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.

Macedonian left:
Philotas:
Father! We must fall back to the gully, Father!

Parmenion:
No, hold! Where is he? We’re far too thin! Get word to Alexander! Move!

Soldier:
Yes, sir.

Macedonian right:
Alexander:
Come, Macedonians! Ride! Ride! Drive for the hole!

Soldiers:
Drive for the hole! Drive for the hole!

Macedonian center:

Darius:
Prince Merdicus, bring these men up.

Macedonian left:
Parmenion:
Back and to the left! Back and to the left!

Soldier:
General!

Soldier:
Get to your home! And go home fast.

Parmenion:
I cannot see! Philotas! Philotas!

Philotas:
Father.

Parmenion:
Go. Tell Alexander yourself. And if he won’t listen, then survive me and avenge this betrayal!

Macedonian center:
Black Cleitus:
Pay attention, lad! Your father still watches over you!

Alexander:
Darius!
(to Hephaistion) Find your horses.
Darius!

Darius:
Go! Go!

Alexander:
We can reach those mountains by sunset, go all night and catch Darius at dawn. Provision the horses!

Philotas:
Alexander! Alexander, my father’s lost. They’ve overrun the flank! They’re into the baggage train.

Hephaistion:
Parmenion’s crumbling.

Ptolemy:
Alexander, if you chase him, you risk losing your army here.

Alexander:
And if we capture him, we gain an empire.
 “You can run to the end of the earth, you coward! But you’ll never run far enough!”
To Parmenion!

Philip:
Is that the best you can do, Cleitus? Back to the phalanx with you, I’ll ride him myself.

Black Cleitus:
No one will ride that beast, Your Majesty. Not with your leg. He’s been beaten far too often.

Horse seller:
My noble king, he’s a high-spirited animal, yes. High-spirited and worthy of Philip of Macedon. For three and a half talents, I couldn’t possibly make a profit of him, but for you --

Philip:
Why would I need such a beast? I already have a wife.

Olympias:
(To Alexander) Do I seem so old?

Horse sellers:
Stay down, stay down. Hold him!

Philip:
A broken neck comes free. He’s too nervous for battle. Sell him for meat.

Young Alexander:
Buy him for me, father. I’ll ride him.

Philip:
And if you don’t?

Young Alexander:
I’ll pay for him myself.

Philip:
With what, your singing voice?

Young Alexander:
I’ll pay you!

Philip:
I tell you, that horse can’t be ridden, lad. His mind is broken.

Young Alexander:
He can be ridden. By me.

Philip:
If you can rule that horse, I’ll make him yours. (To the horse seller)…at half the price.

Black Cleitus:
That horse will kill him, Philip. He’ll break the boy in two.

Philip:
Will he? Perhaps she’ll make a musician out of him yet.

Young Alexander:
(To Bucephalus) You don’t like your shadow, do you? It’s like a dark spirit coming up to get you. Do you see? That’s us. It’s just a trick of Apollo’s. He’s the god of the sun.
But I’ll show you how to outwit him (Apollo), you and me together.

Parmenion:
The boy doesn’t have the craft, Philip. He could hurt himself.

Philip:
He’ll have to figure that out for himself. It’s time.

Attalus:
Good idea. Indeed there are times, Philip, when I wonder if he is your blood.

Parmenion:
I only worry that --

Philip:
What was that, Attalus?

Attalus:
Nothing. I was just noticing how the people like seeing you and Eurydice together.

Philip:
(To Alexander) You go, boy!
You ride that horse and by Zeus I say, you can rule the world.

Young Alexander:
Bucephalus. That’s what I’ll call you. Strong and stubborn. Bucephalus and Alexander. Come now, let’s ride together.

Philip:
He got some titans in him, yet. Attalus! Cleitus! For Zeus’ sake, he beats you, man!

Young Alexander:
Now, Bucephalus, show them.

Philip:
My son. My son!

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.

Sogdia, Northeast Persia - 10 Years Later.

Alexander: What is it, Orestes?

Orestes:
I beg your forgiveness, my king. I cannot be part of this.

Alexander:
Who did this? Tell me. Say it!

Orestes: Hermolaus.

Hermolaus:
Death to all tyrants.


Philotas:
I didn’t do this!

Alexander:
I’ve known you and loved you as long as I know. Never will you find a man as devoted as I.

Philotas:
Alexander. 


Philotas:
Remember me for who I am.

Alexander:
I do remember you, Philotas, but not as you remember yourself. And it appears to me and others here from the testimony given by your mistress that the true weather of your soul is ambition.

Philotas:
No.


Soldier:
Remove him.

Perdicass:
The men will follow their king.

Antigonus:
Alexander won’t be there.


Alexander:
Then go, Antigonus, and Cleitus. And go quickly.

Parmenion:
If we issue the gold bullion in the name of Alexander then we meet a resistance. Cleitus. Antigonus.

Antigonus:
Parmenion.