After this, Alexander, leaving the temple of Minerva, went to Arisbê (Arr i. 12. 6), where the Macedonians who had crossed with Parmenion had encamped. On the following day he hastened past Percotê and Lampsacus to the river Practius, which, rising in the mountains of Ida, flows between the territories of Lampsacus and Abydus; then, gradually bending towards the north, it empties into the Propontis. Next, having passed by Hermotus, he led on to Colonae, a town of the Lampsaceni. Having received all these in surrender (for he also pardoned the Lampsaceni), he sent Panegorus to receive the city of the Priapeni, which its inhabitants surrendered. Amyntas, son of Arrabaeus, with four squadrons of scouting cavalry and me of the Apolloniates, which Socrates commanded was ordered to go and reconnoitre; for the enemy were near by, preparing for war with the greatest anxiety and care. Among them Memnon far surpassed the rest in military skill; he strongly advised them to withdraw and to spoil far and wide everything which could be useful to the enemy (Arr i. 2. 11; Diod xvii. 18. 2), trample down with the cavalry whatever herbage there was in the plain, and burn villages and cities, leaving nothing but the bare soil.
“The Macedonian,” he said, “had come with provisions for barely one month, intending after that to live upon plunder. If that supply should be taken from him, Alexander would soon withdraw; thus safely would be gained for all Asia at slight expense. The remedy was an unpleasant me, but in all affairs, when danger threatens, prudent men look to see how it can be avoided with the least loss; thus physicians, if they see that disease in an infected part of the body is passing to the other parts, gain safety for the entire body by the sacrifice of one member. Nor would the Persians do this without precedent. Darius once devastated those very regions and cities, in order that they might not receive the Scythians, who were about to cross that way.
“On the contrary, if they should contend in battle, the die was cast for the main contest, for once the Persians were defeated, that whole region would be in Alexander’s power; and if they were victorious, they would gain nothing. And, by Heaven! no slight danger threatened because of the Macedonian phalanx, to which they would vainly oppose their infantry, even though it was superior in numbers. Then, too, the presence of the king was of no little effect for victory; soldiers fighting in the sight of their rulers were aroused by hope, by shame, by glory; all these the Macedonians mould have; on their side Darius mas absent. No one doubted that it mas better to wage war in another’s land than in one’s own; they mould attain that advantage if they followed his plan and thought of invading Macedonia.”’
“This speech mas pleasing to none of the other leaders.
“That plan, they said, “perhaps might seem good to Memnon, a Rhodian, to whom it mas advantageous for the war to be prolonged, in order that he might enjoy for a longer time honours and pay from the king” (Arr i.12.10). To the Persians it seemed shameful to betray the peoples entrusted to their protection, nor could it be excused to the king, who had recommended a far different plan for waging war. And in fact, Darius, on hearing that Alexander had moved from Macedon, had sent letters to his generals to remind the mad young son of Philip, with the scourge, of his age and condition; then to dress him in a purple robe and bring him to Darius in fetters as soon as possible; they were to sink his ships with their crews in the sea and deport all his soldiers to the farthest shores of the Red Sea. To such a degree, careless of the future through pride and ignorance of his lot, had he laid aside all sense of human weakness, calling himself kinsman of the gods, rather because he seemed not unequal to them in power than because of the ancient fable (Hdt vii. 150), according to which the Persian kings were said to be descended from Perseus, son of Jupiter. He had ordered a letter full of the same insolence to be written shortly before to the Athenians, and had added (Aeschines, contra Ctes 238): “since they had preferred the friendship of the Macedonian, they must henceforth ask him for no more money; for he would not send it, even if they asked for it.” —
Alexander, when he had reached the land given to Memnon by the king of the Persians, ordered his men to abstain from doing harm and to spare the farmers and the crops (Polyaen. Strat iv. 3. 15), intending by a clever stratagem to throw suspicion on an active commander and the only one of all the leaders of the enemy whom he did not despise (Curt iii. 1. 21), if he should be unable to induce him to desert to him. And when some, wondering at the indulgence of the king (Themist. Orat. 9), said that the bitterest and most skilful enemy of the Macedonians ought to be killed as soon as he got him into his power, and in the meantime ought to be vexed by as many disasters as possible, Alexander replied: “Nay, rather we will win him by favours and make him a friend instead of an enemy, in order that he may aid us by that same valour and skill.”
They had come to the plains of Adrastea (Strabo xiii. 1. 13, p. 588), through which the Granicus River rolls in headlong course. Then some of the scouts which Alexander had sent ahead with Hegelochus (Arr i. 13. 2) returned and reported that the Persians had halted on the farther bank of the river with their troops drawn up in order of battle. Having delayed for a while in order to take advice about crossing the river, the king ordered the leaders to be called together. To the greater number of them it seemed a rash and vain attempt to try to force the passage of a deep river with so many thousand cavalry and infantry holding its bank, which was by nature steep and difficult (Plut. Alex xvi. 1); there were some who added that the month of Daesius (for it was that month, corresponding to June) was regarded among the Macedonians as unpropitious for undertaking enterprises (Plut. Alex l c.). Although not at all anxious about the danger, the king did not reject the superstition, knowing how much power a vain religious scruple had over uneducated minds.
Therefore he made proclamation that the name of the previous month should be repeated and that the present one should be called Artemisius instead of Daesius (Plut. Alex xvi. 2; Scaliger, De Emend. Temp. 1). And in order more effectually to encourage their anxious minds, he ordered Aristander (for it chanced that he mas offering sacrifice for a successful crossing) to be secretly admonished to mark with paint the hand in which he mas about to receive the entrails, with letters in reverse order; these the liver, when placed upon them with its heat still fresh, would receive and show them in the right order (Frontinus, Strat.. 11.14). The meaning of the letters mas: “The gods grant Alexander victory.” That miracle, when made generally known, filled all with such hope for the future that they raised a unanimous shout that, after these sure signs of heaven’s favour, no hesitation should be felt. Thus by craft they were led to have the greatest confidence in success and grasped the victory because they thought it was theirs.
The king, thinking that he ought to take advantage of their enthusiasm, although Parmenion warned him at least to wait for the next day (for the greater part of that day had already passed), at once led his forces across the river, meeting Parmenion’s anxiety with the jest that the Hellespont ought to blush, if, having passed over it, they delayed to cross this paltry brook (Plut. Alex xvi. 2; Arr. 12.6). Thirteen squadrons of cavalry, with the king himself, having with difficulty made their way through the opposing waters, before they had reached firm and sure ground or had reformed their ranks, which had been disordered by the crossing, were hard pressed by the Persian cavalry, which poured about them. For when, disregarding the advice of Memnon, they had resolved to fight (for Arsiles, satrap of Phrygia, had declared that he would not allow even a single hut of those who were under him to be burned, and the others had agreed with him) they had taken their place at the Granicus River with 100,000 infantry and 20,000 horsemen (Diod xvii. 19. 4; Arr i. 14. 4), intending to use the river as a fortification, and in turn to lock it, as the gate of Asia, against the coming of Alexander.
When his arrival was known, they placed the cavalry, of which the strength of their forces consisted, in such a way that opposite the right wing of the Macedonians, which Alexander himself led [for to Parmenion he had entrusted the left wing), Memnon with his sons and Arsanes the Persian stoo
d; in the same part Arsiles was in charge of the auxiliaries of Paphlagonian horsemen; in reserve was Spithridates, son-in-law of the king; the satrap of Libya and Ionia was accompanied by his brother Rhosaces and the Hyrcanian cavalry. On the right wing were 2000 Medic cavalry, followed by Rheomithres with the same number of Hadrians. The centre was commanded by Pharnaces, brother of the queen, Arbupales, grandson of Artaxerxes through Darius, and Mithrobarzanes, governor of Cappadocia. To these Niphates and Petanes, with Arsaces and Atizyes, had added the cavalry of various nations.
These forces, then, with the advantage in numbers and position, heavily pressed the Macedonians, and a fierce battle followed. The greatest danger of all was to Alexander, who was conspicuous for his arms, his deeds, and the orders which he gave, and hence was the main object of attack. Assailed at once by the bravest of the leaders of the enemy, Rhosaces and Spithridates (Plut. Alex xvi. 4; Arr i. 15. 7-8), he was in extreme peril. For his lance was shattered against the cuirass of Spithridates. As he drew his sword, Rhosaces, riding up from one side, gave him suck a blow with his scimitar that he sheared off the crest of his helmet and one of its plumes, while the blade of the sword grazed the king’s hair. He was preparing to deal a second stroke where the broken helmet showed the king’s bare head, when Clitus anticipated him (Curt viii. 1. 41s); for perceiving the danger to the king, he had rushed upon Rhosaces like a madman, and cut off the barbarians arm with the scimitar which it held. At the same time Spithridates was slain by Alexander’s sword.
Yet the Persian cavalry fought no less valiantly, until, panic-stricken by the death of their leaders, many of whom had already fallen, and at the same time because the phalanx had now crossed the river, they wheeled about their horses and fled. And the infantry did not long resist; believing that their cavalry was more than strong enough to crush the enemy, they had been thinking more of booty than of battle. The mercenaries, however, commanded by Omares, taking their place on an eminence, were protecting themselves valiantly, since they were troops who would receive no conditions of surrender. Therefore more of the Macedonians were lost in that contest than in the cavalry battle; the king himself also, while he was attacking the enemy among the foremost, was so near extreme danger that by the stroke of a sword driven through its side his horse was killed under him (Plut. Alex xvi.?). Greatly enraged by all this, he surrounded the enemy with both the cavalry and the phalanx, and cut them to pieces except about 2000, who surrendered. In all, about 20,000 of their infantry and 2000 cavalry were slain (Plut l c.; cf. Diod xxni. 21. 6). Of the leaders, Memnon fled, along with Arsaces, Rheomithres, and Alizyes; the rest fell with honourable wounds. Arsites, when he had returned to Phrygia, since not undeservedly he was regarded as the cause of the defeat, took his own life (Arr i. 16. 3). Alexander in that battle lost few indeed, but they were his bravest men; about thirty infantry and seventy-five horsemen had fallen (Plut. Alex xvii. 7; Justin xi. 6. 8; Arr i. 16. 4ff).
To show to all what the reward for valour would be in either fortune, he enriched the survivors with the wealth of the Persians, and buried the bodies of the dead magnificently with their arms and the rest of their adornment; to the parents and children of the slain he granted freedom from all taxes and personal services (Arr i. 16. 5). He gave attentive care to the wounded; for in person he went to all the tents and examined each man, showing his solicitude even for the common soldiers, and he consoled the hard lot of each one by generosity and praises, or by promises. This humanity made them most faithful to him in all future dangers; nor did anyone refuse to give his life for a king who suffered neither their life to be in want nor their death unhonoured.
Special honour was shown to twenty five horsemen of the Companion Cavalry, who, fighting in an unfavourable position at the beginning of the battle, had been overthrown by the superior numbers of the enemy; for the king commissioned Lysippus, by whom alone, because of his skill, he himself had consented to be sculptured in bronze, to make bronze statues of them (Arr i. 16. 4), which were set up at Dium, a town of Macedonia, and after long ages were taken by Quintus Metellus to Rome (Vell. Paterc i. 11. 3, 4).
The chief glory of this victory belonged rightfully to the king; he had drawn up his line of battle admirably, and had led the ranks through the river on a slant, in order that when they came out of the water they might not immediately be attacked by the Persians (Arr i. 14. 7). Then he aroused them, when disordered and in fear, by exhorting them at least once more to attack the foe vigorously (Polyaen. Strat iv. 38). His personal prowess was not less noteworthy; he slew many with his lance, others with his sword, and the enemy who stood opposite to him were the first to take flight. Also his plan of action, though seemingly rash, yet was not less reasonable; he wished to arm his men, who were about to engage with a new enemy, far superior in numbers, even with desperation, that seeing flight cut off by the interposition of the river, they might place all hope of safety in victory.
Alexander buried the noblest of the Persians and all the Greek mercenaries who fell in their service. But those mercenaries that came alive into his power he ordered to be distributed through the slave-prisons in Macedonia, because, contrary to the general decree of the Greeks, they had fought against their country for the domination of barbarians (Arr i. 16. 6). Nevertheless, he made an exception of the Thebans, who, after their city had been destroyed and their lands taken from them, had sinned rather from necessity than from choice; for already hatred, satisfied by so many calamities which they had suffered, had given place to mercy (Plut. Apophtheg. 40). After the battle he chose 300 shields from the spoils, to dedicate to Pallas Athene with the proud inscription:
‘ Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks except the Lacedaemonians, dedicated these from the Barbarians dwelling in Asia” (Arr i. 16. 7). He had done this in order that, by sharing the glory of the victory with the Greeks, he might find them more helpful in the rest of the war; at the same time he condemned the haughtiness of the Lacedaemonians, who, by adopting an adverse plan and separating themselves from the rest of the Greeks, had no share in this great honour. And not forgetting his mother, whom he always honoured with special affection, he sent her all the cups, purple raiment, and other precious spoils of that kind with a few exceptions.
After the battle Alexander went again to Ilium. He gave thanks to the goddess who, when he was about to approach the decision of a most dangerous war, had aided him with arms and omens (Diod xvii. 17. 6). He honoured her with splendid gifts, and gave Ilium (which then was only a small village) the title of city (Strabo xiii p. 629).
Calas, leader of the Thessalians, was made satrap of Phrygia in place of Arsites. Many mountain peoples submitted, and on them he imposed the tribute which they were wont to pay to Darius, as he consistently did when he subdued the other peoples of Asia. When someone advised him that far greater tributes and revenues could be gained from so great an empire, he said that he hated a gardener who cut to the root the vegetables of which he ought to cull the leaves.
Having heard that Dascyleum was held by a Persian garrison, he sent Parmenion to the place, and the citizens at once received him; the Persians had left on hearing of the coming of the Macedonians. Alexander himself went on to Sardis, the capital of all the Persian provinces on the sea. When he was about seventy stadia from the city, Mithrenes came to him and surrendered the city, with the citadel and the money which was kept in it (Arr i. 18. 3; Curt iii. 12. 6). Congratulating himself on the easy victory, Alexander decided to build a temple there to Jupiter Olympius (Arr i. 18. 5). When he was considering where to build it, a tempest overthrew a part of the citadel where the ancient palace of the Lydian kings stood, and he decided to build it there. He allowed the Lydians to use their own laws. Mithrenes he kept with him and treated him with honour, in order to induce others to follow his example, and later he gave him Armenia to govern (Curt v. 1. 44). From documents in the citadel he learned that Demosthenes had received a great amount of gold with which to arouse war against the Macedonians. Alexander did n
othing about this, but determined to keep an eye on Athens and Demosthenes. He also paid attention to Phocion, and later he deemed only him and Antipater worthy of salutation in his letters (Plut. Phoc xvii. 6).
All this happened later. At the time, he hastened to Ephesus and entered the city on the fourth day after leaving Sardis; he restored the exiles and turned the government over to the people. They demanded the punishment of those who had called in Memnon, those who had pillaged the temple of Artemis and overthrown the statue of Philip in it, and those who had dug up the tomb of Heropythus in the forum, dedicated to the liberator of their city (Air i. 17. IT). At Ephesus he went frequently to the studio of Apelles by whom alone he wished to be painted (Plin. N.H. xxxv. 10 (85)). That he was ridiculed by Apelles for ignorant criticism of his paintings (Ael. V.H. ii. 3) I do not believe; for the tale is not consistent with the majesty of the king and the modesty of the painter, who was neither stupid nor ignorant; Alexander, too, had been trained in all liberal arts, and had learned to show good judgement even in those in which he had no skill. It is more probable that the story applies to a priest of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and Zeuxis (Ael. V.H. ii. 2).
Since the temple, which had been burned by Herostratus, was being restored, Alexander ordered the tribute which had formerly been paid to Darius to be paid to Artemis, and renewed the temple’s right of asylum, which he knew had in ancient times saved Father Liber and Hercules (Tac. Ann iii. 61). Afterwards, when he had subdued Asia, he wrote to the Ephesians that he would make good all the money which had been spent on the temple; also that any amount that they required besides he would furnish from his own means, on condition that his name should be inscribed on the restored work (Strabo xiv. 1. 22, p. 641). The Ephesians were unwilling to do this, but because it was difficult to refuse anything that Alexander asked, they resorted to flattery and said that it was beneath his dignity to consecrate anything to the gods, since he himself was a god; that such honour was paid by men to a more powerful and sublime nature. The amount which was spent upon the temple may be estimated from one painting, which cost twenty talents. It represented Alexander holding a thunderbolt, and Apelles had pictured the king with inimitable skill, using only four colours, in order to make the work a greater wonder to experts (Pliny, N.H. xxxv. 10. 36 (92)).
Delphi Complete Works of Quintus Curtius Rufus Page 5