Alexander

For even against Antipater, Olympias and Cleopatra had raised a faction, and had divided his realm between them, Olympias taking Epirus, and Cleopatra Macedonia. When he heard of this, Alexander said that his mother had made the better choice; for the Macedonians would not submit to be reigned over by a woman. For these reasons he sent Nearchus back to the sea,[*](Early in 324 B.C.) determined to fill all the regions along the sea with wars, while he himself; marching down from Upper Asia, chastised those of his commanders who had done wrong.

One of the sons of Abuletes, Oxyartes, he slew with his own hand, running him through with a spear; and when Abuletes failed to furnish him with the necessary provisions, but brought him instead three thousand talents in coin, Alexander ordered the money to be thrown to his horses. And when they would not touch it, Of what use to us, then, he cried, is the provision you have made? and threw Abuletes into prison.

In Persia, to begin with, he distributed the money among the women, just as their kings were accustomed, as often as they came into Persia, to give each one of them a gold piece. And for this reason, it is said, some of their kings did not come often into Persia, and Ochus not even once, being so penurious as to expatriate himself.

In the second place, having discovered that the tomb of Cyrus had been rifled, he put to death the perpetrator of the deed, although the culprit was a prominent Macedonian native of Pella, by name Polymachus. After reading the inscription upon this tomb, he ordered it to be repeated below in Greek letters. It ran thus: O man, whosoever thou art and whencesoever thou comest, for I know that thou wilt come, I am Cyrus, and I won for the Persians their empire. Do not, therefore, begrudge me this little earth which covers my body.

These words, then, deeply affected Alexander, who was reminded of the uncertainty and mutability of life.[*](Cf. Arrian, Anab. vi. 29, 4-8.) In Persia, too, Calanus, who had suffered for a little while from intestinal disorder, asked that a funeral pyre might be prepared for him.[*](The self-sacrifice of Calanus is narrated by Arrian (Anab. vii. 3).) To this he came on horseback, and after offering prayers, sprinkling himself; and casting some of his hair upon the pyre, he ascended it,greeting the Macedonians who were present, and exhorting them to make that day one of pleasure and revelry with the king, whom, he declared, he should soon see in Babylon.