ALEXANDER COMES WITH GRACE FAMILY REAL PERSIAN

VALDEMIR MOTA DE MENEZES After the slaughter was over, the Macedonians found in the Persian camp that Darius had left behind his mother, his wife, his two grown daughters, his infant son, and 3,000 talents. There also were very many personal possessions that the Macedonians enthusiastically plundered. On the day after the battle, Alexander visited the wounded and gave a splendid military funeral to the Macedonian and Greek dead. He also gave funeral rites to Persians who had distinguished themselves. As was his practice, Alexander also made sacrifices to the gods for the favor that they'd shown him. And then he tried to relax. Darius' bath and dining tent had been reserved solely for Alexander's use. Almost everything in Darius' bath was made out of wrought gold. Passing into Darius' dining tent, Alexander observed the magnificence of the dining couches, the tables, and the banquet that had been set out for him. Taking it all in, Alexander turned to his companions and said, "So this, it seems, is what it is to be king." This victor did not yet belong to the spoils. On the same night, hearing the laments of Darius' mother, wife, and children, who believed that Darius had been killed, Alexander sent one of his officers, a man named Leonnatus, to tell them that in fact he had got away, and he had survived. Leonnatus also informed the royal ladies that they were to retain all of their royal titles and that no one was going to lay a finger on them. There was another famous story told about the aftermath of the battle. The day after the battle, Alexander and Hephaestion decided to pay the Persian royal women a visit. So they came into the royal tent. And Sisygambis, the mother of Darius, immediately threw herself down on the ground in front of Hephaestion, who apparently was much taller than Alexander. One of her courtiers silently pointed over to Alexander. Alexander turned and said that her error was of no matter, because Hephaestion too was another Alexander. The significance of that is that the name Alexander means a protector of men. The Persian royal women who fell into Alexander's hands after the Battle at Issus were indeed treated with great deference by Alexander and the Macedonians for the rest of the campaign. Although Alexander refused to ransom them back to Darius, he called Sisygambis his mother. And when Darius' wife Stateira died, he gave her a magnificent funeral. It was extremely rare in the history of ancient warfare for captive women to be treated so well.