Βιβλιοθηκη ιστορικη 17.84

17.84.1

ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις γενομένων τῶν ὅρκων ἡ μὲν βασίλισσα τὴν μεγαλοψυχίαν τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου θαυμάσασα δῶρά τε κράτιστα ἐξέπεμψε καὶ πᾶν τὸ προσταττόμενον ποιήσειν ἐπηγγείλατο. οἱ δὲ μισθοφόροι παραχρῆμα κατὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀπελθόντες καὶ σταδίους ὀγδοήκοντα προελθόντες ἀνεπικωλύτως κατεστρατοπέδευσαν, οὐδεμίαν ἔννοιαν λαμβάνοντες τοῦ μέλλοντος.

When the capitulation on those terms had been ratified by oaths, the Queen [of Massaga], to show her admiration of Alexander's magnanimity, sent out to him most valuable presents, with an intimation that she would fulfil all the stipulations. Then the mercenaries at once, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, evacuated the city, and after retiring to a distance of eighty stadia, pitched their camp unmolested without thought of what was to happen. But Alexander, who was actuated by an implacable enmity against the mercenaries, and had kept his troops under arms ready for action, pursued the barbarians, and falling suddenly upon them, made a great slaughter of their ranks. The barbarians at first loudly protested that they were attacked in violation of sworn obligations, and invoked the gods whom he had desecrated by taking false oaths in their name. But Alexander with loud voice retorted that his covenant merely bound him to let them depart from the city, and was by no means a league of perpetual amity between them and the Macedonians. The mercenaries, undismayed by the greatness of their danger, drew their ranks together in form of a ring, within which they placed the women and children to guard them on all sides against their assailants. As they were now desperate, and by their audacity and feats of valour, made the conflict in which they closed hot work for the enemy, while the Macedonians held it a point of honour not to be outdone in courage by a horde of barbarians, great was the astonishment and alarm which the peril of the crisis created. For as the combatants were locked together fighting hand to hand, death and wounds were dealt round in every variety of form. Thus the Macedonians, when once their long spikes had shattered the shields of the barbarians, pierced their vitals with the steel points of these weapons, and on the other hand the mercenaries never hurled their javelins without deadly effect against the near mark presented by the dense ranks of the enemy. When many were thus wounded and not a few killed, the women, taking the arms of the fallen, fought side by side with the men, for the imminence of the danger and the great interests at stake forced them to do violence to their nature, and to take an active part in the defence. Accordingly some of them who had supplied themselves with arms, did their best to cover their husbands with their shields, while others who were without arms did much to impede the enemy by flinging themselves upon them and catching hold of their shields. The defenders, however, after fighting desperately along with their wives, were at last overpowered by superior numbers, and met a glorious death which they would have disdained to exchange for a life with dishonour. Alexander spared the unwarlike and unarmed multitude, as well as the women that still survived, but took them away under charge of the cavalry.

17.84.2

ὁ δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος ἀμετάθετον ἔχων τὴν πρὸς τοὺς μισθοφόρους ἀλλοτριότητα διεσκευασμένην ἔχων τὴν δύναμιν ἐπηκολούθησε τοῖς βαρβάροις καὶ προσπεσὼν αὐτοῖς ἄφνω πολὺν ἐποίει φόνον. οἱ δὲ μισθοφόροι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐβόων παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους αὑτοὺς πολεμεῖσθαι καὶ τοὺς ἀσεβουμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ θεοὺς ἐπεκαλοῦντο· ὁ δʼ Ἀλέξανδρος μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀνεβόησεν ὅτι συνεχώρησεν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀπελθεῖν, οὐ φίλους εἶναι διὰ παντὸς Μακεδόνων.

17.84.3

οἱ δὲ μισθοφόροι τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κινδύνων οὐ καταπλαγέντες συνεφράξαντο καὶ τὴν ὅλην τάξιν ποιήσαντες κυκλοτερῆ τά τε τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας εἰς μέσον ἀπέλαβον, ὥστε πανταχόθεν τοῖς προσμαχομένοις ἀσφαλῶς ἀντιτάττεσθαι. ἀπονοηθέντων δʼ αὐτῶν καὶ διὰ τὴν τόλμαν καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἀρετὴν ἰσχυρὰν μάχην συστησαμένων καὶ τῶν Μακεδόνων φιλοτιμουμένων μὴ λειφθῆναι τῆς τῶν βαρβάρων ἀνδραγαθίας μεγάλην κατάπληξιν εἶχεν ὁ κίνδυνος.

17.84.4

ἐκ χειρὸς γὰρ τῆς μάχης οὔσης καὶ συμπλεκομένων τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων ἀλλήλοις πολλαὶ καὶ παντοῖαι διαθέσεις θανάτων καὶ τραυμάτων ἐγίνοντο· οἱ γὰρ Μακεδόνες ταῖς σαρίσαις ἀναρρήσσοντες τὰς τῶν βαρβάρων πέλτας τὰς ἀκμὰς τοῦ σιδήρου τοῖς πνεύμοσιν ἐνήρειδον, οἱ δὲ μισθοφόροι τὰς λόγχας ἀκοντίζοντες εἰς ἀθρόους τοὺς πολεμίους οὐχ ἡμάρτανον, σύνεγγυς κειμένου τοῦ σκοποῦ.

17.84.5

διὸ καὶ πολλῶν μὲν τραυματιζομένων, οὐκ ὀλίγων δὲ τελευτώντων αἱ γυναῖκες τὰ τῶν πεσόντων ὅπλα λαμβάνουσαι συνηγωνίζοντο τοῖς ἀνδράσιν· ἡ γὰρ ὀξύτης τοῦ κινδύνου καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐνεργείας δεινὸν ἠνάγκαζεν αὐτὰς παρὰ φύσιν τρέπεσθαι πρὸς ἀλκήν. διὸ καὶ τινὲς μὲν αὐτῶν καθοπλισθεῖσαι συνήσπιζον τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσι, τινὲς δὲ ἄνευ ὅπλων ἐμπίπτουσαι τῶν ἀσπίδων ἐπελαμβάνοντο καὶ πολλὰ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐνεπόδιζον.

17.84.6

τέλος δὲ πάντες μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν ἀγωνισάμενοι καὶ κατακοπέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τὸν ἔνδοξον θάνατον τῆς ἀγεννοῦς φιλοζωίας ἠλλάξαντο. ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος τόν τε ἀχρεῖον καὶ ἄνοπλον ὄχλον καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν τὰς ὑπολειφθείσας ἀπάγων τοὺς ἱππεῖς συνεπέστησεν.