Alexander saw these heroes, and, accompanied by the Eters, rode up to them.
Surrender, I swear, I will let you all go home, he shouted to this detachment of braves, We were enemies, its all over, I dont want to kill you, and the least thing will still drive you out of the city, this is the best outcome for you. Can you and your families suggest Alexandropol to exile. Your servants will bring your families there later.
The Thebans thought for a long time and agreed, and the prince ordered Nearh to send Teres with the wounded to Alexandropol, two days later the servants of the townsfolk came with carts in which the wounded were families, and they moved to Thrace. And the most interesting is that everyone whom young Argead was treating did not die.
Later, Alexander came to the wounded Macedonians, Nearh helped him. The young man worked as a simple doctor, not churayas blood, easing the suffering of people. Nearh saw that Alexander was terribly tired, his already very bright face, which had never sunburnt, was gray with the pain and fear of others. Nearh then heard for the first time how the prince began to speak, whispered as if with himself: To drag, but not to overtighten Tighten the skin on the inlay and glue together with a plaster and tighten
Kuret saw a seriously wounded man, wearing a tunic drenched in blood, with his eyes closed, and called Alexander.
Im not Elicia, shes smoking, Im not raising the dead and not battling Tanat, he said in a different, hollow voice. Humble yourself, Nearh, hes already dead, he said in his usual tone, and tapped the Cretan on the shoulder. Let me see you, you never know, you are also wounded, I examined everyone, you alone remained.
Néarch did not argue, and took off his chiton, and Aristotles student quickly unwound the bandage, examined the canvas on the wound, quickly wiped it, suddenly grabbed the edges of the wound, pulled it slightly, overlapping the edges of the cut skin with each other and fixed it with glue and tightly bandaged.
Then thank you, and your wife will like it, he said, grinning, And you fought bravely, becoming a real rider. Come on, you have to wash and eat.
Simple warriors happily greeted the Eters who came out of the tent.
Thank you, Alexander, now for sure our friends will survive, they will not die! Alexander our king, Philip our commander the warriors shouted, and Nearh was slightly frightened here, and Alexander smiled happily, accepting thanks to experienced warriors covered with scars, with simple weapons in their hands, who had gained Macedonia and this victory.
And in a separate pile laid down the weapons of the Sacred Squad, forbidding him to touch the name of the prince. Ten cataphracts, twenty runners and thirty-five hypaspists were killed in battle, and on the flank of Philip eight hundred and fifty lightly armed. The battle was over.
World after war, hegemony
Lightly armed began to walk around the field, collecting weapons and valuables, but Philip forbade removing clothes from dead enemies, although usually the dead were robbed by naked. The king was going to take a ransom for the dead Thebans, the Athenians immediately announced that he would not take a ransom for the return of the bodies and for the prisoners, too, the signing of a compulsory union would be the price. For the Thebans there were more stringent demands the Macedonian garrison must be in the Cadmea, and it is maintained at the expense of the city, and Plateia and Orchomen must be restored.
Philip decided to drive around the battlefield with commanders, when the dead were still gathered from this mournful place. The king carefully examined the places where more warriors died, and there was no joy on his face. The warriors had already finished burying the Macedonians and their allies, and the captured Thebans buried their soldiers under the guard of the Macedonians, the Sacred Squad was buried separately from others.
Immediately, next to the field, he ordered a shed to be laid out, and armchairs were placed for the commanders of the troops, the pages brought tables with food and wine, and they were sent for Alexander. The guests began to move in to Philip, he personally met everyone and thanked and seated, and the pages immediately poured wine to the guest.
For Philip, the winner! Shouted the experienced fighters, the kings companions, For the victory over Athens and Thebes, the commanders of the troops immediately proclaimed,
Im not looking for the authorities, but the unity of Hellas, their leader replied to his comrades-in-arms, and did not want to shed blood.
What now, ashamed of victory, Attal said.
I will make a sacrifice according to the old custom, I will redeem the spilled blood, said the king, and ordered to bring himself a shepherds fur coat, a staff, and call for the flutists. When they brought the required, he undressed himself, put on a fur cloak, took the staff and went barefoot on the field, where there were no dead.
Play Pirrich, warriors, Philip ordered, and to the frantic rhythm of the instruments, he began to move to the beat of the music, offering a sacrifice to the gods with dance,
We are already at home here, Alexander, the Thebans shouted to him, Youre the guest!
Well, the prince shouted at them, I will honor you!
Ila line up, runners and hypaspists stand in the back of the head for equestrian, squires help the wounded! he quickly commanded, and the warriors ran his orders running, running high-horse cataphracts, lined up in powerful armor, slinging up huge sarissas, and among them was Alexander and all his friends.
Marsh, march, through one, with spears, forward, in a youthful voice, commanded by a fair-haired leader, and on Bukefale, the first, holding a sarissa with two hands, directed her to one of the Thebans, they also took spears at the ready and covered themselves with shields. But can this shield protect against the impact of a long spear of a cataphract? There was an overwhelming crash, and the shield burst like a nut, and a fragment of a spear that broke at the moment of impact, broke through the chest of a brave foot soldier, and Alexander already sent his horse back to the ranks of the runners and hypaspists to change the spear, and other riders also attacked the best warriors of Thebes. Nearh saw Filota, Erigy, Ptolemy, repeating the same maneuver, in one of these races Ptolemy still touched with a spear in his hand, after a few seconds it was the turn of Notarch, and he, too, jumped on a horse and sarissa in two hands The Thebans head, the tip of the spear pierced the copper helmet as an egg shell, and the enemy fell like a podkoshenny, but the warrior from the third row, in despair threw his spear at him, it hit the side of the wheel, when he turned around, he carried it out of the saddle, like extra eaglet from the nest. Nearh immediately immediately felt that he was already lying on the ground, and the wound in his side was bleeding a little, thanks to his fathers strong armor, and Teres was already racing on his horse, swinging his mace, he instantly dismounted, and on the other side Eleftherion ran up, and to them, breaking the ranks and hoping to kill at least him, the best guardsmen of Thebes fled. Kuret rose, threw a small shield from his back into the arm, pulled his sword out of its scabbard with a dry crack, and the fight boiled, for some reason, Neararu remembered that it was all in the manner of Homers Iliad the battle for Patrocluss body (fortunately for him, he did not yet become Patroclus, for after all, while he was still alive). The Macedonian runners rushed to their aid, and the Thebans broke the line, and the battle turned into a bloody massacre. The Cretan man no longer saw the battle; he could only be cut down by a faithful mahaira. He fought together with Teres, and Eleftherion covered the rear, he was able to reach one of the opened Thebans with a chopping blow from the top, and another Teres hit his shoulder with his shestoper, and the enemys hand turned into a solid wound, so that his comrades dragged him to the rear. The fight continued, and soon Ptolemy rode up to him with his squires, and bent, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, from which Nearhs all twisted and hurt his whole body after falling, and a trickle of blood unpleasantly flowed down on his side, on his foot, and flowed into sandals.
Marsh, march, through one, with spears, forward, in a youthful voice, commanded by a fair-haired leader, and on Bukefale, the first, holding a sarissa with two hands, directed her to one of the Thebans, they also took spears at the ready and covered themselves with shields. But can this shield protect against the impact of a long spear of a cataphract? There was an overwhelming crash, and the shield burst like a nut, and a fragment of a spear that broke at the moment of impact, broke through the chest of a brave foot soldier, and Alexander already sent his horse back to the ranks of the runners and hypaspists to change the spear, and other riders also attacked the best warriors of Thebes. Nearh saw Filota, Erigy, Ptolemy, repeating the same maneuver, in one of these races Ptolemy still touched with a spear in his hand, after a few seconds it was the turn of Notarch, and he, too, jumped on a horse and sarissa in two hands The Thebans head, the tip of the spear pierced the copper helmet as an egg shell, and the enemy fell like a podkoshenny, but the warrior from the third row, in despair threw his spear at him, it hit the side of the wheel, when he turned around, he carried it out of the saddle, like extra eaglet from the nest. Nearh immediately immediately felt that he was already lying on the ground, and the wound in his side was bleeding a little, thanks to his fathers strong armor, and Teres was already racing on his horse, swinging his mace, he instantly dismounted, and on the other side Eleftherion ran up, and to them, breaking the ranks and hoping to kill at least him, the best guardsmen of Thebes fled. Kuret rose, threw a small shield from his back into the arm, pulled his sword out of its scabbard with a dry crack, and the fight boiled, for some reason, Neararu remembered that it was all in the manner of Homers Iliad the battle for Patrocluss body (fortunately for him, he did not yet become Patroclus, for after all, while he was still alive). The Macedonian runners rushed to their aid, and the Thebans broke the line, and the battle turned into a bloody massacre. The Cretan man no longer saw the battle; he could only be cut down by a faithful mahaira. He fought together with Teres, and Eleftherion covered the rear, he was able to reach one of the opened Thebans with a chopping blow from the top, and another Teres hit his shoulder with his shestoper, and the enemys hand turned into a solid wound, so that his comrades dragged him to the rear. The fight continued, and soon Ptolemy rode up to him with his squires, and bent, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, from which Nearhs all twisted and hurt his whole body after falling, and a trickle of blood unpleasantly flowed down on his side, on his foot, and flowed into sandals.
Well done, sorcerer! We broke their line, now we will press, retreat to the rear, where my servants of your horses were caught, armed, and come after us, said the princes bodyguard, and his horse moved into the thick of the battle, covered by runners and hyperspasties. Nearh stumbled to the rear, limping on two legs at once, and saw the servants of Ptolemy holding their horses, Teres immediately ran to them with joyful leaps, but the shestoper did not give up, from which these people who did not know the Thracian close retreated quickly, and this newly appeared Hercules began to joyfully stroke horses and feed them crackers. Eleftherion, seeing the blood on the side and the leg of the owner, began to pull off his armor. What was fun for everyone to remember later was how Hephaestion especially laughed at him, about the fact that he remained in the helmet, but he was naked naked.And that the helmet, without a doubt, he is very beautiful, and looked all around it at his helmet and nothing more. The servant washed his wound, fortunately quite shallow, with wine, and planted from the bag, and put a tight bandage out of a clean canvas. Meanwhile, the battle, which turned into a massacre, ended, forty-six wounded and wounded Thebanian fighters were captured, and Alexander was tormented with them now, trying not to die, he loved everything rare, and two hundred and fifty-four killed fighters lay on the field, and the prince ordered the captive boeotians to dig their grave. Alexander sent for Nearhom, and dressed in a spare chiton, a Cretan man with servants stumbled under a shed, where Alexander was sacred. The fame of the art of the prince spread throughout the army, and the soldiers believed that if Alexander touched them, they would not die from their wounds. Having tied up the Thebans, the prince turned to them: removing the weight of the spilled blood from the soldiers and taking upon itself the weight of it, this dance was performed very rarely, this dance of the purification of filth.
Next to the Macedonian tent, at a distance of stages, the warriors fed the captured Athenians, and one of them noticed Philips sacred dance,
The Macedonians have gone mad with blood, one said scornfully.
What to expect from the barbarians, said another, thoughtfully eating up the Macedonian stew with the freshest flat cake.
Hearing this, the guard swung a spear shaft at them, but the lohag stopped the warrior.
To the Athenians, any gratitude is alien, said the Lochag with irony, passing by the captives.
Two thousand Athenians were captured, and the ambassadors from the City had already arrived, with a ransom offer. They met shortly after the Macedonian feast. The messengers reported to the king about the embassy, he met the heralds of the world on a beautiful armchair.
Hello, Philip, you let the prisoners go home, but your Thracians took their cloaks from them and it will be cold for them to get home, many people may freeze at night, -the Athenian king turned to the king.
Without any doubt, it will be fair, Philip replied smiling broadly, he found it amusing. The Athenians left on foot, with donated raincoats and blankets, and the dead Athenians were put in carts, and a whole caravan gathered, and the carriers were the servants of the Athenians captured in battle. The king thought for a while who to send as a messenger of sorrow, and decided that the prince would be the best. Just once, everyone did not split up after the feast, and he addressed his son:
Alexander, take the bodies to Athens, the mission is not pleasant, but you will be grateful, and you will visit this great city, his father sighed.
And you, tsar, asked the prince, you could come with me.
If I enter the city, they will think that I conquered them, and I want them to invite me, said Philip with a tone and expression of an unlucky admirer rejected by a beautiful girl the most beautiful city of Hellas! And some allies asked me to destroy it..
Philip sought not loyalty or fear of the Athenians, but their love. Each person wants more than anything else that he cannot receive, and here the king of Macedonia was no exception.
Alexander took with him supplies, friends from his retinue, silt of horsemen to protect the cargo. Ahead of the caravan, Philip sent a messenger to Demad, the archon of Athens, to his proxen, in order to warn about the embassy. It was necessary to move forward immediately, so the charges were short-lived, and Philip gave another letter for Demades, his acquaintance the king in Athens, that he would receive Alexander as he should, and the necessary money. Alexander took with him Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Nearh, Cassandra, Filotu, Leonnat, Eumenes and Garpal. The embassy moved as quickly as possible along the road from Thebes to the Plateaus, destroyed, but according to rumors, which the formerly expelled townspeople began to restore. Driving past the city, the Macedonians saw that it was true, and although there were only two churches in the city so far, people stubbornly rebuilt their dwellings, they continued their way despite the summer heat, to the Athenian Eleutheras, the border city between Attica and Beotia. But the travelers dropped in and worshiped Gera of Platea, visiting this beautiful temple decorated by Callimachus and Praxitele themselves, as well as the temples of Athena Areea and Demeter, and leaving the caravan for a while, Alexander and his retinue bowed to the monument to the lost Hellenes at the Battle of Plateo against Mardonius. The valley of Kiferon was full of wonders, and the prince did not regret that he had been sent for this sorrowful business, the return of the dead Athenians to their homes. Soon they approached the Eleutheras, where Alexander delivered the carts with the dead Athenians, but indicated that after nine days the carts themselves would be returned to Eleutheria, where the Macedonians would take them. Then the retinue rode in joy, there was no oppressive feeling of mourning, and the young people looked forward to the joy of meeting the beautiful city. The Athenian guides, near the city gates of Athens, demanded that the convoy stay in the field, and Alexander ordered ilyarkha to camp and wait for them here. The retinue, too, remained with a wait to wait for Demad, Philips proksen. It took about half a day, and the archon appeared with two servants. He was a man of about forty, with a small black beard and short hair, dressed in a long tunic and cloak, relatively modest, and he did not wear any jewelry, except the ring on his right hand.