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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §17.107.1-17.107.6

Self-Immolation of Calanus and the Susa Weddings

Passage 712 of 723 · Greek

Summary

On his way to Susa, Alexander witnesses the suicide of the ailing Indian philosopher Caranus on a pyre. Upon arrival in Susa, the king marries a daughter of Darius and arranges mass marriages between his companions and noble Persian women.

§17.107.1ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς περὶ τούτων διακούσας τοῖς μὲν ἡγουμένοις τοῦ στόλου παρήγγειλεν ἐπὶ τὸν Εὐφράτην καταπλεῦσαι, αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως πολλὴν χώραν διελθὼν συνῆψε τοῖς Σουσιανοῖς ὅροις.
The king, having heard about these things in detail, ordered the commanders of the fleet to sail down to the Euphrates, while he himself, having passed through much territory with his army, reached the borders of Susiana.
περὶ δὲ τοὺς καιροὺς τούτους Κάρανος ὁ Ἰνδός, ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ μεγάλην ἔχων προκοπὴν καὶ τιμώμενος ὑπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου, παράδοξον ἐποιήσατο τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν.
Around this time, Caranus the Indian, who had made great progress in philosophy and was honored by Alexander, brought about an extraordinary end to his life.
§17.107.2βεβιωκὼς γὰρ ἔτη τρία πρὸς τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἀπείρατος γεγονὼς ἀρρωστίας ἔκρινεν ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν μεταστῆσαι ὡς τὸ τέλειον τῆς εὐδαιμονίας παρά τε τῆς φύσεως καὶ τῆς τύχης ἀπειληφώς.
For having lived seventy-three years and having been without experience of sickness during all that time, he decided to depart from life, as if he had received the perfection of happiness from both nature and fortune.
§17.107.3καταπειραθεὶς δʼ ὑπʼ ἀρρωστίας καὶ καθʼ ἡμέραν αἰεὶ μᾶλλον βαρυνόμενος ἠξίωσε τὸν βασιλέα πυρὰν αὐτῷ μεγάλην κατασκευάσαι καὶ προσαναβάντος ἐπὶ ταύτην αὐτοῦ προστάξαι τοῖς ὑπηρέταις πῦρ ἐνεῖναι.
But when he was afflicted by sickness and grew daily more heavily burdened, he requested the king to build a large pyre for him and, when he had climbed upon it, to order his servants to set it on fire.
§17.107.4ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος τὸ μὲν πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἀποτρέπειν ἐπειρᾶτο ταύτης τῆς ἐπιβολῆς, ὡς δʼ οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν, ὡμολόγησε συντελέσειν περὶ ὧν ἠξιωκὼς ἦν.
Alexander at first tried to turn him away from this undertaking, but when he would not listen, he agreed to perform what had been requested of him.
διαγγελθείσης δὲ τῆς πράξεως ἡ μὲν πυρὰ κατεσκευάσθη, τὸ δὲ πλῆθος κατήντησεν ἐπὶ τὴν παράδοξον θέαν.
When the deed was announced, the pyre was prepared, and the multitude gathered for the extraordinary spectacle.
§17.107.5ὁ δὲ Κάρανος ἀκολουθήσας τοῖς ἰδίοις δόγμασι τεθαρρηκότως ἐπέστη τῇ πυρᾷ καὶ μετὰ ταύτης καταφλεχθεὶς ἐτελεύτησεν.
Caranus, following his own doctrines, stood upon the pyre with confidence and, being consumed along with it, met his end.
τῶν δὲ παρόντων οἱ μὲν μανίαν αὐτοῦ κατέγνωσαν, οἱ δὲ κενοδοξίαν ἐπὶ καρτερίᾳ, τινὲς δὲ τὴν εὐψυχίαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου καταφρόνησιν ἐθαύμασαν.
Of those present, some condemned his madness, others condemned it as vanity for the sake of endurance, but some admired his courage and his contempt for death.
§17.107.6ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοῦτον μὲν ἔθαψε πολυτελῶς, αὐτὸς δὲ παρελθὼν εἰς Σοῦσα τὴν μὲν πρεσβυτέραν τῶν Δαρείου θυγατέρων Στάτειραν ἔγημεν, τὴν δὲ νεωτέραν Ἡφαιστίωνι συνῴκισε Δρυπῆτιν.
The king buried him sumptuously, while he himself, coming to Susa, married Stateira, the elder of the daughters of Darius, and united the younger, Drypetis, in marriage with Hephaestion.
ἔπεισε δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους τῶν φίλων γῆμαι καὶ συνῴκισεν αὐτοῖς τὰς εὐγενεστάτας παρθένους Περσίδας.
He also persuaded the most illustrious of his friends to marry, and united them in marriage with the most noble Persian maidens.

Notes

  1. 17.107.1παράδοξον — The adjective παράδοξον is used predicatively with the object τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν (the end of his life), meaning 'he made the end of his life an extraordinary one.'
  2. 17.107.2ὡς... ἀπειληφώς — The conjunction ὡς paired with the active perfect participle ἀπειληφώς (from ἀπολαμβάνω) expresses the subject's subjective reason ('thinking that he had received...'). The perfect tense emphasizes that the perfection of happiness had already been achieved and maintained.
  3. 17.107.3προσαναβάντος ἐπὶ ταύτην αὐτοῦ — A genitive absolute construction, functioning temporally or conditionally ('when he had climbed upon it') within the sequence of infinitives depending on ἠξίωσε τὸν βασιλέα.
  4. 17.107.5κενοδοξίαν ἐπὶ καρτερίᾳ — The verb κατέγνωσαν is omitted from the preceding clause. The preposition ἐπὶ with the dative case means 'on the basis of' or 'for the sake of,' meaning 'vanity on the basis of (or to show off) endurance.'

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §17.107.1-17.107.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:17.107.1-17.107.6

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