MACH 
the mod extravagant figns of joy. Demoflhenes and his 
party put on chaplets of flowers, and behaved as if they 
fiad gained a great victor}', Phocion reproved them for 
this madnefs; bidding them remember, that “ the army 
which had beaten them at Cheronaea was leflened but by 
one.” The reproof, however, had very little eft'eft. The 
people heard with pleafure all the harfli things which the 
orators could fay of the young Alexander king of Mace- 
don, whom they reprefen ted as a giddy wrong-headed hoy, 
ready to grafp all things in his imagination, and able to 
perform nothing. The affairs of Macedon indeed were 
i n a very d ift rafted flate on the acceflion of Alexander ; 
for all the neighbouring nations had the fame notion of 
the young king with the Athenians; and, being irritated 
by the uiurpations of Philip, immediately revolted ; and 
the ftates of Greece entered into a confederacy again If him. 
The Perfians had been contriving to transfer the war into 
Macedon ; but, as foon as the news of Philip’s death 
reached them, they behaved as if all danger had been over. 
At the fame time Attains, one of the Macedonian com¬ 
manders, alpired to the crown, and fought to draw off the 
foldiers from their allegiance. 
In the councils held on this occaflon, Alexander’s beft 
friends advifed him rather to make ufe of diflimulation 
than force, and to cajole thofe whom they thought he 
could not fubdue. Such advice, however, was ill fuited 
to the temper of their monarch. He thought that vi¬ 
gorous meafures only were proper, and therefore imme¬ 
diately led his army into Thelfaly. Here he harangued 
the princes fo effettually, that he thoroughly gained them 
over to his intereft, and was by them declared general of 
Greece ; upon which he returned to Macedon, where he 
can fed Attalus to be feized and put to death. 
In the fpring of the next year (335 B. C ) Alexander 
-refblved to fubdue the Triballians and Illyrians, who in¬ 
habited the countries now cal Led Bulgaria and Sclavonia, 
and had been very formidable enemies to the Macedonian 
power. In this expedition he difcovered, though then 
but twenty years of age, a furprifing degree of military 
knowledge. Having advanced to the pafles of Mount 
Haem us, he found that the barbarians had ported them- 
ielves in the mod advantageous manner. On the tops of 
tire cliffs, and at the head of every paffage, they had placed 
their carriages and waggons in fuch a manner as to form 
a kind of parapet with their fhafts inwards, fo that, when 
the Macedonians fhould have half afcended the rock, they 
might be able to pufh thefe heavy carriages down upon 
them. They reckoned the more upon this contrivance, 
becaufe of the clofe order of the phalanx, which, they 
imagined, would be terribly expofed by the foldiers want¬ 
ing room to ftir, and thereby avoid the falling waggons. 
But Alexander, having direfted his heavy-armed troops 
to march, gave orders, that, where the way would permit, 
they fhould open to the right and left, and fuffer the car¬ 
riages to go through ; but that, in the narrow partes, they 
fhould throw themfelves on their faces with their fhields 
Behind them, that the carts might run over them. This 
had the defired effefl; and the Macedonians reached the 
enemies’ works without the lofs of a man. The difpute 
was then quickly decided ; the barbarians were driven 
from their ports with great daughter, and left behind them 
a confiderable booty for the conquerors. 
The next exploits of Alexander were again ft the Getse, 
the Tanlantii, and fome other nations inhabiting the 
country on the other fide of the Danube. Them he alfo 
overcame; (bowing in all his actions the molt perfect (kill 
in military affairs, joined with the greateft valour. In the 
mean time, however, all Greece was in commotion by a 
report which had been confidently fpread abroad, that the 
king was dead in Illyria. The Thebans, on this news, 
feized Amyntas and Timolaus, two eminent officers in the 
Macedonian garrifon which held their citadel, and dragged 
them to the market-place, where they were put to death 
without either form or procefs, or any crime alleged againlb 
£herm Alexander, however, did not fuffer them to re* 
D O N< 23 
main long in their miftake. He marched with fuch expe' 
tlition, that in feven days he reached Paliene in Theffaly 5 
and in fix days more he entered Boeotia, before the The¬ 
bans had any intelligence of his palling the ftraits of 
Thermopylae. Even then they would not believe that the 
king was alive; but infilled that the Macedonian army 
was commanded by Antipater, or by one Alexander the 
fon of Airopus. The reft of the Greeks, however, were 
not fo hard of belief; and therefore fent no affiftance to 
the Thebans, who were thus obliged to bear the confc- 
quences of their own folly and obltinacy. The city was 
taken by ftorm, and the inhabitants were for fome hours 
maffacred without diftinflion of age or lex ; after which 
the houfes were demolifhed, ail except that of Pindar the 
famous poet, which was fpared out of refpeft to the merit 
of its owner, and becaufe he had celebrated Alexander I, 
king of Macedon. The lands, excepting thofe deflined 
to religious ufes, were fhared among the foldiers, and all 
the prifoners fold for (laves; by which 440 talents were 
brought into the king’s treafury. 
By this feverity the reft of the Grecian ftates were fo 
thoroughly humbled, that they thought no more of mak¬ 
ing any refiftance; and Alexander had nothing now to 
hinder him from his favourite projett of invading Afia. 
Very little preparation was neceffary for the Macedonian 
monarch, who went out as to an affured conqueft, and 
reckoned upon being fupplied only by the fpoils of his 
enemies. Hiftorians are not agreed as to the number of 
his army : Arrian fays, that there were 30,000 foot and 
5000 horl'e. Diodorus Siculus tells us, that there were 
13,000 Macedonian foot, 7000 of the confederate ftates, 
and 5000 mercenaries, Thefe were under the command 
of Parmenio, Of the Odrifians, Triballians, and Illy¬ 
rians, there were 5000; and of the Agrians, who were 
armed only with darts, icoo. As for the horfe, he tells 
us there were 1B00 commanded by Philotas, and as many 
Theflalians under the command of Callas: out of the con¬ 
federate ftates of Greece, were 600 commanded by Eury- 
gius; and 900 Thracians and Paeonians, who led the vail 
under Caffander. Plutarch tells us, that, according to a 
low computation, he had 30,000 foot and 5000 horle ; and, 
according to the largeft reckoning, he had 34,000 foot and 
4000 horfe. As to his fund for the payment of the army, 
Ariftobulus fays, it was but 70 talents; and Qneficritus, 
who w'asalfo in this expedition, not only takes away the 
70 talents, but affirms that the king was zoo in debt. As 
for provifions, there was juft fufficient for a month and 
no more; and, to prevent difturbances. Antipater was left 
in Macedon with 12,000 foot and 1500 horfe. 
The army having aflfembled at Amphipolis, he marched 
from thence to the mouths of the river Strymon ; then 
crofting Mount Pangaeus, lie took the road to Abdera. 
Crofting the river Ebrus, he proceeded through the coun¬ 
try of Psetis, and in twenty days reached Seftos ; thence he 
came to Eleus, where he facrificed on the tomb of Prote- 
filaus, becaufe he was the firft among the Greeks who at 
the fiege of Troy fet foot on the Afiatic fhore. He did 
this, that his landing might be more propitious than that 
of the hero to whom he facrificed, who was (lain loon af¬ 
ter. The greateft part of the army, under the command 
of Parmenio, embarked at Seftos, on-board a fleet of 160 
galleys of three benches of oars, befides fmall craft. 
Alexander himfelf failed from Eleus; and, when he was 
in the middle of the Hellefpont, offered a bull to Nep¬ 
tune and the Nereids, pouring forth at the fame time a 
libation from a golden cup. When he drew near the 
fhore, he launched a javelin, which lluck in the earth ; 
then, in complete armour, he leaped upon the ffrand ; am), 
having erefted altars to Jupiter, Minerva, and Hercules, he 
proceeded to Ilium. Here again he facrificed to Minerva ; 
and, taking down fome arms which had hung in the tem¬ 
ple of that goddefs fince the time of the Trojan war, con- 
fecrated his own in their Head. He facrificed alfo to the 
ghoft of Priam, to avert his wrath, on account of the de- 
icent which he himfelf claimed from Achillas, 
•; , a 
In 
