The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great
despatched by him to receive them; and they were all surrendered. He
soon afterwards arrived himself at Phaselis, and helped the men of
that city to capture a strong fort which had been constructed by the
Pisidians to overawe the country; and sallying forth from which those
barbarians used to inflict much damage upon the Phaselites who tilled
the land.[178]
CHAPTER XXV.
TREASON OF ALEXANDER, SON OF AËROPUS.
While the king was still near Phaselis he received information that
Alexander, son of Aëropus, who was not only one of the Companions, but
also at that time commander of the Thessalian horse, was conspiring
against him. This Alexander was brother of Heromenes and Arrhabaeus,
who had taken part in the murder of Philip.[179] At that time King
Alexander pardoned him, though he was accused of complicity with them,
because after Philip’s death he was among the first of his friends to
come to him, and, helping him on with his breastplate, accompanied him
to the palace. The king afterwards showed him honour at his court,
sent him as general into Thrace; and when Calas the commander of the
Thessalian horse was sent away to a viceroyalty[180] he was appointed
to succeed that general. The details of the conspiracy were reported
as follows: When Amyntas deserted to Darius,[181] he conveyed to
him certain messages and a letter from this Alexander. Darius then
sent Sisines, one of his own faithful Persian courtiers, down to the
sea-coast, under pretence of going to Atizyes, viceroy of Phrygia, but
really to communicate with this Alexander, and to give him pledges,
that if he would kill king Alexander, Darius would appoint him king of
Macedonia, and would give him 1,000 talents of gold[182] in addition
to the kingdom. But Sisines, being captured by Parmenio, told him the
real object of his mission. Parmenio sent him immediately under guard
to the king, who obtained the same intelligence from him. The king
then, having collected his friends, proposed to them as a subject
for deliberation what decision he ought to make in regard to this
Alexander. The Companions thought that formerly he had not resolved
wisely in confiding the best part of his cavalry to a faithless man,
and that now it was advisable to put him out of the way as speedily as
possible, before he became even more popular among the Thessalians and
should try to effect some revolutionary plan with their aid. Moreover
they were terrified by a certain divine portent. For, while Alexander
the king was still besieging Halicarnassus, it is said that he was
once taking rest at midday, when a swallow flew about over his head
loudly twittering, and perched now on this side of his couch and now on
that, chirping more noisily than usual. On account of his fatigue he
could not be roused from sleep, but being disquieted by the sound he
brushed her away gently with his hand. But though struck she was so far
from trying to escape, that she perched upon the very head of the king,
and did not desist until he was wide awake. Thinking the affair of
the swallow of no trivial import, he communicated it to a soothsayer,
Aristander the Telmissian,[183] who told him that it signified a plot
formed by one of his friends. He said it also signified that the plot
would be discovered, because the swallow was a bird fond of man’s
society and well disposed to him as well as more loquacious than any
other bird. Therefore, comparing this with the depositions of the
Persian, the king sent Amphoterus, son of Alexander and brother of
Craterus to Parmenio; and with him he sent some Pergaeans to show him
the way. Amphoterus, putting on a native dress, so that he should not
be recognised on the road, reached Parmenio by stealth. He did not
carry a letter from Alexander, because it did not appear to the king
advisable to write openly about such a matter; but he reported the
message entrusted to him by word of mouth. Consequently this Alexander
was arrested and kept under guard.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ALEXANDER IN PAMPHYLIA.—CAPTURE OF ASPENDUS AND SIDE.
Alexander then, moving from Phaselis, sent part of his army to Perga
through the mountains, where the Thracians had levelled a road for him
by a route which was otherwise difficult and long. But he himself led
his own brigade by the beach along the sea, where there is no route,
except when the north wind blows. But if the south wind prevails it is
impossible to journey along the beach. At that time, after a strong
south wind, the north winds blew, and rendered his passage easy and
quick, not without the divine intervention, as both he and his men
interpreted.[184] As he was advancing from Perga, he was met on the
road by envoys from the Aspendians[185] with full powers, who offered
to surrender their city, but begged him not lead a garrison into it.
Having gained their request in regard to the garrison, they went back;
but he ordered them to give him fifty talents[186] as pay for his army,
as well as the horses which they were rearing as tribute to Darius.
Having agreed with him about the money, and having likewise promised to
hand over the horses, they departed.
Alexander then marched to Sidē,[187] the inhabitants of which were
Cymaeans from Cyme, in Aeolis. These people give the following account
of themselves, saying that their ancestors starting from Cyme,
arrived in that country, and disembarked to found a settlement. They
immediately forgot the Grecian language, and forthwith began to utter a
foreign speech, not, indeed, that of the neighbouring barbarians, but
a speech peculiar to themselves, which had never before existed. From
that time the Sidetans used to speak a foreign language unlike that of
the neighbouring nations. Having left a garrison in Sidē, Alexander
advanced to Syllium,[188] a strong place, containing a garrison of
Grecian mercenaries as well as of native barbarians themselves. But
he was unable to take Syllium offhand by a sudden assault, for he
was informed on his march that the Aspendians refused to perform any
of their agreements, and would neither deliver the horses to those
who were sent to receive them, nor pay the money; but that they had
collected their property out of the fields into the city, shut their
gates against his men, and were repairing their walls where they had
become dilapidated. Hearing this, he marched off to Aspendus.
CHAPTER XXVII.
ALEXANDER IN PHRYGIA AND PISIDIA.
The greater part of Aspendus had been built upon a strong and
precipitous rock, at the very foot of which flows the river
Eurymedon[189]; but round the rock, on the low ground, were many of
the citizens’ houses, surrounded by a small wall. As soon as they
ascertained that Alexander was approaching, the inhabitants deserted
the wall and the houses situated on the low ground, which they thought
they were unable to protect; and they fled in a body to the rock. When
he arrived with his forces, he passed within the deserted wall and
took up his quarters in the houses which had been abandoned by the
Aspendians. When these saw that Alexander himself had come, contrary to
their expectation, and that his camp was encircling them on all sides,
they sent envoys to him, entreating him to form an agreement with them
on the former terms. Alexander, considering the strength of the place,
and how unprepared he was to undertake a long siege, entered into an
agreement with them, though not on the same terms as before. For he
ordered them to give him their most influential men as hostages, to
hand over the horses which they had formerly agreed to give him, to pay
100 talents instead of fifty, to obey the viceroy appointed by him, and
to pay an annual tribute to the Macedonians. Moreover he directed an
inquiry to be held about the land which they were accused of holding by
force, though it belonged of right to their neighbours.
When all these concessions had been made to him, he marched away to
Perga, and thence set out for Phrygia, his route leading him past the
city of Termessus. The people of this city are foreigners, of the
Pisidian race, inhabiting a very lofty place, precipitous on every
side; so that the road to the city is a difficult one. For a mountain
stretches from the city as far as the road, where it suddenly stops
short; and over against it rises another mountain, no less precipitous.
These mountains form gates, as it were, upon the road; and it is
possible for those who occupy these eminences even with a small guard
to render the passage impracticable. On this occasion the Termissians
had come out in a body, and were occupying both the mountains; seeing
which, Alexander ordered the Macedonians to encamp there, armed as they
were, imagining that the Termissians would not remain in a body when
they saw them bivouacking, but that most of them would withdraw into
their city, which was near, leaving upon the mountains only sufficient
men to form a guard. And it turned out just as he conjectured; for
most of them retired, and only a guard remained. He forthwith took the
archers, the regiments of javelin-throwers, and the lighter hoplites,
and led them against those who were guarding the pass. When these were
attacked with missiles, they did not stand their ground, but abandoned
the position. Alexander then passed through the defile, and encamped
near the city.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
OPERATIONS IN PISIDIA.
While he was there, ambassadors came to him from the Selgians, who are
also Pisidian barbarians, inhabiting a large city, and being warlike.
Because they happened to be inveterate enemies to the Termessians they
had despatched this embassy to Alexander, to treat for his friendship.
He made a treaty with them, and from this time found them faithful
allies in all his proceedings. Despairing of being able to capture
Termessus without a great loss of time, he marched on to Sagalassus.
This was also a large city, inhabited likewise by Pisidians; and though
all the Pisidians are warlike, the men of this city were deemed the
most so. On this occasion they had occupied the hill in front of the
city, because it was no less strong than the walls, from which to
attack the enemy; and there they were awaiting him. But Alexander drew
up the phalanx of Macedonians in the following way: on the right wing,
where he had himself taken up his position, he held the shield-bearing
guards, and next to these he extended the foot Companions as far as
the left wing, in the order that each of the generals had precedence
in the array that day. On the left wing he stationed Amyntas, son of
Arrhabaeus, as commander. In front of the right wing were posted the
archers and Agrianians, and in front of the left wing the Thracian
javelin-throwers under the command of Sitalces. But the cavalry were
no use to him in a place so rough and unfavourable. The Termessians
also had come to the aid of the Pisidians, and arrayed themselves with
them. Alexander had already made an attack upon the mountain which the
Pisidians were occupying, advancing up the most abrupt part of the
ascent, when the barbarians from an ambuscade attacked him on both
wings, in a place where it was very easy for themselves to advance,
but where the route was very difficult for their enemy. The archers,
who were the first to approach, were put to rout, inasmuch as they
were insufficiently armed; but the Agrianians stood their ground, for
the Macedonian phalanx was already drawing near, at the head of which
Alexander himself was seen. When the battle became a hand-to-hand one,
though the barbarians were destitute of armour, they rushed against
the Macedonian hoplites, and fell wounded on all sides. Then, indeed,
they gave way, after about 500 of them had been killed. As they were
nimble and well-acquainted with the locality, they effected their