Alexander (Vol. 2) Read Free Page A

division, accompanied by his entourage. Eumenes was present as well, armed to the teeth and proudly sporting a breastplate of crushed flax, decorated and strengthened with polished plates of bronze, shining like mirrors. The secretary general’s thoughts, however, as he passed before the multitude, were not at all grandiose – he was making mental notes of how much grain, how many vegetables, how much salted fish, smoked meat and wine would be required to keep all these men going, and how much money he would have to spend every day to purchase all those provisions. During the inspection he worked out how long the reserves they had brought with them would last.
    Despite these worries, however, he still had some hope of being able to offer the King some suggestions for a successful expedition.
    When they reached the head of the line-up, Alexander nodded to Parmenion and the general gave orders for them to set off. The long column began to move – the cavalry on the flanks two by two, the infantry in the middle. The direction was northerly, along the seashore.
    The army slithered forward like a long snake and Alexander’s helmet, crowned by two long white plumes, could be made out from far away.
    Just at that moment Daunia looked out from the main entrance of the temple of Athena and stood there at the top of the steps. The young man who had loved her on the shore that fragrant spring night now looked as small as a child, his overly polished, overly resplendent armour glinting in the sun. He was no longer that young lover; that young lover no longer existed.
    She felt a great emptiness open up within herself as she watched Alexander disappear towards the horizon. When he had left her sight completely, she dried her eyes with a rapid movement of her hand, entered the temple and closed the door behind her.
    *
     
    Eumenes had dispatched two messengers under escort – one to Lampsacus and the other to Cyzicus, two powerful Greek cities along the Straits: the former stood on the coast while the latter was on an island. The dispatch was a renewal of Alexander’s offer of freedom and a treaty of alliance.
    The King was enchanted by the landscape as it unfolded before him and at every bend along the coast he turned to Hephaestion to say, ‘Look at that village . . . see that tree? . . . look at that statue . . .’ Everything was new for him, everything was a source of wonder – the white villages on the hills, the sanctuaries of the Greek and the barbarian gods in the midst of the countryside, the fragrance of the apple blossom, the lucent green of the pomegranate trees.
    With the exception of his exile in the snow-capped mountains of Illyria, this was his first journey out of Greece.
    Behind him came Ptolemy and Perdiccas, while his other companions were all with their own soldiers. Lysimachus and Leonnatus were at the end of the long column, their role to lead two rearguard units, separated somewhat from the rest.
    ‘Why are we travelling northwards?’ asked Leonnatus.
    ‘Alexander wants control of the Asian shore. This way no one will be able to enter or leave Pontus without our permission, and Athens, which relies upon grain imports that come through here, will have every reason to remain our ally. What’s more, this way we isolate all the Persian provinces that overlook the Black Sea. It’s a clever move.’
    ‘That’s true.’
    They continued at a walk, the sun shining down as it climbed high in the sky. Then Leonnatus started up again. ‘But there is one thing I don’t understand.’
    ‘We can’t understand everything in life,’ joked Lysimachus.
    ‘You can say that again, but can you explain to me why everything’s so calm? We land in daylight with forty thousand men, Alexander visits the temple of Ilium, completes the rite around Achilles’s tomb, and there’s been no one waiting for us. I mean, no Persians. Don’t you think it’s a bit strange?’
    ‘Not in the least.’
    ‘Why not?’
    Lysimachus