936 
G R E 
mentioned, prince originally adminiftered the govern¬ 
ment, till tile tender age of Amyntas being rejefted by 
the Macedonians, Philip fo little feared the revival of 
his claim, that he had given him his daughter Cyna in 
marriage. Tliis new advantage ftrengthened the pre- 
tenfions of Amyntas, which, it was probable, would be 
warmly I'lipported by Attains, the perfonal enemy of 
Olympias and her fon, of whom the former had recently 
put to death his kinfwoman Cleopatra, with fhocking 
circumdances oT cruelty. But Alexander privately took 
meafures for crufliing thofe dangerous enemies; and, 
being acknowledged king of Macedon, he haftened into 
Greece, to carry forward the projedled expedition againfl: 
Perfia. 
Having entruded to Antipater, one of the mod re- 
fpeCted of his father’s counfellors, tlie affairs of Greece 
and Macedon, and committed to that general an arn>y of 
above twenty thoufand men, to maintain domedic tran¬ 
quillity in thofe countries, he departed early in the fpring 
of the year 334 before Chrid, at the head of above five 
thoufand horfe, and fomewhat more than tliirty thou¬ 
fand infantry. The armament landed without oppofi- 
tion on the Afiatic coad; the Perfians, though long ago 
apprifed of the intended invafion, having totally neglect- 
',ed the defence of their wedern frontier. The caules of 
this negligence refulted, in fome degree perhaps, from 
the character of the prince, but dill more from that of 
the nation. The provinces had ceafed to maintain any 
regular communication with tJie capital, or with each 
otlier. The danding military force proved infufficient 
to keep in awe the didant fatraps or viceroys. The ties 
of a common religion or language, or the fehfe of a pub¬ 
lic intered, had never united into one fydem this dif- 
cordant mafs of nations, which was ready to crumble 
into pieces at the touch of an invader. When to thefe 
unfavourable circumdances we join the refleflion, that 
under the younger Cyrus, twelve thoufand Greeks baf¬ 
fled the arms, and almod divided the empire, of Perfia, 
we dial! not find much reafon to admire the magnanimity 
of Alexander in undertaking his eadern expedition; iin- 
lefs we are at tlte fame time apprifed, that Darius was 
deemed a brave and generous prince, beloved by his 
Perfian fubjefts, and adided by the valour of fifty thou¬ 
fand Greek mercenaries. 
While Alexander purfued his march along the coad, 
Arfitcs, Spithridates, Memnon, and other governors of 
tjte maritime provinces, adembled in the towivof Zeleia, 
di.dant fixty miles from the Hellefpont. Memnon the 
Rhodian was the abled general in the.fervice of Darius. 
He reprefented the danger of redding the Macedonian 
infantry, who were fuperior in number, and encouraged 
by the prefencebf their king. That the invaders, fiery 
and impetuous, were now animated by.hope, but would 
lofe courage on the fird difappointment, Deditute of 
magazines and refources, their fafety depended on fud- 
den victory. It was the Intered of the Perfians, on the 
other hand, to protradt the war, and above all to,avoid a 
general engagement. They ought to trample down the 
corn with their numerous cavalry, dedroy all other 
fruits of the ground, and de/olate the whole country, 
■without fparing the towns and villages. Some rejected 
tliis advice, as unbecoming the dignity of Periia; Ar- 
fites, governor of Lefler Phrygia, declared with indig. 
nation, that he would never permit the property of his 
fubjedts to be ravaged with impunity. Thefe fentiments 
the more eafily prevailed, becaufe many fufpedted the 
motives of Memnon, 1 1 was determined, therefore, by 
this council of princes, to alfemble their refpeiSive forces 
■with all pofiible expedition, and to encamp on the ead¬ 
ern bank of the Granicus, a river which falls into the 
Propontis. 
The fcouts of Alexander having brought him intelli¬ 
gence of the enemy’s defign, he indantly determined to 
giye them battle. The advanced guard, confiding of 
iiorfemcn armed with pikes, and five hundred light in- 
E C E. 
fantry, commanded by Hcgelochus, were detached- to 
examine the fords of the Granicus, and to obferve the 
difpofition of the enemy. They returned to acquaint 
Alexander, that the Perfians were advantageoufly poded 
on the oppofite bank, their horfe amounting to twenty, 
thoufand, and their foreign mercenaries, drawn, up on 
the dope ofarifing ground, behind the cavalry, fcarcely 
lefs numerous. Notwithdanding this intelligence, the 
young prince determined to pafs the river. Having ad¬ 
vanced within fight of the hodile ranks, his horfe fpread 
to- the right and left, the mady column of infantry 
opened, and the whole formed along the bank in order 
of battle. The plialanx, divided into eight fe^tions, 
compofed the main body, which occupied the centre; 
the Macedonian cavalry formed the right wing; thq 
Grecian, the left. While Alexander made thefe difpo- 
fitions, the cautious Parmenio approached, and remon- 
drated againd pading the Granicus in the face of a fu¬ 
perior enemy. The river, he obferved, was deep and 
full of eddies; its banks abrupt and craggy; “ it would 
be impodible, therefore, to inarch the Macedonians in 
front, and if they advanced in columns, their flanks 
mud be expofed naked and defencelefs.” Thefe pru¬ 
dential confiderations prevailed not with Alexander, 
who declared that the Macedonians mud adlwith equal 
promptitude and vigour, and perform fomething wor¬ 
thy of the terror which they bore. Saying this, he 
mounted his horfe, alTumed the command of the right 
wing, and committed the left to Parmenio. 
Animated by the hope of foon clofing with the enemy, 
he difdained to employ military engines. He coolly 
and judicioufly didributed his orders; a foleinn filence 
enfued; the hodile armies beheld each other with re- 
fentment or terror. Tliis foleinn paufe was foon broken 
by the Macedonian trumpet, which, on a fignal from, 
Alexander, refounded from every part of the line. His 
brother.Piolemy, as had been previoufly directed, rode 
forth at the head of a fquadron of cuirafliers, followed 
by two bodies of light dragoons, and a battalion of in¬ 
fantry commanded by Amyntas. While thefe troops 
boldly entered the Granicus, Alexander advanced with 
the chofen cavalry on the right wing, followed by the. 
arcliers and Agrians. In pading the river, both Alex¬ 
ander and Ptolemy led. their troops obliquely down the 
current, to prevent, as much as pofiible, the Perfians 
from attacking them in flank, as they fucceflively reached 
the fhore. The Perfian cavalry behayed with courage ; 
the firfi: fquadron of tlie Macedonians were driven back 
into the ftreain. But Alexander, who animated the 
companions with his voice and arm,- maintained his 
ground on the bank, and thought he had gained the 
battle, when he obtained an opportunity of fighting. 
In the equefirian engagement which followed, the Ma¬ 
cedonians owed much to their Ikilful evolutions and 
difcipline ; Itill more to their ftrength and courage; and 
not a little to the excellence of their weapons, which 
far furpafl’ed the brittle javelins of the enemy. 
Meanwhile Parmenio croflTed the Granicus, at the 
head of the left wing, with equal fuccefs, but wnequal 
glory, becaufe Alexander had already proved, by his 
example, that the difficulty might be overcome, which 
vt’ould have othcrwife appeared infurmountable. The 
attention of the enemy was fo deeply engaged by the 
fuccefiive attacks of the cavalry, that they feem not to 
have made much oppofition to the paflage of the pha¬ 
lanx. But before this powerful body of infantry had 
eroded the river, tlie Macedonian horfe had already 
reaped the fairefi: honours of the field, Alexander ani¬ 
mated them by his prefence, and, after performing all 
the duties of a great general, diiplayed fuch perfonal 
a.dts of prowefs as will be more readily admired than 
believed by tlie modern reader. But in the dole cony- 
bats of antiquity, the forces, when once tlioroughly en. 
gaged, migiit be fat'ely abandoned to the direction of 
their own rel'entraent and courage, while tUe cominandei-s 
difplayed 
