embassies from greece.—fleet prepared for invading arabia.

as he was entering babylon, he was met by embassies from the greeks; but for what purpose each embassy was sent has not been recorded.931 to me indeed it seems probable that most of them came to crown and eulogize him on account of his victories, especially the indian ones, as well as to say that the greeks rejoiced at his safe return from india. it is said that he greeted these men with the right hand, and after paying them suitable honour sent them back. he also gave the ambassadors permission to take with them all the statues of men and images of gods and the other votive offerings which xerxes had carried off from greece to babylon, pasargadae, susa, or any other place in asia. in this way it is said that the brazen statues of harmodius and aristogeiton,932 as well as the monument of the celcaean artemis, were carried back to athens.933

aristobulus says that he found at babylon the fleet with nearchus, which had sailed from the persian sea up the river euphrates; and another which had been conveyed 407from phoenicia, consisting of two phoenician quinqueremes, three quadriremes, twelve triremes, and thirty triacontors. these had been taken to pieces and conveyed to the river euphrates from phoenicia to the city of thapsacus. there they were joined together again and sailed down to babylon. the same writer says that he cut down the cypresses in babylonia and with them built another fleet; for in the land of the assyrians these trees alone are abundant, but of the other things necessary for ship-building this country affords no supply. a multitude of purple-fishers and other sea-faring men came to him from phoenicia and the rest of the seaboard to serve as crews for the ships and perform the other services on board. near babylon he made a harbour by excavation large enough to afford anchorage to 1,000 ships of war; and adjoining the harbour he made dockyards. miccalus the clazomenian934 was despatched to phoenicia and syria with 500 talents935 to enlist some men and to purchase others who were experienced in nautical affairs. for alexander designed to colonize the seaboard near the persian gulf, as well as the islands in that sea. for he thought that this land would become no less prosperous than phoenicia. he made these preparations of the fleet to attack the main body of the arabs,936 under the pretext that they were the only barbarians of this region who had not sent an embassy to him or done anything else becoming their position and showing respect to him. but the truth was, as it seems to me, that alexander was insatiably ambitious of acquiring fresh territory.