sent his horse back to the ranks of the runners and hypaspists to change the spear, and other riders also attacked the best warriors of Thebes. Nearh saw Filota, Erigy, Ptolemy, repeating the same maneuver, in one of these races Ptolemy still touched with a spear in his hand, after a few seconds it was the turn of Notarch, and he, too, jumped on a horse and sarissa in two hands The Theban’s head, the tip of the spear pierced the copper helmet as an egg shell, and the enemy fell like a podkoshenny, but the warrior from the third row, in despair threw his spear at him, it hit the side of the wheel, when he turned around, he carried it out of the saddle, like extra eaglet from the nest. Nearh immediately immediately felt that he was already lying on the ground, and the wound in his side was bleeding a little, thanks to his father’s strong armor, and Teres was already racing on his horse, swinging his mace, he instantly dismounted, and on the other side Eleftherion ran up, and to them, breaking the ranks and hoping to kill at least him, the best guardsmen of Thebes fled. Kuret rose, threw a small shield from his back into the arm, pulled his sword out of its scabbard with a dry crack, and the fight boiled, for some reason, Neararu remembered that it was all in the manner of Homer’s Iliad the battle for Patroclus’s body (fortunately for him, he did not yet become Patroclus, for after all, while he was still alive). The Macedonian runners rushed to their aid, and the Thebans broke the line, and the battle turned into a bloody massacre. The Cretan man no longer saw the battle; he could only be cut down by a faithful mahaira. He fought together with Teres, and Eleftherion covered the rear, he was able to reach one of the opened Thebans with a chopping blow from the top, and another Teres hit his shoulder with his shestoper, and the enemy’s hand turned into a solid wound, so that his comrades dragged him to the rear. The fight continued, and soon Ptolemy rode up to him with his squires, and bent, clapping him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, from which Nearhs all twisted and hurt his whole body after falling, and a trickle of blood unpleasantly flowed down on his side, on his foot, and flowed into sandals.
– Well done, sorcerer! We broke their line, now we will press, retreat to the rear, where my servants of your horses were caught, armed, and come after us, “said the prince’s bodyguard, and his horse moved into the thick of the battle, covered by runners and hyperspasties. Nearh stumbled to the rear, limping on two legs at once, and saw the servants of Ptolemy holding their horses, Teres immediately ran to them with joyful leaps, but the shestoper did not give up, from which these people who did not know the Thracian close retreated quickly, and this newly appeared Hercules began to joyfully stroke horses and feed them crackers. Eleftherion, seeing the blood on the side and the leg of the owner, began to pull off his armor. What was fun for everyone to remember later was how Hephaestion especially laughed at him, about the fact that he remained in the helmet, but he was naked naked.And that the helmet, without a doubt, he is very beautiful, and looked all around it at his helmet and nothing more. The servant washed his wound, fortunately quite shallow, with wine, and planted from the bag, and put a tight bandage out of a clean canvas. Meanwhile, the battle, which turned into a massacre, ended, forty-six wounded and wounded Thebanian fighters were captured, and Alexander was tormented with them now, trying not to die, he loved everything rare, and two hundred and fifty-four killed fighters lay on the field, and the prince ordered the captive boeotians to dig their grave. Alexander sent for Nearhom, and dressed in a spare chiton, a Cretan man with servants stumbled under a shed, where Alexander was sacred. The fame of the art of the prince spread throughout the army, and the soldiers believed that if Alexander touched them, they would not die from their wounds. Having tied up the Thebans, the prince turned to them: removing the weight of the spilled blood from the soldiers and taking upon itself the weight of it, this dance was performed very rarely, this dance of the purification of filth.
Next to the Macedonian tent, at a distance of stages, the warriors fed the captured Athenians, and one of them noticed Philip’s sacred dance,
“The Macedonians have gone mad with blood,” one said scornfully.
“What to expect from the barbarians,” said another, thoughtfully eating up the Macedonian stew with the freshest flat cake.
Hearing this, the guard swung a spear shaft at them, but the lohag stopped the warrior.
“To the Athenians, any gratitude is alien,” said the Lochag with irony, passing by the captives.
Two thousand Athenians were captured, and the ambassadors from the City had already arrived, with a ransom offer. They met shortly after the Macedonian feast. The messengers reported to the king about the embassy, he met the heralds of the world on a beautiful armchair.
– Hello, Philip, you let the prisoners go home, but your Thracians took their cloaks from them and it will be cold for them to get home, many people may freeze at night, -the Athenian king turned to the king.
“Without any doubt, it will be fair,” Philip replied smiling broadly, he found it amusing. The Athenians left on foot, with donated raincoats and blankets, and the dead Athenians were put in carts, and a whole caravan gathered, and the carriers were the servants of the Athenians captured in battle. The king thought for a while who to send as a messenger of sorrow, and decided that the prince would be the best. Just once, everyone did not split up after the feast, and he addressed his son:
“Alexander, take the bodies to Athens, the mission is not pleasant, but you will be grateful, and you will visit this great city,” his father sighed.
“And you, tsar,” asked the prince, “you could come with me.”
“If I enter the city, they will think that I conquered them, and I want them to invite me,” said Philip with a tone and expression of an unlucky admirer rejected by a beautiful girl – the most beautiful city of Hellas! And some allies asked me to destroy it..
Philip sought not loyalty or fear of the Athenians, but their love. Each person wants more than anything else that he cannot receive, and here the king of Macedonia was no exception.
Alexander took with him supplies, friends from his retinue, silt of horsemen to protect the cargo. Ahead of the caravan, Philip sent a messenger to Demad, the archon of Athens, to his proxen, in order to warn about the embassy. It was necessary to move forward immediately, so the charges were short-lived, and Philip gave another letter for Demades, his acquaintance the king in Athens, that he would receive Alexander as he should, and the necessary money. Alexander took with him Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Nearh, Cassandra, Filotu, Leonnat, Eumenes and Garpal. The embassy moved as quickly as possible along the road from Thebes to the Plateaus, destroyed, but according to rumors, which the formerly expelled townspeople began to restore. Driving past the city, the Macedonians saw that it was true, and although there were only two churches in the city so far, people stubbornly rebuilt their dwellings, they continued their way despite the summer heat, to the Athenian Eleutheras, the border city between Attica and Beotia. But the travelers dropped in and worshiped Gera of Platea, visiting this beautiful temple decorated by Callimachus and Praxitele themselves, as well as the temples of Athena Areea and Demeter, and leaving the caravan for a while, Alexander and his retinue bowed to the monument to the lost Hellenes at the Battle of Plateo against Mardonius. The valley of Kiferon was full of wonders, and the prince did not regret that he had been sent for this sorrowful business, the return of the dead Athenians to their homes. Soon they approached the Eleutheras, where Alexander delivered the carts with the dead Athenians, but indicated that after nine days the carts themselves would be returned to Eleutheria, where the Macedonians would take them. Then the retinue rode in joy, there was no oppressive feeling of mourning, and the young people looked forward to the joy of meeting the beautiful city. The Athenian guides, near the city gates of Athens, demanded that the convoy stay in the field, and Alexander ordered ilyarkha to camp and wait for them here. The retinue, too, remained with a wait to wait for Demad, Philip’s proksen. It took about half a day, and the archon appeared with two servants.
