exploration of the caspian.—the chaldaean soothsayers.

after this, alexander sent heraclides, son of argaeus, into hyrcania in command of a company of shipwrights, with orders to cut timber from the hyrcanian mountains and with it to construct a number of ships of war, some without decks and others with decks after the grecian fashion of ship-building.917 for he was very desirous of discovering with what sea the one called the hyrcanian or caspian unites; whether it communicates with the water of the euxine sea, or whether the great sea comes right round from the eastern sea, which is near india and flows up into the hyrcanian gulf; just as he had discovered that the persian sea, which was called the red sea, is really a gulf of the great sea.918 for the 401sources of the caspian sea had not yet been discovered, although many nations dwell around it, and navigable rivers discharge their waters into it. from bactria, the oxus, the largest of asiatic rivers, those of india excepted, discharges itself into this sea919; and through scythia flows the jaxartes.920 the general account is, that the araxes also, which flows from armenia, falls into the same sea.921 these are the largest; but many others flow into these, while others again discharge themselves directly into this sea. some of these were known to those who visited these nations with alexander; others are situated towards the farther side of the gulf, as it seems, in the country of the nomadic scythians, a district which is quite unknown.

when alexander had crossed the river tigres with his army and was marching to babylon, he was met by the chaldaean philosophers922; who, having led him away from his companions, besought him to suspend his march to that city. for they said that an oracular declaration had been made to them by the god belus, that his entrance into babylon at that time would not be for his good. but he answered their speech with a line from the poet euripides to this effect: “he the best prophet is that guesses well.”923 but said the chaldaeans:—“o king, do not at any rate enter the city looking towards the west, 402nor leading the army advancing in that direction; but rather go right round towards the east.” but this did not turn out to be easy for him, on account of the difficulty of the ground; for the deity was leading him to the place where entering he was doomed soon to die. and perhaps it was better for him to be taken off in the very acme of his glory as well as of the affection entertained for him by men, before any of the vicissitudes natural to man befell him. probably this was the reason solon advised croesus to look at the end of a long life, and not before pronounce any man happy.924 yea indeed, hephaestion’s death had been no small misfortune to alexander; and i think he would rather have departed before it occurred than have been alive to experience it; no less than achilles, as it seems to me, would rather have died before patroclus than have been the avenger of his death.