'Ecstatic reverence' - Arrian

[Alexias]

I hope no one minds me cross-posting this from Alexander's Army, but as it is a little quiet here, I thought it might be just a little something to think about.

Some of you may be aware that, in order to keep the Yahoo Alexander’s Army active, Fiona13 has been posting extracts from Arrian’s The Campaigns Alexander (Penguin edition translated by E V Rieu). In one of the recent posts, the battle of the Granicus is about to kick-off:

“At one point on the river-bank they had massed their squadrons in strength - for here it was that, threatening to the left, they could see Alexander himself, an unmistakable figure in magnificent armour, attended by his suite with an almost ecstatic reverence.”

This is an alternative translation from E.J Chinnock, 1893:

“They also marshalled dense squadrons of cavalry upon that part of the bank where they observed Alexander himself advancing against their left wing; for he was conspicuous both by the brightness of his arms and by the respectful attendance of his staff.”

Alexander here is 22; he has done nothing in Asia yet, but already he seems to be regarded as something special. I don’t think the Macedonians are particularly known for sycophancy (they seem to be a pretty hard-headed lot), yet Alexander already appears to be their darling, their hero. Is this just Arrian’s hero-worship, or a real example of Alexander’s charisma and his ability to make people believe in him? Is it also not remarkable that as the object of such expectation, that when he did deliver, Alexander’s head wasn’t turned by his own myth very early on?

[Paralus]

The Landmark is far closer to the gist of it:

...the brightness of his weapons and the bustle (ekplexi) of the men who attended (therapeia) him...

Therapeia, the word in question here, means service / attendance upon in general terms. It can also mean service rendered to the gods, as in worship. Bosworth, in his commentary, notes the use of ekplexi pointing to its use in the wash-up of Thebes' revolt. Here it is "terrified" or absolute astonishment. Both words are more likely used in less specific ways at Granicus. Alexander can hardly be striking reverential terror into his men. Arrian likely means that Persians could clearly and easily see Alexander because of his armour and the concern or tension of those attending him. Arrian might well be speaking of the somatophylakes riding with him and the ile basilike here.

[Xenophon]

I agree entirely with Paralus here......Arrian's point is that the Persians were able to mass their squadrons to oppose Alexander personally, because he was conspicuous in his panoply ( as no doubt his suite were to a lesser extent), and because of the inevitable hustle and bustle of attendants around him, the coming and going of messengers and so on. This must also mean that Alexander was at the forefront of his troops.

Arrian is complimenting Alexander's display of courage here, unlike other Commanders on other occasions who took precautions for their safety - even to the extent of 'doubles,' or having their panoply worn by someone else, or commanding from the safety of the mass of their army surrounding them.

Alexander is effectively ( if perhaps rather rashly) drawing Persian attention to himself, in effect saying "Here I am, get me if you can!"

And in Arrian's narrative, they nearly do. Alexander's eagerness for personal combat almost gets him killed twice, by Rhoesaces and Spithradates, and he is only saved from the latter by Cleitus, son of Dropidas, who was fated to be killed by Alexander......

This is of course entirely in keeping with what we know of the character of Alexander, but MAY also have been a deliberate tactic, for by drawing the cream and flower of the Persians onto himself and the Companions the rest of the army gains an easy crossing ( Casualties are 25 Companion cavalry, 60 other cavalry, and a mere 30 from the phalanx )
As Arrian says:
"Around him (Alexander) a violent struggle developed, while all the time, company by company the Macedonians were making their way over the river more easily than before." ( a mostly dried up trickle in summer, though the banks provided a significant physical obstacle).

I don't think that the Macedonians 'reverenced' Alexander at this time, nor had his 'charisma' shown itself to any great degree - that would come later, following his incredible success. At this point in time, Alexander headed a Macedonian army loyal to its lawful King ( mostly!) , but he was still somewhat uneasy on the throne, knowing that other Macedonians coveted that throne, and so was likely anxious and eager to 'prove himself' and thereby extend the loyalty of the army.

Alexander's head was probably not turned by his own myth or legend at this young age for the simple reason that the myth and legend did not yet exist, and would only come much later........

[Alexias]

Paralus, thank you for that. I did try to find the original but failed. Perhaps in using a word with religious connotations, Arrian is implying a state of over-excitement, not as strong as religious possession or frenzy, but a state of keyed-up anticipation that the long-awaited confrontation with the Persians had finally arrived.

Xenophon, thanks for that. Alexander obviously recognised the contribution of the cavalry to the victory in erecting the statues of the fallen Companion cavalry, although whether stirrup-less cavalry would be the weapon of choice in forcing a steep river crossing, I don't know. However, I am not entirely certain that Arrian is saying that Alexander was deliberately drawing attention to the cavalry and himself. Alexander was not backward in coming forward and if this was a deliberate strategy, I'm sure he would have emphasised it and Arrian have mentioned it. I suspect, as you say, that he was over-eager himself and this communicated itself to those around him.

[agesilaos]

Just a suggestion for 'ekplexei', how about 'deferential' ? So 'the deferential service of those about him'

ᾗ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρον αὐτὸν καθεώρων — δῆλος γὰρ ἦν τῶν τε ὅπλων τῇ λαμπρότητι καὶ τῶν ἀμφ᾽ αὐτὸν τῇ σὺν ἐκπλήξει θεραπείᾳ

pulled from the Perseus site at Tuft's I 14 iv. Or how about 'kow-towing' if such echoes of an Imperial past are permitted; think I like that best.

[hiphys]

I found for this quote (Arrian 1. 14, 4) another translation:
"Where they observed Alexander himself - he was unmistakable, from the splendour of his equipement and the enthusiasm of the men in attendance round him - aiming at their left, they massed their cavalry squadrons on the bank there" (Arrian, with an English Translation by P.A.Brunt, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge - London 1976, vol.I, p. 61)
But no translation IMHO expresses the real meaning of the original Greek word: èxplexis comes from ek-plesso, a verb that means originally "to be stricken by a lightining, and\or the effect the stroke has on men,i.e. to become stunned, amazed, astonished".
The whole expression "te syn ekplèxei therapèia" IMHO means:
"The men in attendance round him performed their duties with amazing eagerness".
In other words, "ekplèxei" isn't referred to the men round Alexander, but to the impression their performance made on Persians who observed the scene, and it has nothing to do with the "alleged terror" of Alexander from his men. Perhaps this change makes no difference for the whole scene: Alexander is always the centre of attention of his orderlies. Nevertheless I think that Arrian's purpose was to stress the effect of the exceptional efficiency of Alexander's men over Persians, not to stress the religious attitude of Alexander's men towards their king.
I don't know if you see what I meant, it's a bit difficult to explain even in my own language!

[Paralus]

"The men in attendance round him performed their duties with amazing eagerness".
In other words, "ekplèxei" isn't referred to the men round Alexander, but to the impression their performance made on Persians who observed the scene, and it has nothing to do with the "alleged terror" of Alexander from his men.

I can go with that. It is definitely meant to convey that Alexander - the focal point of the scene - is readily apparent to the Persians. I do not think it is meant in any reverential way (toward him from the Macedonians). And clearly, as Xenophon says, those running messages as well as the somatophylakes (and the Ile basilikoi) about him will have marked him out plain as day.