Plutarch's Lives: Alexander's Treatment of Captives

Version: 5 (current) | Updated: 12/3/2025, 3:27:07 AM

removed "pinax" from description

Description

Alexander the Great’s Treatment of Darius III’s Captives: Plutarch Excerpt and Structured Data

Overview

This collection comprises two complementary items that document Alexander the Great’s conduct toward the captives of Darius III after a decisive battle. The first item is a Greek-language excerpt from Plutarch’s Lives (page 283) that describes Alexander’s humane treatment of the Persian king’s family. The second item is a JSON file that encodes the same episode in a structured format, identifying key persons, events, documents, and the relationships among them.

Background

Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE) wrote Parallel Lives in the early first century BCE, offering biographical sketches of Greek and Roman figures. His account of Alexander’s conduct toward Darius’s family is a primary source for historians of the Macedonian conquest. The accompanying JSON dataset was produced in the 21st century to provide a machine-readable representation of the narrative, facilitating digital analysis and cross-referencing with other historical records.

Contents

  • Text File – The original Greek passage from Plutarch, detailing Alexander’s permission for the burial of Persians, provision of clothing, and generous allowances to the captives.
  • JSON File – Defines entities such as the event “Alexander Captives Treatment,” persons (Darius’s mother, wife, two daughters, Macedonian officer Leonnatus), and documents (the message to captives and the Plutarch excerpt). It records relationships: Alexander’s humane treatment of each captive, Leonnatus’s delivery of a reassuring message, and Alexander’s permissions and provisions.

Scope

The materials focus narrowly on the immediate aftermath of a battle involving Alexander and Darius III, emphasizing the treatment of the Persian king’s family. They cover the period of Alexander’s campaign in the Persian Empire and the specific humane policies he applied to captives. The collection does not include broader accounts of Alexander’s military strategy, other campaigns, or the wider context of Persian history. It is valuable for scholars studying ancient warfare, diplomatic conduct, and the historiography of Alexander the Great.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@alexander_captives_treatment:event {description: "Alexander the Great's humane treatment of the captive family of Darius III after a battle, allowing burial, provision of clothing, and generous allowances."}

@darius_mother:person {role: "mother of Darius III", status: "captive"}

@darius_wife:person {role: "wife of Darius III", status: "captive"}

@darius_daughter1:person {role: "unmarried daughter of Darius III", status: "captive"}

@darius_daughter2:person {role: "unmarried daughter of Darius III", status: "captive"}

@leonnatus:person {role: "Macedonian officer", affiliation: @alexander}

@message_to_captives:document {type: "messenger report", content: "Darius is not dead; fear not Alexander."}

@plutarch_lives_excerpt:document {source: @file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_283, author: @plutarch, language: "grc", excerpt_of: @alexander_captives_treatment:event}


@file_pinax -> documents -> @plutarch_lives_excerpt:document

@file_plutarch_lives_alexanderpage_283 -> contains -> @plutarch_lives_excerpt:document


@alexander -> treated -> [@darius_mother, @darius_wife, @darius_daughter1, @darius_daughter2] {manner: "humane", context: "captivity"}

@alexander -> sent -> @leonnatus {order: "inform captives that Darius is not dead", purpose: @message_to_captives}

@leonnatus -> delivered -> @message_to_captives:document {to: [@darius_mother, @darius_wife, @darius_daughter1, @darius_daughter2]}

@alexander -> permitted -> @darius_wife {action: "burial of Persians", permission: true}

@alexander -> provided -> @darius_wife {raiment: "spoil clothing", adornment: "spoil"} 

@alexander -> maintained -> @darius_wife {honourable_maintenance: true, allowances: "larger than before"}

Metadata

Version History (5 versions)

  • ✓ v5 (current) · 12/3/2025, 3:27:07 AM
    "removed "pinax" from description"
  • v4 · 12/2/2025, 10:02:56 PM · View this version
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/2/2025, 9:58:07 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/2/2025, 9:54:42 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/2/2025, 9:50:00 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: plutarch_lives_alexander_captives_treatment"

Additional Components

plutarch_lives_alexanderPage_283.txt
Plutarch’s Lives

εἶδε μὲν ὅλκια καὶ κρωσσοὺς καὶ πυέλους καὶ
ἀλαβάστρους, πάντα χρυσοῦ, ἠσκημένα περιττῶς,
ὠδώδει δὲ θεσπέσιον οἷον ὑπὸ ἀρωμάτων καὶ
μύρων ὁ οἶκος, ἐκ δὲ τούτου παρῆλθεν εἰς σκηνὴν
ὕψει τε καὶ μεγέθει καὶ τῷ περὶ τὴν στρωμνὴν
καὶ τραπέζας καὶ τὸ δεῖπνον αὐτοῦ κόσμῳ θαύματος
ἀξίαν, διαβλέψας πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους, “Τοῦτο
ἦν, ὡς ἔοικεν,” ἔφη, “τὸ βασιλεύειν.”


XXI. Τρεπομένῳ δὲ πρὸς τὸ δεῖπνον αὐτῷ
φράζει τις ἐν τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ἀγομένας μητέρα
καὶ γυναῖκα Δαρείου καὶ θυγατέρας δύο παρθένους
ἰδούσας τὸ ἅρμα καὶ τὰ τόξα κόπτεσθαι καὶ
θρηνεῖν, ὡς ἀπολωλότος ἐκείνου. συχνὸν οὖν
ἐπισχὼν χρόνον Ἀλέξανδρος, καὶ ταῖς ἐκείνων
τύχαις μᾶλλον ἢ ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ ἐμπαθὴς γενόμενος,
πέμπει Λεοννάτον, ἀπαγγεῖλαι κελεύσας ὡς οὔτε
Δαρεῖος τέθνηκεν οὔτε Ἀλέξανδρον δεδιέναι χρή·
2Δαρείῳ γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἡγεμονίας πολεμεῖν, ἐκείναις δὲ
πάντα ὑπάρξειν ὧν καὶ Δαρείου βασιλεύοντος
ἠξιοῦντο. τοῦ δὲ λόγου ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἡμέρου
καὶ χρηστοῦ φανέντος ἔτι μᾶλλον τὰ τῶν ἔργων
ἀπήντα φιλάνθρωπα. θάψαι γὰρ ὅσους ἐβούλοντο
Περσῶν ἔδωκεν, ἐσθῆτι καὶ κόσμῳ χρησαμέναις
ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων, θεραπείας τε καὶ τιμῆς
ἣν εἶχον οὐδ᾿ ὁτιοῦν ἀφεῖλε, συντάξεις δὲ καὶ μείζονας
3ἐκαρποῦντο τῶν προτέρων. ἡ δὲ καλλίστη
καὶ βασιλικωτάτη χάρις ἦν παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ γυναιξὶ
γενναίαις γενομέναις αἰχμαλώτοις καὶ σώφροσι
μήτε ἀκοῦσαί τι μήτε ὑπονοῆσαι μήτε προσδοκῆσαι
282Alexander, xxi.

saw the basins and pitchers and tubs and caskets, all of gold, and curiously wrought, while the apartment was marvellously fragrant with spices and unguents, and when he passed from this into a tent which was worthy of admiration for its size and height, and for the adornment of the couch and tables and banquet prepared for him, he turned his eyes upon his companions and said: “This, as it would seem, is to be a king.”


XXI. As he was betaking himself to supper, someone told him that among the prisoners were the mother, wife, and two unmarried daughters of Dareius,
and that at sight of his chariot and bow they beat their breasts and lamented, believing that he was dead. Accordingly, after a considerable pause, more affected by their affliction than by his own success, he sent Leonnatus, with orders to tell them that Dareius was not dead, and that they need have no fear of Alexander; for it was Dareius upon whom he was waging war for supremacy, but they should have everything which they used to think their due when Dareius was undisputed king. If this message was thought by the women to be mild and kindly, still more did the actions of Alexander prove to be humane. For he gave them permission to bury whom they pleased of the Persians, and to use for this purpose raiment and adornment from the spoils, and he abated not one jot of their honourable maintenance, nay, they enjoyed even larger allowances than before. But the most honourable and most princely favour which these noble and chaste women received from him in their captivity was that they neither heard, nor suspected, nor
283

Parent

01KBGGN1T4Q5BEWJ7ERJ092K1G

No children (leaf entity)