Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/172

 ]40 HISTORY OF GREKOE. Carthaginian envoys, and some cliildren of both sexes. Tiie Si« donians also, displaying a tardy sentiment of kindred, and mak- inff partial amends for the share which they had taken in the capture, preserved some lives from the sword of the conqueror.' But the greater number of the adult freemen perished with arms in their hands ; while 2000 of them who survived, either from disabling wounds, or from the fatigue of the slaughterers, were hanged on the sea-shore by order of Alexander.-^ The females, the children, and the slaves, were sold to the slave-merchant. The number sold is said to have been about 30,000 : a total rather small, as we must assume slaves to be included ; but we are told that many had been previously sent away to Carthage.^ Thus master of Tyre, Alexander marched into the city and consummated his much-desired sacrifice to Herakles. His whole force, land and naval, fully armed and arrayed, took part in the procession. A more costly hecatomb had never been offered to that god, when we consider that it had been purchased by all the toils of an unnecessary siege, and by the extirpation of these free and high-spirited citizens, his former worshippers. What the loss of the Macedonians had been, we cannot say. The number of theu' slain is stated by Arrian at 400, which must be greatly beneath the truth ; for the courage and skill of the be- sieged had prolonged the siege to the prodigious period of seven months, though Alexander had left no means untried to accom- plish it sooner.'* Towards the close of the siege of Tyre, Alexander received and rejected a second proposition from Darius, offering 10,000 talents, with the cession of all the territory westwai-d of the Eu- phrates, as ransom for his mother and wife, and proposing that Alexander should, become his son-in-law as well as his ally. "■ If I were Alexander (said Parmenio) I should accept such terms, 1 Cunius, iv. 4, 15. It is not mentioned by Arrian, and perhaps may not have found a phvee in Ptolemy or Aristobulus; but I see no ground for disbelieving it. •■ Arrian, iv. 24, 9 ; Diodorus, xvii. 46. in spite of this total destruction, Tyre again rose to be a wealthy and floui> ishing city (Strabo, xvi. p. 757).
 * This is mentioned both by Curtius (iv. 4, 17) and bj' Diodorus (xvii. 46)
 * The resuscitating force of commercial industry is seen by the fact, that