Page 792 a poor and indigent People. And how other Scythians again reduc'd Darius to more sober Thoughts of himself, and the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, Xerxes and Clearchus, and Xenophon, Artaxerxes, only with Ten thousand Men; and Darius now overcome by Alexander, when at that time no Divine Honours were decreed to him.
When Calisthenes had spoken these and other things to the same purpose, Alexander took it very heinously; but what he said was very grateful and acceptable to the Macedonians; which being known, Alexander sent some to urge the Macedonians to remember the Adoration of the King; upon which there being a great silence, those among the Persians that were most Eminent for Birth and Honourable for Age, all rose up together, and ador'd him. But Leonatus, one of Alexander's Friends, when he saw one of the Perfians sordidly prostrating himself, he fell a laughing at the poor and mean Gesture of the Persian; at which Alexander was at the first very angry, but was afterwards pacifi'd. Some write, that the King drank in a golden Bowl to them with whom he had made the Compact to adore him in a Ring as they sat, and that the first that pledg'd him, presently arose and ador'd him, and then kiss'd him, and so in order the rest did the same, one after another. But when it came to Calisthenes's turn, he rose up, and drank off the Bowl, and when he had done (without adoring him) drew near to the King to kiss him. Alexander was then accidentally discoursing with Hephestion, and therefore did not mind whether he omitted the Adoration or not. But Demetrius the Son of Pythonax, one of Alexander's Friends, observing when Calisthenes approach'd to kiss Alexander, inform'd him that Calisthenes had not ador'd him, upon which the King turn'd away from him; and thereupon Calisthenes said, he must now be discarded with the Loss of a Kiss.
I cannot indeed praise either any of these things that tended to Alexander's Dishonour, or the Moroseness of Calisthenes; for I conceive it had been enough for him modestly to have carry'd himself, and for him who would serve the King, to promote his Affairs to the best advantage, as far as ever he was able: And therefore I am of Opinion, that Calisthenes was not without just cause hated by Alexander, by reason of the unseasonable liberty of his Speech and foolish Malepertness. For which reason (I believe) Credit was more easily given afterwards to his Accusers, by whom he was charg'd to be in the Conspiracy with the Pages against the King's Life, and to others who affirm'd that they were put on to it by him.
The Conspiracy was thus: There was an Order formerly made by Philip, that from among the Sons of the Macedonian Nobility, when they grew up to Men's estate, choice should be made of some from time to time to attend upon the King, both to be Squires of his Body, and Gentlemen of his Bedchamber: These Youths, when the King was about to ride, receiv'd the Horses from the Querries, and led them to the King, and after the Persian manner help'd him to mount, and waited upon him whenever he went forth a Hunting: Among these, there was one Hermolaus, the Son of Sopolides, who studied Philosophy, and was Scholar to Calisthenes: The Report is, That a wild Boar in the course of Hunting meeting Alexander, this Hermolaus prevented the King (who was aiming at him) and kill'd the Boar. The King hereupon being in a rage to have the Opportunity of killing the Boar snatch'd out of his hand, commanded that the Youth should be whipt in the presence of all the other Pages, and have his Horse taken from him: Which Disgrace he not being able to bear, open'd his Mind to Sostrates, the Son of Amyntas, one of his Companions, of the same Quality, and his Bosom Friend, and declar'd to him that his Life wou'd be but a Burden to him, unless he could revenge the Injury done him upon Alexander; and it was no difficult matter to persuade Sostrates (being his special Friend) to join with him in this Traiterous Conspiracy. Antipater likewise, the Son of Asclep •odorus (Lord Lieutenant of Syria) Epimenes the Son of Arseus, and Anticles the Son of Theocritus, together with Philotas the Son of Carsides the Thracian, were all brought in by him to join in the same Treason. The Night that it came to Antipater's turn to wait in the Bedchamber, was the time pitch'd upon to kill Alexander when he was asleep. But it hapned (as some write) that Alexander that very Night sate up Drinking till Morning. But Aristobulus says, That a certain Woman of Syria pretending to be divinely inspir'd, still follow'd Alexander from place to place, whom Alexander and his Courtiers at first ridicul'd; but when what she had foretold was still verify'd by the Event, she was no longer despis'd by Alexander, but was freely admitted to the King both by night and by day, and often was in his Bed-chamber when he was asleep. 'Tis said at that time this Prophetess by chance met the King as he came from his Cups, and entreated him to return to his Companions, and spend the whole Night in Drinking. Alexander judging it might be a Divine Warning, return'd, and by that means disappointed the Traiterous Designs of the Pages.
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.