Alexander the Great Page #7

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to live under no tyranny,

but as free men with a free choice.

You, too, are free

to go back to Athens, if you wish,

as I no longer need Athens.

For if she will not lead in this holy war,

then she must follow.

For I will embrace in my cause any man -

Greek, Carian, Lydian, lonian -

who believes in it.

Greece is where you are.

Where you walk.

Where you talk, breathe, live.

To Alexander, write:

Every nation of Asia have I,

Darius the Persian, king of kings,

king of lands of every tongue,

ordered to be assembled

on the plains of Babylon.

Such an army as the world has never

seen before stands against you.

Therefore, we command you,

withdraw and return.

Go back to the bosom

of your mother Olympias.

For you are still an impudent

and shameless boy,

who in your madness

and ignorance have come to Asia

with your band of robbers to do mischief.

I send you a whip, a ball and

a bag of gold. The whip to train you.

The ball so that you may play

with boys of your own age

and not meddle in the affairs of men.

And the gold for expenses.

For I have heard that you are poor,

and since I have gold

as abundant as the sunlight,

you need not come to Asia

as a thief to steal it.

You should not have informed us

of your vast amounts of gold and silver,

because now we will fight harder

until all your possessions are ours.

Nor have called me "thief" and "boy",

for if you slay me,

it will not be accounted a great triumph,

because you will have slain

merely a robber chief.

But if I slay you, which I intend to do,

it will be said that

this great king and warrior

died by the hand of a little Greek boy.

For I am coming against you,

and, having entrusted myself

to the immortal gods,

I shall be victorious over you.

Does he make camp?

Half a league from here they stand at

arms, no baggage train, no tents pitched.

He will attack soon, within this night.

And we?

We will wait.

Order each man to stand at arms

all through the night

and to raise his voice in loud battle cries.

(soldiers shouting)

(shouting continues)

(distant shouting)

40,000 horse. Nearly a million infantry.

200 chariots, with scythes

to cut horses' hooves.

Pits dug as traps for our cavalry.

- 1500 bowmen.

- Will the Persian move?

- He hugs the earth like a child its mother.

- Make camp.

Make camp? Attack now, under cover

of night. In the dark there is confusion.

On both sides, Parmenio.

I will not steal a victory. If I am to be

destroyed, let it be by the light of day.

Tell the men to rest.

(soldiers cheering)

(cheering subsides)

(silence)

Oh! An evil omen! An evil omen!

Macedonians -

disaster, destruction, death!

It is an omen of good fortune.

The Persian moon will be eclipsed by the

Macedonian sun. Is it not so, Aristander?

Tell the men not to have fear.

The heavens are on our side.

O God of Fear,

to you and against failure...

I make sacrifice.

I now call upon all the gods

to prove to me and to all men

that I am truly the son of heaven,

by giving me this day... victory.

This aid I beg in prayer

with outstretched arms, Ahura Mazda.

Grant me through righteousness

the increase of my kingdom,

never to be destroyed.

Come to my support at my call.

You generals, companions, officers...

this message you will bring

to the troops under your command:

This is the final battle.

This day, Greece will be revenged,

all Asia will be ours,

its riches in our hands,

and all our labours ended.

This, then, is the plan of battle.

We are outnumbered in everything

save courage and discipline.

But the Macedonian army is such that

even if I, Alexander, were to fall in battle,

only one man would be lost.

The Persian such that if the head

is cut off the rest of the body dies with it.

Therefore, Macedonians,

hold and wait.

Hold and wait.

Then, when we charge,

have but one thought:

Kill Darius! Kill Darius!

Kill Darius!

Charge!

(man shouts)

Darius's bow, his shield, his chariot.

The great king has fled! He has run away!

The great king has run away!

(laughter and shouting)

So this, it seems, is royalty.

(weeps)

My mother weeps for my father.

Grant us this, Alexander - that we may

bury him before you put us to death.

Your father is alive.

I bear no hatred toward you

or your family, Queen.

He's braver than his father.

What's your name?

- Ochus.

- And yours?

Amytis.

Roxane.

Roxane.

We will go to the north, to the

Caspian Gate, to raise another army.

My wife and family, how are they?

Ha! Go on. Go on. Ha!

Alexander rides towards us.

He is no more than ten leagues away.

Abdicate.

Get away.

Get on!

Then die, Darius, Emperor.

Get away, quickly!

- (soldier) This is how I found him.

- Did he speak?

- He asked for water. I gave him some.

- Did he speak?

Some words I did not understand well,

about destiny and fate.

He gave me this to give to you.

Then he prayed. Then he died.

(Alexander) "My son, Alexander,

look now what I was and what I am,

with no one near me

to even close my eyes."

"Let the Macedonians and Persians

sit in mourning for me."

"Take my daughter, Roxane,

for your wife,

so that the seed of Darius

and of Philip may be mingled in her,

and that our worlds may become as one."

"Into your hands... I commend my spirit."

(Alexander) "That our worlds

may become as one."

"Into your hands I commend my spirit."

Let the man who slew my enemy

come forward, for I seek to honour him.

Let him fear not, for I swear by the gods

and by the life of my mother Olympias

that I will make him renowned

and exalted over my troops.

Why did you betray, make prisoner

and finally murder Darius?

I did not act alone. We agreed that such

an act would win favour in your eyes.

And the crown of Persia which you had

the arrogance to place upon your head?

- You won hatred and death.

- You swore falsely!

No. You.

For he was both your lord and your

kinsman, and you swore loyalty to him.

I will keep my oath.

You will be exalted above my troops.

Impaled upon a stake, and there be left

for all men to see and remember...

that only a king... may slay a king.

I weep, friends.

I weep for all those Greeks

who did not live long enough

to see such a sight

as Alexander on the throne of Darius.

For Ptolemy, a throne, too.

Thrones for all of you,

for all of you shall be kings.

Hephaestion, Nearchus, Harpalus,

all my companions,

generals, soldiers - kings, all of you.

Ask and it's yours.

Gold, silver, spices,

jewels, slaves, women - yours.

Cleitus! Where's Cleitus?

- Cleitus is drunk.

- And has what he needs.

(laughter)

I, too, like Alexander,

give to you everything I've gained.

For I, too, like Alexander,

am rich enough in glory.

My son, to make yourself

less great would be far better.

To my king,

Alexander of Macedonia, son of Philip,

who led us here and will lead us safely

home again victorious conquerors.

(man) The war is over! Darius is dead!

The city burns!

Our soldiers have set fire to the city.

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