About this book

The Anabasis of Alexander or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great

Arrian

[279] Now Cape Matapan. Cf. _Propertius_, iii. 2, 11; _Tibullus_, iii. 3, 13; Homer (_Hymn to Apollo_, 411). [280] The Cretans were very early civilized and powerful, for we read in Homer of their 100 cities. Before the Trojan war lived the famous king Minos, who is said to have given laws to Crete, and to have been the first potentate who possessed a navy, with which he suppressed piracy in the Aegean Sea. The Cretans gradually degenerated, so that we find in the New Testament St. Paul quoting from their own poet, Epimenides: “Always liars and beasts are the Cretans, and inwardly sluggish” (Titus i. 12). The lying propensity of the Cretans is proved from the fact that the verb _to Cretize_, was used in Greek with the meaning “to speak falsely.” In Hebrew, Crete is called _Caphtor_ (cypress). It is mentioned in Jer. xlvii. 4. It was the native land of a tribe of Philistines called Caphtorim (Gen. x. 14; Deut. ii. 23; 1 Chron. i. 12). The fact that the Philistines came partly from Crete is also affirmed in Amos ix. 7. Another branch of the Philistines came from Casloach in Egypt. The Caphtorim emigrated originally from Egypt to Crete, from which island they were probably driven by the Greeks. Tacitus asserts that the inhabitants of Palestine came from Crete (_Historiae_, v. 2); and the early name of Gaza was Minoa, after the famous king of Crete. Another Hebrew name for Crete is Cĕrēth, whence the inhabitants were called _Cĕrēthim_. They are mentioned in Ezek. xxv. 16, and Zeph. ii. 5; where the Septuagint and the Syriac have _Cretans_. We find the Philistines, who were partly emigrants from Crete, called Cerethim in 1 Sam. xxx. 14. From among these Cerethim and Philistines David chose his body-guard, which was composed of men skilled in shooting and slinging (2 Sam. viii. 18, xv. 18, xx. 7, 23; 1 Kings i. 38, 44; 1 Chron. xviii. 17). [281] From _Diodorus_ (xvii. 48) it appears that Agis went personally to Crete, and compelled most of the cities to join the Persian side. We also learn that the deputies of the Greeks assembled at the Isthmian games at Corinth sent an embassy to Alexander to congratulate him on his victory at Issus, and to present him with a golden wreath. (See also _Curtius_, iv. 22.) [282] Coele-Syria, or Hollow Syria, is, in its more limited sense, the country between the ranges of Libanus and Anti-Libănus, in which Damascus and Baalbek are situated; in its wider meaning, it comprises the whole of Northern Syria, in opposition to the countries of Phoenicia and Palestine. [283] Aradus is an island lying two or three miles from the mainland of Phoenicia. According to Strabo, a State was founded in it by refugees from Sidon. For a long time the island was independent, under its own kings; and even after it fell under the sway of the Macedonian kings of Syria, and subsequently under that of the Romans, it retained a great deal of its commercial prosperity. Aradus appears in Hebrew under the form _Arvad_. It is evident from Ezek. xxvii. 8, 11, that its inhabitants were skilful sailors and brave warriors. They sent out colonies to Aradus south of Carmel, the island of Aradus near Crete, and the islands in the Persian gulf. The present name of this island is Ruad. The Aradians inhabited the mainland opposite the island, as well as the island itself. [284] Artaxerxes Ochus reigned B.C. 359-338. [285] Perinthus was a Samian colony on the Propontis. For the siege by Philip, see _Diodorus_, xvi. 74-76. [286] Impartial historians deny that Philip’s murderers were bribed; they committed the murder from private resentment. [287] Ochus was poisoned about B.C. 338, by the eunuch Bagoas, who placed upon the throne Arses, one of the king’s sons, killing all the rest. Cf. Aelian (_Varia Historia_, vi. 8). Two years afterwards, Bagoas put Arses and all his children to death; thus leaving no direct heir of the regal family alive. He then placed upon the throne one of his adherents, named Darius Codomannus, a descendant of one of the brothers of Artaxerxes Mnemon. Bagoas soon afterwards tried to poison this Darius; but the latter, discovering his treachery, forced him to drink the deadly draught himself (_Diod._, xvii. 5; _Justin_, x. 3). From _Arrian_, iii. 19, we learn that Bistanes, a son of Ochus, was alive after the battle of Arbela. [288] Aeschines, in his speech against Ctesiphon (p. 634), asserts that Darius sent 300 talents to Athens, that the Athenians refused them, and that Demosthenes took them, reserving 70 talents for his own private use. Deinarchus repeats this statement in his speech against Demosthenes. (pp. 9-14). If Demosthenes had really acted thus, it is strange Alexander knew nothing about it. [289] This statement of Arrian is confirmed by _Curtius_ (iii. 34), who says that Parmenio captured the treasure, not in the city, but from fugitives who were conveying it away. [290] In giving the names of the captured Grecian envoys, _Curtius_ (iii. 35) seems to have confounded this with a future occasion, mentioned in _Arrian_ (iii. 24). [291] The great Iphicrates had been adopted by Alexander’s grandfather, as is stated in a note on Book I. chap. 23. [292] Byblus is said by _Strabo_ (xvi. 2) to have been situated on a height not far from the sea. It was reported to be the oldest city in the world. It possessed a considerable extent of territory, including Berytus, and was an independent State for a long period, the last king being deposed by Pompey. On a Byblus coin of Alexander’s time appears the name _Einel_, which is the king Enylus mentioned by _Arrian_ (ii. 20). Byblus was the chief seat of the worship of Adonis, or Thammuz, who was supposed to have been born there. In the Bible it appears under its Hebrew name _Gebal_ (mountain-district). The inhabitants of Gebal are said in Ezek. xxvii. 9 to have been skilled in building ships. In Josh. xiii. 5 the northern boundary of the Holy Land is said to reach as far as the land of the Giblite, or inhabitant of Gebal. In 1 Kings v. 18 the word translated in our Bible _stone-squarers_ ought to be rendered _Giblites_. The Arabs still call the place Jebail. Cf. Milton (_Paradise Lost_, viii. 18). [293] Sidon, or in Hebrew _Tsidon_ (fortress), is called in Gen. x. 15, 19 the firstborn son of Canaan, _i.e._ it was the first city founded by the Canaanites or Phoenicians. It lay about twenty miles south of Tyre, on a small promontory two miles south of the river Bostremus. We read in _Homer_ that it was famous for its embroidered robes and metal utensils, and from other ancient writers we find that it manufactured glass and linen and also prepared dyes. Before the time of David it fell under the rule of Tyre; but when Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, invaded Phoenicia, it revolted from Tyre and submitted to the invader. It was governed by its own kings under the Babylonian and Persian empires; and under the latter power it reached its highest prosperity, surpassing Tyre in wealth and importance. In the expedition of Xerxes against Greece, the Sidonians furnished the best ships in the whole fleet, and their king obtained the highest place under Xerxes in the council. But they revolted against Ochus, king of Persia, and being betrayed to him by their own king Tennes, they burnt their city and ships. It is said that 40,000 persons perished in the fire and by the sword, B.C. 351. (_Diodorus_, xvi. 43-45). No doubt this barbarous treatment of Ochus induced the Sidonians to take the side of Alexander. The city was already built and again flourishing when that king appeared on the scene. Near the site of the ancient city is the present town of Saida, with a population of about 5,000. Cf. Homer (_Iliad_, vi. 289; xxiii. 741); _Lucan_, iii. 217. [294] At Sidon, Alexander deposed the reigning king Strato, a friend of the Persians; and a poor man, named Abdalonymus, distantly related to the regal family, was put into his place (_Curtius_, iv. 3, 4). _Diodorus_ (xvii. 47) tells the same story, but applies it to Tyre, probably by mistake. [295] The Hebrew name for Tyre is _Tsor_ (rock). In Isa. xxiii. 4 it is called the fortress of the sea; and in ver. 8, “Tsor, the crowning one,” because Tyre gave rulers to the Phoenician cities and colonies. Valuable information about the power, trade, and customs of Tyre is derived from Ezek. xxvi-xxviii.; and we learn the fact that she employed mercenaries like her colony Carthage (Ezek. xxvii. 10, 11). In the classical writers the name is corrupted into _Tyrus_, and sometimes into _Sarra_. Tyre was unsuccessfully besieged for five years by Shalmaneser. It was also besieged for thirteen years by Nebuchadnezzar, and in the end an alliance was formed, by which the Tyrians retained their own king as a vassal of the king of Babylon. This arrangement was continued under the kings of Persia. [296] _Curtius_ (iv. 7) tells us that the envoys also brought to Alexander a golden wreath, together with abundant supplies for his army. [297] This king must have brought home his ships for the defence of Tyre, for he was in the city when it was captured. See chap. 24. [298] The Phoenician god _Melkarth_ (lord of the city), whom the Syrians called _Baal_ (lord), was supposed to be identical with the Grecian Heracles, or Hercules, who was the mythical ancestor of the Macedonian kings. _Curtius_ (iv. 7) tells us that Alexander affirmed he had been ordered by an oracle to sacrifice in Tyre to Heracles. Gesenius informs us that a Maltese inscription identifies the Tyrian Melkarth with Heracles. [299] Who was the son of Labdacus. [300] See _Herodotus_, ii. 43, 44. [301] The district comprising all the south-west of Spain outside the pillars of Heracles, or Straits of Gibraltar, was called Tartessis, of which the chief city was Tartessus. Here the Phoenicians planted colonies, one of which still remains under the name of Cadiz. The Romans called the district Baetica, from the principal river, the Baetis or Guadalquivir. The Hebrew name for this region is _Tarshish_, of which Tartessus is the Greek form. Tarshish was the station for the Phoenician trade with the West, which extended as far as Cornwall. The Tyrians fetched from this locality silver, iron, lead, tin, and gold (Isa. xxiii. 1, 6, 10, lxvi. 19; Jer. x. 9; Ezek. xxvii. 12, xxxviii. 13). Martial, Seneca, and Avienus, the first two of whom were Spaniards, understood Tartessus to stand for the south-west of Spain and Portugal. The word Tarshish probably means _sea-coast_, from the Sanscrit _tarischa_, the sea. Ovid (_Met._, xiv. 416); _Martial_, viii. 28; _Silius_, xiii. 673. [302] Of Miletus. Herodotus knew his writings well, but they have not come down to us. See _Herod._ (ii. 143; v. 36 and 125). [303] The Iberians were originally called Tibarenes, or Tibari. They dwelt on the east of the Black Sea, and west of Colchis, whence they emigrated to Spain. This nation is called _Tubal_ in the Hebrew Bible; in Isa. lxvi. 19 the Iberians of western Europe are referred to. [304] An island near Cadiz, now called Leon. Cf. Hesiod (_Theogonia_, 287-294); _Herodotus_, iv. 8. [305] Now called Arta. [306] Arrian omits to mention that the Tyrians pointed out to him that his wish to sacrifice to Hercules might be gratified without entering their city, since at Palaetyrus, on the mainland, separated from Tyre only by a narrow strait, was a temple of that deity more ancient than that in Tyre. See _Curtius_, iv. 7; _Justin_, xi. 10. We learn from _Arrian_, i. 18, that when Alexander offered sacrifice to the Ephesian Diana he marched to the temple with his whole army in battle array. No doubt it was this kind of thing the Tyrians objected to. Alexander actually did the same at Tyre after its capture. (See chapter 24.)