The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c25.131

v1.c25.131

The autumn at the new cities was spent in preparing a fleet¹ to transport a part of the army and the horses by water. The conduct of this was entrusted to the Cretan Nearchus. The rest of the army, now swelled by reinforcements from the West², was to accompany them on either bank. Philip, the satrap of the province between the Hydaspes and the Hindu Kush, was ordered to follow three days' journey behind with the force under his command. The scene at setting out is described to us in some detail. It was probably a day in November 326 B.C. At daybreak the king, standing in the sight of all on the prow of his vessel, poured from a golden bowl libations to the Rivers—the Hydaspes, the Acesines, and the Indus—to Heracles his ancestor, to the Egyptian god Amun, and the deities, Greek or foreign, whom he was wont to invoke. Then a trumpet sounded for the start. The fleet presented a picture of impressive order, the grouping and intervals being precisely regulated. But the extraordinary mixture of nationalities and garb must have satisfied the eye with variety and colour, while to the ear the noise of the rowing and the shouts in a hundred different tongues made a bewildering volume of sound. Amongst the crews of the boats the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Cypriots were prominent. Beside the Macedonian and Greek troops, the Indians ran in crowds along the banks, speeding the fleet with songs, 'in their barbaric way,' says the Greek author. 'No nation,' he explains, 'is fonder of singing and dancing than the Indian³.'