s were abundantly
confirmed in the end. Alexander did die in Asia, his vast kingdom at
once fell into pieces, and it was desolated with internal commotions
and civil wars for a long period after his death.

Parmenio and Antipater accordingly advised the king to postpone his
expedition. They advised him to seek a wife among the princesses of
Greece, and then to settle down quietly to the duties of domestic
life, and to the government of his kingdom for a few years; then,
when every thing should have become settled and consolidated in
Greece, and his family was established in the hearts of his
countrymen, he could leave Macedon more safely. Public affairs would
go on more steadily while he lived, and, in case of his death, the
crown would descend, with comparatively little danger of civil
commotion, to his heir.

But Alexander was fully decided against any such policy as this. He
resolved to embark in the great expedition at once. He concluded to
make Antipater his vicegerent in Macedon during his absence, and to
take Parmenio with him into Asia. It will be remembered that Antipater
was the statesman and Parmenio the general; that is, Antipater had
been employed more by Philip in civil, and Parmenio in military
affairs, though in those days every body who was in public life was
more or less a soldier.

Alexander left an army of ten or twelve thousand men with Antipater
for the protection of Macedon. He organized another army of about
thirty-five thousand to go with him. This was considered a very small
army for such a vast undertaking. One or two hundred years before this
time, Darius, a king of Persia, had invaded Greece with an army of
five hundred thousand men, and yet he had been defeated and driven
back, and now Alexander was undertaking to retaliate with a great deal
less than one tenth part of the force.

Of Alexander's army of thirty-five thousand, thirty thousand were foot
soldiers, and about five thousand were horse. More than half the whole
army was from Macedon. The remainder was from the southern states of
Greece. A large body of the horse was from Thessaly, which, as will be
seen on the map,[A] was a country south of Macedon. It was, in fact,
one broad expanded valley, with mountains all around. Torrents
descended from these mountains, forming streams which flowed in
currents more and more deep and slow as they descended into the
plains, and combining at last into one central river, which flowed to
the