Βιβλιοθήκη ἱστορική 17.105

17.105.1

εἰς δὲ τὴν τῶν Ὠρειτῶν χώραν διὰ τῶν παρόδων παρεισελθὼν ταχέως ἅπασαν ὑπήκοον ἐποιήσατο. οἱ δὲ Ὠρεῖται τὰ μὲν ἄλλα παραπλήσια τοῖς Ἰνδοῖς ἔχουσιν, ἓν δὲ ἐξηλλαγμένον καὶ παντελῶς ἄπιστον.

Chapter CV. — How the Oritians bury their dead — The Ichthyophagoi described — Sufferings and losses of the army in the Gedrosian desert — Relief sent by various satraps — Leonnatos is attacked by the Oritians
Alexander having stolen into the country of the Oritai by the passes, quickly reduced the whole of it to submission. The Oritai, while in other respects closely resembling the Indians, have one custom which is different, and altogether staggers belief. It has reference to their treatment of the dead. For when a man dies his relatives, naked and holding spears, carry away his body to the oak-coppices which grow in their country, and having there deposited it, and stripped it of the apparel and ornaments with which it is arrayed, they leave it to be devoured by wild beasts. When they have divided the garments which were worn by the deceased, they sacrifice to the heroes now in the under world, and give an entertainment to the members of his household.
Alexander next advanced towards Kedrosia, following the route along the sea-coast. He encountered on the way an inhospitable and utterly savage tribe, for there the natives let their nails grow without ever cutting them from the day they are born to old age, allow their growth of hair to become matted, have complexions scorched with the heat of the sun, and are dressed with the skins of wild beasts. They subsist on the flesh of whales stranded on their shores. Their habitations they prepare by running up walls, and forming the roofs of the ribs of the whale, these supplying beams of a length of 18 cubits. For covering over the roofs they use instead of tiles the scales of fish. Alexander, in passing through the country of these savages, was much distressed by the scarcity of provisions; but in the next country he entered he fared still worse, for it was desert and bare of everything useful to support life. As many perished from sheer want, the stout hearts of the Macedonians yielded to despondency, and Alexander was overwhelmed with no ordinary grief and anxiety; for it seemed a terrible thing that his men, who surpassed all mankind in bravery and in arms, should perish ingloriously in a desert land and in utter destitution. He therefore despatched messengers post-haste into Parthyaia, and Drangiane, and Areia, and the other states bordering on the desert, enjoining them to send quickly to the passes of Karmania dromedaries and other beasts of burden laden with food and other necessaries. These messengers having rapidly performed the journey to the satraps of these provinces, caused ample supplies of provisions to be conveyed to the appointed place. Alexander had, however, before their arrival lost many of his soldiers from his inability to relieve their wants; and afterwards, when he was on the march, some of the Oritai, having attacked the troops commanded by Leonnatos and slain a good many men, escaped scatheless into their own country.

17.105.2

τῶν γὰρ τελευτησάντων παρʼ αὐτοῖς τὰ σώματα ἐκφέρουσιν οἱ συγγενεῖς γυμνοὶ λόγχας ἔχοντες, εἰς δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς χώρας δρυμοὺς θέντες τὸ σῶμα τὸν μὲν περικείμενον τῷ νεκρῷ κόσμον περιαιροῦνται, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ τετελευτηκότος καταλείπουσι βορὰν τοῖς θηρίοις· τὰς δʼ ἐσθῆτας διελόμενοι θύουσι τοῖς κατὰ γῆν ἥρωσι καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ὑποδοχὴν ποιοῦνται.

17.105.3

μετὰ δὲ ταῦθʼ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος προῆγεν ἐπὶ τὴν Κεδρωσίαν, παρὰ θάλατταν τὴν πορείαν ποιούμενος, καὶ κατήντησεν εἰς ἔθνος ἄξενον καὶ παντελῶς θηριῶδες.

17.105.4

τούς τε γὰρ ὄνυχας οἱ τῇδε κατοικοῦντες ἐκ γενετῆς αὔξουσι μέχρι γήρως καὶ τὸ τρίχωμα πεπιλωμένον ἐῶσι, τὸ δὲ χρῶμα διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου θερμότητα κατακεκαυμένον ἔχουσι καὶ δορὰς θηρίων περιβέβληνται.

17.105.5

σιτοῦνται δὲ τὰ ἐκβαλλόμενα κήτη σαρκοφαγοῦντες καὶ τὰς οἰκήσεις κατασκευάζουσι τοὺς μὲν τοίχους ἀνοικοδομοῦντες, τὰς δʼ ὀροφὰς ἐκ τῶν τοῦ κήτους πλευρῶν, ἐξ ὧν ὀκτωκαιδεκαπήχεις δοκοὶ κατηρτίζοντο· ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν κεράμων ταῖς φολίσι τῶν ζῴων τὰς στέγας κατεκάλυπτον.

17.105.6

ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος διελθὼν τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος ἐπιπόνως διὰ σπάνιν τροφῆς ἐνέβαλεν εἰς χώραν ἔρημον καὶ πάντων τῶν εἰς τὸ ζῆν χρησίμων σπανίζουσαν. πολλῶν δὲ διὰ τὴν ἔνδειαν διαφθειρομένων ἥ τε δύναμις τῶν Μακεδόνων ἠθύμησεν καὶ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐνέπεσεν οὐκ εἰς τὴν τυχοῦσαν λύπην τε καὶ φροντίδα· δεινὸν γὰρ ἐφαίνετο τοὺς ἀρετῇ καὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις ἅπαντας ὑπερβαλομένους ἐν ἐρήμῳ χώρᾳ πάντων σπανίζοντας ἀκλεῶς ἀπόλλυσθαι.

17.105.7

διόπερ εὐζώνους ἄνδρας ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς τὴν Παρθυαίαν καὶ Δραγγινὴν καὶ Ἀρίαν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς πλησιοχώρους τῇ ἐρήμῳ, προστάξας ταχέως ἀγαγεῖν ἐπὶ τὰς ἐμβολὰς τῆς Καρμανίας δρομάδας καμήλους καὶ τὰ νωτοφορεῖν εἰωθότα τῶν φορτίων, γεμίσαντας σίτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων.

17.105.8

οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ὀξέως διανύσαντες πρὸς τοὺς σατράπας τούτων τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν ἐποίησαν παρακομισθῆναι πολλὴν ἀγορὰν ἐπὶ τὸν ὡρισμένον τόπον. ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος τὸ μὲν πρῶτον διὰ τὴν ἀβοήθητον ἔνδειαν πολλοὺς ἀπέβαλε τῶν στρατιωτῶν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν πορείαν ὄντος αὐτοῦ τῶν Ὠρειτῶν τινες ἐπιθέμενοι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Λεοννάτον τεταγμένοις καὶ συχνοὺς καταβαλόντες ἀπέφυγον εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν.