Monthly Archives: July 2014

Bessus takes up the fight against Alexander

Posted on July 31, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 74 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Bessus Reaches Bactria
Bessus Proclaims Himself King
Allie Greek Soldiers Dismissed

The Story
With Chapter 74 Diodorus enters a new year in his chronology (July 329 B.C. - June 328 B.C.). This year, Bessus arrived in Bactria with his fellow rebels, including Nabarnes and Barxaës. There, he issued a rallying cry to the Bactrians, urging them to defend their freedom.

Perhaps to waylay the fears of those who wondered how they could oppose the man who had overthrown the Great King, Bessus reminded the people that Bactria ‘was hard for an enemy to penetrate’.

Bessus’ next step inevitably followed his call to arms, for he could hardly tell his subjects to defend themselves without committing himself to that struggle as well. Thus, Bessus ‘proclaimed that he would take personal command of the war’.

But that wasn’t all. With ‘the approval of the people’ - Bessus declared himself Darius III’s successor. Wikipedia says he gave himself the regnal name of Artaxerxes V. He must have felt he now had one foot in Babylon already.

Before the other could join it, though, Bessus had some hard grafting to do. So, just as Darius did after his defeats at Issus and Gaugamela, Bessus set about enlisting men into his new army and equipping them with new weapons.

Alexander would come and there would be a reckoning. Bessus intended to make sure that on that day he would not be the man to be struck dead.

A couple of posts ago (here) I said that the destruction of the royal palaces at Persepolis marked the natural conclusion to Alexander’s expedition. Diodorus now explains that as far as the Macedonian army was concerned, that point came when Darius died. As a result, they were ‘impatient to go home’.

Alexander called his men together and ‘addressing them with effective arguments’ and, I am sure, the most honeyed words, convinced them to continue east with him.

Some men, however, would now leave. The allied Greek troops were paid the outstanding portion of their wages with a one talent bonus (in the case of the cavalry) or ten minas (the infantry) on top. They were sent on their way with praise and a little more cash to cover the journey.

Alexander had been very generous, but he was even more so to those allies who chose to re-enlist. They were given the princely sum of three talents.

Diodorus closes the chapter by explaining that Alexander gave generously partly because he was a generous person but also because he could afford to. His war of revenge against Darius had yielded 8,000 talents. But that’s not all - the total cost of the money ‘distributed to the soldiers’ (does he mean the allies or Macedonians in general? I’m not sure), ‘including clothing and goblets’ came to 13,000 talents. And there there was the loot and plunder, which ‘was thought to be even more still’.

Comments
The one thing that I would really like to know is the one thing that Diodorus doesn’t mention: How did Bessus explain his part in the murder of Darius? Did he lie and say someone else killed him? Perhaps he told a half-truth - always more effective than an out-and-ot lie. Or maybe he just glossed over it in some way or other.

In the first draft of this post, I wrote in paragraph two that Bessus told the Bactrians that Bactria was a hard country to conquer. When editing I changed it to the quotation as what I had said didn’t feel quite accurate. In the end, of course, Alexander did conquer Bactria - just, but the country was never really pacified. This has been the story of Afghanistan (of which Bactria forms the northern part) right down to the present.

When referring to Alexander’s meeting with his men, Diodorus says that the king ‘made them willing to follow him in the part of the war which remained’. This implies continuity with the war of revenge. Yet, I wonder if we cannot say that by dismissing the allied soldiers, Alexander was implicitly agreeing that the original war was now over.

Would Alexander Have used The Nuclear Bomb?
No. In our age, he would have been an awful general on account of his determination to win glory. He would have eschewed easy-wins and been undone thereby.

ARGUMENT
The idea that Hephaestion was Alexander’s lover rests on the latter’s identification of himself as Achilles and Hephaestion as Patroclus, and the belief at that time that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers. Athenaeus, meanwhile, says that Alexander liked to “keep Thais with him” (Wikipedia), which could mean that she and the king were lovers. Who’s for annoying the Ptollelians by advertising this possibility more?

MEME-Bessus
Y U NO DO SUMTHIN DIFFRENT TO THAT LOSER DARIUS WHEN HE LOST TWO (2) MAJOR BATTELS
?

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

The Death of Darius III

Posted on July 30, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 73 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Alexander Subdues Persia
Darius Murdered
Did Alexander meet Darius before the Great King died? We investigate
Spartan Envoys Begin Mercy March

The Story
The destruction of the royal palaces at Persepolis may have satisfied Greek pride but Alexander had no intention of resting on his laurels. Leaving the city, he set about pacifying Persia. Some of her cities were taken ‘by storm’, others by more peaceful means. Once the country had been subdued, Alexander returned to the pursuit of Darius.

The deposed Great King was on his way to Bactria where he hoped to raise another army (although if I read Diodorus correctly, he was travelling there with 30,000 men) when one of his senior lieutenants, Bessus, seized him.

What happened next depends on who you read (and believe).

Diodorus is of the opinion that Bessus murdered Darius. Arriving at the scene of the crime not long later, Alexander found the Great King and ‘gave him a royal funeral’.

According to other writers, however - referred to but left unnamed by Diodorus - Darius was still alive when Alexander found him. He ‘commiserated with [Darius] on his disasters’ and agreed to the dying man’s request that he ‘avenge his death’. Alexander set off in pursuit of Bessus only to call it off after Bessus escaped (over the Hindu Kush and) into Bactria.

Rather randomly, the chapter ends with the conclusion to the Battle of Megalopolis (which I covered here). Having lost the battle to Antipater’s army, Sparta asked for terms. Antipater referred the request to the Hellenic League. Was he acting out of deference to the Hellenic League or fear of Alexander (as Curtius - mentioned by the Footnotes - suggests)?

The League’s council met in Corinth and had a ‘long discussion’ over what to do before deciding on ‘nothing’. Instead, they forwarded the matter to Alexander for his judgement. Deference again, or fear? I agree with Curtius.

Back in Macedon, Antipater took possession of fifty Spartan hostages. As for Sparta itself, perhaps fed up of waiting for someone to make a decision - or, more likely, wanting to influence Alexander’s decision - it ‘sent envoys to Asia asking forgiveness for their mistakes’.

Comments
From the way Diodorus writes, it is as if he thinks Alexander found and buried Darius at the same time. As it happens, though, there is a little bit of disagreement among the Alexander historians as to what happened at this time.

  • Arrian says that Darius died after being killed by Nabarzanes and Barsaentes. Alexander did not arrive in time to speak to him. After finding Darius’ body, he sent it to Persepolis to be buried in the royal tombs.
  • Curtius says that Darius was killed by ‘Bessus and his fellow-conspirators’. Unfortunately, there is a break in the text so we do not know whether he lived long enough to meet Alexander or where his body was sent.
  • Justin As I write this, I don’t have access to a copy of Justin but from the portion of his text quoted in the end notes of my edition of Curtius, I see that he has Darius being found by an unnamed man (for whose name see Plutarch below) and living long enough to talk to him (through an interpreter) but not Alexander. Justin adds that Alexander sent Darius’ body to be buried in the ‘tombs of his ancestors’, which presumably means Persepolis.
  • Plutarch says Bessus murdered Darius, who was found alive by a Macedonian named Polystratus and that he lived long enough to accept some water from him. According to Plutarch, Darius died before Alexander arrived. Thereafter, Alexander sent his body to Sisygambis - in Susa? Plutarch does not tell us her whereabouts.

New TV Show
The H.L. Team
Follow the crazy adventures of a bunch of bureaucrats as they travel the empire helping absolutely no one as they are too scared to even tie up their own sandal laces without asking Alexander’s permission.

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Persepolis

Posted on July 29, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 70-72 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Persepolis Looted
Macedonians Turn On Each Other During Gold Rush
Alexander Secures Citadel Treasury
Courtesan Incites Destruction of Royal Palace

The Story

Chapter 70
Persepolis was the capital of Persia and Alexander described it to his men, perhaps for that reason, ‘as the most hateful of the cities of Asia’ before handing it to them to plunder.

For a day, the Macedonian soldiery ran riot through the city, stripping every home of its riches. By Alexander’s command, only the royal palaces were exempt from looting. The native men were slaughtered and women taken as slaves.

The Macedonians’ avarice was so great that they turned on each other in order to gain more wealth. Fights broke out, Macedonians were killed; some had their hands cut off as they grasped for the gold and silver before them, others cut valuables in half rather than give them all up to a rival. Diodorus describes a people ‘driven mad by their passions’.

Chapter 71
While his men devastated Persepolis, Alexander went to its citadel to take ‘possession of the treasure there’. Two hundred years of treasure was stored inside. Its total value was 120,000 talents. Alexander kept some of the money ‘to meet the costs of the war’, and had the rest sent back to Susa.

For the rest of this chapter, Diodorus tells us about the royal palace precinct.

The citadel

  • ‘[S]urrounded by a triple wall’
  • Outer (?) wall - 16 cubits high, ‘topped by battlements’
  • Middle wall - 32 cubits high
  • Inner (?) wall - Rectangular & made of stone; 60 cubits high
  • Bronze doors in each wall
  • Bronze poles stand next to each door; 20 cubits high

Citadel Terrace

  • To the East on ‘the so-called royal hill’ are the royal tombs
  • ‘Scattered About’ the terrace - royal quarters, homes of nobility, guard houses

Chapter 72
In the days following his arrival in Persepolis, Alexander ‘held games in honour of his victories’ and ‘performed costly sacrifices to the gods’. He entertained his friends with lavish feasts where copious amounts of alcohol as well as food were consumed.

One night, when the festivities were well advanced, ‘a madness took possession of the minds of the intoxicated guests’. A woman stood up and declared that ‘it would be the finest of all [Alexander’s] feats in Asia’ if he were to set the royal palace ablaze and permit her to share in the destruction of ‘the famed accomplishments of the Persians’.

The woman was Thaïs of Athens and had she no special connection to the king he might just have laughed off her request. But Thaïs - who was a courtesan - had once been his close companion, possibly even his lover, and now lived with Alexander’s friend, Ptolemy Lagides. Her voice carried weight.

It also captured the vengeful mood of the Macedonians that night, a mood that was, it seems, as yet unsated by the day-long plundering of the city; for no sooner had Thaïs spoken than her call was taken up by the other guests.

The Loeb translation says that Alexander ‘caught fire at their words’. I can’t decide if this is a singularly appropriate or inappropriate metaphor to use given the circumstances. Anyway, Alexander leapt to his feet. A ‘victory procession in honour of Dionysus’ was formed and torches lit. Female musicians provided the soundtrack to this momentous moment. Alexander threw his torch into the palace first. Thaïs was permitted to do so second. Everyone else followed thereafter.

The fire took hold and the royal palace went up in flames. Athens was finally avenged; how remarkable, says Diodorus, ‘that the impious act of Xerxes… against the acropolis at Athens should have been repaid in kind… by one woman, a citizen of the land which suffered it, and in sport’.

Comments
Alexander’s expedition was - at least ostensibly - carried out to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C. so the destruction of the Persepolis, the capital of Persia, marks its natural conclusion. I guess that is why Alexander went to the effort of calling the city the most hated in Asia, which he did not do - for example - in the imperial capital of Babylon.

Further to this, Diodorus is also at pains to personalise Alexander’s hatred towards Persepoleans. ‘He felt bitter enmity to the inhabitants. He did not trust them, and he meant to destroy Persepolis utterly’. Actually, thinking about it, I would suggest that Alexander saw the Persepoleans as icons of the hated empire rather than truly as individuals.

Diodorus paints a lurid picture of Macedonian avarice. There was an ‘orgy of plunder’, ‘boundless greed’, and ‘exceeding lust’. The funny thing is, though (funny peculiar, that is), so far as I can tell, the Macedonians were acting within accepted boundaries. The only thing that they did differently was go after the valuables before killing/enslaving the native population because Persepolis was such a rich place.

By the way, the reason I have put question marks next to the inner and outer wall bullet points is that it isn’t clear to me which Diodorus is describing. I might have it the wrong way round.

In describing the events leading to the destruction of the royal palaces, I have missed out one occurrence. Some of the guests who urged Alexander to set fire to the palaces, said that to do so would be ‘a deed worthy of [him] alone’.

imagine the guests were thinking in terms of Alexander’s leadership of the Hellenic League. However, so far Thaïs is concerned, their words do seem to have a slight hint of rebuke about them - either a personal one, or one that is founded on the fact that she was an Athenian not Macedonian.

We don’t know enough about Thaïs to know whether or not she was a popular person within Alexander’s court (practically speaking it didn’t matter on account of her past and present patrons) but we do know from the unhappy example of Eumenes in the successor period that Macedonians did not take to other Greeks very well. I would be very surprised if prejudice wasn’t somewhere in the drunken guests’ minds.

If there was hostility to Thaïs in the court, it is interesting that Alexander permitted her to throw her torch into the palace after him. If nothing else, it shows that he appreciated the symbolism of their act.

One final point about Thaïs - I am sure her motive to burn the royal palaces was to avenge her home city but I can’t help but note that Diodorus represents her as only wanting to destroy the Persians ‘famed accomplishments’. His Thaïs is rather a nihilist. The issue of vengeance is raised by an unknown person a moment later.

Dragon’s Den
Coming Soon to an amphitheatre near you. Watch contestants try to persuade Thaïs that their home, palace or city should not be destroyed. The winners get to live. The loser will hear the immortal words - “You’re fired”.

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The Mutilated Greeks

Posted on July 28, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 69 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Tiridates: First Come, First Served
Alexander’s Benevolence - Help for Mutilated Greeks

The Story
With Ariobarzanes disposed of, the road to Persepolis was now clear. And as Alexander and his men marched towards the city, its gates swung open as well: a messenger arrived bearing a letter from Tiridates, Persepolis’ governor. In it, he told Alexander that if he arrived before an expected Persian defensive force then the city would be handed over to him.

Eager to avoid a siege, Alexander forced marched his men towards the capital of Persia.

After crossing the Araxes River, the Macedonians were met by a distressing sight that reduced Alexander to tears. A group of mostly elderly Greeks approached them - representatives of about eight hundred who had been exiled here from their homes ‘by previous kings of Persia’ - and all were mutilated.

Diodorus tells us that some had had their hands amputated, others their feet; still others had had their noses or ears cut off. It appears that they were craftsmen of various types and that the Persians had cut off the limbs that were not necessary to their work. I can only imagine what those without hands were skilled at.

The mutilated Greeks begged Alexander to help them. Greeting the leaders of the group, he ‘promised to make it a matter of utmost concern that they should be restored to their homes’.

Hearing this, the Greeks held a debate among themselves. Did they really want to return to Greece?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, they decided that actually, they didn’t. ‘If they were brought back safely, they would be scattered in small groups, and would find their abuse at the hands of Fortune an object of reproach as they lived on in their cities’.

If they remained together, however, ‘they would find a solace for their mutilation in the similar mutilation of the others’.

The leaders came before Alexander, told him what they had decided and asked for his help to make it a reality. ‘Alexander applauded their decision’ and gave the following,

  • Each man 3,000 drachmae
  • 5 men’s robes
  • 5 women’s robes
  • 2 yoke of oxen
  • 50 sheep
  • 50 bushels of wheat

In addition, the Greeks were exempted from paying ‘royal taxes’. To guard against prejudice, and what I suppose we would call hate-crimes now, Alexander ‘charged his administrative officials to see that they were harmed by no one’.

Comments
Tiridates’ letter reminds me of the city of Celaenae in Asia Minor, which offered to surrender to Alexander if the reinforcements that the city was expecting did not arrive. As the city was in a very strong defensive position Alexander agreed.

The Footnotes say that neither Arrian or Plutarch mention the story of the mutilated Greeks (Curtius and Justin do). I’m a little surprised that Plutarch doesn’t. It tells us a lot about Alexander’s character, which is the basis of his narrative.

The other day I mentioned my doubts regarding Curtius’ account of the downfall of Orsines and Diodorus’ account of the throne and its missing footstool (see the comments here). By contrast, I think Diodorus’ description of the mutilated Greeks is psychologically compelling. Even today, if one was in the position of those Greeks, who would choose to live in a wider community with its attendant prejudice rather than with a community of people like oneself?

Persepolis Open Day
Spend the day visiting Persepolis’ fabulous palaces!
Gold in abundance; silver in plentiful supply
Beautiful women; priests ready to sacrifice for you
* Special Deals (Ownership of city incl. its treasury) if you arrive in groups of 20,000 armed Macedonians or more

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The Susian Rocks

Posted on July 27, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 68 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Alexander Enters Persia
Does Fortune Really Favour the Brave? An Enquiry
Macedonian Surprise Attack Destroys Ariobarzanes’ Army

The Story
If Fortune had smiled on Alexander when he came to Uxian pass, she was in a less indulgent mood five days later when he came to the Susian Rocks. Before, she had not only allowed the king to perceive how difficult it would be to defeat Madetes and his men, but given him a guide whose knowledge of the pass ensured that the Macedonians won an easy victory against the rebels. Now, the Macedonian king was made to suffer before Fortune would look kindly on him once more.

The Susian Rocks lay at the top (?) of a pass that cut through the Zagros Mountains and were being defended by Ariobarzanes ‘with a force of twenty-five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry’. At first, Alexander’s advance went well. But only because Ariobarzanes’ men were waiting high above for the moment to attack. It came when the Macedonians had reached the half-way mark. Then, the Persians set boulders rolling down the cliff walls. They crashed into the Macedonian soldiers. Javelins and stones followed. Unable to take the fight to the Persians, Alexander ordered his men on.

Diodorus reports that no Persians were killed or injured in this ambush - not even, it seems, the stone-throwers who threw their missiles at ‘close-quarters’ to the Macedonians. By contrast, ‘many’ of Alexander’s men were killed and ‘not a few’ injured. To compound things, Diodorus states that ‘practically all the [Macedonian] attacking force [was] disabled’.

With his army badly compromised, Alexander had no choice but to sound the retreat. The army turned round and made camp 300 furlongs away.

After setting up camp, Alexander interviewed Persian natives (he was now in Persia aka Persis) to see if they knew of any alternate routes through the Zagros Mountains. They didn’t. The best suggestion was that he simply go round them.

This idea did not appeal to Alexander as it would, in his eyes, be ‘discreditable to abandon his dead’. Neither did he wish to to ask Ariobarzanes’ permission to retrieve their bodies before going on his way as that would have been an admission of defeat in their brief engagement.

Alexander started interviewing his prisoners. And now, Fortune began to smile once more. She brought a Lycian into the king’s presence. He told Alexander he ‘had been brought [to Persia] as a captive’ years ago and was now a goat shepherd. ‘He [knew] the country well and could lead a force of men’ along a secret path that he knew of, one that would bring the Macedonians into the Persian rear.

Promising the man great wealth, Alexander had him lead the way. He did, and the Macedonian army crossed ‘the mountain at night struggling through deep snow’. Presently, it arrived at Ariobarzanes’ first line of defence, which itwas destroyed. The second line was captured, and the third ‘routed’.

Comments
If the ‘Susian Rocks’ sounds an unfamiliar name (it did to me) that is because they are otherwise - and more popularly? - known as the Persian Gates.

The other Alexander historians give more detail regarding what happened. For example, (and this from the Footnotes), Arrian states that ‘Alexander… sent… his main body of troops toward Persis along the royal road, and only undertook this pass with a flying column’.

Since I started this series of posts a month ago, a handful of events/incidents have for one reason or another made a deep impression on me. One of them was the Siege of Halicarnassus (which I wrote about here) where Alexander came closer to defeat than anywhere else (that I can currently remember. Please feel free to remind me of anywhere else in the comments box!). Alexander wasn’t in battle when the Persians forced him to retreat but the fact that he had to still makes an impression because it happened so rarely. In fact, I think this is the first occasion in Diodorus’ narrative that he has had to do so. As above, let me know if I am wrong.

As I said above, Alexander promised a big reward to the Lycian - Curtius says that he gave him no less than thirty talents! I suppose his goat herding days were over after that.

From “Persia: An Economic History 559 B.C. - A.D. 651” by Walter Turnip III

… records discovered during an archaeological dig in Persepolis in 1972 reveal that in early 329 B.C. goat prices across Persia sky rocketed. By autumn, the price of a single, healthy goat had entered the millions of dollars. Not long later, a man could not buy a goat for love nor money.
…..For forty years, historians wondered what could have caused this extraordinary activity. Had disease almost wiped Persia’s goat population out, dramatically raising the price of the survivors?
…..Recently discovered records - also unearthed at Persepolis - give the answer, for they refer to the fact that at the start of the year, one man (unnamed) bought the country’s entire herd.
Who was this man?
…..It is believed that he is none other than the Lycian goat herder who helped Alexander the Great cross the Zagros Mountains in the winter of 329 B.C. and thus defeat the Persian marshal Ariobarzanes at the Persian Gates. In return for his help, Alexander gave the man thirty talents. Historians believe that rather than spend his money elsewhere, the man stuck to what he knew: goats. No one else had the money; no one else had the motive. Or, I think, the compulsion. As one of my esteemed colleagues said to me, recently, “A man’s goat to do what a man’s goat to do.”

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Across the Pasitigris and into the land of the Uxii

Posted on July 26, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 67 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Alexander Leaves Susa
Royal Family Left Behind - Will Learn Greek
Madetes Puts Up Brief Fight in Uxiane

The Story
We are not told when exactly Alexander left Susa (just that it happened ‘after’ the throne incident) but he must have done so in a timely fashion as Diodorus makes no mention of the king having been distracted by Susa’s riches. So much for Darius’ plan.

Something that Diodorus does mention, however, is that when the Macedonians left Susa, the Persian royal family stayed behind. Alexander may have thought that the road ahead would be too difficult and too dangerous for them. At the same time, he certainly had an eye on the family’s political future as he appointed teachers to teach the family Greek.

Upon leaving Susa, the Macedonian army marched towards the Tigris River, reaching it four days later. By crossing it, the army came into the territory of the Uxii. There, Alexander was confronted by ‘passages guarded by Madetes, a cousin of Dareius’.

As the cliffs were sheer, it appeared that Alexander had no choice but to attack Madetes directly. Just then, a ‘Uxian native’ - perhaps a guide who had been hired/forced to take them through Uxiane - stepped forward and said he knew a way up the cliff ‘to a position above the enemy’.

Alexander sent a detachment with the guide while he lead a direct assault on Madetes’ position. The Macedonians attacked in waves and the battle was in full flow when, to the Persians’ surprise, they saw the ‘flying column of Macedonians’ above them. Rather than wait to be attacked on two fronts, the Persians fled. The pass was taken and the cities of Uxiane soon followed.

Comments
As the title of this post indicates, for Tigris we should read Pasitigris, which today is the Karun River. That information comes from the Footnotes and Livius. Wikipedia also adds that the Pasitigris - under its older name of Pishon - was also one of the four rivers that flowed through the Biblical paradise of Eden, which, whether one takes the story of Adam and Eve literally or not, is quite a thought.

There seems no question to me that the assault on Madetes’ pass was a battle well won. I have to admit, though, I have little enthusiasm for the episode. I think that is one part the result of Diodorus not spending much time on the incident and one part the fact that Madetes runs away really quickly. At least Darius stood and fought for a while.

Persian Royal Family’s End of Term Report Card
Sisygambis
‘Tries hard in her language studies. One day, I hope to persuade her to stop saying ‘Alpha is for Alexandros’ in a wistful fashion and move on to beta…’
Stateira II
‘Spends too much time arguing with her sister as to whether Alexander is better than Hephaestion.’
Drypetis
‘Winds her sister up by saying ‘if Alexander and Hephaestion are one person then so are we and you can’t disagree with yourself’. A one woman logic free zone.’
Ochus
‘Refuses to leant Lambda until Sparta joins Alexander’s Hellenic League. Like the Spartans, must try harder.’

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Susa

Posted on July 25, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 65, 66 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Fresh Troops Reach Macedonian Army
Alexander Enters Susa
EXPOSED: Darius’ Secret Order
POLL Should Alexander Have Used Darius’ Table?

The Story

Chapter 65
Leaving Babylon, Alexander started marching east towards the royal city of Susa. He was still in Babylonia when fresh troops from Macedon arrived at the camp. Here are their numbers as Diodorus gives them.

Macedonian

  • Cavalry 500
  • Infantry 6,000

Thracian

  • Cavalry 600

Trallian

  • [infantry?] 3,500

Peloponnesian

  • Cavalry ‘little less than’ 1,000
  • Infantry 4,000

Along with the soldiers ‘came fifty sons of the king’s Friends sent by their fathers to serve as bodyguards’. The fact that these men are identified as their fathers’ sons makes me wonder if they weren’t actually pages come to serve Alexander and be hostages to their fathers’ good behaviour.

Six days after leaving Babylon, Alexander entered Sittacene, which lay between Babylonia and Susiana. The country was a rich one ‘abounding in provisions of all sorts’ so Alexander let his men rest for a few days to allow them to recover from the excursions of their march.

While his men caught their breath, Alexander set about reviewing his army’s organisation. ‘He wanted to advance some officers and to strengthen the forces by the number and the ability of the commanders’. Officers who had proven their worth were promoted. He also made changes to the ‘situation of… individual soldiers’ in order to improve their lot.

Diodorus tells us that Alexander’s promotions and improvements increased his army’s devotion and obedience to himself. No doubt that was an intention of the reform, but the Footnotes suggest that he may also have been adapting the army for ‘impending mountain and steppe warfare’, a type of fighting that the traditional phalanx was not suited for.

Upon resuming its march, the Macedonian army made its way through Sittacene and into Susiana and hence to the capital, Susa, which he took ‘without opposition’. Indeed, Diodorus says that Abuleutes (Footnotes: Abulites according to Arrian and Curtius) the satrap had been told by a Darius to let Alexander take the city. Why? Darius thought Alexander would be distracted by Susa’s wealth and glamour thus allowing him more time to raise his third army.

Chapter 66
Susa had no shortage of wealth. It gave Alexander’s coffers 40,000 ‘talents of gold and silver bullion’ and 9,000 ‘talents of minted gold in the form of darics’.

During his tour of the royal palace, Alexander lifted himself onto the Great King’s royal throne. The dais upon which it stood was so high off the ground that Alexander’s feet were unable to reach the footstool and were left dangling.

A quick-thinking page placed a nearby table under his feet. Alexander approved of this solution. One of a Darius’ eunuchs, however, started to cry. When asked what was wrong, he explained that he was ‘grieved’ to see an object that was so highly regarded by Darius be used in such a base manner by Alexander.

Alexander sympathised. Believing that he had acted arrogantly he ordered the page to take the table away. At this point, Philotas interjected. You did not act arrogantly, he told the king, for your action ‘”… occurred through the providence and design of a good spirit.'”

Who would Alexander side with - the eunuch or Philotas? He chose the latter, justifying his decision by regarding Philotas’ words as an omen, and the table stayed where it was.

Comments
The new Macedonian and allied cavalry and infantry were brought by Amyntas son of Andromenes, who we saw leave for home in Chapter 49 (here).

When I read Chapter 65, I found myself wondering who the Trallians were. The Footnotes helpfully state that they were a Thracian tribe.

If the Footnotes are right that Alexander’s re-organisation of his army was carried out in order to adapt to the new forms of warfare that lay ahead then we can take it as an example of his genius as a general, able to not only adapt to new conditions but develop new forms of military organisation as well.

Diodorus’ anecdote regarding the satrap of Susa’s orders are not, the Footnotes say, mentioned by any other Alexander historian. The idea that Darius thought the Macedonians would be distracted by Susa’s wealth made me smile, though, as it presumably means that he thought the Greeks were decadent in the same way that the latter thought the Persians were. I had not considered this before.

The story of the throne reminds me of Curtius’ account of Orsines’ downfall at the hands of Bagoas. I have my doubts regarding the truth of that story (certainly as Curtius writes it) because it portrays Alexander in far too simplistic a manner: Bagoas has a word in his ear, the next thing you know, Orsines is dead. The same happens here: Alexander sits on the throne, the eunuch complains so he pacifies him, then Philotas has a word so Alexander does what he says. It’s all too neat (rather like the two Gordian knot traditions, which I wrote about here)

The Crying Eunuch would make a great name for a pub
“We deliver service with a smile… unless you move the tables, in which case the resident eunuch will start to bawl”

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gordian Knot

Posted on July 24, 2014 by M J Mann

There are two traditions regarding how Alexander cut the Gordian knot.

In the first, Alexander undoes the knot by cutting through it with his sword. In the second, he undoes it by removing the pin that holds the knot together.

Arrian reports both traditions. He doesn’t give a source for the sword tradition, writing only ‘some say that…’ but he does give Aristobulos as the source for the pin tradition.

Plutarch follows Arrian’s example: he mentions both sword and pin, doesn’t give a source for the sword tradition, and cites Aristobulos as the source for the pin tradition.

Curtius only mentions the sword tradition while Diodorus doesn’t even mention Alexander’s visit to Gordium let alone the knot. I don’t have a copy of Justin to hand but I understand that like Curtius he only mentions the sword tradition.

So, which tradition is the correct one?

I would like to suggest that both are.

What I think happened is that when presented with the knot, Alexander attempted to unpick it first. Unable to do so he then resorted to using his sword. At that point, he either cut through the whole knot, or cut through it far enough to be able to unpick the ends that had now appeared and thus remove the pin.

My rationale for saying this is as follows:

I find it very hard to believe that no one thought of pulling the pin out before Alexander. If it really was that simple a solution, someone would surely have tried it already. Aristobulos’ account is too neat to be true.

On the other hand, while Alexander could behave very rashly sometimes, I find it equally hard to believe that he would not have made at least some attempt to undo the knot in the most perfect manner, i.e. by unpicking it, before resorting to his sword. He did like to do things in the best way.

If Alexander used both methods, then, why do we have two traditions that give part of the story rather than one that gives the whole story?

That, I think, is down to bias. Aristobulos’ is very biased towards Alexander. He always puts a positive spin on the king’s actions. Cleitus’ death? That was his fault not Alexander’s. It makes sense, therefore, that he should say Alexander simply removed the pin and omit all reference to his use of the sword.

By the same token, I imagine that the sword tradition comes from Macedonian soldiers who either gave the full story and were then selectively quoted by historians like Cleitarchus, or from their comrades who were less favourably disposed towards the late king. In the case of the latter, unable or unwilling to lie when asked if Alexander undid the knot, they resorted instead to emphasising the ‘negative’ aspect of the story - Yes, he undid it, but only by using his sword.

I say ‘Macedonian soldiers’ deliberately as I believe Callisthenes, the court historian, would have written that Alexander pulled the pin out. Whereas Aristobulos probably wrote out of love for Alexander, Callisthenes had to put a positive spin on the king’s actions out of necessity. Undoubtedly, though, the full story disseminated through the rank and file and it is thanks to them that we have the sword tradition.

This post was inspired by a couple of tweets that I saw. I don’t know if the people concerned would want to be named here so I won’t but if they read this - thank you from Alexander’s ‘scribe’ :-)

Categories: By the Bye | Tags: | Leave a comment

Babylon

Posted on July 24, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 64 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Darius Makes for Ecbatana
Alexander Enters Babylon
Marvellous Macedonians Make Merry!
Alexander’s New Appointments: Full Details Inside

The Story
After fleeing from Gaugamela, Darius made his way to the upper satrapies - just as he had done following his defeat at Issus. On that occasion, his final destination had been Babylon. This time, however, knowing that Alexander would be heading there, he rode for Ecbatana in Media.

Darius’ strategy was just the same as after Issus - to bring together and re-equip the survivors of his latest defeat, and enlist men for a new army. To that end, he ordered the neighbouring tribes to send men. No doubt mindful of the precariousness of his position, he also sent couriers to the ‘satraps and generals’ of the upper satrapies and Bactria, asking them to stay loyal to him.

As Darius rode towards Ecbatana, Alexander buried the Macedonian dead and made his way to the village of Arbela. There, he found ‘abundant stores of food, no little barbaric dress and treasure, and three thousand talents of silver’.

Having taken possession of these riches, Alexander left for Babylon straight away - he did not want his men to get ill from the polluted air caused by the unburied Persian dead on the battlefield. Leaving the bodies for the natives to dispose of he began the journey south.

Alexander entered Babylon unopposed. Indeed, the Babylonians were very happy to see him. The new Lord of Asia remained in the city for ‘more than thirty days’. During that time, the locals helped the army to party hard (If you would like to know more about what happened, the Footnotes state that Curtius ‘gives a lurid description’ of the entertainment), and Alexander made the following appointments.

  • Agathon of Pydna guard of Babylon’s citadel (with a force of 700 soldiers)
  • Apollodorus of Amphipolis and Menes of Pella Joint military governors of Babylon and all satrapies between there and Cilicia. They were given 1,000 silver talents and orders to enlist as many men as possible.
  • Mithrines Satrap of Armenia

He also gave the following rewards. To each

  • [Macedonian] cavalryman 6 minas
  • allied cavalryman 5 minas
  • Macedonian member of the phalanx 2 minas
  • mercenary 2 months pay

The Footnotes say that 1 mina ‘contained’ 100 hundred drachmae and was equal to a sixtieth of a talent.

Comments
I once read that Bactria was the homeland of the Persian Great Kings (I think from Darius I onwards?). If this is correct, it shows how precarious Darius’ position had become that he felt the need to ask for the Bactrian satrap’s loyalty.

I said, above, that Alexander left the Persian dead for the natives to bury. Would they have done so? I need to find out more about Persian funerary rites.

Mithrines in Armenia appears to be one of Diodorus’ errors. The Footnotes point out that Armenia had not been conquered (by Alexander) at this time.

Babylon Facts
If you remember being in Babylon… YOU WERE NEVER THERE

‘The Hanging Gardens’ was originally a sexual position

Popular Sayings: “Your secret is safe on the ziggurat”

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Sparta’s Rebellion

Posted on July 23, 2014 by M J Mann

Daily Diodorus
Vol. VIII. Book XVII Ch. 62, 63 (Loeb Classical Library)
Read the other posts in this series here

The Headlines
Memnon Leads Thracian Uprising
King Agis Leads Greek Rebellion
Antipater Settles With Memnon
Battle of Megalopolis: Macedonians Victorious
Agis Dies Heroically

The Story

Chapter 62
With hindsight, we can call the Battle of Gaugamela the decisive encounter between Alexander and Darius. Even though Darius escaped, his defeat brought about the death of the Archaemenid Empire and birth of its Argead successor.

At the time, however, Gaugemala was not seen in such terms. At least, not by the Greeks. Diodorus states that when the Greek cities heard about Alexander’s victory at Gaugamela they ‘became alarmed at the growth of Macedonian power and decided that they should strike for their freedom while the Persian cause was still alive’. For them, Darius was down but not out. Indeed, the Greeks had an expectation that he would send money ‘so that [the Greeks] could gather great armies of mercenaries.’

The first Greek rebellion came from Memnon, governor-general of Thrace. Memnon was ‘a man of spirit’. He ‘stirred up the tribesmen’ of Thrace so well that Antipater was obliged to send the entire Macedonian army north to quell the insurrection.

At some point during the Thracian campaign, Sparta issued a call to arms in defence of Greek freedom. Athens, which ‘had been favoured beyond all the other Greeks by Alexander’ remained still. ‘Most of the Peloponnesians, however, and some of the northern Greeks’ came over to Sparta’s side.

The allied Geek army numbered ‘not less than’ 20,000 infantry and around 2,000 cavalry. It was led by Sparta with King Agis at the head.

Chapter 63
Upon hearing about Sparta’s revolt, Antipater hurriedly came to terms with Memnon and headed south. Along the way he added men to the Macedonian army’s numbers from those cities that ‘were still loyal’. By this means, he brought the army’s strength to ‘not less than’ 40,000.

The two armies met ‘near Megalopolis’, according to the Footnotes. During the battle, King Agis was killed. In contrast to the Persians at Gaugamela, the Spartans kept fighting. The battle only ended when Sparta’s allies fell out of position. At that point (to avoid a rout?), the Spartan army retreated and returned home.

Casualty figures according to Diodorus

  • Spartans + allies ‘more than’ 5,300
  • Macedonians + allies 3,500

The figures above are for deaths only - Diodorus doesn’t give any figures for the numbers of wounded on either side.

Diodorus ends the chapter with an account of Agis’ death. After fighting ‘gloriously’ and receiving ‘many frontal wounds’ the king was escorted away from the battlefield, only to be surrounded by Macedonians. Concerned that his men should live to fight another day, Agis sent them away. As for himself, he gripped his sword, lifted himself up, and began fighting once more.

Upon hearing of the battle, Alexander was less than complimentary to both Antipater and Agis, calling the war a battle of mice, but he must surely have appreciated the nobility of the Spartan king’s demise.

Comments
Chapter 62 begins a new year in Diodorus’ chronology (July 330 - June 329 B.C.). The Battle of Gaugamela, however, took place at the start of October in 331 B.C. Further to this, the Footnotes state that the Battle of Megalopolis ‘probably’ took place before that of Gaugamela rather than afterwards as Diodorus suggests.

Memnon, the governor-general of Thrace is obviously not the same Memnon who fought Alexander at the Granicus River. That Memnon died not long afterwards (see Chapter 29).

Antipater is mentioned in Chapter 62 for the first time since Alexander left Macedon. Alexander left him there to govern the country, and in the king’s absence, to keep an eye on Greece.

If King Agis’ name seems familiar, that is because we saw him in Chapter 48 when he campaigned in Crete. It will be noted that whereas in Ch. 48 Diodorus described Agis as wanting ‘to change the political situation in Greece in favour of Dareius’, his objective was now simply to win freedom from Macedonian rule. Persia’s hoped-for role, it seems, was simply to provide the money for the mercenaries.

Further to the above, the Footnotes also state that no other source mentions Memnon’s revolt. Not only that but Memnon later brought reinforcements to the king ‘and took part in his later operations in the East’.

Spartan Q & A
Why did Sparta lose the Battle of Megalopolis?
It didn’t lose, it defied victory.

Do you wish you could have fought without the help of allies?
Sparta had no allies at Megalopolis, only subordinates.

How great a blow was Agis’ death?
It was a deadly one - for him.

Did it hurt having to seek Persian help?
We never sought, only found.

There is nothing like Spartan pride.
And never will be.

Categories: Diodorus Siculus | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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