Plutarch's Lives: Alexander and Darius Interactions

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/2/2025, 10:02:35 PM

Added description

Description

Plutarch's Lives: Alexander and Darius Interactions

Overview

This item is a Greek-language text excerpting portions of Plutarch’s Lives, specifically the sections that describe the interactions and conflicts between Alexander the Great and Darius III. The material is presented as a single text file (identifier 01KBGGZ2KQZ15CQEE0N0VYHRPM) and is part of the “PINAX” collection. The document is a compilation of narrative passages covering military campaigns, strategic decisions, and personal encounters, with no explicit publication date recorded. It is available in digital form via a placeholder access URL and is currently under unknown copyright status.

Background

Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE) composed the Lives as a series of biographical sketches of notable Greek and Roman figures. The excerpts in this item focus on the Macedonian king Alexander III and the Persian ruler Darius III, drawing from Plutarch’s account of the Battle of Issus and the surrounding campaigns. The text is associated with the Alexander Institute, a modern scholarly institution that curates Greek historical sources. The material was extracted from the original Greek manuscripts and digitized for archival purposes.

Contents

The text includes narrative descriptions of:
  • Alexander’s march through Cilicia and into Syria, and Darius’s movements from Susa toward Cilicia.
  • The Battle of Issus near the Pinarus River, detailing the engagement of the Macedonian phalanx against the Persian army.
  • Strategic choices, such as Darius’s disregard for advice from the defector Amyntas and the subsequent capture of Darius’s chariot, bow, tent, and wealth.
  • Personal details, including Alexander’s thigh wound, a dream reported by the Magus, and the illness that afflicted Darius.
  • Correspondence, notably Alexander’s letter to Antipater describing his wound.
  • Excerpts from pages 275, 279, and 281 of the original Lives manuscript, which are referenced in the metadata.

Scope

The material covers events from the late 4th century BC, focusing on the geographic regions of Cilicia, Syria, Susa, Damascus, and the Pinarus River. It addresses military strategy, political decisions, and personal interactions between the two monarchs. The collection does not include the full Lives of either figure but concentrates solely on the episodes involving Alexander and Darius, providing a concise narrative of their encounters and the outcomes of their conflict.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@alexander:person {full_name: "Alexander III of Macedon", title: "Alexander the Great", role: "King of Macedon"}

@darius:person {full_name: "Darius III", title: "King of Persia", role: "King of the Achaemenid Empire"}

@philip:person {full_name: "Philip II of Macedon", role: "King of Macedon", relation: "father of Alexander"}

@amyntas:person {full_name: "Amyntas", description: "Macedonian defector familiar with Alexander"}

@antipater:person {full_name: "Antipater", role: "Macedonian general"}

@chares:person {full_name: "Chares", role: "historian"}

@magus:organization {type: "Priest", culture: "Magi"}

@physicians:organization {type: "Physicians"}

@persian_army:organization {type: "Army"}

@macedonian_phalanx:organization {type: "Phalanx"}

@cilicia:place {region: "Cilicia"}

@syria:place {region: "Syria"}

@susa:place {city: "Susa"}

@damascus:place {city: "Damascus"}

@pinarus_river:place {description: "River near the battlefield of Issus"}

@cydnus_river:place {description: "River in Cilicia"}

@battle_of_issus:event {description: "Battle between Alexander and Darius near the Pinarus River", location: @pinarus_river}

@alexander_campaign_cilicia:event {description: "Alexander's campaign through Cilicia", where: @cilicia}

@darius_dream:document {content: "Macedonian phalanx on fire, Alexander in royal courier robe"}

@illness:concept {cause: "bath in @cydnus_river", description: "sickness attributed to fatigue or cold water"}

@thigh_wound:concept {source: @darius, description: "sword wound to Alexander's thigh"}

@alexander_letter_to_antipater:document {author: @alexander, recipient: @antipater, content: "description of thigh wound"}

@darius_chariot:object {type: "Chariot"}

@darius_bow:object {type: "Bow"}

@darius_tent:object {type: "Tent"}

@darius_wealth:object {type: "Wealth"}

@alexander_bath:place {description: "Bath of Alexander"}

@darius_bath:place {description: "Bath of Darius"}

@companions:group {description: "Alexander's companions"}

@file_pinax:metadata {title: "Plutarch's Lives: Alexander and Darius Interactions", creator: @alexander, subjects: ["Alexander the Great","Darius III","Macedonian phalanx","Battle of Issus","Ancient Greek history","Military strategy"]}

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_275:file {filename: "plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_275.txt"}

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_279:file {filename: "plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_279.txt"}

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_281:file {filename: "plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_281.txt"}

@alexander -> commanded -> @macedonian_phalanx

@darius -> commanded -> @persian_army {size: 600000, origin: @susa}

@magus -> interpreted -> @darius_dream

@darius -> suffered -> @illness

@physicians -> refused -> @darius {reason: "fear of Macedonian retaliation"}

@amyntas -> advised -> @darius {advice: "remain in passes, fight decisive battle"}

@darius -> ignored -> @amyntas

@darius -> marched_into -> @cilicia

@alexander -> marched_into -> @syria

@darius -> missed_encounter_with -> @alexander {time: "night"}

@alexander -> missed_encounter_with -> @darius {time: "night"}

@battle_of_issus -> resulted_in -> @darius_chariot {captured_by: @alexander}

@battle_of_issus -> resulted_in -> @darius_bow {captured_by: @alexander}

@battle_of_issus -> resulted_in -> @darius_tent {captured_by: @alexander}

@battle_of_issus -> resulted_in -> @darius_wealth {captured_by: @alexander}

@alexander -> sustained_wound -> @thigh_wound

@chares -> reported -> @thigh_wound {source: @darius}

@alexander -> wrote -> @alexander_letter_to_antipater

@alexander_letter_to_antipater -> mentions -> @thigh_wound

@alexander -> took -> [@darius_chariot, @darius_bow, @darius_tent, @darius_wealth]

@alexander -> bathed_in -> @alexander_bath {reason: "wash off battle sweat"}

@companions -> suggested -> @alexander_bath {reason: "conqueror's property"}

@file_pinax -> metadata_about -> [@alexander, @darius, @battle_of_issus]

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_275 -> contains_excerpt_of -> @battle_of_issus

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_279 -> contains_excerpt_of -> @battle_of_issus

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_281 -> contains_excerpt_of -> @battle_of_issus

Metadata

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/2/2025, 10:02:35 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/2/2025, 9:58:32 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/2/2025, 9:54:44 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/2/2025, 9:49:58 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: plutarch_lives_alexander_darius_interactions"

Additional Components

plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_275.txt
Plutarch’s Lives

ἐπίδοξος ἦν Ἀλεξάνδρῳ πολλὰ πράγματα
καὶ μυρίας ἀντιλήψεις καὶ ἀσχολίας παρέξειν,
4ἐπερρώσθη πρὸς τὴν ἄνω στρατείαν μᾶλλον. ἤδη
δὲ καὶ Δαρεῖος ἐκ Σούσων κατέβαινεν, ἐπαιρόμενός
τε τῷ πλήθει τῆς δυνάμεως (ἑξήκοντα γὰρ
ἦγε μυριάδας στρατοῦ), καί τινος ὀνείρου θαρρύνοντος
αὐτόν, ὃν οἱ μάγοι πρὸς χάριν ἐξηγοῦντο
μᾶλλον ἢ κατὰ τὸ εἰκός. ἔδοξε γὰρ πυρὶ νέμεσθαι
πολλῷ τὴν Μακεδόνων φάλαγγα, τὸν δὲ
Ἀλέξανδρον ἔχοντα στολὴν ἣν αὐτὸς ἐφόρει πρότερον
ἀστάνδης ὢν βασιλέως, ὑπηρετεῖν αὐτῷ·
παρελθόντα δὲ εἰς τὸ τοῦ Βήλου τέμενος ἀφανῆ
5γενέσθαι. διὰ τούτων, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὑπεδηλοῦτο
παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λαμπρὰ μὲν γενήσεσθαι καὶ περιφανῆ
τὰ τῶν Μακεδόνων, Ἀλέξανδρον δὲ τῆς
μὲν Ἀσίας κρατήσειν, ὥσπερ ἐκράτησε Δαρεῖος
ἐξ ἀστάνδου βασιλεὺς γενόμενος, ταχὺ δὲ σὺν
δόξῃ τὸν βίον ἀπολείψειν.


XIX. Ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐθάρρησε καταγνοὺς
δειλίαν Ἀλεξάνδρου πολὺν χρόνον ἐν Κιλικίᾳ
διατρίψαντος. ἦν δὲ ἡ διατριβὴ διὰ νόσον, ἣν οἱ
μὲν ἐκ κόπων, οἱ δὲ λουσαμένῳ ἐν τῷ τοῦ Κύδνου
2ῥεύματι καταπαγέντι1 προσπεσεῖν λέγουσι. τῶν
μὲν οὖν ἄλλων ἰατρῶν οὐδεὶς ἐθάρρει βοηθήσειν,
ἀλλὰ τὸν κίνδυνον οἰόμενοι πάσης ἰσχυρότερον
εἶναι βοηθείας ἐφοβοῦντο τὴν ἐκ τοῦ σφαλῆναι
διαβολὴν πρὸς τοὺς Μακεδόνας· Φίλιππος δ᾿ ὁ

1καταπαγέντι Bekker reads καὶ καταπαγέντι (and got chilled).274Alexander, xix.

sea-board, who was thought likely to give Alexander abundant trouble and infinite annoyance, he was all the more encouraged for his expedition into the interior. Moreover, Dareius was already coming down to the coast from Susa, exalted in spirit by the magnitude of his forces (for he was leading an army of six hundred thousand men), and also encouraged by a certain dream, which the Magi interpreted in a way to please him rather than as the probabilities demanded. For he dreamed that the Macedonian phalanx was all on fire, and that Alexander, attired in a robe which he himself formerly used to wear when he was a royal courier, was waiting upon him, after which service he passed into the temple of Belus and disappeared. By this means, as it would seem, it was suggested to Dareius from Heaven that the exploits of the Macedonians would be conspicuous and brilliant, that Alexander would be master of Asia, just as Dareius became its master when he was made king instead of royal courier, and would speedily end his life with glory.


XIX. Dareius was still more encouraged by Alexander’s long delay in Cilicia, which he attributed to cowardice. The delay was due, however, to a sickness, which assailed him in consequence of fatigues, according to some,1 but according to others, because he took a bath in the river Cydnus, whose waters were icy cold. Be that as it may, none of the other physicians had the courage to administer remedies, but thinking that the danger was too great to be overcome by any remedy whatever, they were afraid of the charges which would be made against them by the Macedonians in consequence of their failure;


1So Aristobulus (Arrian, Anab. ii. 4, 7).275
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_279.txt
Plutarch’s Lives

οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ ταχέως ἀναληφθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλίππου
καὶ ῥαΐσας αὑτὸν ἐπέδειξε τοῖς Μακεδόσιν·
οὐ γὰρ ἐπαύοντο πρὶν ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον
ἀθυμοῦντες.


XX. Ἦν δέ τις ἐν τῷ Δαρείου στρατῷ πεφευγὼς
ἐκ Μακεδονίας ἀνὴρ Μακεδών, Ἀμύντας,
οὐκ ἄπειρος τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου φύσεως. οὗτος
ὡρμημένον ἰδὼν Δαρεῖον εἴσω τῶν στενῶν βαδίζειν
ἐπ᾿ Ἀλέξανδρον, ἐδεῖτο κατὰ χώραν ὑπομένειν,
ἐν πλάτος ἔχουσι πεδίοις καὶ ἀναπεπταμένοις
πρὸς ἐλάττονας πλήθει τοσούτῳ διαμαχούμενον.
2ἀποκριναμένου δὲ Δαρείου δεδιέναι μὴ
φθάσωσιν αὐτὸν ἀποδράντες οἱ πολέμιοι καὶ
διαφυγὼν Ἀλέξανδρος, “Ἀλλὰ τούτου γε,” εἶπεν,
“ὦ βασιλεῦ, χάριν θάρρει· βαδιεῖται γὰρ ἐκεῖνος
ἐπὶ σέ, καὶ σχεδὸν ἤδη βαδίζει.” ταῦτα λέγων
Ἀμύντας οὐκ ἔπειθεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύετο
Δαρεῖος εἰς Κιλικίαν, ἅμα δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος εἰς
3Συρίαν ἐπ᾿ ἐκεῖνον. ἐν δὲ τῇ νυκτὶ διαμαρτόντες
ἀλλήλων αὖθις ἀνέστρεφον, Ἀλέξανδρος μὲν
ἡδόμενός τε τῇ συντυχίᾳ καὶ σπεύδων ἀπαντῆσαι
περὶ τὰ στενά, Δαρεῖος δὲ τὴν προτέραν ἀναλαβεῖν
στρατοπεδείαν καὶ τῶν στενῶν ἐξελίξαι
τὴν δύναμιν. ἤδη γὰρ ἐγνώκει παρὰ τὸ συμφέρον
ἐμβεβληκὼς ἑαυτὸν εἰς χωρία θαλάττῃ καὶ ὄρεσι
καὶ ποταμῷ διὰ μέσου ῥέοντι τῷ Πινάρῳ δύσιππα,
καὶ διεσπασμένα πολλαχοῦ, καὶ πρὸς
τῆς ὀλιγότητος τῶν πολεμίων ἔχοντα τὴν θέσιν.
4Ἀλεξάνδρῳ δὲ τὸν μὲν τόπον ἡ τύχη παρέσχεν,
278Alexander, xx.

was speedily restored to his senses by Philip, and when he had recovered strength he showed himself to the Macedonians, who refused to be comforted until they had seen Alexander.


XX. Now, there was in the army of Dareius a certain Macedonian who had fled from his country, Amyntas by name, and he was well acquainted with the nature of Alexander. This man, when he saw that Dareius was eager to attack Alexander within the narrow passes of the mountains, begged him to remain where he was, that he might fight a decisive battle with his vast forces against inferior numbers in plains that were broad and spacious. And when Dareius replied that he was afraid the enemy would run away before he could get at them, and Alexander thus escape him, “Indeed,” said Amyntas, “on this point, O king, thou mayest be without fear; for he will march against thee, nay, at this very moment, probably, he is on the march.” Dareius would not listen to these words of Amyntas, but broke camp and marched into Cilicia, and at the same time Alexander marched into Syria against him. But having missed one another in the night, they both turned back again, Alexander rejoicing in his good fortune, and eager to meet his enemy in the passes, while Dareius was as eager to extricate his forces from the passes and regain his former camping-ground. For he already saw that he had done wrong to throw himself into places which were rendered unfit for cavalry by sea and mountains and a river running through the middle (the Pinarus), which were broken up in many parts, and favoured the small numbers of his enemy. And not only was the place for the battle a gift of Fortune to Alexander, but
279
plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_281.txt
Plutarch’s Lives

ἐστρατήγησε δὲ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης ὑπαρχόντων
πρὸς τὸ νικῆσαι βέλτιον, ὅς γε τοσούτῳ πλήθει
τῶν βαρβάρων λειπόμενος ἐκείνοις μὲν οὐ παρέσχε
κύκλωσιν, αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ δεξιῷ τὸ εὐώνυμον
ὑπερβαλὼν καὶ γενόμενος κατὰ κέρας φυγὴν
ἐποίησε τῶν καθ᾿ αὑτὸν βαρβάρων, ἐν πρώτοις
ἀγωνιζόμενος, ὥστε τρωθῆναι ξίφει τὸν μηρόν, ὡς
μὲν Χάρης φησίν, ὑπὸ Δαρείου (συμπεσεῖν γὰρ
5αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖρας), Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ περὶ τῆς
μάχης ἐπιστέλλων τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀντίπατρον
οὐκ εἴρηκεν ὅστις ἦν ὁ τρώσας, ὅτι δὲ τρωθείη
τὸν μηρὸν ἐγχειριδίῳ, δυσχερὲς δ᾿ οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ
τραύματος συμβαίη γέγραφε.
Νικήσας δὲ λαμπρῶς καὶ καταβαλὼν ὑπὲρ
ἕνδεκα μυριάδας τῶν πολεμίων, Δαρεῖον μὲν οὐχ
εἷλε τέτταρας σταδίους ἢ πέντε προλαβόντα τῇ
φυγῇ, τὸ δὲ ἅρμα καὶ τὸ τόξον αὐτοῦ λαβὼν
6ἐπανῆλθε· καὶ κατέλαβε τοὺς Μακεδόνας τὸν μὲν
ἄλλον πλοῦτον ἐκ τοῦ βαρβαρικοῦ στρατοπέδου
φέροντας καὶ ἄγοντας ὑπερβάλλοντα πλήθει,
καίπερ εὐζώνων πρὸς τὴν μάχην παραγενομένων
καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς ἀποσκευῆς ἐν Δαμασκῷ
καταλιπόντων, τὴν δὲ Δαρείου σκηνὴν ἐξῃρηκότας676
ἐκείνῳ, θεραπείας τε λαμπρᾶς καὶ παρασκευῆς
7καὶ χρημάτων πολλῶν γέμουσαν. εὐθὺς οὖν
ἀποδυσάμενος τὰ ὅπλα πρὸς τὸ λουτρὸν ἐβάδιζεν,
εἰπών· “Ἴωμεν ἀπολουσόμενοι τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς μάχης
ἱδρῶτα τῷ Δαρείου λουτρῷ.” καί τις τῶν
ἑταίρων “Μὰ τὸν Δία” εἶπεν, “ἀλλὰ τῷ
Ἀλεξάνδρου· τὰ γὰρ τῶν ἡττωμένων εἶναί τε δεῖ
8καὶ προσαγορεύεσθαι τοῦ κρατοῦντος.” ὡς δὲ
280Alexander, xx.

his generalship was better than the provisions of Fortune for his victory. For since he was so vastly inferior in numbers to the Barbarians, he gave them no opportunity to encircle him, but, leading his right wing in person, extended it past the enemy’s left, got on their flank, and routed the Barbarians who were opposed to him, fighting among the foremost, so that he got a sword-wound in the thigh. Chares says this wound was given him by Dareius, with whom he had a hand-to-hand combat, but Alexander, in a letter to Antipater about the battle, did not say who it was that gave him the wound; he wrote that he had been wounded in the thigh with a dagger, but that no serious harm resulted from the wound.
Although he won a brilliant victory and destroyed more than a hundred and ten thousand of his enemies, he did not capture Dareius, who got a start of four or five furlongs in his flight; but he did take the king’s chariot, and his bow, before he came back from the pursuit. He found his Macedonians carrying off the wealth from the camp of the Barbarians, and the wealth was of surpassing abundance, although its owners had come to the battle in light marching order and had left most of their baggage in Damascus; he found, too, that his men had picked out for him the tent of Dareius, which was full to overflowing with gorgeous servitors and furniture, and many treasures. Straightway, then, Alexander put off his armour and went to the bath, saying: “Let us go and wash off the sweat of the battle in the bath of Dareius.” “No, indeed,” said one of his companions, “but rather in that of Alexander; for the property of the conquered must belong to the conqueror, and be called his.” And when he
281

Parent

01KBGGN1T4Q5BEWJ7ERJ092K1G

No children (leaf entity)