Alexander Revisited:
The Final Cut

Gaugamela, Persia 331 B.C – 45 years earlier

Alexander:
In the crack of the Persian line, we’ll go for the head.

Antigonus:
Kill Darius?

Alexander:
The gods had brought him to us, at last.
If I die, it’s one Macedonian. But the Persians, they cannot move without Darius’ command.
Here, right here, we cut the throat of the Persian army.

Parmenion:
This is madness. You’ll never get within 100 paces of him. Have you seen the sheer size of his force, Alexander?

Alexander:
Not if you hold them on the left, my brave Parmenion. With your son, Philotas, for just one, two hours tomorrow. And you, unbreakable Antigonus, the center Phalanx. Perdicass, Leonnatus, Nearchus, Polyperchon. If you pin them on the walls of your sarissas, here in the center, their calvary will follow me out to the right.
And when bold Cassander breaks, stretching their left, a hole will open. Then I and my cavalry –our revered Cleitus, Ptolemy, and Hephaistion will strike through the gap and deal a deathblow to Darius’ head.

Parmenion:
Since when, by the light of Apollo, has cavalry been used to break infantry line?

Alexander:
What wasit we did in Chaeronea, Parmenion?

Parmenion:
Alexander, even with luck, timing, the gods, there’re at least five to our one; which means in truth we must rout the tomorrow, destroy their army completely.
Or we’ll be picked apart by bandit tribes on the long journey home.

Antigonus:
Right.

Alexander:
You speak of home and retreat, but do you understand, Parmenion? Babylon is my new home.

Cassander:
Alexander, if we must fight, do so with stealth. Use your numbers well. We should attack tonight when they least expect us.

Alexander:
I didn’t cross Asia to steal this victory, Cassander.

Cassander:
No, you are too honourable for that. No doubt influenced from sleeping with Tales of Troy under your pillow. But your father was no lover of Homer’s.

Parmenion:
The lands west of the Euphrates, Alexander, the hand of his daughter in marriage. Since when has a Greek been given such honors?

Alexander:
These are not honors, Parmenion, they’re bribes which the Greeks have accepted too long.
Do you forget that the man who murdered my father lies across the valley floor?

Parmenion:
Come, Alexander, we’re still not sure if it was Persian gold behind the assassination. But that is no matter!  Your father taught you never to surrender your reason to your passion.
Now I urge you, with all my experience, regroup. Fall back to the coast, raise a larger force.

Alexander:
I would, if I were Parmenion. But I am Alexander.
And no more than Earth has two suns will Asia bears two kings. These are my terms.
And if Darius isn’t a coward who hides behind his men, then he’ll come to me tomorrow. And when he bows down to Greece, Alexander will be merciful.

Black Cleitus:
By Ares’ chains, he has got balls, men. I mean, give the man his due, Parmenion.
And, lads, feast tonight, for tomorrow we will dine in Hades.

Alexander:
Hephaistion, go!

Macedonian center:
Phalanx leader:
Phalanx!

Darius:
He makes a mistake, Pharnakes.

Pharnakes:
Yes, Great King.

Macedonian left:
Infantry leader:
Be brave, men. Steady on the left, lads! Bend if you must, but never break. And keep watching the cavalry on the left!

Macedonian right:
Alexander:
Pick up the pace!

Antigonus:
Prepare to repel chariots!

Soldier:
Forward!

Alexander:
Cassander!

Cassander:
Forward, men! Soldier: Forward!

Alexander:
Left turn! Soldier: Infantry, clear! Out now!

Crateros:
Hold your positions! Hold your positions!

7 years later

Leonidas:
You don’t need much to fight. When you’re in the front ranks of a battle, facing some Northern barbarian tribe, courage won’t be in the soles of your feet, Perdicass. Or in the thickness of your tunic, Philotas. Or in the lining of your stomach, Nearchus. It’s in the heart of a man.
You don’t need to eat every day or until you’re full, Ptolemy. You don’t need to lie in bed in a morning when you can have some good bean soup, Cassander, after a forced night march.
Come on, Alexander, where’s your hunger to twist Hephaistion’s head off? Is he stronger than you? Then beat him another way.
Come on. Who will respect you as a king? You think because of your father?
The first rule of war is to do what you ask your men to do. No more, no less.
Good, Hephaistion. That’s it. Well, done. Good wrestling, Hephaistion. That’s what I want. Come, come, come. You did well, but you lost. Now, both of you, congratulate the other. Go on.

Young Hephaistion:
Would you want me to let you win, Alexander?

Young Alexander:
You’re right. But I promise you I will beat you one day, Hephaistion.


Aristotle:
Although an inferior race, the Persians control at least four-fifths of the known world.
From Ethiopia and Egypt in the south to Caucasus and the two inland seas in the north.

Aristotle:
They rule, and we sit around like frogs.

Young Nearchus:
Master?

Aristotle:
Yes?

Young
Nearchus: Master, master?

Aristotle:
Out with it. Out with it.

Young Nearchus:
Why are the Persians so cruel?

Aristotle:
Oh, come, on, Nearchus. That is not the subject for today, Nearchus. But…
…It is true that the Oriental races are known for their barbarity and their slavish devotion to their senses. Which are so dull, they castrate young boys such as yourselves, for their sexual pleasure. Yes, excess in all things is the undoing of men. That is why we Greeks are superior. We practise control of our senses. Moderation, we hope.

Young Cassander:
Then what of Achilles of Troy, master? Was he not excessive?

Aristotle:
Achilles simply lacks restraint. He dominates others so completely that even when he withdraws from battle, crazed with grief over his dead lover, Patroclus, he seriously endangers his own army. He is a deeply selfish man.

Young Cassander:
Then would you say the love between Achilles and Patroclus is a corrupting one?

Aristotle:
When men lie together in lust, it is a surrender to the passions and does nothing for the excellence in us. Nor does any other excess, Cassander, jealousy among them. But when men lie together, and knowledge and virtue are passed between them, that is pure and excellent. When they compete to bring out the good, the best in each other, this is the love between men that can build a city-state and lift us from our frog pond.

Young Perdicass:
But can a man love a woman equally, master?

Aristotle:
A woman? Of course not. A woman is a slave to her passion, Hephaistion. Oh, naturally there are exceptions, and we must honor them. Such as Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. But never forget, she is sprung not from the loins of Zeus, but from his mind.
Now, you think on all this, my young frogs, for in you resides the future of Greek civilization. To strive for honor is the highest purpose of all. To rule over our baser emotions. To follow reason, the divine part in each of you. Yes …To love excellence, is truly to love the gods.
Now, would you stop distracting me? Back to geography, things that we know. Is it possible that the source of Egypt’s mighty River Nile could rise in these distant mountains of the outer earth?
If so, an experienced navigator could find his way here, by this river east, down into the great plains of India, out into the eastern ocean at the end of the world and by this route up the Nile, back to Egypt, into the Middle Sea and home to Greece.
Now if only these frogs could look outward and act on their favored position at the center, Greece could rule the world.

Young Alexander:
Why is it, master, in myth, these lands you speak of are known?
India, where Herakles and Dionysus travelled. All these men who went east, Thesues, Jason, Achilles, were victorious. From generation to generation, their stories have been passed on.
Why? Unless there was truth to them.

Aristotle:
Tales of Amazons? Minotaurs, Gorgons, Icarus flying into the sun? No, Alexander.
Only common people believe these tales, as they believe most anything. We are here precisely to educate ourselves against such foolish passions.

Young Alexander:
But if we are superior to the Persians, as you say, why do we not rule them?
It is –it has always been our Greek’s dream to go east. My father long wants it.

Aristotle:
The East has a way of swallowing men and their dreams.

Young Alexander:
But still, to think it’s these myths that lead us forward to the greatest glory. Why is it wrong to act on them?

Aristotle:
I can only warn you, not teach you: Beware of what you dream for, the gods have a way of punishing such pride.

Babylon, Persia 331 B.C. – 13 years later.

Phalanx leader:
Phalanx!


The crowd:
Sikander! Sikander!

Cassander:
Aristotle may have called them barbarians, but he never saw Babylon.
We have enough gold here to support three generations of Macedonian armies.

Alexander:
And Macedonia would soon corrupt, Cassander. “Wealth in great quantities brings the crows.”

Antigonus: Not for the man who fought, I trust.

Alexander:
We’ll pay them well, Antigonus, but not as mercenaries for future services.

Nearchus:
Now you sound like Philip.

Hephaistion:
Philip never saw Babylon.

Ptolemy:
No, he didn’t, Hephaistion.

The boys:
Hello! Hello!

Parmenion:
Alexander, I know you think me a stiff old sod, but whatever our differences, know this day your father would be very proud of you.

Alexander:
Thank you, Parmenion.
I ask you to forgive me, my own anger, my pride. They, too, blind me.

Cassander:
A magnificent mainland work from the last century. The golden age, Alexander. Worth much to Athens and to our alliances.

Alexander:
Take back what is ours but spare what belongs to the Persians.

Ptolemy:
Yes, we’re the richest men to walk the earth, my friends.

Black Cleitus:
Not if you keep giving it all away.

Ptolemy:
The grandsons of goat herders, we now rule 2 million square miles. But, none of you fear that this great fortune may drive us all to destruction.

Alexander:
You overvalue us. For as long as Darius breathes, he is the legitimate king of Asia. And I, but the king of air.

Philotas:
But he has no power, Alexander. He’s lost in the mountains with no army.

Alexander:
As long as he’s lost, Philotas, he can be believed in. Only when he’s found will it be decided.

Parmenion:
It seems that you’ve already made up your mind, Alexander.

Alexander:
We must finish what we failed to do at Gaugamela, Parmenion. We must hunt Darius down.

Parmenion: That was not your father’s mission.

Alexander:
And I am not my father.
Come on, have you so quickly forgotten? Fortune favors the bold!

Balkh, Bactria

Alexander:
Through our union, Greek and barbarian may be reconciled in peace.

Alexander:
On this glorious occasion, I toast this great army that has given so much. And in honor of them, those of you who set out with us seven long years ago, I pronounce all your debs paid forthwith from the royal treasury. 

The soldiers:
Praise Alexander!

Alexander:
And in honor of my bride -my beautiful bride, we recognize the many women who’ve shared the long hard road with us. And grant them dowries befitting a proper marriage.

Black Cleitus:
What about our boys?

Alexander:
And lastly, lastly, the gods demand no less of us that your children be given a proper Greek education and military training under our protection so as to be the new soldiers of our kingdom in Asia.



Parmenion:
Your father must be turning in his grave, Alexander. After all this time, a hill chief’s daughter? You call this tribal wedding legitimate?

Alexander: Do you forget my father took a barbarian as his queen?

Parmenion:
Yes, but few would call it a profoundly happy marriage.

Philotas:
But what’s the point, Alexander? She’s your captive. Just take her as your concubine.

Alexander:
Cos I want a son. Damn you, Philotas.

Philotas:
Then half you nobles have sisters who’d make fine Macedonian mothers.

Alexander:
To take an Asian as my queen, not a captive, is a sign of deep respect for our subject. It will bring us together, unify us. Which is not to say I won’t take a Macedonian.

Philotas: As a second wife? You insult Macedonia.

Antigonus:
Never will our people accept this girl’s son as king. They’ll be angry enough to find out their husbands all have second wives in Barbaria.

Alexander:
Then they’ll learn! By Athena’s justice, this girl has spirit. She’ll breed a brave son.

Polyperchon:
Alexander! This is about the honor of our kingdom.

Parmenion:
Exactly. What can be won, Alexander? We’re in Asia to punish them for their crimes. We’ve achieved that. Seven years from home, now we drift from one far region to another, chasing nomads and bandits when Macedonia bleeds its manpower. For what? To build roads in Asia? To give these people cities?

Black Cleitus:
And now make an army of them?

Alexander:
To found cities and expand our reach is not to drift, Parmenion.

Parmenion:
What benefit to Macedon?

Alexander:
It’s far richer than before!

Parmenion:
Look what you give them.

Nearchus:
With respect, Parmenion, had you fought better at Gaugamela when your flank was crumbling we would’ve had Darius--

Philotas:
How dare you, Nearchus?!

Nearchus:
General Nearchus, to you, boy.

Philotas:
Alexander spread our flank too thin! There was nothing my father, or any of you, could’ve done!

Parmenion:
Philotas! (To Alexander) Alexander, I’ve known you since you were born. I supported you at your father’s death. At the very least, for Zeus’ sake, and in respect to the council that chose you king, give us a Macedonian heir. A Macedonian heir.

Alexander:
You’ve been heard clearly.

Parmenion: But—

Alexander:
Parmenion! After the wedding, take two brigades back to Babylon, where I look to you and Antipater in Greece, to maintain our empire and supply this expedition. I’ll winter in the north with my army at Marakand.

Parmenion:
I pray to Apollo you’ll soon realize how far you’ve turned from your father’s path.

Alexander:
I damn you, Parmenion, by the gods and your Apollo. What was in my father’s guts wasn’t overripe in reason like yours!

Parmenion:
He never lusted for war, Alexander, or enjoyed it so. He consulted his peers in council, among equals, the Macedonian way. He didn’t make decisions based on his personal desires.

Alexander:
I’ve taken us further than my father ever dreamed. Old man… we’re in new worlds.

Cassander:
Alexander, be reasonable! Were they ever meant to be our equals? Share our rewards? You remember what Aristotle said. An Asian? What would a vow mean to a race that’s never kept their word to a Greek? Alexander: Aristotle be damned!

Others:
Alexander!

Alexander:
By Zeus and all the gods, what makes you so much better than them, Cassander? Better than you really are. In you and those like you is this.

Hephaistion:
Alexander.

Alexander:
What disturbs me the most is not your lack of respect for my judgement. It’s your contempt for a world far older than ours.

Nearchus: