LXXII.  After Alexander was come to the city of Ekbatana in Media, and had despatched the most weighty part of his business there, he gave himself up entirely to devising magnificent spectacles and entertainments, with the aid of three thousand workmen, whom he had sent for from Greece.  During this time, Hephaestion fell sick of a fever, and being a young man, and accustomed to a soldier’s life, did not put himself upon a strict diet and remain quiet as he ought to have done.  As soon as Glaukus, his physician, left him to go to the theatre, he ate a boiled fowl for his breakfast, and drank a large jar of cooled wine.  Upon this he was immediately taken worse, and very shortly afterwards died.

Alexander’s grief for him exceeded all reasonable measure.  He ordered the manes of all the horses and mules to be cut off in sign of mourning, he struck off the battlements of all the neighbouring cities, crucified the unhappy physician, and would not permit the flute or any other musical instrument to be played throughout his camp, until a response came from the oracle of Ammon bidding him honour Hephaestion and offer sacrifice to him as to a hero.[432] To assuage his grief he took to war, and found consolation in fighting and man-hunting.  He conquered the tribe called Kossaei, and slew their entire male population, which passed for an acceptable offering to the manes of Hephaestion.  He now determined to spend ten thousand talents[433] on the funeral and tomb of Hephaestion; and as he wished to exceed the cost by the ingenuity and brilliancy of invention shown in this spectacle, he chose Stasikrates out of all his mechanicians to arrange it, as he was thought to be able both to devise with grandeur and to execute with skill.

He on one occasion before this, when conversing with Alexander, told him that of all mountains in the world Mount Athos in Thrace was that which could most easily be carved into the figure of a man; and that, if Alexander would give him the order, he would form Athos into the most magnificent and durable monument of him that the world had ever seen, as he would represent him as holding in his left hand the city of Myriandrus, and with his right pouring, as a libation, a copious river into the sea.  Alexander would not, indeed, adopt this suggestion, but was fond of discussing much more wonderful and costly designs than this with his engineers.

LXXIII.  Just as Alexander was on the point of starting for Babylon, Nearchus, who had returned with his fleet up the Euphrates, met him, and informed him that some Chaldaeans had warned Alexander to avoid Babylon.  He took no heed of this warning, but went his way.  When he drew near the walls he saw many crows flying about and pecking at one another, some of whom fell to the ground close beside him.  After this, as he heard that Apollodorus, the governor of Babylon, had sacrificed to the gods to know what would happen to Alexander, he sent for Pythagoras,