Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/286

 254 HISTORY OF GREECE. and exuberant vigor as himself — laid liis mind open to gloomy for<v bodino-s from numerous omens, as well as to jealous mistrust even of Ills oldest officers. Antipater especially, no longer protected against the calumnies of Olympias by the support of Hepha;stion,' fell more and more into discredit ; whilst his son Kassander, who had recently come into Asia with a Macedonian reinforcement, underwent from Alexander during irascible moments much in- sulting violence. In spite of the dissuasive warning of the Chal- dean priests,^ Alexander had been persuaded to distrust their sincerity, and had entered Babylon, though not without hesitation and uneasiness. However, when, after having entered the town, he went out of it again safely on his expedition for the survey of the lower Euphrates, he conceived himself to have exposed them as deceitful alarmists, and returned to the city with in- creased confidence, for the obsequies of his deceased friend.' The sacrifices connected with these obsequies were on the most prodigious scale. Victims enougli were offered to furnish a feast for the army, who also received ample distributions of wine. Alexander himself presided at the feast, and abandoned himself to conviviality like the rest. Already full of wine, he was per- suaded by his friend Medius to sup with him, and to pass the whole night in yet farther drinking, with the boisterous indul- 1 Plutarch, Alex. 74 ; Diodor. xvil. 114. ■^ Arrian, vii. 16, 9; vii. 17, 6. Plutarch, Alex. 73. Diodor. xvii. 112. ^ Arrian, vii. 22, 1. Avrbg 6e uc £ ^ eXiy §ag d?j tuv XaXaiofV /lav- reiav, on ovdiv rreTToviSwf elr] Iv Ba(3v?icjvi uxapi, {u/.V e(p-&7) yap ekaaai e|w Bo/3i;/lut'0f -Kplv ti na^Eiv) uvcTiXei aMcg Karu tu eIt] i?a/5/ScD v, etc. The uneasiness here caused by these prophecies and omens, in the mind S)f the most fearless man of his age, is worthy of notice as a psychological fact, and is perfectly attested by the authority of Aristobulus and Nearclms. It appears that Anaxarchus and other Grecian philosophers encouraged him by their reasonings to despise all prophecy, but especially that of the Chaldaian priests ; who (they alleged) wished to keep Alexander out of Babylon in order that they might continue to possess the large revenues of the temple of Belus, which they had wrongfully appropriated ; Alexander being disposed to rebuild that ruined temple, and to re-establish the sus- pended sacrifices to which its revenues had been originally devoted (Ar- rian, vii. 17; Diodor. xvii. 112). Not many days afterwards, Alexander greatly repented of having given way to these dangerous rcasoners, who by their sophistical cavils set aside the power and the warnings of destiny •Diodor. xvii. 116).