Alexander the Great Blackwell Sourcebooks in Ancient History This series presents readers with new translations of the raw material of ancient history. It provides direct access to the ancient world, from wars and power politics to daily life and entertainment, allowing readers to discover the extraordinary diversity of ancient societies. Published Alexander the Great Waldemar Heckel and J. C. Yardley The Hellenistic Period Roger Bagnall and Peter Derow In Preparation The Ancient Near East Mark Chavalas Bread and Circuses Alison Futrell Alexander the Great Historical Texts in Translation Waldemar Heckel and J. C. Yardley Editorial material and organization © 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020 USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Waldemar Heckel and J. C. Yardley to be identified as the Authors of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alexander the Great : historical sources in translation / edited by Waldemar Heckel and J. C. Yardley. p. cm. – (Blackwell sourcebooks in ancient history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-631-22820-9 (alk. paper) – ISBN 0-631-22821-7 (alk. paper) 1. Alexander, the Great, 356-323 B.C. 2. Greece–History–Macedonian Expansion, 359-323 B.C.–Sources. 3. Generals–Greece–Biography. 4. Greece–Kings and rulers–Biography. I. Heckel, Waldemar, 1949- II. Yardley, John, 1942– III. Series. DF234.A1 A45 2003 938¢.07¢092–dc21 2002153417 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10 on 12.5 pt Stone Serif by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by MPG Books, Bodmin, Cornwall For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: http:/www.blackwellpublishing.com Contents List of Plates viii List of Abbreviations ix Preface xi Map: Alexander’s Campaigns, 334–323 BC xii Stemma 1: The Family of Philip II and Alexander xiv Stemma 2: The Family of Olympias xiv Translator’s Note xv Introduction xvi I Macedonian Background 1 Early History of Macedonia 1 Macedonians and Greeks: Language, Culture, Attitudes 7 The King, Aristocracy, and Macedonian Institutions 12 II Philip II, Father of Alexander the Great 19 Philip’s Marriages 20 Philip’s Death 21 A Comparison of Philip and Alexander 28 III Alexander’s Family, Youth, Appearance, and Character 30 Alexander’s Parents and Mythical Ancestors 30 Alexander’s Siblings: A Warlike Half-Sister and a Mentally Defective Half-Brother 31 vi CONTENTS Alexander’s Education 35 Alexander’s Body 36 Alexander’s Attitude towards Sex 39 Alexander’s Drinking, Personal Habits, and Health 42 Alexander’s Character, Intellect, and Moderation 45 Alexander and Bucephalas 45 IV The Persians and their Empire 54 The Empire before Alexander’s Accession 54 Persian Wealth and Displays of Opulence 56 Death of Darius III 65 VAlexander and the Greeks 72 The Panhellenic Crusade 72 Alexander’s Punishment of those Greeks who Opposed Him 73 Greek Ambassadors to the Great King Captured by Alexander 77 Resistance to Alexander in his Absence 79 Alexander and the Greek Cities of Asia Minor 87 VI The Army and War 90 Financial Resources and Military Strength 90 Major Battles 93 Sieges and Smaller Battles 139 VII Alexander and the Barbarians 175 Alexander Adopts Persian Dress and Practices 175 The Attempt to Introduce Proskynesis 178 Mixed Marriages 182 The Epigoni and the Appointment of Orientals in the Army 185 The Persian Seal 186 The Tomb of Cyrus the Great 187 Macedonian Reaction to Alexander’s Orientalism 188 CONTENTS vii VIII Alexander and Women 189 Alexander and his “Mothers”: Olympias, Ada, and Sisygambis 189 The Captive Persian Queens 192 The Amazon Queen 196 Timocleia of Thebes 199 The Wife of Spitamenes 200 Alexander and Roxane 202 Alexander and Cleophis 205 IX Gods and Heroes 208 Imitation and Emulation of Achilles, Heracles, and Dionysus 208 The Gordian Knot 214 Amun (Ammon) and Alexander’s “Divinity” 217 XAlexander and the Macedonians: Disaffection, Conspiracy, and Mutiny 223 General Account of Alexander’s Savagery 223 Alexander the Lyncestian 224 The Elimination of Philotas and Parmenion 227 Cleitus 243 Callisthenes and the Hermolaus Conspiracy 250 Coenus Opposes Alexander at the Hyphasis (Beas) River 259 Rivalry between Craterus and Hephaestion 262 Harpalus, Alexander’s Imperial Treasurer 263 The “Opis Mutiny” 266 XI Alexander’s Final Days, Final Plans, and the Division of Power after his Death 272 Death of Alexander 272 Rumors of Poisoning 280 The Hypomnemata and the Final Plans of Alexander 290 Alexander’s Will and the Division of Power after his Death 291 viii CONTENTS XII Alexander and the Romans 294 A Roman View of Alexander’s Conquests 294 Did the Romans Send an Embassy to Alexander? 294 Could Alexander have Conquered the Romans? 296 Roman Imitation and Emulation of Alexander 299 XIII Cities Founded by Alexander 303 Alexandria in Egypt 306 Alexandria in the Hindu Kush (Parapamisus) 307 Alexandria-Eschate (Alexandria on the Iaxartes) 308 Bucephala and Nicaea on the Hydaspes (Jhelum) 309 Alexandria in Carmania 309 Alexandria in Susiana 309 Foundations Amongst the Cossaeans 310 Glossary 311 Bibliography 315 Index 327 Plates 1 Bust of Alexander known as the Azara Herm 50 2 Alexander with lion headdress from the battlescene on the Alexander Sarcophagus 50 3 Hephaestion; from a hunting scene on the Alexander Sarcophagus 51 4 The Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii 51 5 Coin showing Alexander with lion headdress 52 6 Coin showing Alexander with elephant headdress 52 7 Coin showing Alexander with horns of Amun (Ammon) 52 8 The Marriage of Alexander and Roxane from fresco by “Il Sodoma” 53 Abbreviations AC Acta Classica AHB Ancient History Bulletin AJA American Journal of Archaeology AJAH American Journal of Ancient History AJPh American Journal of Philology AM Ancient Macedonia/Archaia Makedonia Anc. Soc. Ancient Society AncW Ancient World ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, London CA Classical Antiquity CJ Classical Journal CPh Classical Philology CQ Classical Quarterly CW Classical World FGrH Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker GJ Geographical Journal G & R Greece and Rome GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies HSCPh Harvard Studies in Classical Philology IA Iranica Antiqua IG Inscriptiones Graecae JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies x ABBREVIATIONS LCM Liverpool Classical Monthly OLP Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica PCPhA Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Association PW H. W. Parke and D. E. W. Wormell (1956), The Delphic Oracle II: The Oracular Responses RFIC Rivista di filologia e istruzione classica RhM Rheinisches Museum für Philologie RSA Rivista storica dell’antichità SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum SO Symbolae Osloenses Syll.3 Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum TAPhA Transactions of the American Philological Association Preface Dan Quayle must have had a premonition when he made his famous gaffe about “Latin” America. This book began on a country road in Guatemala, in the back of a crowded and painfully slow-moving minivan bound from Tikal to Flores, with a man too long without a bathroom break to continue his journey in comfort. For this was my predicament in June 1999, when I began sketching the outline of an “Alexander sourcebook” in an attempt to divert my mind from what was quite literally a more pressing matter. John Yardley, wedged into the seat beside me and co-conspirator in this diversion, had come up with the idea for such a book several months before, but at that time there was no sense of urgency. One year later, we rehearsed the project and discussed a grant application on yet another bus, this time careening through the dense morning mists of the Andes, somewhere between Alausi and Ingapirca. From an internet cafe in Cuenca, Ecuador, we contacted Al Bertrand of Blackwell Publishing to arrange the contract. We should like to thank Laura Gagné and Nicole Bocci for reading the proofs; Pamela Arancibia for compiling the index; Iolo Davies for allowing us to reproduce, with minor changes, portions of his translation of the Itinerary of Alexander, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for supporting our work. Many friends and colleagues have helped us along the way: Lindsay Adams, John Atkinson, Liz Baynham, Brian Bosworth, Stan Burstein, Beth Carney, Kirk Grayson, Frank Holt, Konrad Kinzl, Daniel Ogden, Gordon Shrimpton, Larry Tritle, and Pat Wheatley. Most of all, we thank the tireless people at Blackwell Publishing – Al Bertrand, Angela Cohen and our copy-editor, Jack Messenger – who offered kind words of encouragement after every crack of the whip. It is, of course, de rigueur for a scholar to thank wife and family for their patience, as if referring to some abnormal imposition: mine know full well that the completion of this book does not mean that I shall suddenly emerge from my study and become sociable. And for this I thank them. Waldemar Heckel Calgary, 22 July 2003 Caspian Bella Sea R. Granicus Alexandria Troas Troy PONTINE HELLES Ancyra PHRYGIA Gordium IA OC Sardis D Halys PA R. LYD AP IA GREAT C ARMENIA Ephesus PHRYGIA Miletus CARIA PA M 333 Halicarnassus 333 PH Side ILIA R. Tigris LYCIA Tarsus Xanthus Phaselis Soli Issis Thapsacus 331 Alexandria ad Issum IA R M ESO Gaugamela SY Arbela PO CYPRUS R.