§9τοὐντεῦθεν τὴν σκέψιν ἐποιοῦντο, πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τοῦ χωρίου, δεύτερον δὲ ἥτις ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ ὁ τρόπος ἂν γένοιτο τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως.
Thenceforth they made their investigation, first indeed about the place, and secondly what the beginning and the method of the enterprise would be.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Κοκκωνᾶς τὴν Καλχηδόνα ἐδοκίμαζεν ἐπιτήδειον εἶναι καὶ εὔκαιρον χωρίον, τῇ τε Θρᾴκῃ καὶ τῇ Βιθυνίᾳ πρόσοικον, οὐχ ἑκὰς οὐδὲ τῆς Ἀσίας καὶ Γαλατίας καὶ τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων·
Now Coconnas approved of Chalcedon as being a suitable and convenient place, close to Thrace and Bithynia, and not far also from Asia and Galatia and all the nations lying beyond.
ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος ἔμπαλιν τὰ οἴκοι προὔκρινεν, λέγων ὅπερ ἀληθὲς ἦν, πρὸς τὴν τῶν τοιούτων ἀρχὴν καὶ ἐπιχείρησιν ἀνθρώπων δεῖν παχέων καὶ ἠλιθίων τῶν ὑποδεξομένων, οἵους τοὺς Παφλαγόνας εἶναι ἔφασκεν ὑπεροικοῦντας τὸ τοῦ Ἀβώνου τεῖχος, δεισιδαίμονας τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ πλουσίους, καὶ μόνον εἰ φανείη τις αὐλητὴν ἢ τυμπανιστὴν ἢ κυμβάλοις κροτοῦντα ἐπαγόμενος, κοσκίνῳ τὸ τοῦ λόγου μαντευόμενος, αὐτίκα μάλα πάντας κεχηνότας πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ὥσπερ τινὰ τῶν ἐπουρανίων προσβλέποντας.
Alexander, on the contrary, preferred his own home, saying what was indeed true, that for the beginning and enterprise of such things, there was need of "fat" and foolish men who would receive them, such as he said the Paphlagonians were, who dwelt above Abonoteichus, most of them superstitious and rich, and if only someone should appear bringing a flute-player or a drummer or someone clashing cymbals, prophesying "with a sieve" as the saying goes, immediately indeed they would all gape at him and look upon him as if he were one of the heavenly beings.
§10οὐκ ὀλίγης δὲ τῆς περὶ τοῦτο στάσεως αὐτοῖς γενομένης τέλος ἐνίκησεν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, καὶ ἀφικόμενοι εἰς τὴν Χαλκηδόνα — χρήσιμον γάρ τι ὅμως ἡ πόλις αὐτοῖς ἔχειν ἔδοξε — ἐν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερῷ, ὅπερ ἀρχαιότατόν ἐστι τοῖς Χαλκηδονίοις, κατορύττουσι δέλτους χαλκᾶς, λεγούσας ὡς αὐτίκα μάλα ὁ Ἀσκληπιὸς σὺν τῷ πατρὶ Ἀπόλλωνι μέτεισιν εἰς τὸν Πόντον καὶ καθέξει τὸ τοῦ Ἀβώνου τεῖχος.
When no small dispute arose between them about this, in the end Alexander won, and having come to Chalcedon—for nevertheless the city seemed to have some usefulness for them—in the temple of Apollo, which is the most ancient to the Chalcedonians, they buried bronze tablets, which stated that very shortly Asclepius, with his father Apollo, would move to Pontus and take possession of Abonoteichus.
αὗται αἱ δέλτοι ἐξεπίτηδες εὑρεθεῖσαι διαφοιτῆσαι ῥᾳδίως τὸν λόγον τοῦτον εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν Βιθυνίαν καὶ τὸν Πόντον ἐποίησαν, καὶ πολὺ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἀβώνου τεῖχος· κἀκεῖνοι γὰρ καὶ νεὼν αὐτίκα ἐψηφίσαντο ἐγεῖραι καὶ τοὺς θεμελίους ἤδη ἔσκαπτον.
These tablets, being found on purpose, caused this story to spread easily to all Bithynia and Pontus, and far before the others to Abonoteichus; for those people also immediately voted to raise a temple and were already digging the foundations.
κἀνταῦθα ὁ μὲν Κοκκωνᾶς ἐν Χαλκηδόνι καταλείπεται, διττούς τινας καὶ ἀμφιβόλους καὶ λοξοὺς χρησμοὺς συγγράφων, καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον ἐτελεύτησε τὸν βίον, ὑπὸ ἐχίδνης, οἶμαι, δηχθείς.
And there Coconnas was left behind in Chalcedon, composing double-tongued, ambiguous, and oblique oracles, and after a short time he ended his life, bitten, I believe, by a viper.
§11προεισπέμπεται δὲ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, κομῶν ἤδη καὶ πλοκάμους καθειμένος καὶ μεσόλευκον χιτῶνα πορφυροῦν ἐνδεδυκὼς καὶ ἱμάτιον ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ἀναβεβλημένος, ἅρπην ἔχων κατὰ τὸν Περσέα, ἀφʼ οὗ ἑαυτὸν ἐγενεαλόγει μητρόθεν·
Alexander was sent on ahead, already wearing long hair, letting his locks hang down, dressed in a purple tunic with a white stripe down the center, and with a white cloak thrown over it, holding a sickle like Perseus, from whom he traced his genealogy on his mother's side.
καὶ οἱ ὄλεθροι ἐκεῖνοι Παφλαγόνες, εἰδότες αὐτοῦ ἄμφω τοὺς γονέας ἀφανεῖς καὶ ταπεινούς, ἐπίστευον τῷ χρησμῷ λέγοντι
"
Περσείδης γενεὴν Φοίβῳ φίλος οὗτος ὁρᾶται,
δῖος Ἀλέξανδρος, Ποδαλειρίου αἷμα λελογχώς.
And those ruined Paphlagonians, though they knew that both his parents were obscure and humble, believed the oracle which said: "A descendant of Perseus, dear to Phoebus, is here seen, divine Alexander, who has received the blood of Podalirius.
"
οὕτως ἄρα ὁ Ποδαλείριος μάχλος καὶ γυναικομανὴς τὴν φύσιν, ὡς ἀπὸ Τρίκκης μέχρι Παφλαγονίας στύεσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου μητέρα.
"Thus then Podalirius was so lustful and mad after women by nature, that he was erect all the way from Tricca to Paphlagonia for the sake of Alexander's mother.
εὕρητο δὲ χρησμὸς ἤδη, ὡς Σιβύλλης προμαντευσαμένης· "
Εὐξείνου Πόντοιο παρʼ ᾐόσιν ἄγχι Σινώπης
ἔσται τις κατὰ Τύρσιν ὑπʼ Αὐσονίοισι προφήτης,
ἐκ πρώτης δεικνὺς μονάδος τρισσῶν δεκάδων τε
πένθʼ ἑτέρας μονάδας καὶ εἰκοσάδα τρισάριθμον,
ἀνδρὸς ἀλεξητῆρος ὁμωνυμίην τετράκυκλον.
An oracle had already been found, as if the Sibyl had prophesied: "Near the shores of the Euxine Pontus, close to Sinope, there shall be a certain prophet under the Ausonians near a tower, showing from the first unit and three tens, five other units and a thrice-numbered twenty, having the four-wheeled homonym of the defender-man.
" §12εἰσβαλὼν οὖν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος μετὰ τοιαύτης τραγῳδίας διὰ πολλοῦ εἰς τὴν πατρίδα περίβλεπτός τε καὶ λαμπρὸς ἦν, μεμηνέναι προσποιούμενος ἐνίοτε καὶ ἀφροῦ ὑποπιμπλάμενος τὸ στόμα· ῥᾳδίως δὲ τοῦτο ὑπῆρχεν αὐτῷ, στρουθίου τῆς βαφικῆς βοτάνης τὴν ῥίζαν διαμασησαμένῳ·
"So Alexander, having invaded his homeland with such theatrical play-acting after a long time, was conspicuous and splendid, pretending at times to be mad and filling his mouth with foam; and this was easily managed by him, as he chewed the root of the soapwort, the dyeing herb.
τοῖς δὲ θεῖόν τι καὶ φοβερὸν ἐδόκει καὶ ὁ ἀφρός.
And to them, even the foam seemed to be something divine and awesome.
ἐπεποίητο δὲ αὐτοῖς πάλαι καὶ κατεσκεύαστο κεφαλὴ δράκοντος ὀθονίνη ἀνθρωπόμορφόν τι ἐπιφαίνουσα, κατάγραφος, πάνυ εἰκασμένη, ὑπὸ θριξὶν ἱππείαις ἀνοίγουσά τε καὶ αὖθις ἐπικλείουσα τὸ στόμα· , καὶ γλῶττα οἵα δράκοντος διττὴ μέλαινα προέκυπτεν, ὑπὸ τριχῶν καὶ αὐτὴ ἑλκομένη.
Now they had long ago made and constructed a snake's head of linen, which showed something of a human appearance, painted, very lifelike, opening and closing its mouth by means of horsehair; and a double black tongue like a snake's darted out, it also being pulled by hairs.
καὶ ὁ Πελλαῖος δὲ δράκων προϋπῆρχεν καὶ οἴκοι ἐτρέφετο, κατὰ καιρὸν ἐπιφανησόμενος αὐτοῖς καὶ συντραγῳδήσων, μᾶλλον δὲ πρωταγωνιστὴς ἐσόμενος.
And the Pellaean snake was already available and being kept at home, in order to appear at the right moment to join in their play-acting, or rather to be the chief actor.