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the fever to be strengthened so that he lay 1.304 speechless; and the Macedonians to be in an uproar as if he had died, and to cry out against the generals, until the doors were opened to them and they saw Alexander on his couch; and after these things he passed away. Some say that afterwards a report arose that he had been destroyed by poison, and that Aristotle had been Antipater's advisor in the matter, and that the poison had been brought by him. The water was cold and icy from a certain rock in Nonacris, which they collect like a fine dew and place in a donkey's hoof; for no other vessel contains it, but it is broken through by the coldness and pungency. But the majority say that the story of Alexander dying by poison was fabricated, and they prove this from the fact that his body, lying for several days in a hot place and neglected while the generals were at odds with one another, showed no sign of such decay, but remained pure and seemed fresh. And it is said that, knowing that his life was already failing, he wished to drown himself secretly in the Euphrates, so that by disappearing he might give rise to the belief that he had passed to the gods, having been born from them, but Roxana, knowing this, restrained him from the attempt, and he with a lament said, "You have begrudged me, then, woman, the glory of being deified and not dying." Thus Alexander, having been advanced to great fortune, died. When he was besieging Tyre, he sent a letter to the high priest of the Jews, demanding that he send him an alliance and a market for his army and 1.305 give to him whatever tribute they paid to Darius. But when the high priest said that he had given oaths to Darius not to take up arms against him, and that he would not break these while Darius was alive, Alexander became angry and threatened to march against Judea. And having just taken Tyre, he set out for Jerusalem. But the high priest Jaddua was in anguish because of the king's anger, and he begged God to stand by the nation. And God instructed him in a dream to take courage, and having adorned the city to open the gates, and for him with the priests in their customary vestments to meet the king, and the multitude in white garments. And he did as he had been instructed, and as Alexander was already approaching the city, he went forth with the priests and the multitude of the city to a certain place from which the city and the temple could be seen; and while those following the king were expecting him to order them to plunder the city and to destroy the high priest, Alexander, seeing from afar the multitude and the priests adorned as has been said, and the high priest dressed in the hyacinth-colored and gold-embroidered robe and having on his head the mitre and on it the golden plate on which the name of God was inscribed, went forward alone and did obeisance and greeted the high priest. At this all the others were astonished, and Parmenion asked why on earth he had done obeisance to the high priest of the Jews. And he said, "I did not do obeisance to this man, but to the God by whose high priesthood this man is honored. For I saw this man in my dreams, when I was still near Macedonia, in this very robe; and as I was pondering how I might gain mastery of Asia, he urged me not to delay, and he himself promised to lead 1.306 my army and to deliver the Persian empire. Therefore, having seen no one else in such a robe but this man, I was just now reminded of the vision of the dream, and I believe that having made the campaign with God, I will defeat Darius and conquer the Persian empire." Having said these things and having greeted the high priest, he entered the city; and going up to the temple, he sacrificed to God as the high priest directed. And he saw the book of Daniel, in which it is written that one of the Greeks would overthrow the kingdom of the Persians, and he was pleased with it; and he granted whatever the Jews asked. Seeing these things, the Samaritans, themselves not far from Jerusalem, met Alexander magnificently arrayed, and they entreated him to honor their temple also with his presence. But he said, "I will come when
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κραταιωθῆναι τὸν πυρετὸν ὡς αφωνον κεῖ1.304 σθαι αὐτόν· τοὺς δὲ Μακεδόνας θορυβεῖσθαι ὡς θανόντος αὐτοῦ, καὶ καταβοᾶν τῶν ἡγεμόνων, εως αὐτοῖς αἱ θύραι ἠνοίχθησαν καὶ τὸν ̓Αλέξανδρον ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ κατεῖδον· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξέλιπε. φασὶ δέ τινες μετέπειτα λόγον γενέσθαι ὡς ὑπὸ φαρμάκου διέφθαρτο, καὶ τὸν ̓Αριστοτέλην ̓Αντιπάτρῳ σύμβουλον γενέσθαι τῆς πράξεως, καὶ δι' ἐκείνου κομισθῆναι τὸ φάρμακον. τὸ δὲ υδωρ ειναι ψυχρὸν καὶ παγετῶδες ἀπὸ πέτρας τινὸς ἐν Νωνάκριδι ουσης, ο δρόσον ωσπερ λεπτὴν ἀναλαμβάνοντες εἰς ονου χηλὴν ἀποτίθενται· οὐδὲν γὰρ ετερον ἀγγεῖον στέγει αὐτό, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ ψυχρότητος καὶ δριμύτητος διακόπτεται. οἱ δὲ πλείους πεπλάσθαι φασὶ τὸ φαρμάκῳ θανεῖν τὸν ̓Αλέξανδρον, καὶ τοῦτο τεκμηριοῦνται ἐκ τοῦ τὸ σῶμα ἐφ' ἡμέρας πλείονας κείμενον ἐν τόποις θερμοῖς ἀτημέλητον, τῶν ἡγεμόνων πρὸς ἀλλήλους στασιασάντων, μηδὲν ἐμφῆναι τοιαύτης φθορᾶς σημεῖον, ἀλλὰ καθαρὸν διαμεῖναι καὶ δοκεῖν πρόσφατον. Λέγεται δὲ ὡς γνοὺς ηδη ἐκλείπειν αὐτῷ τὸ βιώσιμον ἠβουλήθη ἐς τὸν Εὐφράτην καταποντῶσαι λαθρηδὸν ἑαυτόν, ινα γενόμενος ἀφανὴς παράσχῃ δόξαν ὡς εἰς θεοὺς μετελήλυθεν, ἐξ ἐκείνων γενόμενος, ἡ δὲ ̔Ρωξάνη τοῦτο γνοῦσα ειργεν αὐτῷ τὸ ἐγχείρημα, ὁ δὲ μετ' οἰμωγῆς εφη ὡς "ἐφθόνησας αρα, γύναι, μοι δόξης τοῦ θεωθῆναι καὶ μὴ θανεῖν." ̔Ο μὲν ουν ̓Αλέξανδρος ουτως εἰς μέγα τύχης προαχθεὶς ἐτελεύτησεν. οτε δὲ τὴν Τύρον ἐπολιόρκει, ἐπιστείλας τῷ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἀρχιερεῖ ἠξίου συμμαχίαν αὐτῷ πέμπειν καὶ ἀγορὰν τῷ στρατεύματι καὶ 1.305 οσα ∆αρείῳ ἐδασμοφόρουν αὐτῷ διδόναι. τοῦ δὲ ἀρχιερέως ορκους ∆αρείῳ δοῦναι φήσαντος μὴ αραι κατ' αὐτοῦ οπλα, καὶ τούτους ζῶντος ∆αρείου μὴ παραβήσεσθαι, ὠργίσθη ̓Αλέξανδρος καὶ ἠπείλησε στρατεύσειν κατὰ τῆς ̓Ιουδαίας. αρτι δὲ τὴν Τύρον παρειληφὼς ἐπὶ τὰ ̔Ιεροσόλυμα ωρμησεν. ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς ̓Ιωὰδ ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ην διὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὀργήν, καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐδεῖτο προστῆναι τοῦ εθνους. ὁ δὲ θεὸς καθ' υπνους αὐτῷ ἐχρημάτισε θαρρεῖν, καὶ κοσμήσαντας τὴν πόλιν ἀνοῖξαι τὰς πύλας, καὶ αὐτὸν μὲν μετὰ τῶν ἱερέων ταῖς συνήθεσι στολαῖς ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ, τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ἐσθῆσι λευκαῖς. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐποίησεν ὡς αὐτῷ κεχρημάτιστο, καὶ ηδη τοῦ ̓Αλεξάνδρου τῇ πόλει προσάγοντος πρόεισι μετὰ τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τοῦ πλήθους τῆς πόλεως εἰς τόπον τινὰ οθεν ἡ πόλις καὶ ὁ ναὸς καθωρᾶτο· τῶν δ' ἑπομένων τῷ βασιλεῖ διαρπάζειν κελεῦσαι αὐτὸν τὴν πόλιν λογιζομένων καὶ τὸν ἀρχιερέα διαφθεῖραι, ὁ ̓Αλέξανδρος πόρρωθεν ἰδὼν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τοὺς ἱερεῖς κεκοσμημένους ὡς ειρηται, τὸν δὲ ἀρχιερέα ἐνδεδυμένον τὴν ὑακίνθινον στολὴν καὶ διάχρυσον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὴν κίδαριν εχοντα καὶ τὸ χρυσοῦν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ελασμα ῳ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ονομα ἐπεγέγραπτο, μόνος προσελθὼν προσεκύνησε καὶ τὸν ἀρχιερέα ἠσπάσατο. ἐπὶ τούτῳ οἱ μὲν αλλοι ξύμπαντες κατεπλάγησαν, Παρμενίων δὲ καὶ ἠρώτησε τί δήποτε τὸν τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων προσεκύνησεν ἀρχιερέα. ὁ δέ "οὐ τοῦτον" ειπε, "τὸν δὲ θεὸν προσεκύνησα, ου τῇ ἀρχιερωσύνῃ ουτος τετίμηται. τοῦτον γὰρ ἐν τοῖς υπνοις ειδον, ἐγγὺς ων ετι Μακεδονίας, ἐν τῇ στολῇ ταύτῃ· καί μοι φροντίζοντι πῶς αν τῆς ̓Ασίας κρατήσαιμι μὴ μέλλειν παρεκελεύετο, καὶ αὐτὸς ἡγεῖσθαί μοι 1.306 τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπηγγέλλετο καὶ τὴν Περσῶν παραδώσειν ἀρχήν. οὐδένα ουν ἐν τοιαύτῃ στολῇ θεασάμενος ἀλλ' η τοῦτον, αρτι τῆς οψεώς τε τοῦ ἐνυπνίου ἐμνήσθην, καὶ σὺν θεῷ τὴν στρατείαν νομίζω πεποιημένος τὸν ∆αρεῖον ἡττήσειν καὶ τὴν Περσῶν ἀρχὴν κατακτήσασθαι." ταῦτα εἰπὼν καὶ τὸν ἀρχιερέα δεξιωσάμενος τὴν πόλιν εἰσελήλυθε· καὶ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναβὰς εθυσε τῷ θεῷ ὡς ὑφηγεῖτο ὁ ἀρχιερεύς. καὶ τὴν ∆ανιὴλ ειδε βίβλον, ἐν ῃ τινα τῶν ̔Ελλήνων τὴν Περσῶν βασιλείαν καταλύσειν ἐγγέγραπται, καὶ ησθη ἐπ' αὐτῇ· καὶ οσα ᾐτήσαντο ̓Ιουδαῖοι ἐπλήρωσε. Ταῦτα ἰδόντες οἱ Σαμαρεῖται, καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐ πόρρω τῶν ̔Ιεροσολύμων τῷ ̓Αλεξάνδρῳ ὑπήντησαν ἐσκευασμένοι λαμπρῶς, καὶ παρεκάλουν τιμῆσαι αὐτὸν τῇ παρουσίᾳ καὶ τὸ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἱερόν. ὁ δέ "ηξω" εφη "οθ'