This is what the general said to Nectanebo. But the king laughed and said to him: ‘You have spoken well and fittingly for one to whom our protection has been entrusted, but you speak like a coward and not like a soldier. Strength does not lie in numbers, but the issue of war depends on zeal. One lion may overcome many deer, and one wolf may shear many flocks of sheep. Go with the soldiers who are under your command and get ready for battle. But I, with a single word, shall overwhelm this huge horde of barbarians in the sea.’ And so saying, Nectanebo sent his general away.
3. Nectanebo stood up and went into his palace, and when he was alone he made all his usual preparations and gazed into the bowl. There he saw the gods of Egypt steering the ships of the barbarians, and the armies under the command of the same gods. Nectanebo, being a man experienced in magic and accustomed to talk with his gods, realized that the end of the Egyptian kingdom was at hand. He filled his garments with gold, and shaved his hair and beard. Thus transformed in appearance, he fled to Pelusium. From there he sailed away to Pella in Macedonia, and settled there as an Egyptian prophet, and foretold to many people events that were hidden in the stars.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians asked their so-called gods what had become of the King of Egypt, since all of Egypt had been overrun by the barbarians. And the self-styled god in the sanctuary of the Serapeum spoke an oracle to them: ‘This king who has fled will return to Egypt not as an old man but as a youth, and he will overcome our enemies the Persians.’ They asked one another what the meaning of this saying might be; but, finding no answer, they wrote down the oracle that had been given to them on the pedestal of the statue of Nectanebo.
4. Nectanebo soon became a familiar figure to everyone in Macedonia. [King Philip happened to be childless by his wife, Olympias, and as he was going to be away at war for a long time, he called her to him and said, ‘Take note of this: if you do not bear me a son after I return from the war, you shall never know my embrace again.’
When the day ended, Philip went off to war with his entire army. One of Olympias’ servants, realizing why her mistress was so sad, said to her, ‘Lady, I have something to tell you; I will say it, if you will not hold it against me.’
‘Speak,’ replied the queen, ‘I shall not hold it against you. If it is what I want to hear, I shall certainly owe you my thanks.’ Then the maid went on, ‘There is in the city a man from Egypt who is able to fulfil everything that the soul desires, if you will only allow him to see you.’ Olympias did not hesitate but sent for him right away and ordered him to come in to her. γ-text]
When Nectanebo saw her, he began to lust after her beauty. He held out his hand and said, ‘Greetings, queen of the Macedonians.’
‘Greetings to you too, most excellent of prophets,’ she replied. ‘Come in and sit down.
‘You are the Egyptian teacher,’ she went on, ‘in whom those who have tried you have found nothing but truth. I too was persuaded by you. What art of prophecy do you use to foretell the truth?’
‘There are many and diverse methods of prophecy, O queen,’ he replied. ‘One may interpret horoscopes, or signs, or dreams; one may utter oracles from the belly or prophesy from the fleece of a lamb; and there are casters of nativities, and the so-called Magi, who are the masters of prophecy.’
So saying, he gave Olympias a sharp look.
‘Prophet,’ she said to him, ‘have you turned to stone as you look at me?’
‘Yes, madam,’ he replied; ‘for I remembered an oracle given to me by my own gods – “you must prophesy to a queen” – and see, it has come true. So tell me what you wish.’
Then he placed his hand in a fold of his garment and took out an extraordinary little writing tablet, constructed from gold, ivory, ebony and silver, and engraved with three zones. [On the first circle were the thirty-six decans, on the second the twelve signs of the zodiac, and on the inner one the Sun and Moon. He put it on a chair. Then he opened a small ivory box, revealing the seven stars and the ascendant made of eight precious stones, which lit up the pictured miniature heaven. The Sun was of crystal, the Moon of diamond, the Mars of haematite, the Mercury of emerald, the Jupiter of air-stone,5 the Venus of sapphire, the Saturn of ophite and the pointer of white marble. A-text]
Olympias was full of wonder at the precious object; she ordered everyone to go away, sat down beside him and said, ‘Prophet, cast a nativity for myself and Philip.’ (There was a rumour going around that if Philip returned from the war, he would reject her and marry another.) Nectanebo said to her: ‘Put down the hour of your birth, put down that of Philip.’ What else did Nectanebo do? He placed his own nativity next to that of Olympias; then he made some calculations and said to her, ‘The rumour which you have heard concerning you is no lie. I, as an Egyptian prophet, can help you to avoid rejection by Philip.’
‘How can you do that?’ she asked.
He replied: ‘You must have intercourse with an incarnate god, become pregnant by him and bear his son and bring him up. He will be your avenger for the wrongs Philip has done you.’
‘Who is the god?’ asked Olympias.
‘Ammon of Libya,’ he replied.
Then Olympias asked him, ‘What form does this god take?’
‘He is a man of middle age,’ replied the prophet, ‘with hair and beard of gold, and horns growing from his forehead, these also made of gold. You must make yourself ready for him as befits a queen. This very day you will see this god come to you, in a dream.’
‘If I see this dream,’ said Olympias, ‘I shall reverence you not as a magician, but as a god.’
5. So Nectanebo left the queen’s chamber and collected from a desert place certain herbs which he knew to be reliable in dream-divination. He made an infusion with them, then moulded a female figure out of wax and wrote on it the name of Olympias. He lit torches
6. When Olympias awoke she was amazed. She sent for Nectanebo and said to him, ‘I had a dream and saw the god Ammon whom you spoke of. I beg you, prophet, make him make love to me again, and be sure to let me know in advance when he is coming, so that I may be better prepared for the bridegroom.’
‘First of all, lady,’ he replied, ‘that was a dream you saw. When he comes to you again, he will require something of you. But if your highness commands it, give me a room where I can sleep, so that I can make prayers to him on your behalf.’
‘Very well,’ she answered, ‘you may make your resting place in my apartments. Then, if I become pregnant by the god, I will give you the great honours that a queen can, and shall treat you as if you were the father of the child.’
‘You must know,’ went on Nectanebo, ‘that the following sign will be given before the god enters your room. If, as you rest at evening in your chamber, you see a serpent creeping towards you, order everyone to go outside. But do not put out the lamps, which I have prepared to give proper honour to the god, and which I will light and give you; no, go to your bed and make yourself ready, cover your face and do not look directly at the god whom you saw come to you in your dream.’
So saying, Nectanebo went away. The next day Olympias gave him a bedroom immediately adjoining her own.
7. Nectanebo, meanwhile, procured a fleece of softest sheep’s wool, with the horns still attached to its temples. The horns shone like gold. He also procured an ebony sceptre, a white robe and a cloak resembling a serpent’s skin. Wearing these, he entered the bedroom, where Olympias was lying under the coverlet, just peeping out. She saw him come in, but was not afraid, because he looked just as the god had done in her dream. The lamps were lit, and Olympias covered her face. Nectanebo, putting aside his sceptre, climbed on to the bed and made love to her. Then he said, ‘Be
calm, woman, in your womb you carry a male child who will avenge you and will become king and ruler of all the world.’ Then he left the room, taking the sceptre with him, and hid all the pieces of his disguise.
The next morning when Olympias woke, she went into the room where Nectanebo was sleeping and roused him.
‘Greetings, your majesty,’ he said to her, rising from his bed, ‘what news do you have for me?’
‘I am amazed that you do not already know about it, prophet,’ she replied. ‘But will the god come to me again? For it was very sweet with him.’
‘Listen, your majesty,’ replied the prophet, ‘I am the prophet of this god. If you will,’ give me this place where I may sleep undisturbed, so that I can make the appropriate spells for him, and then he will come to you.’
And she replied, ‘You may have this room from now on.’ She gave orders that he should be given the key to the room. Then he hid his disguise in a secret place, and went in to her as often as Olympias wanted. And all the time she thought it was the god Ammon who came to her.
Day by day Olympias’ belly grew, until one day she said to Nectanebo, ‘What shall I say if Philip comes home and finds me pregnant?’
‘Have no fear, queen,’ replied the wizard. ‘Ammon will come to your aid in the following way: he will appear to Philip in a dream and relate to him all that has occurred, so that Philip will not be able to make any accusation against you.’
In this way Olympias was taken in by the magic powers of Nectanebo.
8. Then Nectanebo took a sea-hawk and cast a spell on it: he instructed it in all the things he wished to tell Philip, and, when it was fully prepared by his black arts, sent it off to fly to Philip. The sea-hawk came by night to the place where Philip was, and spoke to him in a dream. When Philip saw the hawk speaking to him, he woke up in great disturbance of mind. At once he sent for a certain Babylonian dream-interpreter, who had a good reputation, and described the apparition.
‘I saw in a dream some god, of great physical beauty, with grey hair and a grey beard; he had horns on his temples, which looked as if they were of gold, and in his hand he held a sceptre. I saw him go into my wife, Olympias, by night, and lie down with her and make love to her. Then the god stood up and said, “Woman, you have conceived a male child who will make you fruitful6 and will avenge the death of his father.” Then I saw myself sewing up her body with papyrus fibres and sealing it with my own ring.7 The ring was of gold, with a stone in it, and on the stone were engraved the sun, a lion’s head and a spear. While I watched this, I seemed to see a sea-hawk standing beside me, who roused me from sleep with the beating of his wings.
‘Tell me, what does this signify?’
‘Long live King Philip!’ the dream-interpreter replied. ‘What you saw in the dream is true. The sealing-up of the body of your wife is a reliable sign that she is pregnant; for no one seals up an empty vessel, but only one that has something in it. As for your sewing her up with papyrus – well, papyrus grows nowhere but in Egypt. The seed then is of Egyptian origin, and not humble, but glorious and of great fame, as the gold ring indicates. For what is more glorious than gold, with which we make our honours to the gods? And the seal portraying the sun, the lion’s head and the spear shows that the child will fight against all peoples like a lion, and make their cities captive even as far as the place where the sun rises. The god whom you saw with ram’s horns and grey hair is the Libyan god Ammon.’
Such was the dream-interpreter’s answer, but Philip was not pleased when he heard it.
9. Olympias, for her part, was in a state of great anxiety, because she had no confidence in Nectanebo and his arrangements con cerning Philip. When Philip came back from the war, he saw the disturbed state his wife was in and asked her, ‘Wife, why are you so disturbed about what has happened? The sin was another’s, as was made clear to me in a dream; so you cannot be faulted. We kings are all-powerful in respect of everyone, but not in respect of the gods. It was no common man who was your lover, but one of those far superior in comeliness to us.’
So saying, Philip put Olympias’ mind at rest. She was full of gratitude to the prophet, who had informed Philip of all that had happened.
10. Some days later Philip said to Olympias, ‘You were deceiving me, wife. You were not ravished by a god but by some other; and you may be sure he will not escape me.’ Nectanebo took due note.
Soon there was a great feast in the palace, and everyone was celebrating with Philip the king’s return. Only King Philip was cast down because of his wife’s pregnancy. Suddenly Nectanebo turned himself into a serpent, larger than the previous one, and crept into the dining-room, hissing in a most fearsome way, so that the very foundations of the palace shook. When those who were dining with the king saw the serpent, they leapt from their places in fright; but Olympias, who recognized her special lover, extended her right hand to him. The serpent raised himself up and placed his head on her lap; he then coiled himself up and lay on her knees, popping his forked tongue in and out to kiss her – which the onlookers took as an indication of the serpent’s affection for her.
Philip was at the same time annoyed and amazed, and could not take his eyes off the apparition. Suddenly the snake changed itself into an eagle and disappeared, no one could say where. When Philip had recovered from his shock, he said, ‘Woman, I have seen a sign of the god’s concern for you, for he came to help you when you were in danger. But still I do not know which god this is. For he appeared to me in the form of Ammon, and Apollo and Asclepius.’
‘He made clear to me when he lay with me,’ Olympias replied, ‘that he is Ammon, the god of all Libya.’
Then Philip congratulated himself on the god’s favour, since the offspring of his own wife was to be the seed of a god.
11. Some days later, Philip was sitting in one of the palace gardens, where a great number of birds were pecking about for food. Suddenly, one of the birds leapt on to his lap and laid an egg there; but the egg rolled out, fell on to the ground and broke. At once a small snake shot out of it, made a circuit of the egg and then tried to re-enter by the way it had just come out. But when it had managed to get its head inside, it died. King Philip was disturbed by this and sent for an interpreter of signs, and recounted what he had seen. The interpreter, inspired by a god, announced to him, ‘Your majesty, you will have a son, who will go round the world subduing all the peoples to his power, but then will return to his own kingdom and die a very short time afterwards. For the snake is a royal beast, and the egg, from which the snake emerged, resembles the world. So, having circled the world, and wanting to return to his origin, he was unable to do so and died.’ The interpreter received rich gifts from Philip for interpreting the omen, and went away.
12. When the time had come for Olympias to give birth, she sat down on the birth-stool and went into labour. Nectanebo stood by her, measuring the courses of the heavenly bodies; he urged her not to hurry in giving birth. At the same time he jumbled up the cosmic elements by the use of his magic powers,8 discovered what lay hidden in them, and said to her: ‘Woman, contain yourself and struggle against the pressure of Nature!9 [Get up from your chair and take a little walk. Scorpio is dominating the horoscope, and the bright Sun, when he sees the beasts of heaven yoked together and going backwards, will turn one who is born at this hour altogether out of heaven.
‘Take a grip of yourself, your majesty, and wait for this star as well. Cancer dominates the horoscope, and Saturn, who was the victim of a plot by his own children, and who cut off his genitals at the root and hurled them to Neptune, lord of the sea, and Pluto, god of the dead, making way for the majesty of Jupiter.
‘Hold on a little longer. The horned Moon in her bull-drawn chariot has left the zenith and come down to earth to embrace the beautiful herdsman Endymion. Whoever is born now will die by fire.
‘The next sign is not auspicious either. Bed-loving Venus, mother of archer Cupid, will kill the swineher
d Adonis. Whoever is born in this hour will take the lustre of the women of Byblos and raise a great commotion around himself.
‘Next is the lion-like rage of Mars. He is a lover of horses and war, but was exhibited naked and unarmed by the Sun on his adulterous bed. So whoever is born at this hour will be a laughing-stock.
‘Wait also for the passing of Mercury, your majesty, the goathorned next to the ill-omened one: or you will give birth to a quarrelsome pedant… Your son will be a monster.
‘Sit down now, your majesty, on the chair of benefaction, and make your labours more frequent and energetic. Jupiter, the lover of virgins, who was pregnant with Dionysus in his thigh, is now high in the clear heaven, turning into horned Ammon between Aquarius and Pisces, and designating an Egyptian as world-ruler. Give birth NOW!’ A-text]
And as the child fell to the ground, there were great claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, so that all the world was shaken.
13. Next morning, when Philip saw Olympias’ new-born child, he said: ‘I wished him not to be raised because he was not my own offspring, but now that I see that he is the seed of a god and the birth has been signalled by the heavens, let him be raised in memory of my son by my previous wife, who died, and let him be called Alexander.’10
After Philip had said this, every care was lavished on the child. There were celebratory processions throughout Macedonia, and in Pella and also Thrace.
In order to make short the long story of the childhood of Alexander – he was weaned and reached puberty. When he was grown up, his appearance in no way resembled that of Philip or Olympias or the one who had sired him, but was quite unique. In shape he was a man, but his hair was that of a lion and his eyes were asymmetrical – the right one being downward-slanting and the left one clear;11 his teeth were as sharp as nails, and his movements were as swift and violent as a lion’s. His nurse was Lekane12 the sister of Melas,13 his tutor and attendant was Cleonides, his grammar teacher was Polynices, his music teacher Leucippus of Limnae, his geometry teacher Melemnus, a Peloponnesian, his teacher of rhetoric Anaximenes of Lampsacus, the son of Aristocles; and his philosophy teacher was Aristotle of Stageira, the son of Nicomachus.14
The Greek Alexander Romance Page 5