The impression made throughout Greece by this barbarous deed was universal; no one dared to think of resistance to Alexander. There was a general desire among the various cities to place themselves in a favorable position with the conqueror. The Arcadians condemned to death those who had advised that aid should be given to the Thebans; in other places the partisans of Macedonia were received back from exile, and haste was made to acquaint Alexander of the general desire to meet his wishes.

The Athenians were celebrating their most solemn religious festival, the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the taking of Thebes was announced. There was widespread consternation, because it was assumed that the next move of Alexander would be made against Athens in order to punish its citizens for their anti-Macedonian sentiments. The celebration of the festival was abandoned; the inhabitants of the open country took refuge within the city walls, in anticipation of the ravaging of their lands, and the fortifications surrounding the city were fully prepared for defense. In spite of the plain dangers involved in showing sympathy for the defeated Thebans, fugitives from that city were received with an open-handed hospitality, and their needs cared for without stint. But at the same time an opening for maintaining amicable relations with the victor was preserved, by sending a formal embassy to Alexander to congratulate him on his return from Illyria and for his quick victory over the rebels in Thebes.

The true situation of affairs in Athens was an open secret. Alexander knew the part played by the Athenians in preparing for the Theban revolt; he knew, too, that they had been on the point of actively and openly co-operating with the Thebans, and that the plan had been frustrated only by the rapidity with which he had moved on the city. Yet the young ruler showed himself unexpectedly placable in his treatment of Athens. There is no reason to attribute his attitude to mere generosity of sentiment in favor of the city because of its glorious past. There were more practical reasons; the siege of Athens could hardly be successful except through command of the sea, and any attempt of this kind would most likely have been frustrated or at least rendered doubtful by the intervention of the Persian fleet.

Instead of advancing into Attica, Alexander stopped to parley, and agreed to abstain from hostilities on condition that the Athenians should promptly expel the Theban fugitives, and also should surrender to him the men who had been lately responsible for the anti-Macedonian direction of the government. It is to the credit of the Athenians that the first condition was without a negative rejected; and as to the second there were many of the anti-democratic faction who would have been glad to get rid of their opponents by agreeing to this indirect demand of the Macedonian king that the government of the city should be handed over to his partisans. Phokion, one of the distinguished and revered members of the oligarchic group, was willing to accept the condition unreservedly; but Demosthenes and Demades, another popular leader, successfully urged the assembly of the people to vote against it, and even Phokion agreed to head an embassy to acquaint Alexander with the decision of the Athenian citizens. The king showed himself ready to compromise, for the success of his schemes against Asia depended largely on the good will of Athens and its fleet. It was finally arranged that the Athenian anti-Macedonian military leader Charidemos should be banished, a proposal to which it was all the easier for the Athenians to accede, because he was not a native Athenian. This officer and several others withdrew to Asia and took service under Darius.

III
THE CONQUEST OF PERSIA

Now that the pacification of Greece was effected by the restoration of Athens as a member of the Macedonian confederacy, Alexander, without visiting that city, marched to the isthmus of Corinth to arrange for the various Greek contingents for his expedition to Asia, and after receiving from the oracle at Delphi a reply encouraging him to carry out his grandiose scheme of conquest, he retired to Macedonia to spend the winter before setting out on his march against the Persian Empire.

Of the details of his proposed invasion nothing is known beyond the fact that his original scheme must have been considerably modified as he penetrated farther into Asia. His geographical knowledge of the interior of the empire could hardly have been sufficient for an orderly mapping out beforehand of the course he actually took. That was entirely governed by the extraordinary series of events which marked the various stages of his expedition. His design was to dethrone the Persian king and secure possession of the country. To do this effectively the first step was to conquer Asia Minor, to get under his control the remoter provinces of Syria and Egypt, and then to advance on Babylon and Susa. That there was immediate necessity for setting his army on the march was plain to him, because of the dangerous position of the Macedonian forces already in Asia Minor. The Persian general, Memnon, had checkmated Parmenio, who was recalled, and the prospects of Macedonian success were blighted by the defeat of another Macedonian general Kallás in the Troad. Before Alexander left his own kingdom, the authority of the Persian government had been generally restored throughout the whole of Asia Minor.

In the spring of 334, Alexander marched to the Hellespont with an army numbering altogether 30,000 infantry and 4500 cavalry. Of these, 12,000 infantry and 1500 cavalry were from Macedon; contingents from the allies made up the rest. There were besides 160 warships, of which Athens furnished twenty. Alexander’s chief military adviser was Parmenio, whom Philip, his father, had declared to be the only Macedonian general he had discovered in many years. Of the subordinate officers the most noteworthy were Philotas, who was in command of the Macedonian cavalry, and Nikanor, who led the álite of the Macedonian infantry (the so-called Hypaspistæ, or the Bodyguards). During the absence of the king, the administration of Macedon and of the subject states was left in the hands of Antipater.

The incompetence of the Persians in aggressive resistance was manifest from the first. They were far superior to the Greeks at sea, and if they had made intelligent use of their fleet they could have prevented Alexander’s army from crossing the Hellespont. Indeed, orders had been issued the year before to the coast cities that their ships should be kept in readiness in anticipation of an invasion. But so slipshod was the administration in the loosely governed provinces of Persia that their great fleet was unable to put to sea when Alexander reached the narrow arm of water which divides Europe from Asia. He had no difficulty in passing; indeed Parmenio was left to superintend this operation, while the young king visited the cities of the Troad rich in legendary lore, and made a pilgrimage to the tomb of his reputed ancestor, Achilles.

The Greeks soon began their march down the coast. The satraps of the neighboring provinces had in the meantime gathered together all the troops available in the Propontis and had joined the army of Memnon. From the statements made in contemporary sources, it is not possible to gather the numerical strength of the army which now opposed Alexander’s advance; it is certain, however, that in infantry the Persians were weaker than the Greeks, while it is probable that they were also outnumbered in cavalry.