‘Is it true that my brother is also about to set off on an expedition?’
‘Yes. Towards the East. The invasion of Asia.’
CHILD OF A DREAM
‘And you are to go towards the West and I will be left alone.’
The King took her hand and caressed it for a while in silence.
Then he said, ‘Listen. One day, when Alexander was a guest
here in the palace, he had a dream which I want to tell you
about now
Parmenion looked Alexander in the eyes with disbelief written all over his face. ‘You can’t be serious.’
Alexander put a hand on his shoulder. ‘I have never been so serious in all my life. This was the dream of Philip, my father, and it has always been my dream. We will set off with the first winds of spring.’
‘But, Sire,’ Antipater said, ‘you cannot begin an expedition in this manner.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because in war anything can happen and you have neither a bride nor an heir. You must first take a wife and leave an heir to the throne of Macedon.’
Alexander smiled and shook his head. ‘I hadn’t given it the slightest consideration. Taking a wife is a very long process. We would have to evaluate all the possible candidates for the role of Queen, spend time deciding on the chosen one and then deal with the difficult reactions of all those families who would be excluded from the much sought-after family tie with the throne.
‘There would be the wedding to be prepared the
guest list, the ceremony and all the rest, and then I’d have to make the girl pregnant, which wouldn’t necessarily happen straight away. And then, even if it were to happen, it wouldn’t by any means be certain that it would be a boy and so perhaps I’d have to wait another year. And when my son was finally born I would have to do what Ulysses did with Telemachus leave
him as an infant and see him once again after who knows how long. No, I must set off immediately. My mind is made up.
‘I have called you here not to discuss my wedding, but my expedition to Asia. You two are the pillars of my kingdom, just
as you were for my father, and I intend to confer on you duties which carry the very highest responsibility, and I hope you will accept them.’
‘You know, Sire, that we are loyal to you,’ said Parmenion, who never managed to call the young King by his first name, ‘and we have every intention of serving you for as long as our strength allows us to do so.’
‘I know,’ said Alexander, ‘and I know that this fact makes me a fortunate man. You, Parmenion, will come with me and you will have general command of the entire army, a command second only to that of the King. Antipater will remain in Macedon with all the prerogatives and powers of regent. Only in this way can I leave Pella with peace of mind, safe in the certainty that I am leaving my throne in the hands of the best man possible.’
‘You honour me too much, Sire,’ replied Antipater, ‘especially because the Queen, your mother, will remain at Pella and …’
‘I know perfectly well what you are alluding to, Antipater. But please do not forget the words I am about to pronounce -my mother must not be involved in any way with the government of the kingdom. She is to have no official contact with the foreign delegations and her role will be exclusively representative.
‘Only on your request will she have any part to play in diplomatic relations, and even then under your strictest supervision. I want no interference from the Queen in any affairs of a political nature. You will deal with all such things personally.
‘I want her to be respected and honoured and her every wish should be satisfied whenever possible, but everything must go through your hands you,
and not the Queen, will hold the royal seal.’
Antipater nodded. ‘As you will, Sire. I only hope that this does not create conflicts your
mother is a very strong character and…’
7 will make a public announcement of the fact that you are the one who holds power in my absence and therefore you will be accountable to me and me alone for your decisions. In any case, we will be in constant contact. I will keep you informed of all of my actions and you will do the same, informing me of what happens in the cities of our Greek allies, and what happens among our friends and our enemies alike. And for this reason we will be careful to maintain safe lines of communication open at all times.
‘There will be time to set out all the details of your duties, Antipater, but the fact remains that you are a man I trust and therefore you will have complete freedom in making your decisions. The purpose of this meeting was simply to discover whether the two of you agree to my proposal, and I am very glad you do.’
Alexander got up from his seat and the two old generals did the same as a sign of respect. But before the King left the room, Antipater spoke: ‘Just one thing, Sire. How long do you think the expedition will last and how far do you intend going?’
‘I have no answer to that question, Antipater, because I myself do not know the answer.’
And with a nod he left. The two generals stood alone in the deserted royal armoury and Antipater said, ‘You know, don’t you, that you will have enough provisions and money for just one month?’
Parmenion nodded. ‘I know. But what could I say? His father, in his day, was even worse.’
Alexander returned to his apartments so late that night that all the servants were asleep, apart from the guards watching over his door and Leptine, who was waiting with a lighted lamp to give him his bath, the water already warm and perfumed.
She undressed him and waited for him to climb into the big stone tub, then she poured water on his shoulders from a silver jug. This was something the physician Philip had taught her -the action of the water was an even more delicate massage than
her own hands, it soothed him and relaxed the muscles in his shoulders and neck, the points where all the tiredness and tension concentrated.
Alexander let himself go gradually until he was completely stretched out, and Leptine continued pouring water on his belly and his thighs until he made a sign for her to stop.
She placed the jug on the edge of the bath and, even though the King had not yet said a word to her, she dared to speak first:
‘They say you are about to set off on an expedition, Sire.’
Alexander did not reply and Leptine took a deep breath before continuing, ‘They say you’re going to Asia and I …’
‘You?’
‘I would like to go with you. I beg you -only
I know how to look after you, only I know how to welcome you back home in the evening and get you ready for the night.’
‘You will come,’ replied Alexander as he got out of the bath.
Leptine’s eyes filled with tears, but she said nothing and started drying him delicately with a sheet of linen.
Alexander lay down naked on his bed stretching out his limbs and she stood there for a moment looking at him as if enchanted and then, as she usually did, she undressed and lay down beside him, fondling him gently with her hands and her lips.
‘No,’ said Alexander. ‘Not like that. Tonight I will take you.’ He opened her legs carefully and slid on top of her. Leptine clung to him, gripping his hips in such a way that it was clear she didn’t want to miss an instant of this intimacy which was so dear to her; with her hands she guided the long, continuous thrust of his back, the power of his hips, the very same force which had tamed Bucephalas. And when he relaxed and lay still her face was covered by his hair and she enjoyed its scent as she took deep breaths through it.
‘Will I really be able to come with you?’ she asked when Alexander stretched out on his back by her side.
‘Yes, until at some stage on our march we come across a people whose language you understand -the
mysterious language you sometimes speak in your sleep.’
‘What do you mean, Sire?’
‘Turn over,’ Alexander ordered. Leptine turned her back and he took a lamp and held it above her.
‘Did you know that you have a tattoo on your shoulder? I’ve never seen anything like it before. Yes, you will come with me and perhaps one day we will find someone who will make you remember who you are and where you come from, but there is one thing you must be aware of now: when we are in Asia things won’t be as they are now. It will be another world -other people, other women -and
I too will be different. We have come to the end of one period in my life and another one is beginning. Do you understand what I mean?’
‘I understand, Sire, but for me it will be enough simply to be near you and to know that you are well. I ask no more from life, because I have already had much more from it than I could ever have hoped for.’
47
alexander met the King of Epirus one month before setting out for Asia, at a secret rendezvous in Eordaea. The appointment had been arranged by means of a rapid exchange of messengers and they had not seen each other for more than a year, since Philip’s assassination. Much had happened in that time, not only in Macedon and in Greece, but in Epirus too.
King Alexander had succeeded in uniting all of the tribes of his small mountainous homeland in a confederation that had recognized him as supreme leader and had given him command of and responsibility for training its army. The soldiers of Epirus were all trained after the Macedonian fashion -divided
into phalanxes of heavy infantry and squadrons of cavalry -while
the monarchy had adopted Greek models in terms of ceremony, in minting gold and silver coin, and in dress and behaviour. The King of Epirus and the King of Macedon were now very much mirror images of each other.
As the moment set for the meeting approached, shortly before dawn, the two young men recognized each other from far away and spurred their steeds towards the large plane tree that stood solitary near a spring in the middle of a vast clearing. The mountain shone with a dark yet strangely luminous green colour because of the recent rains and the approaching change of season, while across the sky, which was still dark, a mild wind pushed large white clouds that had come from the direction of the sea.
They dismounted, leaving the horses free to graze, and embraced with youthful enthusiasm.
‘How are you?’ asked Alexander.
‘Fine,’ replied his brother-in-law. ‘I understand you are about to set off.’
‘I hear you are too.’
‘Did Cleopatra tell you?’
‘Rumours.’
‘I wanted to let you know in person.’
‘I understand… thank you.’
‘The city of Tarant, one of the richest in Italy, has asked for my help against the western barbarians who have been making incursions into their territory -the
Brutians and the Lucanians.’
‘I too am responding to a call for help from the Greek cities of Asia in their resistance against the Persians. Isn’t it remarkable? We two have the same name, the same blood, we are both kings and leaders of armies and we are setting off on similar adventures. Do you remember my dream of the two suns?’
‘It’s the first thing that came to my mind when the envoys from Tarant explained their problem. Perhaps in all this there is some message from the gods.’
‘I am certain of it,’ replied Alexander.
‘And so you are not against my going westward?’
‘The only one who might oppose it is Cleopatra. My poor sister -she
has seen her father assassinated on her wedding day and now her husband sets off on an adventure and leaves her abandoned and alone.’
‘I will try to earn her forgiveness. Are you really not against it?’
‘Against it? I am all for it. Listen: if you had not asked me for this meeting, I would have asked you. Do you remember Aristotle’s big map?’
‘There’s a reproduction of it in my palace at Buthrotum.’
‘Greece is the centre of the world in that map, and Delphi is the fulcrum of Greece. Pella and Buthrotum are equidistant from Delphi, and Delphi is equally distant from the extreme West -from the Pillars of Hercules -and
from the far East -where
the waters of the motionless, waveless Ocean lie.
‘You and I must make a solemn oath here, calling on the sky and the earth as witnesses: we must promise to go forth -myself
towards the East and you towards the West -and
we must never stop until we reach the shores of the all-encircling Ocean. And we must swear that should one of us fall by the way, the other will take his place and will continue with our undertaking. We are both setting off without heirs, my friend, and therefore we will each be the other’s heir. Are you willing to do this?’
‘With all my heart, Alexandre,’ said the King of the Molossians.
‘With all my heart, Alexandre,’ said the King of Macedon.
They unsheathed their swords, made incisions on their wrists, and mixed their blood in a small silver cup.
Alexander the Molossian poured some of it onto the soil and then gave the cup to Alexander of Macedon, who threw the rest up into the air, towards the sky. Then the King of Macedon said, ‘The sky and the earth have witnessed our oath. There can be no stronger, no more urgently binding tie. All that remains now is for us to take our leave and to wish each other good luck. We know not when we will see each other again. But when we do, it will truly be a great day, the greatest day the world has ever known.’
The springtime sun was coming into view just at that moment from behind the mountains of Eordaea and it flooded the vast landscape of peaks, valleys and torrents with a sharp, clear light. It made every single drop of dew sparkle, as if the night had rained pearls on the meadows and on the branches of the trees, as if the spiders had woven webs of silver in the dark.
