Alexander

Alexander was angry beyond measure, and sent a herald threatening to put them all to the sword, together with their wives and children, if they did not send him back his horse. But when they came with the horse and also put their cities into his hands, he treated them all kindly, and gave a ransom for his horse to those who had captured him.

From thence he marched into Parthia,[*](In the early autumn of 330 B.C.) where, during a respite from fighting, he first put on the barbaric dress, either from a desire to adapt himself to the native customs, believing that community of race and custom goes far towards softening the hearts of men; or else this was an attempt to introduce the obeisance[*](Prostration on the ground before a great personage, a peculiarly Persian custom.) among the Macedonians, by accustoming them little by little to put up with changes and alterations in his mode of life.

However, he did not adopt the famous Median fashion of dress, which was altogether barbaric and strange, nor did he assume trousers, or sleeved vest, or tiara, but carefully devised a fashion which was midway between the Persian and the Median, more modest than the one and more stately than the other. At first he wore this only in intercourse with the Barbarians and with his companions at home, then people generally saw him riding forth or giving audience in this attire.

The sight was offensive to the Macedonians, but they admired his other high qualities and thought they ought to yield to him in some things which made for his pleasure or his fame. For, in addition to all his other hardships, he had recently been shot by an arrow in the leg below the knee, so that splinters of the larger bone came out; and at another time he was smitten in the neck with a stone so severely that his eye-sight was clouded and remained so for some time.

Nevertheless, he did not cease exposing himself to dangers without stint, nay, he actually crossed the river Orexartes (which he himself supposed to be the Tanaïs), put the Scythians to rout, and pursued them for a hundred furlongs, although he was suffering all the while from diarrhoea.

Here the queen of the Amazons came to see him, as most writers say, among whom are Cleitarchus, Polycleitus, Onesicritus, Antigenes, and Ister; but Aristobulus, Chares the royal usher, Ptolemy, Anticleides, Philo the Theban, and Philip of Theangela, besides Hecataeus of Eretria, Philip the Chalcidian, and Duris of Samos, say that this is a fiction.

And it would seem that Alexander’s testimony is in favour of their statement. For in a letter to Antipater which gives all the details minutely he says that the Scythian king offered him his daughter in marriage, but he makes no mention of the Amazon. And the story is told that many years afterwards Onesicritus was reading aloud to Lysimachus, who was now king, the fourth book of his history, in which was the tale of the Amazon, at which Lysimachus smiled gently and said: And where was I at the time? However, our, belief or disbelief of this story will neither increase nor diminish our admiration for Alexander.