Page 629 Eritus he sent into Aria; who dying shortly after, was succeeded by Evagoras, a Man of wonderful Valour and Prudence. Oxyatres likewise, the Father of Roxana, was permitted to enjoy the Province of Parapamisus, as he did before: For neither could he eject him without a long expence of Time and a very great Army.
But he sent for Sibyritus, a Well-willer of his, out of Arachosia, and bestow'd upon him the Government of that Province, and gave him the most turbulent of the Silver Shields, under colour of serving him in the War, but in truth with a design to have them all cut off; for he gave him private Instructions to employ them in such Services as that by degrees they might all be destroy'd. Amongst these were those that betray'd Eumenes, that Vengeance might in a short time after overtake these perfidious Villans for their Treachery against their General. For Princes, by reason of their great Power, may reap advantage by the wicked Acts of others; but private Men who are the Actors, for the most part are by those means brought into miserable Disasters.
Antigonus moreover finding that Peucestes was much belov'd in Persia, made it one of his first Works to strip him of that Government. At which all the Natives greatly repin'd; and a Chief Man amongst them call'd Thespias spake openly against it, and said, That the Persians would be govern'd by no other Man but Peucestes; whereupon he flew Thespias, and made Asclepiodorus Governor of Persia, and committed to him a considerable Army; and held on Peucestes with vain Hopes of preferring him with higher Preferments elsewhere, until he had drawn him quite out of the Country.
While Antigonus was on his way to Susa, Xenophilus, who had the keeping of the King's Treasure there, being sent by Seleucus, went and met him at Pasitigris, and offer'd him his Service in whatsoever he pleas'd to command him. Antigonus receiv'd him very graciously, and seem'd as if he honour'd him above all the Friends he had, fearing left he might alter his Mind, and keep him out when he came thither. But when he came into the Castle of Susa, he possess'd himself of it, and there seiz'd upon the Golden Vine, and store of other such Rarieties, to the value of Fifteen thousand Talents: All which he turn'd into ready Money, besides what he made of Crowns of Gold, and other Presents and Spoils taken from the Enemy, amounting to Five thousand Talents more, and a like quantity collected out of Media, besides the Treasure had from Susa; so that in the whole he heap'd together Five and twenty thousand Talents. And thus stood the Affairs of Antigonus at that time.
Since we have handled the Affairs of Asia, we shall now pass over into Europe, and relate what was done there concurring and cotemporary with the former. Cassander having shut up Olympias in Pydna in Macedonia, could not assault the Walls by reason of the Winter Season; but he block'd up the City with his Forces on every side, and drew a Mud-wall from Sea to Sea; and to prevent all Relief by Sea as well as by Land, he guarded the Mouth of the Harbour with his own Shipping. Insomuch as their Provisions being near spent, the Besieg'd were reduc'd to that Extremity of Want, that they were near starv'd. For they were brought to that strait, that every Soldier was allow'd but Five Choenices of Bread-Corn every Month, and the Elephants were fed with Sawdust. At last they kill'd the Draught-Beasts and Horses for Meat.
While the City was in this State, and Olympias earnestly expecting Foreign Aid, the Elephants pin'd away for want of Food. And the Horse-men that were Foreigners almost all dy'd, having no proportion of Bread allotted them, and many of the other Soldiers far'd no better. Some of the Barbarians (Hunger overcoming what Nature would have otherwise dreaded and abhorr'd) fed upon the Carkasses of the Dead.
The Town being now fill'd with dead Bodies, the Colonels and Captains of the King's Guards buri'd some, and threw others over the Walls; insomuch as not only the Queens, (who were bred up deliciously all their Days,) but even the Soldiers, who were always inur'd to Hardship, could not indure the Sight, nor Stink of the Carkasses.
And now the Spring came on, and the Famine increas'd every day, whereupon most of the Soldiers came up in a Body, and intreated Olympias to suffer them to leave the Place because of the Scarcity, who (not being able to supply them with Bread, nor in a condition to raise the Siege) let them go; and they were all kindly received by Cassander, and dispos'd of into several Towns and Cities round about. For he hop'd, that the Macedonians coming to understand by them how weak Olympias was, would conclude her Affairs Desperate and Remediless. And he did not miss the Mark in his Conjecture; for they who were just now sending Relief to the Besieged, presently alter'd their Purpose, and sided with Cassander. Only Aristonous and Monimus of all the Macedonians continu'd firm and faithful to Olympias, of whom Aristonous was Governor of Amphipolis, and the other of Pella. At length Olympias perceiving that many went over to Cassander, and those who were her Friends were not able to help her; without further delay got ready a Galley of
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.