normous an army
that everyone thought the Macedonians must be crushed.

[Picture: Second Temple of Diana at Ephesus]

With some skill, Darius' army passed from the East into Cilicia, and thus
got behind Alexander, who had gone two days' march into Syria; but on the
tidings he turned back at once, and found that they had not guarded the
passes between him and them. So he attacked them close to Issus, and
there again gained a great victory. When Darius saw his Immortals giving
way, he was seized with terror, sprang out of his royal chariot, mounted
on horseback, and never rested till he was on the other side of the
Euphrates.

Still there was a sharp fight, and Alexander was slightly wounded in the
thigh; but when all the battle was over he came to the tents of Darius,
and said he would try a Persian bath. He was amused to find it a
spacious curtained hall, full of vessels of gold and silver, perfumes and
ointments, of which the simpler Greeks did not even know the use, and
with a profusion of slaves to administer them. A Persian feast was ready
also; but just as he was going to sit down to it he heard the voice of
weeping and wailing in the next tent, and learned that it came from
Darius' family. He rose at once to go and comfort the old mother,
Sisygambis, and went into her tent with Hephaestion. Both were plainly
dressed, and Hephaestion was the taller, so that the old queen took him
for the king, and threw herself at his feet. When she saw her mistake
she was alarmed, but Alexander consoled her gently by saying, "Be not
dismayed, mother; this is Alexander's other self." And he continued to
treat her with more kindness and respect than she had ever met with
before, even from her own kindred; nor did he ever grieve her but once,
when he showed her a robe, spun, woven, and worked by his mother and
sisters for him, and offered to have her grand-children taught to make
the like. Persian princesses thought it was dignified to have nothing to
do, and Sisygambis fancied he meant to make slaves of them; so that he
had to reassure her, and tell her that the distaff, loom, and needle were
held to give honour to Greek ladies. Darius had fled beyond the rivers,
and Alexander waited to follow till he should have reduced the western
part of the empire. He turned into Syria and Phoenicia, and laid siege
to Tyre, which was built on an island a little way from the sea-shore.
He had no ships, but he began bui