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Historical Issue # 1

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New born in Pella

356 BC, in Pella, the capital of the AncientGreek Kingdom of Macedon. He was theson of Philip II, the King of Macedon. Hismother was Philip's fourth wife Olympias,the daughter of Neoptolemus I, the king

of Epirus. Although Philip had either sevenor eight wives, Olympias was his principalwife for a time, likely as a result of givingbirth to Alexander.

As a member of the Argead dynasty, Alexander claimed

patrilineal descent from Heracles through Caranus of

Macedonia From his mother's side and the Aeacids, he

claimed descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.

Alexander was a second cousin of the celebrated general

Pyrrhus of Epirus, who was ranked by Hannibal as,

depending on the source, either the best or second-best

(after Alexander) commander the world had ever seen.

According to the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch,

Olympias, on the eve of the consummation of her marriage

to Philip, dreamed that her womb was struck by a thunder

bolt, causing a flame that spread "far and wide" before dying

away. Some time after the wedding, Philip was said to have

seen himself, in a dream, sealing up his wife's womb with a

seal upon which was engraved the image of a lion. Plutarch

offers a variety of interpretations of these dreams: that

Olympia was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the

sealing of her womb; or that Alexander's father was Zeus.

Ancient commentators were divided as to whether the

ambitious Olympias promulgated the story of Alexander's

divine parentage, some claiming she told Alexander, others

that she dismissed the suggestion as impious.

On the day that Alexander was born, Philip was preparing

himself for his siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula

of Chalcidike. On the same day, Philip received news that his

general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and

Paeonian armies, and that his horses had won at the

Olympic Games. It was also said that on this day, the Temple

of Artemis in Ephesus—one of the Seven Wonders of the

World—burnt down, leading Hegesias of Magnesia to say

that it burnt down because Artemis was attending the birth

of Alexander.

Pellaan ancient Greek city located in Pella prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was

the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.

The city was founded in 399 BC by King Archelaus (413–399 BC) as the capital of his kingdom, replacing the

older palace-city of Aigai (Vergina). After this, it was the seat of the king Philip II and of Alexander, his son.

In 168 BC, it was sacked by the Romans, and its treasury transported to Rome. Later, the city was destroyed by

an earthquake and eventually was rebuilt over its ruins. By 180 AD,Lucian could describe it in passing as "now

insignificant, with very few inhabitants".

Pella is first mentioned by Herodotus of Halicarnassus (VII, 123) in relation to Xerxes' campaign and

by Thucydides (II, 99,4 and 100,4) in relation to Macedonian expansion and the war againstSitalces, the king of

the Thracians. According to Xenophon, in the beginning of the 4th century BC, it was the largest Macedonian city.

It was probably built as the capital of the kingdom by Archelaus, although there appears to be some possibility

that it may have been Amyntas. It attracted Greek artists such the painter Zeuxis, the poet Timotheus of

Miletus and the tragic author Euripides who finishes his days there writing and producing Archelaus.

Archelaus invited the painter Zeuxis, the greatest painter of the time, to decorate it. He was later the host of the

Athenian playwright Euripides in his retirement. Euripides Bacchae premiered here, about 408 BC. Pella was the

birthplace of Philip II and of Alexander, his son. The hilltop palace of Philip, where Aristotle tutored young

Alexander, is being excavated.

In antiquity, Pella was a port connected to the Thermaic Gulf by a navigable inlet, but the harbor has silted,

leaving the site landlocked. The reign of Antigonus likely represented the height of the city, as this is the period

which has left us the most archaeological remains.

Pella is further mentioned by Polybius and Livy as the capital of Philip V and of Perseus during the Macedonian

Wars, fought against the Roman Republic. In the writings of Livy, we find the only description of how the city

looked in 167 BC to Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, the Roman who defeated Perseus at the battle of Pydna:

…[Paulus] observed that it was not without good reason that it had been chosen as the royal residence. It is

situated on the south-west slope of a hill and surrounded by a marsh too deep to be crossed on foot either in

summer or winter. The citadel the "Phacus," which is close to the city, stands in the marsh itself, projecting like an

island, and is built on a huge substructure which is strong enough to carry a wall and prevent any damage from

the infiltration from the water of the lagoon. At a distance it appears to be continuous with the city wall, but it is

really separated by a channel which flows between the two walls and is connected with the city by a bridge. Thus

it cuts off all means of access from an external foe, and if the king shut anyone up there, there could be no

possibility of escape except by the bridge, which could be very easily guarded. The famous poet Aratus died in

Pella ca 240 BC. Pella was sacked by the Romans in 168 BC, when its treasury was transported to Rome. In

the Roman province of Macedonia, Pella was the capital of the third district, and was possibly the seat of the

Roman governor. Crossed by the Via Egnatia, Pella remained a significant point on the route

between Dyrrachium and Thessalonika. Cicero stayed there in 58 BC, but by then the provincial seat had already

transferred to Thessalonika. It was then destroyed by earthquake in the first century BC; shops and workshops

dating from the catastrophe have been found with remains of their merchandise. The city was eventually rebuilt

over its ruins, which preserved them, but, ca AD 180,Lucian of Samosata could describe it in passing as "now

insignificant, with very few inhabitants"

Hérodote Lucian Xenophon Aristotle

A common folk etymology is traditionally given for thename Pella, ascribing it to a form akin tothe Doric Apella, originally meaning a ceremoniallocation where decisions were made. However, thelocal form of Greek was not Doric, and the wordexactly matches standard Greek pélla "stone",possibly referring to a famous landmark from the time ofits foundation. Another proposed etymology is thatPella originally meant "defensible citadel on a cliff", andthis etymology is backed by the numerous ancient citiesthroughout Greece with similar name i.e. Pellana,Pallene, Palle, Pelle, Pelion, Palamede, Pellene, etc.The word Polis is most probably derived from thatancient meaning.

The Name Of PellaThe decline of the city was rapid, in spite of

colonization: Dio Chrysostom (Or. 33.27) and Lucian both

attest to the ruin of the ancient capital of Philip II and

Alexander; though their accounts may be exaggerated. In

fact, the Roman city was somewhat to the west of and

distinct from the original capital; which explains some

contradictions between coinage, epigraphs, and testimonial

accounts. In the Byzantine period, the Roman site was

occupied by a fortified village.

In modern times it now finds itself as the start point of

the Alexander The Great Marathon, in honour of the city's

ancient heritage. The city went into decline for reasons

unknown (possibly an earthquake) by the end of the 1st

century BC. It was the object of a colonial deduction

sometime between 45 and 30 BC; in any case currency was

marked Colonia Iulia Augusta Pella. Augustus settled

peasants there whose land he had usurped to give to his

veterans (Dio Cassius LI, 4). But unlike other Macedonian

colonies such as Philippi, Dion, and Cassandreia it never

came under the jurisdiction of ius Italicum or Roman law.

Four pairs of colonial magistrates (IIvirs quinquennales) are

known for this period.

XerxesThucydides

Amyntas III

Antigonus

Polybius

Livy

Philip V

Aratos

Cicero

Augustus

Philip was the youngest son of the king Amyntas III and Eurydice I. In his

youth, (c. 368–365 BC) Philip was held as a hostage in Thebes, which was the

leading city of Greece during the Theban hegemony. While a captive there,

Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas,

became eromenos of Pelopidas, and lived with Pammenes, who was an

enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes. In 364 BC, Philip returned

to Macedon. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander

II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally

appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of

Perdiccas III, Philip managed to take the kingdom for himself that same year.

Philip's military skills and expansionist vision of Macedonian greatness

brought him early success. He had however first to re-establish a situation

which had been greatly worsened by the defeat against the Illyrians in which

King Perdiccas himself had died. The Paionians and the Thracians had sacked

and invaded the eastern regions of the country, while the Athenians had

landed, at Methoni on the coast, a contingent under a Macedonian pretender

called Argeus. Using diplomacy, Philip pushed back Paionians and Thracians

promising tributes, and crushed the 3,000 Athenian hoplites (359).

Momentarily free from his opponents, he concentrated on strengthening his

internal position and, above all, his army. His most important innovation was

doubtless the introduction of the phalanx infantry corps, armed with the

famous sarissa, an exceedingly long spear, at the time the most important

army corps in Macedonia.

Philip had married Audata, great-granddaughter of the Illyrian king

of Dardania, Bardyllis. However, this did not prevent him from marching

against them in 358 and crushing them in a ferocious battle in which

some 7,000 Illyrians died (357). By this move, Philip established his

authority inland as far as Lake Ohrid and the favour of the Epirotes.

He agreed with the Athenians, who had been so far unable to

conquer Amphipolis, which commanded the gold mines of Mount

Pangaion, to lease it to them after its conquest, in exchange

for Pydna (lost by Macedon in 363). However, after conquering

Amphipolis, he kept both the cities (357). As Athens declared war against

him, he allied with the Chalkidian League of Olynthus. He subsequently

conquered Potidaea, this time keeping his word and ceding it to the

League in 356. One year before Philip had married

the Epirotes princess Olympias, who was the daughter of the king of

theMolossians.

In 356 BC, Philip also conquered the town of Crenides and changed its

name to Philippi: he established a powerful garrison there to control its

mines, which granted him much of the gold later used for his campaigns.

In the meantime, his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrians again. Also

in 356Alexander was born, and Philip's race horse won in the Olympic

Games. In 355–354 he besieged Methone, the last city on the Thermaic

Gulf controlled by Athens. During the siege, Philip lost an eye. Despite the

arrival of two Athenians fleets, the city fell in 354. Philip also

attacked Abdera and Maronea, on the Thracian seaboard (354–353).Involved in the Third Sacred War which had broken out

in Greece, in the summer of 353 he invaded Thessaly,

defeating 7,000 Phocians under the brother of

Onomarchus. The latter however defeated Philip in the

two succeeding battles. Philip returned to Thessaly the

next summer, this time with an army of 20,000 infantry

and 3,000 cavalry including all Thessalian troops. In

the Battle of Crocus Field 6,000 Phocians fell, while

3,000 were taken as prisoners and later drowned. This

battle granted Philip an immense prestige, as well as the

free acquisition of Pherae. Philip was also tagus of

Thessaly, and he claimed as his own Magnesia, with the

important harbour of Pagasae. Philip did not attempt to

advance into Central Greece because the Athenians,

unable to arrive in time to defend Pagasae, had occupied

Thermopylae.

Philip IIPhilip II

Philip IIPhi

lip II

Hostilities with Athens did not yet take place, but Athens was threatened by the Macedonian party which Philip's gold created

in Euboea. From 352 to 346 BC, Philip did not again come south. He was active in completing the subjugation of the Balkan hill-

country to the west and north, and in reducing the Greek cities of the coast as far as the Hebrus. To the chief of these coastal

cities, Olynthus, Philip continued to profess friendship until its neighboring cities were in his hands.

In 349 BC, Philip started the siege of Olynthus, which, apart from its strategic position, housed his relatives Arrhidaeus and

Menelaus, pretenders to the Macedonian throne. Olynthus had at first allied itself with Philip, but later shifted its allegiance to

Athens. The latter, however, did nothing to help the city, its expeditions held back by a revolt in Euboea (probably paid by

Philip's gold). The Macedonian king finally took Olynthus in 348 BC and razed the city to the ground. The same fate was

inflicted on other cities of the Chalcidian peninsula. Macedon and the regions adjoining it having now been securely

consolidated, Philip celebrated his Olympic Games at Dium. In 347 BC, Philip advanced to the conquest of the eastern districts

about Hebrus, and compelled the submission of the Thracian prince Cersobleptes. In 346 BC, he intervened effectively in the

war between Thebes and the Phocians, but his wars with Athens continued intermittently. However, Athens had made overtures

for peace, and when Philip again moved south, peace was sworn in Thessaly. With key Greek city-states in submission, Philip

turned to Sparta; he sent them a message, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your

land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." Their laconic reply: "If". Philip and Alexander would both

leave them alone. Later, the Macedonian arms were carried across Epirus to the Adriatic Sea.

In 345 B.C., Philip conducted a hard-fought campaign against the Ardiaioi (Ardiaei), under their king Pluratus, during which he

was seriously wounded by anArdian soldier in the lower right leg.

In 342 BC, Philip led a great military expedition north against the Scythians, conquering the Thracian fortified settlement

Eumolpia to give it his name,Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv( .

In 340 BC, Philip started the siege of Perinthus. Philip began another siege in 339 of the city of Byzantium. After unsuccessful

sieges of both cities, Philip's influence all over Greece was compromised. However, he successfully reasserted his authority in

the Aegean by defeating an alliance of Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, while in the same year,

Philip destroyed Amfissa because the residents had illegally cultivated part of the Crisaian plain which belonged to Delphi. Philip

created and led the League of Corinth in 337 BC. Members of the League agreed never to wage war against each other, unless it

was to suppress revolution. Philip was elected as leader (hegemon) of the army of invasion against the Persian Empire. In 336

BC, when the invasion of Persia was in its very early stage, Philip was assassinated, and was succeeded on the throne of Macedon

by his son Alexander III.

Philip II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Delphi_temple-650px.jpg

Olympias (c.375-316): Epirote

princess, married to

the Macedonian kingPhilip II, and

mother of Alexander the Great.

The girl who was later to be called

Olympias was the daughter of

Neoptolemus, the king of the

Molossians, one of the greatest

tribes in Epirus. They lived in the

neighborhood of modern Ioannina

in Greece. During Neoptolemus'

reign, the tribe became more

sedentary; urbanization started

and we hear about scribes and

other administrative officials. In

358, the Molossians became the

allies of the Macedonian

king Philip II (360-336); the

alliance was strengthened by a

diplomatic marriage. In 357,

Olympias became Philip's wife.

Next year, a chariot that Philip

had sent to the Olympic games,

was victorious. Therefore, the

queen received the name

Olympias. In the same summer, she

gave birth to her first child:

Alexander. According to the

Greek author Plutarch of

Chaeronea (46-c.122), these

events took place on the same day

.

In Antiquity, people believed that

the birth of a great man was

accompanied by portents. They are

mentioned by Plutarch:

The night before the

consummation of their marriage,

Olympias dreamed that a

thunderbolt fell upon her body,

which kindled a great fire, whose

divided flames dispersed

themselves all about, and then

were extinguished. And Philip,

some time after he was married,

dreamt that he sealed up his wife's

body with a seal, whose impression,

as be fancied, was the figure of a

lion .

Isocrates (436–338 BC), an ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of

the ten Attic orators. In his time, he was probably the most

influential rhetorician in Greece and made many contributions to

rhetoric and education through his teaching and written works.

Greek rhetoric is commonly traced to Corax of Syracuse, who

first formulated a set of rhetorical rules in the fifth century BC.

His pupil, Tisias, was influential in the development of the

rhetoric of the courtroom, and by some accounts was the teacher

of Isocrates. Within two generations, rhetoric had become an

important art, its growth driven by the social and political

changes, such as democracy and the courts of law.

The demand for rhetorical training was so high that a number of

philosophers and teachers set up their own schools to train

orators. Among these were the sophists, which included such

teachers as Isocrates and Gorgias. These schools proved to be a

lucrative enterprise, and later attracted less reputable characters.

However, unlike most rhetoric schools of the times which were

taught by itinerant sophists, Isocrates defined himself with his

treatise Against the Sophists..Isocrates was born to a wealthy family (his father owned a

successful flute factory) and received a fine education. He studied

with Gorgias and possibly Socrates, among others. After

the Peloponnesian War, Isocrates' family lost its wealth, and

Isocrates was forced to earn a living.

Isocrates

Isocrates

Of the 60 orations in his name available in Roman times, 21 were

transmitted by ancient and medieval scribes. Another three orations

were found in a single codex during a 1988 excavation at Kellis, a site

in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt. We have nine letters in his name, but the

authenticity of four has been questioned. He is said to have compiled a

treatise, the Art of Rhetoric, but it has not survived. In addition to the

orations, other works include his autobiographical Antidosis and

educational texts, such as Against the Sophists.

Isocrates' professional career is said to have begun as a logographer, or a hired courtroom speech writer.

Around 392 BC he set up his own school of rhetoric, and proved to be not only an influential teacher, but a

shrewd businessman. His fees were unusually high, but he managed to attract more students than any other

school. As a consequence, he amassed a considerable fortune. According to Pliny the Elder (NH VII.30) he

could sell a single oration for twenty talents.

Isocrates' program of rhetorical education stressed the ability to use language to address practical problems,

cases where absolute truth was not obtainable. He also stressed civic education, training students to serve the

state. Students would practice composing and delivering speeches on various subjects. He considered natural

ability and practice to be more important than rules or principles of rhetoric. Rather than delineating static

rules, Isocrates stressed "fitness for the occasion," or kairos(the rhetor's ability to adapt to changing

circumstances and situations).

Because of Plato's attacks on the sophists, Isocrates' school of rhetoric and philosophy came to be viewed as

unethical and deceitful. Yet many of Plato's criticisms are hard to discern in the work of Isocrates, and at the

end of his Phaedrus Plato even has Socrates praising Isocrates, though some scholars take this to be sarcastic.

Isocrates saw the ideal orator as someone who must not only possess rhetorical gifts, but possess also a wide

knowledge of philosophy, science, and the arts. The orator should also represent Greek ideals of freedom,

self-control, and virtue. In this, he influenced several Roman rhetoricians, such as Cicero and Quintilian, and

also had in influence on the idea of liberal education.

On the art of rhetoric, he was also an innovator. He promoted a clear and natural style that avoided

artificiality, while providing rhythm and variation that commanded the attention of the listener. Like most

rhetoricians, he saw rhetoric as a method of clarifying the truth, rather than of obscuring it.

Leonidas of Epirus or Leuconides, was a kinsman of Olympias, the

mother of Alexander the Great, who was entrusted with the main

superintendence of Alexander's education in his earlier years,

apparently before he became a student of Aristotle.

TeacherLeonidas was a man of austere character, and trained the young prince

in laconic discipline. Thus, he would even examine the chests which

contained his pupil's bedding and clothes, to see whether Olympias had

placed anything there that might minister to luxury. There were two

excellent cooks (said Alexander afterwards) with which Leonidas had

furnished him,—a night's march to season his breakfast, and a scanty

breakfast to season his dinner.

Advice

On one occasion, when Alexander at a sacrifice was throwing large

quantities of incense on the fire, "be more sparing of it," said Leonidas,

"till you have conquered the country where it grows." Alexander sent

him afterwards from Asia 600 talents' weight of incense and myrrh,

"that he might no longer be penurious" (so ran the message) "in his

offerings to the gods." It may be questioned whether the rough discipline

of Leonidas was not carried further than was altogether beneficial to

Alexander's character.

Leonidas

Hephaestion (356 BC – 324 BC), son of Amyntor, was

a Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the

Great. He was "... by far the dearest of all the king's friends; he had

been brought up with Alexander and shared all his secrets.”This

friendship lasted their whole lives, and was compared, by others as

well as themselves, to that of Achilles and Patroclus.

His military career was distinguished. A member of Alexander the

Great’s personal bodyguard, he went on to command

the Companion cavalry, and was entrusted with many other tasks

through Alexander's ten-year campaign in Asia, including diplomatic

missions, the bridging of major rivers, sieges, and the foundation of

new settlements. Besides being a soldier, engineer and diplomat, he

corresponded with the philosophers Aristotle and Xenocrates, and

actively supported Alexander in his attempts to integrate Greeks and

Persians. Alexander formally made him his second-in-command when

he appointed him Chiliarch of the empire, and made him part of the

royal family when he gave him as his bride Drypetis, sister to his own

second wife, Stateira, both daughters of Darius III of Persia. When he

died suddenly at Ecbatana, Alexander was overwhelmed with grief. He

petitioned the oracle at Siwa to grant Hephaestion divine status, and

Hephaestion was honoured as a Divine Hero. At the time of his own

death eight months later, Alexander was still planning lasting

monuments to Hephaestion's memory.

Hephaestion

R o x a n aRoxana (meaning "magnificient star")

sometimes Roxane, was a Bactrian noble

and a wife of Alexander the Great. She

was born earlier than the year 343 BC,

though the precise date remains

uncertain.

She was the daughter of a Bactrian

named Oxyartes of Balkh in Bactria

(then Persian Achaemenid Empire, now

northern Afghanistan,

eastern Iran,Uzbekistan and Tajikistan),

and married Alexander at the age of 16

after he visited the fortress of Sogdian

Rock. Balkh was the last of the Persian

Empire's provinces to fall to Alexander.

Ancient sources describe Alexander's

professed love for Roxana. She

accompanied him on his campaign

in Pakistan and northern India in 326

BC. She bore him a posthumous son

called Alexander IV Aegus, after

Alexander's sudden death

at Babylon in 323 BC.

After Alexander's death, Roxana and her

son became victims of the political

intrigues of the collapse of the

Alexandrian empire. Roxana murdered

Alexander's other widow, Stateira II, as

well as either Stateira's

sister Drypteis (Pl. Alex. 77.4)

or Parysatis II (Alexander's third wife).

Roxana and her son were protected by

Alexander's mother, Olympias,

in Macedonia, but her assassination

in 316 BC allowed Cassander to seek

kingship. Since Alexander IV Aegus was

the legitimate heir to the Alexandrian

empire, Cassander ordered him and

Roxana assassinated around 310 BC.

Alexander’s love

Cassander (350 BC – 297 BC), King

of Macedonia (305–297 BC), was a son

of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid

dynasty.

Cassander is first recorded as arriving

at Alexander the Great’s court

in Babylon in 323 BC, where he had been

sent by his father, Antipater, likely to the

help uphold Antipater’s regency in

Macedon, although a later contemporary

suggestion hostile to the Antipatrids was

that Cassander had journeyed to poison the

King.

Whatever the truth of this suggestion,

Cassander certainly proved to be singularly

noted amongst the diadochi in his hostility

to Alexander's memory. Alexander

IV, Roxana, and Alexander’s supposed

illegitimate son Heracles would all be

executed on his orders, and a guarantee to

Olympias to spare her life was not

respected. So too, Cassander would

restore Thebes, which had been destroyed

under Alexander. This gesture was

perceived at the time to be a snub to the

deceased King. It was even said that he

could not pass a statue of Alexander

without feeling faint. Cassander has been

perceived to be ambitious and

unscrupulous, and even members of his

own family were estranged from him. He

was taught by philosopher Aristotle at the

Lyceum in Greece.

Cassander

334

.

330

.

.

.

.

333

2 1

.

The Siege of Tyre occurred in 332 BC when Alexander set out to conquer Tyre, a strategic coastal base. Tyre was the site of the only

remaining Persian port that did not capitulate to Alexander. Even by this point in the war, the Persian navy still posed a major threat to

Alexander. Tyre, the largest and most important city-state of Phoenicia, was located both on the Mediterranean coast as well as a

nearby Island with two natural harbors on the landward side. At the time of the siege, the city held approximately 40,000 people,

though the women and children were evacuated to Carthage, an ancient Phoenician colony.

Alexander sent an envoy to Tyre, proposing a peace treaty, and asked to visit their city and offer sacrifices to their God Melqart. The

Tyrians politely told Alexander that their town was neutral in the war, and that allowing him to offer sacrifices to Melqart would be

tantamount to recognizing him as their king. Alexander considered building a causeway that would allow his army to take the town by

force. His engineers didn't believe it would be possible to successfully build such a massive structure, and so Alexander sent peace

envoys once more to propose an alliance. The Tyrians believed this to be a sign of weakness, and so they killed the envoys and threw

their bodies over the city wall. The dissent against Alexander's plans to take the city by force disappeared, and his engineers began to

design the structure. Alexander began with an engineering feat that shows the true extent of his brilliance; as he could not attack the

city from sea, he built a kilometer-long causeway stretching out to the island on a natural land bridge no more than two meters

deep.Alexander then constructed two towers 150 feet high and moved them to the end of the causeway. The Tyrians, however, quickly

devised a counterattack. They used an old horse transport ship, filling it with dried branches, pitch, sulfur, and various other

combustibles. They then lit it on fire, creating what we might call a primitive form of napalm, and ran it up onto the causeway. The fire

spread quickly, engulfing both towers and other siege equipment that had been brought up.

Siege of Tyre

This convinced Alexander that he would be unable to take Tyre without a navy. Fate would soon

provide him with one. Presently, the Persian navy returned to find their home cities under Alexander’s

control. Since their allegiance was to their city, they were therefore Alexander’s. He now had eighty

ships. This coincided with the arrival of another hundred and twenty from Cyprus, which had heard of

his victories and wished to join him. Alexander then sailed on Tyre and quickly blockaded both ports

with his superior numbers. He had several of the slower galleys, and a few barges, refit with battering

rams, the only known case of battering rams being used on ships. Alexander started testing the wall at

various points with his rams, until he made a small breach in the south end of the island. He then

coordinated an attack across the breach with a bombardment from all sides by his navy. Once his troops

forced their way into the city, they easily overtook the garrison, and quickly captured the city. Those

citizens that took shelter in the temple of Heracles were pardoned by Alexander. It is said that

Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the loss of his men that he destroyed half the city.

Alexander granted pardon to the king and his family, whilst 30,000 residents and foreigners taken

were sold into slavery. There was a family, though, that Alexander gave a very high position in his

government, but the only contact he ever had with them was when he spent the night with the wife of

the household

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Issus.jpg

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Greek travelers had actually been visitingEgypt for centuries, many of them setting uptrading colonies or acting as mercenaries.Others such as the historian Herodotus andphilosopher Plato came to study a culture theyregarded with awe as the cradle of civilization,their knowledge almost certainly part ofAlexander's education. Yet for almost 200years Egypt had been occupied by Persia whohad incorporated it into the growing empire,and assuming the Egyptian crown by right ofconquest the Persian king had ruled inabsentia through a satrap, exploiting its vastgrain reserves and taxing its people. ThePersians showed relatively little respect forthe ancient traditions and were deeplyunpopular, and the Egyptians' had rebelled sooften parts of the country remained virtuallyindependent.

Alexander was therefore hailed as Savior andLiberator, and as the people's choice andlegitimate heir he was offered the doublecrown of the Two Lands. Anointed as pharaohin Memphis on 14 November 332 bc, theculmination of his coronation was theclimactic moment when the high priest namedhim 'son of the gods' according to traditionsdating back almost 3,000 years. This titledeeply affected him, and Olympias' referencesto him being the son of Zeus must have filledhis mind; indeed, there were even scenes ofthe king of the gods Amun ('Zeus')impregnating selected queens with the heir tothe throne! In a world where the gods wereperceived as living entities and wereconsidered a part of everyday life, Alexandermust now have began to believe in his owndivinity as a fact rather than a simple exerciseof propaganda.

Ever keen to discuss

philosophy which the

Greeks believed to

have originated in

Egypt, Alexander

attended lectures

given by the

Egyptian philosopher

Psammon.

Wholeheartedly

agreeing with his

teaching that "all

men are ruled by god,

because in every case

that element which

imposes itself and

achieves mastery is

divine", Alexander

also drew on his own

experiences when he

added that whilst god

is indeed the father of

all mankind, "it is the

noblest and best

whom he makes his

own" (Plutarch).

Always a devout man who began each day with sacrifices to the gods, Alexander had no difficulty worshipping the

Egyptian deities. Equating their gods with his own, he worshipped the Egyptian Amun as a form of Zeus. At the Memphite

necropolis of Sakkara the new pharaoh offered sacrifices to the Apis bull, cult animal of the creator god Ptah, followed by

Greek-style games and literary contests in which performers from all over the Greek world took part in a multi-cultural

extravaganza. These kind of events mark the beginnings of Hellenism in their blending of Greek practices and local

traditions, and Egypt and Greece would successfully co-exist for the next 3 centuries.

In the two months he

resided as 'living god' in

the royal palace at

Memphis, studying

Egyptian laws and

customs at first hand, he

gave orders for the

restoration of the

Egyptians' religious

centers, including the

great southern temples

of Luxor and Karnak,

where he appears in the

company of the Egyptian

gods wearing traditional

Egyptian regalia

including the rams horns

of Amun as worn by his

pharaonic predecessors

including Amenhotep III.

Alexander's image was

replicated all over Egypt

in both monumental

statuary and delicate

relief, together his with

his Greek name

translated into

hieroglyphs enclosed by

the royal cartouche:

"Horus, the strong ruler, he who seizes the lands of the foreigners, beloved of Amun and the chosen one of Ra - meryamun

setepenra Aleksandros".

He then left Memphis in January 331 bc and sailed down the western branch of the Nile to inspect the Greek trading

colony of Naucratis. Its land-bound position offered no scope for development, so Alexander pressed on toward the coast

to reach the Egyptian fort of Rhakotis.

referred to by both Herodotus and Thucydides, close to Lake Mareotis where a narrow ridge divides its waters from the sea. Consulting

Homer he had arrived on the coast at a site mentioned in the Odyssey: "Out of the sea where it breaks on the shores of Egypt rises an

island from the waters: the name men give it is Pharos" (Odyssey IV.354-355). Noting that Homer was a clever city planner as well as a

great poet, Alexander observed the deep waters of its well-sheltered, natural harbor and an uncanny similarity to the impressive

location of Tyre. As Arrian says "he was immediately struck by the excellence of the site, and convinced that if a city were built upon it, it

would certainly prosper. Such was his enthusiasm that he could not wait to begin the work and himself designed the general layout of

the town, indicating the position of the market place and the temples and which gods they should serve, the gods of Greece and Egypt,

and the exact limits of the defenses". Working with the architect Deinocrates of Rhodes, the stonemason Numenios and a technical

adviser named Hyponomos, Alexander also planned the site of the royal palace and even worked out a complex system of underground

drains and sewers

Having selected the optimum location for Alexandria, the king then set out west along the coastal road to Paraetonium (Mersa

Matruh) in late January 331 bc. Leaving the main body of the army in Egypt, his military escort included his friends and Companions

together with local guides, and as they advanced 200 miles along the coast toward Libya they received envoys from the Greek colony

of Cyrene offering their allegiance, together with lavish gifts including 300 horses and a golden crown.

In Alexander's haste

there were no

immediate means of

marking out the

ground until it was

suggested they use

barley flour from the

soldiers' rations. This

they sprinkled on the

ground as the king led

the way along his

imagined roads and

avenues, laid out in

the form of a

Macedonian military

cloak (chlamys) as his

architects trailed

along behind. When a

great flock of birds

descended and ate all

traces of his new city,

Alexander's initial

fears were allayed by

his soothsayer

Aristander who

pronounced that the

city would flourish,

producing abundant

resources which would

nourish its people.

Whilst planning his

gateway into the

Mediterranean,

Alexander also

received the

welcome news that

Cyprus, Rhodes and

Phoenicia and the

Aegean islands of

Tenedos, Lesbos, Kos

and Chios had all

come over to his

side. As their former

pro-Persian leaders

were delivered to

him for judgement,

Alexander

dispatched them

south to the Greek

garrison at Aswan,

accompanied by

Callisthenes whom

Alexander sent

southward to

investigate

Aristotle's theory

that the annual Nile

flood was a result of

rains to the south.

Alexander then turned south to follow the ancient caravan route through the Northern Sahara, which connected the Mediterranean

coastline to central Africa via the all-important network of oases. The major oasis at Siwa was also home to the world renowned Oracle of the

god Amun (the Libyan form of Ammon) described in Herodotus' Histories (II.31-32) which Alexander, like many other famous men before

him, intended to consult. After only a few days crossing the sands, the party ran out of water and were only saved by a sudden violent

rainstorm, interpreted by the expedition historian Callisthenes as divine intervention. Their sojourn was then interrupted by one of the

regular terrifying sandstorms sweeping up from the south to obliterate any recognizable landmarks, and with the track indistinguishable

from desert and the landscape featureless as far as the eye could see, the guides employed for the journey were soon lost. Mindful that hostile

Persian forces of Cambyses had been obliterated in exactly the same circumstances in their attempts to reach Siwa two centuries before, his

companions had been unable to dissuade Alexander from undertaking the perilous journey. "Fortune, by giving in to him on every occasion,

had made his resolve unshakable and so he was able to overcome not only his enemies, but even places and seasons of the year" says Plutarch.

And indeed, disaster was once again averted when two black ravens miraculously appeared, Alexander exhorting his colleagues to follow

them as they must have been sent by the gods to guide them. Callisthenes records that the ravens limited their flight to accommodate the

party, even cawing loudly if their charges deviated from the correct path. Ptolemy says that their guides took the form of two snakes, and

whilst unsure which, Arrian confesses that "I have no doubt whatever that he had divine assistance of some kind".

And so the myth of Alexander

had begun, and gained

momentum as tales spread of

his supernatural powers which

could summon divine

guardians at will. It was also

becoming increasingly

plausible to those around him

that he might even be that he

claimed to be, the son of god

himself. His divinity would be

confirmed once and for all by

consulting the Oracle, his need

for self-validation explaining

the risks he had taken on the

perilous desert march.

As the exhausted men entered

Siwa, their eyes would have been

filled with the beauty of its lush,

fertile oasis. Shady groves of palms

and fruit trees bordered waters

which gushed forth in abundance

from subterranean springs and

here in the mystical surroundings

of the Spring of the Sun they

refreshed themselves. With no

prior knowledge of their arrival,

immense curiosity and excitement

must have greeted the Greek

soldiers emerging weary from the

desert, at their head the first

pharaoh ever to complete the

dangerous journey.

Anxious to visit the Oracle as soon as possible, Alexander then went immediately to the temple of Amun, its location on the high rock

outcrop of Aghurmi deeply impressing him. Plutarch says that according to his sources, Alexander was met by the Siwan high priest who

greeted him with the words "O, paidion", "Oh, my son", but mispronounced the Greek as "O, pai dios" meaning "Oh, son of god", much to

Alexander's delight and amazement.

The small number of his party waited in the temple forecourt, and after the high priest announced to all present that the god was content,

they could proceed with their questions. One of the Macedonians asked the Oracle whether they might give their king divine honors, to

which the reply came "This would please Ammon". Then in his capacity as pharaoh and high priest of all the gods, Alexander was led into

to the heavily-scented darkness of the inner sanctuary to put his questions personally to the god himself.

When he finally emerged into the daylight, he was met by his friends anxious to know exactly what had transpired. Alexander would

only say he had been given 'the answer his heart desired'. That the main subject discussed had been the nature of his divine paternity

seems the most likely, since he was adamant that the only other person he would tell these 'secret prophecies' to would be his mother, and

as he told Olympias in a letter this would only be face to face on his return to Macedonia. Plutarch states that Alexander also asked if his

father Philip II's murder had been avenged, whereupon "the high priest asked him to choose his words more carefully, for his father was not

a mortal". He may also have sought divine approval for his new Egyptian city, whose viability as a trading center would also have been

confirmed by his checking the age-old caravan routes to the Mediterranean which passed through Siwa.

He then made final arrangements for the governing of the Egypt in his absence. Arrian says that Alexander had

been deeply impressed by Egypt "and the general strength of the country, but the fact this had been greater than

he expected, induced him to divide the control of it between a number of his officers, as too unsafe to put it all in

the hands of one man". Following Aristotle's advice that a king must hold an even balance between all parties he

therefore appointed a combination of Egyptians, Macedonians and Persians to rule Egypt along traditional lines.

Alexander left Egypt in the spring (mid-April) of 331 bc a changed man. Although he would never return alive to

see the city he had founded, it would eventually be his final resting place when his embalmed body was returned

there for burial only 10 years later.

Whatever his questions had been, Alexander was sufficiently satisfied with the answers to present magnificent

offerings to the Oracle, and over the remaining eight years of his life would send frequent gifts to its priests,

together with more questions. Always eager to receive its answers, Alexander, with his unshakable faith in oracles,

would also act on their advice, whether it suited his purpose or not.

According to his general and biographer Ptolemy, Alexander then returned to Memphis along the direct route via

the Qattara Depression. On arrival he made sacrifices to Zeus-Amun, held a great parade of troops and received

500 Greek mercenaries and 400 Thessalian cavalry sent from his regent Antipater back in Macedonia.

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Alexander's body was placed in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus, which was in turn placed ina second gold casket. According to Aelian, a seer called Aristander foretold that the landwhere Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever Perhapsmore likely, the successors may have seen possession of “. the body as a symbol oflegitimacy (it was a royal prerogative to bury the previous king). At any rate, Ptolemy stolethe funeral cortege, and took it to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphia,transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at leastLateAntiquity. Ptolemy IX Lathyros, one of the last successors of Ptolemy I, replaced Alexander'ssarcophagus with a glass one so he could melt the original down for issues of hiscoinage. Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria, the latterallegedly accidentally knocking the nose off the body. Caligula was said to have takenAlexander's breastplate from the tomb for his own use. In c. AD 200, Emperor SeptimiusSeverus closed Alexander's tomb to the public. His son and successor, Caracalla, was a greatadmirer of Alexander, and visited the tomb in his own reign. After this, details on the fate ofthe tomb are sketchy.The so-called "Alexander Sarcophagus", discovered near Sidon and now in the IstanbulArchaeology Museum, is so named not because it was thought to have containedAlexander's remains, but because its bas-reliefs depict Alexander and his companionshunting and in battle with the Persians. It was originally thought to have been thesarcophagus of Abdalonymus (died 311 BC), the king of Sidon appointed by Alexanderimmediately following the battle of Issus in 331.However, more recently, it has beensuggested that it may date from earlier than Abdalonymus' death.

At Issus in 333 BC, his first confrontation withDarius, he used the same deployment, andagain the phalanx at the center pushed throughwith the advantage of its long pikes. Thisenabled Alexander to personally lead thecharge in the center against Darius, causing himto flee and his army to rout. At the decisiveencounter with Darius at Gaugamela, Dariushad equipped his chariots with scythes on thewheels to break up the phalanx and his cavalrywith pikes. Alexander arranged a doublephalanx, with the center advancing at an angle,parting when the chariots bore down and thenreforming. The advance was successful andbroke Darius' center, causing the latter to fleeonce again.When faced with opponents who used fightingtechniques he was unfamiliar with, such as inCentral Asia and India, Alexander was quick toadapt his forces to his opponents fighting style.Thus, in Bactria and Sogdiana, Alexandersuccessfully used his javelin throwers andarchers to prevent outflanking movements,while massing his cavalry at the center. In India,when confronted by Porus' elephant corps, theMacedonians were victorious by opening theirranks to envelop the elephants and using theirsarissas to strike upwards and dislodge theelephants' handlers.

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