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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §18.28.1-18.28.6

Transport of Alexander's Body and Burial in Alexandria

Passage 29 of 301 · Greek

Summary

The magnificent funeral carriage of Alexander, completed after two years, is transported to Egypt, attracting countless spectators along the way. Ptolemy receives the body in Syria and buries it in Alexandria, earning the favor of both men and gods due to his generous character.

§18.28.1ἡ μὲν οὖν ἁρμάμαξα, τοιαύτην ἔχουσα τὴν κατασκευὴν καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁράσεως μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἀπαγγελίας φαινομένη μεγαλοπρεπεστέρα, πολλοὺς ἐπεσπᾶτο θεωροὺς διὰ τὴν περιβόητον δόξαν· οἱ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν πόλεων καθʼ ἃς αἰεὶ γίνοιτο πανδημεὶ συνήντων καὶ πάλιν προέπεμπον, οὐκ ἐμπιμπλάμενοι τῆς κατὰ τὴν θεωρίαν τέρψεως.
Now the carriage, having such a construction and appearing more magnificent to the sight than by report, attracted many spectators because of its far-famed renown; for the people from the cities through which it passed met it in a body and again escorted it on its way, never growing weary of the pleasure of gazing at it.
§18.28.2ἀκολούθως δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ μεγαλοπρεπείᾳ παρηκολούθει πλῆθος ὁδοποιῶν καὶ τεχνιτῶν, ἔτι δὲ τῶν στρατιωτῶν παραπεμπόντων.
And in keeping with this magnificence, a multitude of road-makers and artisans, and moreover of soldiers escorting them, followed along.
Ἀρριδαῖος μὲν οὖν σχεδὸν ἔτη δύο καταναλώσας περὶ τὴν κατασκευὴν τῶν ἔργων ἀπεκόμισε τὸ σῶμα τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος εἰς Αἴγυπτον· §18.28.3Πτολεμαῖος δὲ τιμῶν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον ἀπήντησε μετὰ δυνάμεως μέχρι τῆς Συρίας καὶ παραλαβὼν τὸ σῶμα τῆς μεγίστης φροντίδος ἠξίωσεν.
Now Arrhidaeus, having spent nearly two years on the construction of these works, transported the body of the king from Babylon to Egypt; and Ptolemy, to do honor to Alexander, went to meet it with an army as far as Syria, and receiving the body, deemed it worthy of the greatest care.
ἔκρινε γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος εἰς μὲν Ἄμμωνα μὴ παρακομίζειν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκτισμένην ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πόλιν, ἐπιφανεστάτην οὖσαν σχεδόν τι τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἀποθέσθαι.
For he decided for the present not to carry it to Ammon, but to lay it to rest in the city founded by him, which was nearly the most illustrious of those in the inhabited world.
§18.28.4κατεσκεύασεν οὖν τέμενος κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ κατὰ τὴν κατασκευὴν τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου δόξης ἄξιον, ἐν ᾧ κηδεύσας αὐτὸν καὶ θυσίαις ἡρωικαῖς καὶ ἀγῶσι μεγαλοπρεπέσι τιμήσας οὐ παρʼ ἀνθρώπων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ θεῶν καλὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἔλαβεν.
Accordingly, he prepared a sacred precinct worthy of the fame of Alexander in size and in construction, in which having buried him and having honored him with heroic sacrifices and magnificent games, he received fair rewards not only from men but also from the gods.
§18.28.5οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωποι διὰ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς εὐχάριστον καὶ μεγαλόψυχον συνέτρεχον πάντοθεν εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν καὶ προθύμως ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὴν στρατείαν παρείχοντο, καίπερ τῆς βασιλικῆς δυνάμεως μελλούσης πολεμεῖν πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον, καὶ κινδύνων προδήλων καὶ μεγάλων ὄντων ὅμως ἅπαντες τὴν τούτου σωτηρίαν τοῖς ἰδίοις κινδύνοις ἑκουσίως περιεποιήσαντο· §18.28.6οἱ δὲ θεοὶ διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς φίλους ἐπιείκειαν ἐκ τῶν μεγίστων κινδύνων παραδόξως αὐτὸν διέσωσαν.
For men, on account of his grateful and noble spirit, flocked together from all sides to Alexandria and eagerly offered themselves for military service, even though the royal force was about to make war on Ptolemy, and despite the dangers being obvious and great, they nevertheless all voluntarily secured his safety by their own perils; and the gods, because of his virtue and his kindness toward all his friends, miraculously saved him from the greatest dangers.

Notes

  1. 18.28.1καθʼ ἃς αἰεὶ γίνοιτο — The verb γίνοιτο in the relative clause introduced by ἃς is in the optative mood (optative of iteration in past time), indicating a repeated action in the past (whenever the carriage passed through each city).
  2. 18.28.2τῶν στρατιωτῶν παραπεμπόντων — This phrase can be interpreted either as a genitive absolute ("while the soldiers escorted them") or as a genitive dependent on πλῆθος in parallel with ὁδοποιῶν καὶ τεχνιτῶν ("a multitude of road-makers, artisans, and escorting soldiers"). Here it is taken as a genitive absolute.
  3. 18.28.3τῆς μεγίστης φροντίδος ἠξίωσεν — The verb ἀξιόω (to deem worthy, treat accordingly) takes an accusative of the object treated (here τὸ σῶμα "the body") and a genitive of the value or treatment accorded (τῆς μεγίστης φροντίδος "the greatest care").
  4. 18.28.5τῆς βασιλικῆς δυνάμεως μελλούσης πολεμεῖν — A genitive absolute construction with the participle μελλούσης, used in conjunction with the concessive particle καίπερ to mean "even though the royal force was about to make war."
  5. 18.28.5τοῖς ἰδίοις κινδύνοις — Dative of means or price, indicating that they secured Ptolemy's safety at the cost of, or by means of, their own personal dangers.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §18.28.1-18.28.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc6:18.28.1-18.28.6

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