quelled the rebellion

  as his army marched through these countries. He had the rebel leaders –

  called by our sources Ordanes, Ozines and Zariaspes – arrested and

  delivered to Alexander, who had them executed.12 These, however, were

  not Alexander’s first executions since his return from India. While the

  Bacchic festivities were still underway in Carmania he had the region’s

  10 Ath., 12.55; also: Plu., Alex. , 40.1; Ael., VH, 9.3. Hamilton 1999, pp. 105-106.

  11 Ath., 13.50 (after Theopompus, FGrH, 115 F253); Python, TrGF, 1 F1; Diod.,

  17.108.4-6; Curt., 10.1.45; Plu., Phoc. , 22; Paus., 1.37.5. Berve 1926, nos. 231 and

  676; Parker 1996, p. 258.

  12 Arr., An. , 6.27.3; Curt., 9.10.19, 10.1.9. Heckel 1992, pp. 124-125.

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  satrap, Astaspes, arrested and put to death. The first accusations

  concerning this satrap’s betrayal had reached the king while he was still in

  India but a swift investigation leading to the execution was carried out

  only once it was too late for Astaspes to escape or start a revolt. 13

  Alexander also summoned from Media to Carmania the Macedonian

  commanders Cleander, Agathon, Heracon and Sitalces together with 6,000

  troops. Asian subjects and Macedonian soldiers had accused these

  commanders of robbing temples and graves, rapes, and other crimes.

  Bearing in mind the considerable distance between Media and Carmania

  one can assume that the officers were summoned to Carmania long before

  Alexander’s return from India; therefore the accusations must have been

  known to Alexander for some time. They too were put death, together with

  600 of their soldiers. This severity was to serve as an example to deter

  others.14 The repressions against high-ranking Macedonians and Iranians

  that began then and were continued later have been interpreted by some

  modern historians as part of a general political scheme. E. Badian even

  goes so far as to write of a reign of terror and a ‘great purge’ in an obvious

  allusion to the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. According to this

  interpretation of events the series of dismissals and executions resulted

  from a search for scapegoats for the (exaggerated) fiasco of the march

  across the Makran range. 15 However, despite the vivid appeal of this

  explanation, one cannot forget that it is merely a modern interpretation not

  corroborated by any of the ancient sources. These instead state that the

  king wished to restore order that had been disrupted by some of his

  dignitaries through thoughtlessness or out of a sense of impunity caused

  by his long absence.16

  It was towards the end of his stay in Carmania, probably towards the

  end of 325, that Alexander had all his satraps disband their mercenary

  armies, supported by the vast financial resources of the conquered lands.

  One of the reasons for this radical decision was the will to deprive the

  satraps of forces that were solely answerable to them. However, we also

  know from Pausanias that Alexander wished to settle the mercenaries in

  Asia, which would also provide the central authorities with potential

  recruits for important garrisons. This plan was never fully realised because

  Greek soldiers were unwilling to serve in countries thousands of

  13 Curt., 9.10.29.

  14 Arr., An. , 6.27.3-4; Curt., 10.1.1-9. Bosworth 1988, pp. 147, 241.

  15 Badian 1961; Badian 1964; O’Brien 1992, pp. 185-187; Hanson 1999, pp. 179,

  196.

  16 Higgins 1980, pp. 140-152; Heckel 2009, p. 51 and Heckel 2009a, pp. 76-77 on

  futility of drawing analogy between Alexander and 20th c. dictators.

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  kilometres from their homeland. The implementing of this plan lasted

  form 324 to 323 and in that time Asia Minor and Greece were full of

  unemployed soldiers. Paradoxically, after Alexander’s death this made it

  easier for its enemies to wage a dangerous war against Macedonia known

  as the Lamian War.17

  But that was to happen later. In the meantime the atmosphere of

  uncertainty and fear among those suspected of abusing power persisted. In

  these circumstances Harpalus was once again unable to withstand the

  tension. At the start of 324 he fled from Babylon taking with him 5,000

  talents from the royal t
reasury; if this money was taken in gold rather than

  silver, it would not have exceeded the weight of 14 tons. By March 324

  Harpalus and his stolen fortune had reached the coast and in the summer

  of that year he crossed the Mediterranean Sea with 6,000 mercenaries to

  Attica in the expectation of being greeted with open arms by Athens as he

  was himself an Athenian citizen. This started the greatest crisis to

  Macedonian rule in mainland Greece since the rebellion of Agis III.18

  At first the Harpalus was denied entry into Athens. He therefore left

  his mercenaries on the Tainaron Peninsula in the Peloponnesus and

  entered the port of Athens with three ships bearing 700 talents. Only then

  was he welcomed into the city and his or rather Alexander’s money

  deposited for safekeeping in the Acropolis. Soon envoys sent by the

  governor of Ionia, Philoxenus, by Antipater and by Olympias appeared in

  Athens demanding the handing over of Harpalus. This started a great

  debate in Athens which involved not only political arguments but also

  bribes handed out by Harpalus to whoever was willing to take them. In

  Alexander’s absence the Athenians did not consider the Macedonian

  officials, not even Olympias, a powerful enough threat to force them into

  surrendering Harpalus, the self-portrayed refugee and Athenian citizen.

  They did, however, feel it was necessary to proceed with caution so as not

  to worsen relations with Alexander while negotiations concerning the

  decree for the return of exiles were underway (see Chapter VII.5).

  Eventually Harpalus was allowed to escape from the city. And it was only

  then that a real scandal broke out in Athens, for it turned out that half of

  the 700 talents had vanished. Investigations revealed that Demosthenes

  was among those who had taken bribes and thus helped drain this fortune;

  as a result he was forced to flee from the city.19

  17 Diod., 17.106.3, 17.111.1-2; Paus., 1.25.5, 8.52.5. Lane Fox 1973, p. 407;

  Bosworth 1999, pp. 148-149; Blackwell 1999, pp. 119-121, 124-129.

  18 Diod., 17.108.6; Curt., 10.2.1; Ath., 13.50; Plu., mor. , 846a. Blackwell 1999, pp.

  13-15.

  19 Blackwell 1999, especially pp. 13-31, 133-144; Faraguna 2003, pp. 127-128.

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  Harpalus’ escape with royal treasure brought chaos to Alexander’s

  state finances, for with the king’s arrival the treasury was now forced to

  raise expenditure for his ongoing and pending projects. A new treasurer

  was nominated, Antimenes of Rhodes, who is recorded to have held this

  position up to the last months of Alexander’s life. As treasurer he created

  new sources of state revenue by reintroducing the by then forgotten tithe

  on goods imported into Babylonia and also imposing a tax on the assessed

  value of slaves. The sources also inform us of a rationalisation in the

  management of provisions magazines along the Royal Road. No doubt

  most of the ongoing expenditure of the royal court and the army was

  covered by tax revenues, whereas the Persian treasures were now reserved

  for future military expeditions. Production of coins at the Babylonian mint

  was also now greatly increased. In the last two years of Alexander’s life

  several million silver tetradrachms were produced – among other things,

  these coins were essential for pay of European soldiers.20

  Before all these events occurred, in the winter of 325/324 the

  Macedonian army proceeded in two columns from Carmania to Fars. Most

  of the troops, the baggage train and the elephants were led by Hephaestion

  along a longer but easier route through regions abounding in food and

  fodder. Arrian states that this route ran close to the sea but today we are

  not able to trace it exactly. Alexander, on the other hand, together with

  some light infantry, archers and Companion cavalry took a direct route to

  Fars, no doubt via Baft and Sirjan.21 In Fars it turned out that after the

  death of Phrasaortes the position of satrap had been usurped by Orxines,

  reportedly a member of the Achaemenid dynasty. Orxines greeted the king

  with generous gifts; according the Curtius Rufus, 3,000 talents in the form

  of coins. For the time being Alexander accepted Orxines as his vassal, but

  he had from the outset quite different plans with regard to this extremely

  important satrapy where there was no room for a usurper. Therefore the

  discovery of the desecration of Cyrus’ tomb provided a convenient pretext

  to have Orxines executed. The Persian satrapy was now put under the

  charge of Peucestas, a trusted king’s bodyguard. Thanks to his command

  of the Persian language, the donning of local attire and the respect he

  showed towards local traditions, Peucestas was able to gain the trust of the

  aristocracy in the homeland of the Achaemenids. This would pay off

  during the Diadochi Wars when in his satrapy he was able to muster a

  formidable army of 20,000 men, including excellent horsemen, archers

  and slingers. Another usurper to be put to death was Baryaxes, who had

  20 Arist., Oec. , 1352b-1353b. Le Rider 2003, pp. 299-319.

  21 Arr., An. , 6.28.7-29.1. Goukowsky 1981, pp. 60-62; Seibert 1985, pp. 178-179.

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  tried to seize royal power in Media. He was arrested by the satrap

  Atropates and brought to Alexander, who had him executed.22

  In Pasargadae Alexander discovered that someone had broken into

  Cyrus the Great’s tomb, robbed it and in doing so removed the mummified

  remains of the founder of the Persian Empire from his gold sarcophagus

  and cast them on the floor. The robbery was not only shocking but also

  mysterious for the tomb had been constantly guarded by magi who even

  under torture – the ruthless cruelty of which in ancient times virtually no

  one could withstand – said nothing about how the robbery had happened.

  We cannot accept Plutarch’s claim that a certain Polymachus of Pella was

  the culprit as Aristobulus, whom Alexander had put in charge of the

  tomb’s restoration, unequivocally contradicts such an interpretation of

  events. The desecration of Cyrus’ place of eternal rest greatly angered

  Alexander, who ever since his return to Fars had wished to stress the

  legitimacy of his claim to be the successor of the Achaemenids. In their

  homeland he tried to respect Persian customs by nominating as satrap the

  pro-Persian Peucestas and granting each woman a gold coin in accordance

  with Achaemenid tradition. The robbery of Cyrus’ tomb during

  Macedonian rule no less than compromised this policy in the eye’s of

  Alexander’s Persian subjects. It is also possible – as E. Badian assumes –

  that during his second stay in Fars Alexander had intended to have an

  official Persian coronation; the ideal location would have been Pasargadae,

  perhaps even at the tomb of the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty. Now

  that Cyrus’ body had been cast onto the floor this holy site was desecrated

  and no longer fit for such a ceremony. Alexander was therefore deprived

  of an opportunity to symbolically become the new Great King as reward

  for the many years of his orientalising policy.23

  The last significant event
during Alexander’s second stay in Fars

  occurred in Persepolis. Calanus, the Brahman ascetic who had

  accompanied Alexander all the way from Taxila, for the first time in his

  life fell ill and therefore resolved to part with his current incarnation. He

  chose a form of death that was widely practiced and greatly respected in

  India: self-immolation. This spectacular episode is described or mentioned

  by numerous ancient authors for such a form of suicide was worthy of

  interest if only because it was so exotic. The primary sources for all these

  22 Arr., An. , 6.28.3, 6.29.2-3, 6.30; Curt., 10.1.22-39; Diod., 19.14.5, 19.48.5.

  Bosworth 1988, pp. 153-155; Billows 1990, pp. 95, 103-106; Heckel 1992, pp.

  263-267.

  23 Arr., An. , 6.29.4-11; Str., 15.3.7 (quoting Aristobulus); Curt., 10.1.30-34; Plu.,

  Alex. , 69.1-3. Bosworth 1988, p. 154; Badian 1996, pp. 22-24; Hamilton 1999, pp.

  191-192.

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  343

  authors were the accounts of Chares and Nearchus. The latter was not

  present to see the self-immolation and relied on another source. Therefore

  his account is not as trustworthy as that of the court chamberlain Chares,

  who was an eyewitness. The king had tried to dissuade Calanus from

  killing himself but when he saw that the Indian was adamant he ordered

  his soldiers to construct a giant pyre. Next he and his entire army looked

  on as the suicide procedure was performed. When the pyre burst into

  flames, Calanus threw himself onto it and thus perished. But first he had

  been ceremonially accompanied to the fire by other Indian sages from

  Alexander’s court. The entire army honoured the moment of Calanus’

  demise with a loud war cry and the elephants also gave out terrifying

  cries.24 Chares relates that Alexander also had Calanus’ death celebrated in

  the form of sports and music contests as well as a drinking contest to mark

  the late Brahman’s fondness of wine. The winner of this last competition

  was to receive a crown worth one talent (the equivalent of twenty years’