e Oracles uttered, whatever that
was, after this sent as an envoy to Athens Alexander the son of Amyntas,
the Macedonian, both because the Persians were connected with him by
marriage, (for Gygaia the sister of Alexander and daughter of Amyntas
had been married to a Persian Bubares, 106 and from her had been born
to him that Amyntas who lived in Asia, having the name of his mother's
father, to whom the king gave Alabanda, 107 a great city of Phrygia,
to possess), and also Mardonios was sending him because he was
informed that Alexander was a public guest-friend and benefactor of the
Athenians; for by this means he thought that he would be most likely to
gain over the Athenians to his side, about whom he heard that they were
a numerous people and brave in war, and of whom he knew moreover that
these were they who more than any others had brought about the disasters
which had befallen the Persians by sea. Therefore if these should be
added to him, he thought that he should easily have command of the sea
(and this in fact would have been the case), while on land he supposed
himself to be already much superior in force. Thus he reckoned that his
power would be much greater than that of the Hellenes. Perhaps also the
Oracles told him this beforehand, counselling him to make the Athenian
his ally, and so he was sending in obedience to their advice.

137. Now of this Alexander the seventh ancestor 108 was that Perdiccas
who first became despot of the Macedonians, and that in the manner which
here follows:--From Argos there fled to the Illyrians three brothers of
the descendents of Temenos, Gauanes, Aeropos, and Perdiccas; and passing
over from the Illyrians into the upper parts of Macedonia they came
to the city of Lebaia. There they became farm-servants for pay in the
household of the king, one pasturing horses, the second oxen, and the
youngest of them, namely Perdiccas, the smaller kinds of cattle; for 109
in ancient times even those who were rulers over men 110 were poor in
money, and not the common people only; and the wife of the king cooked
for them their food herself. And whenever she baked, the loaf of the boy
their servant, namely Perdiccas, became double as large as by nature it
should be. When this happened constantly in the same manner, she told
it to her husband, and he when he heard it conceived forthwith that
this was a portent and tended to something great. He summoned the
farm-servants therefore, and gave noti