rals, and had been the principal agent in his victories. It is not easy to determine what we ought to admire most in him; whether his great wisdom in council, his courage and capacity in the field, or his zeal and attachment to his sovereign. The counsel he gave on this occasion was excellent, when we consider that his enemy was fiery and impetuous; had neither town, magazine, nor place of retreat; that he was entering a country to which he was absolutely a stranger, inhabited by enemies; that delays alone would weaken and ruin him; and that his only hopes lay in giving battle immediately. But Arsites, satrap of Phrygia, opposed the opinion of Memnon, and protested, he would never suffer the Grecians to make such havoc in the territories he governed. This ill counsel prevailed over that of the foreigner (Memnon), whom the Persians, to their great prejudice, suspected of a design to protract the war, and, by that means, make himself necessary to Darius.

Alexander, in the mean time, marched on at the head of his heavy-armed infantry, drawn up in two lines, with the cavalry in the wings; the baggage followed in the rear. Being arrived upon the banks of the Granicus, Parmenio advised him to encamp there in battle-array, in order that his forces might have time to rest themselves, and not to pass the river till very early next morning, because the enemy would then be less able to prevent him. He added, that it would be too dangerous to attempt crossing a river in sight of an enemy, especially as that before them was deep, and its banks very craggy; so that the Persian cavalry, who waited their coming, in battle array, on the other side, might easily defeat them before they were drawn up. That, besides the loss which would be sustained on this occasion, this enterprise, in case it should prove unsuccessful, would be of dangerous consequence to their future affairs; the fame and glory of arms depending on the first actions.

However, these reasons were not able to make the least impression on Alexander, who declared, that it would be a shame, should he, after crossing the Hellespont, suffer his progress to be retarded by a rivulet, for so he called the Granicus out of contempt: that they ought to take advanage of the terror, which the suddenness of his arrival and the boldness of his attempt had spread among the Persians, and answer the high opinion the world conceived of his courage and the valour of the Macedonians. The enemy's horse which was very numerous, lined the whole shore, and formed an extended front, in order to oppose Alexander, wherever he should endeavour to pass; and the foot, which consisted chiefly of Greeks, in Darius's service, was posted behind, upon an easy ascent.

The two armies continued a long time in sight of each other, on the banks of the river, as if dreading the event. The Persians waited till the Macedonians should enter the river, in order to charge them to advantage upon their landing; and the latter seemed to be making choice of a place proper for crossing, and observing the disposition of their enemies. Upon this, Alexander, having ordered his horse to be brought, commanded the noblemen of the court to follow him, and behave gallantly. He himself commanded the right wing, and Parmenio the left. The king first caused a strong detachment to march into the river, himself following it with the rest of the forces. He made Parmenio advance, afterwards, with the left wing. He himself led on the right wing into the river, followed by the rest of the troops, the trumpets sounding, and the whole army raising cries of joy. The Persians, seeing this detachment advance, began to let fly their arrows, and march to a place where the declivity was not so great, in order to keep the Macedonians from landing. But now the horse engaged with great fury, one part endeavouring to land and the other striving to prevent them. The Macedonians, whose cavalry was vastly inferior in number, besides the disadvantage of the ground, were wounded with the darts that were shot from the eminence; not to mention, that the flower of the Persian horse were drawn together in this place; and that Memnon, in concert with his sons, commanded there. The Macedonians, therefore, at first, gave ground, after having lost the first ranks, which made a vigorous defence. Alexander, who had followed them close, and reinforced them with his best troops, heads them himself, animates them by his presence, pushes the Persians, and routs them; upon which, the whole army follow after, cross the river, and attack the enemy on all sides.

Alexander first charged the thickest part of the enemy's horse, in which the generals fought. He himself was particularly conspicuous, by his shield and the plume of feathers that overshadowed his helmet, on the two sides of which there rose two wings, as it were, of a great length, and so vastly white, that they dazzled the eyes of the beholder. The charge was very furious about his person; and, though only horse engaged, they fought like foot, man to man, without. giving way on either side, every one striving to repulse his adversary, and gain ground of him. Spithrobates, lieutenantgovernor of Ionia, and son-in-law to Darius, distinguished himself above the rest of the generals by his superior bravery. Being surrounded by 40 Persian lords, all of them his relations, of experienced valour, and who never moved from his side, he carried terror wherever he moved. Alex

ander, observing in how gallant a manner he signalized himself, clapped spurs to his horse, and advanced towards him. Immediately they engage, and each, having thrown a javelin, wounded the other slightly. Spithrobates falls furiously, sword in hand, upon Alexander, who, being prepared for him, thrusts his pike into his face, and lays him dead at his feet. At that very moment, Rosaces, brother to that nobleman, charging him on the side, gives him so furious a blow on the head, with his battle-axe, that he beat off his plume, but went no deeper than the hair. As he was going to repeat his blow on the head, which now appeared through his fractured helmet, Clitus cuts off Rosaces's hand, with one stroke of his scimetar, and, by that means, saves his sovereign's life. The danger to which Alexander had been exposed greatly animated the courage of his soldiers, who now perform wonders. The Persians in the centre of the cavalry, upon whom the light-armed troops, who had been posted in the intervals of the horse, poured a perpetual discharge of darts, being unable to sustain, any longer, the attack of the Macedonians, who struck them all in the face, the two wings were immediately broken and put to flight. Alexander did not pursue them long, but turned about immediately to charge the foot.

These, says the historian, at first stood their ground, which was owing to the surprise they were seized with rather than bravery. But, when they saw themselves attacked, at the same time, by the cavalry and the Macedonian phalanx, which had crossed the river, and that the battalions were now engaged, those of the Persians did not make either a long or a vigorous resistance, and were soon put to flight, the Grecian infantry in Darius's service excepted. This body of foot, retiring to a hill, demanded a promise from Alexander, to let them march away unmolested; but, following the dictates of his wrath rather than those of reason, he rushed into the midst of this body of foot, and presently lost his horse, (not Bucephalus), who was killed with the thrust of a sword. The battle was so hot round him, that most of the Macedonians who lost their lives on this occasion fell here; for they fought against a body of men who were well disciplined, had been inured to war, and fought in despair. They were all cut to pieces, 2000 excepted, who were taken prisoners.

A great number of the chief Persian commanders lay dead on the spot. Arsites fled into Phrygia, where, it is said, he laid violent hands upon himself, through regret that he had been the cause that the battle was fought. It would have been more glorious for him had he died in the field. Twenty thousand foot and 2,500 horse were killed in this engagement, on the side of the barbarians; and, on that of the Macedonians, 25 of the royal horse were killed at the first

attack. Alexander ordered Lysippus to make their statues in brass, all which were set up in a city of Macedon, called Dia, from whence they were, many years after, carried to Rome, by Q. Metellus. About 60 of the other horse were. killed, and near 30 foot, who, the next day, were all laid, with their arms and equipage, in one grave; and the king granted an exemption to their fathers and children from every kind of tribute and service.

He also took the utmost care of the wounded, visited them, and saw their wounds dressed. He inquired very particularly into their adventures, and permitted every one of them to relate his actions in the battle, and boast his bravery. A prince gains many advantages by such a familiarity and condescension. He also granted the rights of sepulture to the grandees of Persia, and did not even refuse it to such Greeks as died in the Persian service; but all those whom he took prisoners he laid in chains and sent them to work as slaves in Macedonia, for having fought, under the barbarian standards, against their country, contrary to the express prohibition made by Greece upon that head.

Alexander made it his duty and pleasure to share the. honour of his victory with the Greeks; and sent particularly to the Athenians 300 shields, being part of the plunder taken from the enemy; and caused the glorious inscription following to be inscribed on the rest of the spoils: "Alexander, son of Philip, with the Greeks (the Lacedæmonians excepted), gained these spoils from the barbarians who in"habit Asia." A conduct of this kind evinces a very uncommon and amiable greatness of soul in a conqueror, who generally cannot, without great reluctance, admit others to share in his glory. The greatest part of the gold and silver plate, the purple carpets, and other articles of Persian luxury, he sent to his mother.

SECT. IV.

Alexander conquers the greatest part of Asia Minor. Des cription of Darius's march.

The success of the battle of the Granicus had all the happy consequences that could naturally be expected from it. Sardis, which was in a manner the bulwark of the barbarian empire on the side next the sea, surrendered to Alexander, who thereupon gave the citizens their liberty, and permitted them to live after their own laws. Four days after, he arrived at Ephesus, carrying with him those who had been banished from thence for being his adherents, and rea A. M. 3670. Ant. J. C. 334. Diod. l. xvii. p. 503-511. Arrian. 1. i p. 36-59. et l. ii. p. 60-66. Plut. in Alex. p. 673, 674. Q. Curt. 1. ii. e. 1-3, Justin 1. xi. c. 7, 8. Strab. 1, xiv. p. 640. Solin. c. xl. VOL. V.

I

stored its popular form of government. He assigned to the temple of Diana the tributes which were paid to the kings of Persia. He offered a great number of sacrifices to that goddess, solemnized her mysteries with the utmost pomp, and conducted the ceremony with his whole army drawn up in battle-array. The Ephesians had begun to rebuild the temple of Diana, which had been burned the night of Alexder's birth, as was before observed, and the work was now very far advanced. Dimocrates, a famous architect, who superintended the building of the temple, was employed by this king to build Alexandria, in Egypt. Alexander offered to pay the Ephesians all the expenses they had already been at, and to furnish the remainder, provided they would inscribe the temple with his name alone, for he was fond, or rather insatiable, of every kind of glory. The inhabitants of Ephesus not being willing to consent to it, and nevertheless afraid to refuse him that honour openly, had recourse to an artful flattery for an invasion. They told him, that it was inconsistent for one god to erect monuments to another. Before he left Ephesus, the deputies of the cities of Tralles and Magnesia waited upon him with the keys of those places.

He afterwards marched to Miletus, which city, flattered with the hopes of a sudden and powerful support, shut their gates against him: and, indeed, the Persian fleet, which was very considerable, made a show as if it would succour that city; but, after having made several fruitless attempts to engage that of the enemy, it was forced to sail away. Memnon had shut himself up in this fortress, with a great number of his soldiers, who had escaped from the battle, and was determined to make a good defence. Alexander, who would not lose a moment's time, attacked it; and, planting scaling-ladders on all sides, the scalado was carried on with great vigour, and opposed with no less intrepidity, though Alexander sent fresh troops to relieve one another without the least intermission, and this lasted several days. At last, finding his soldiers were every where repulsed, and that the city was provided with every thing for a long siege, he planted all his machines against it, made a great number of breaches, and whenever these were attacked, a new scalado was attempted. The besieged, after sustaining all these efforts with prodigious bravery, capitulated for fear of being taken by storm. Alexander treated all the Milesians with the utmost humanity, and sold all the foreigners who were found in it. The historians do not make any mention of Memnon; but we may reasonably suppose, that he marched out with the garrison.

"Alexander, seeing that the enemy's fleet had sailed away, a A. M. 3670. Ant. J. C. 334.