Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/277

 INTENDED EXPEDITION OF ALEXANDER. 245 ander's pardon. Presently he came out, and was himself iLoved to tears by seeing their prostrate deportment. After testifying his full reconciliation, he caused a solemn sacrifice to be cele- oiated, coupled Avith a multitudinous banquet of mixed Mace- donians and Persians. The Grecian prophets, the Persian magi and all the guests present, united in prayer and libation for fu- fion, harmony, and community of empire, between the two na- tions.'^ This complete victory over his own soldiers was probably as gratifying to Alexander as any one gained during his past life ; carrymg as it did a consoling retribution for the memorable stoppage on the banks of the Hyphasis, which he had neither forgotten nor forgiven. He selected 10,000 of the oldest and most exhausted among the soldiers to be sent home under Kra- terus, giving to each full pay until the time of arrival in Mace- donia, with a donation of one talent besides. He intended that Kraterus, who was in bad health, should remain in Europe as viceroy of Macedonia, and that Antipater should come out to Asia with a reinforcement of troops.^ Pursuant to this resolu- tion, the 10,000 soldiers were now singled out for return, and separated from the main array. Yet it does not appear that they actually did return, during the ten months of Alexander's re- maining life. Of the important edict issued this summer by Alexander to the Grecian cities, and read at the Olympic festival in July — directing each city to recall its exiled citizens — I shall speak in a future chapter. He had now accomphshed his object of or- ganizing a land force, half Macedonian, half Asiatic. But since the expedition of Nearchus, he had become bent upon a large extension of his naval force also '; which was indeed an indispen- sable condition towards his immediate projects of conquei'ing Arabia, and of pushing both nautical exploration and aggrandize- ment from the Persian Gulf round the Arabian coast. He de- 1 Arrian, vii. 11. with the Macedonian soldiers, because he had always opposed, as much as he dared, the Oriental transformation of AlexauJer (Hutareli, Eume- nes, 6). 21*
 * Arrian, vii. 12, 1-7 ; Justin, xii. 12. Kraterus was especially popular