Crossing Asia Minor with Alexander
‘It was [at Tarsus] that Alexander fell ill. Aristobulus’ account attributes it to exhaustion, but others say that Alexander, sweaty and overcome by the heat, had wanted a bathe and had dived into the river Cydnus for a swim (the Cydnus runs right through the city of Tarsus, and with its springs in the Taurus mountains and a course through open country its water is cold and clear). The result was an attack of cramp, violent fever, and persistent inability to sleep.”
(Arrian II.4.7-8)
Text used: Arrian ‘Alexander the Great‘ OUP 2013 (translated by Martin Hammond)
Credit Where It’s Due
The Cydnus River: Sketchings and Other Life Reflections
The Second Achilles 