τὰ δὲ πρὸς Πῶρον αὐτὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς ὡς ἐπράχθη γέγραφε. φησὶ γάρ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν στρατοπέδων τοῦ Ὑδάσπου ῥέοντος ἀντιπόρους ἱστάντα τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ἀεὶ τὸν Πῶρον ἐπιτηρεῖν τὴν διάβασιν. αὐτόν μὲν οὖν καθʼ ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ψόφον ποιεῖν καὶ θόρυβον ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ πολύν, ἐθίζοντα τοὺς βαρβάρους μὴ φοβεῖσθαι·
Of his campaign against Porus he himself has given an account in his letters. He says, namely, that the river Hydaspes flowed between the two camps, and that Porus stationed his elephants on the opposite bank and kept continual watch of the crossing. He himself accordingly, day by day caused a great din and tumult to be made in his camp, and thereby accustomed the Barbarians not to be alarmed.
νυκτὸς δὲ χειμερίου καὶ ἀσελήνου λαβόντα τῶν πεζῶν μέρος, ἱππεῖς δὲ τοὺς κρατίστους, καὶ προελθόντα πόρρω τῶν πολεμίων διαπερᾶσαι πρὸς νῆσον οὐ μεγάλην. ἐνταῦθα δὲ ῥαγδαίου μὲν ἐκχυθέντος ὄμβρου, πρηστήρων δὲ πολλῶν καὶ κεραυνῶν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον φερομένων, ὅμως ὁρῶν ἀπολλυμένους τινὰς καὶ συμφλεγομένους ὑπὸ τῶν κεραυνῶν ἀπὸ τῆς νησῖδος ἄρας προσφέρεσθαι ταῖς ἀντιπέρας ὄχθαις.
Then, on a dark and stormy night, he took a part of his infantry and the best of his horsemen, and after proceeding along the river to a distance from where the enemy lay, crossed over to a small island. Here rain fell in torrents, and many tornadoes and thunder-bolts dashed down upon his men; but nevertheless, although he saw that many of them were being burned to death by the thunderbolts, he set out from the islet and made for the opposite banks.
τραχὺν δὲ τὸν Ὑδάσπην ὑπὸ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐπιόντα καὶ μετέωρον, ἔκρηγμα ποιῆσαι μέγα, καὶ πολὺ μέρος ἐκείνῃ φέρεσθαι τοῦ ῥεύματος· αὐτοὺς δὲ δέξασθαι τὸ μέσον οὐ βεβαίως, ἅτε δὴ συνολισθάνον καὶ περιρρηγνύμενον. ἐνταῦθα δὲ εἰπεῖν φασιν αὐτόν· ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἆρά γε πιστεύσαιτε ἂν ἡλίκους ὑπομένω κινδύνους ἕνεκα τῆς παρʼ ὑμῖν εὐδοξίας;
But the Hydaspes, made violent by the storm and dashing high against its bank, made a great breach in it, and a large part of the stream was setting in that direction; and the shore between the two currents gave his men no sure footing, since it was broken and slippery. And here it was that he is said to have cried: O Athenians, can ye possibly believe what perils I am undergoing to win glory in your eyes?
ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν Ὀνησίκριτος εἴρηκεν, αὐτὸς δέ φησι τὰς σχεδίας ἀφέντας αὐτοὺς μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων τὸ ἔκρηγμα διαβαίνειν ἄχρι μαστῶν βρεχομένους, διαβὰς δὲ τῶν πεζῶν εἴκοσι σταδίους προϊππεῦσαι, λογιζόμενος, εἰ μὲν οἱ πολέμιοι τοῖς ἵπποις προσβάλοιεν, πολὺ κρατήσειν, εἰ δὲ κινοῖεν τὴν φάλαγγα, φθήσεσθαι τοὺς πεζοὺς αὐτῷ προσγενομένους θάτερον δὲ συμβῆναι.
This, however, is the story of Onesicritus; Alexander himself says that they left their rafts and crossed the breach with their armour on, wading breast-high in water, and that after he had crossed he led his horsemen twenty furlongs in advance of his infantry, calculating that, in case the enemy attacked with their cavalry, he would be far superior to them, and in case they moved up their men-at-arms, his infantry would join him in good season. And one of these suppositions came to pass.
τῶν γάρ ἱππέων χιλίους καὶ τῶν ἁρμάτων ἑξήκοντα συμπεσόντα τρεψάμενος, τὰ μὲν ἅρματα λαβεῖν ἅπαντα, τῶν δʼ ἱππέων ἀνελεῖν τετρακοσίους, οὕτω δὴ συμφρονήσαντα τὸν Πῶρον ὡς αὐτὸς εἴη διαβεβηκὼς Ἀλέξανδρος, ἐπιέναι μετὰ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως, πλὴν ὅσον ἐμποδὼν εἶναι τοῖς διαβαίνουσι τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀπέλιπε. φοβηθεὶς δὲ τὰ θηρία καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμίων αὐτὸς μὲν ἐνσεῖσαι κατὰ θάτερον κέρας, Κοῖνον δὲ τῷ δεξιῷ προσβαλεῖν κελεῦσαι,
For after routing a thousand of the enemy’s horsemen and sixty of their chariots which engaged him, he captured all the chariots, and slew four hundred of the horsemen. And now Porus, thus led to believe that Alexander himself had crossed the river, advanced upon him with all his forces, except the part he left behind to impede the crossing of the remaining Macedonians. But Alexander, fearing the elephants and the great numbers of the enemy, himself assaulted their left wing, and ordered Coenus to attack their right.
γενομένης δὲ τροπῆς ἑκατέρωθεν ἀναχωρεῖν ἀεὶ πρὸς τὰ θηρία καὶ συνειλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐκβιαζομένους, ὅθεν ἤδη τὴν μάχην ἀναμεμιγμένην εἶναι, καὶ μόλις ὀγδόης ὥρας ἀπειπεῖν τοὺς πολεμίους, ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ τῆς μάχης ποιητὴς αὐτὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς εἴρηκεν.
οἱ δὲ πλεῖστοι τῶν συγγραφέων ὁμολογοῦσι τὸν Πῶρον ὑπεραίροντα τεσσάρων πηχῶν σπιθαμῇ τὸ μῆκος ἱππότου μηδὲν ἀποδεῖν πρὸς τὸν ἐλέφαντα συμμετρίᾳ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ σώματος·
Both wings having been routed, the vanquished troops retired in every case upon the elephants in the centre, and were there crowded together with them, and from this point on the battle was waged at close quarters, and it was not until the eighth hour that the enemy gave up. Such then, is the account of the battle which the victor himself has given in his letters. Most historians agree that Porus was four cubits and a span high, and that the size and majesty of his body made his elephant seem as fitting a mount for him as a horse for a horseman.
καίτοι μέγιστος ἦν ὁ ἐλέφας σύνεσιν δὲ θαυμαστὴν ἐπεδείξατο καὶ κηδεμονίαν τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐρρωμένου μὲν ἔτι θυμῷ τοὺς προσμαχομένους ἀμυνόμενος καὶ ἀνακόπτων, ὡς δὲ ᾔσθετο βελῶν πλήθει καὶ τραυμάτων κάμνοντα, δείσας μὴ περιρρυῇ, τοῖς μὲν γόνασιν εἰς γῆν ὑφῆκε πρᾴως ἑαυτόν, τῇ δὲ προνομαίᾳ λαμβάνων ἀτρέμα τῶν δορατίων ἕκαστον ἐξῄρει τοῦ σώματος.
And yet his elephant was of the largest size; and it showed remarkable intelligence and solicitude for the king, bravely defending him and beating back his assailants while he was still in full vigour, and when it perceived that its master was worn out with a multitude of missiles and wounds, fearing lest he should fall off it knelt softly on the ground, and with its proboscis gently took each spear and drew it out of his body.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ληφθέντα τὸν Πῶρον ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἠρώτα πῶς αὐτῷ χρήσηται, βασιλικῶς, εἶπε προσπυθομένου δὲ μή τι ἄλλο λέγει, πάντα, εἶπεν, ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ βασιλικῶς. οὐ μόνον οὖν ἀφῆκεν αὐτόν ἄρχειν ὧν ἐβασίλευε, σατράπην καλούμενον, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσέθηκε χώραν τοὺς αὐτόνομους καταστρεψάμενος, ἐν ᾗ πεντεκαίδεκα μὲν ἔθνη, πόλεις δὲ πεντακισχιλίας ἀξιολόγους, κώμας δὲ παμπόλλας εἶναί φασιν ἄλλην δὲ τρὶς τοσαύτην ἧς Φίλιππόν τινα τῶν ἑταίρων σατράπην ἀπέδειξεν.
Porus was taken prisoner, and when Alexander asked him how he would be treated, said: Like a king; and to another question from Alexander whether he had anything else to say, replied: All things are included in my like a king. Accordingly, Alexander not only permitted him to govern his former kingdom, giving him the title of satrap, but also added to it the territory of the independent peoples whom he subdued, in which there are said to have been fifteen nations, five thousand cities of considerable size, and a great multitude of villages. He subdued other territory also thrice as large as this and appointed Philip, one of his companions, satrap over it.
ἐκ δὲ τῆς πρὸς Πῶρον μάχης καὶ ὁ Βουκεφάλας ἐτελεύτησεν, οὐκ εὐθύς, ἀλλʼ ὕστερον, ὡς οἱ πλεῖστοι λέγουσιν ἀπὸ τραυμάτων θεραπευόμενος, ὡς δὲ Ὀνησίκριτος, διὰ γῆρας ὑπέρπονος γενόμενος· τριάκοντα γὰρ ἐτῶν ἀποθανεῖν αὐτόν, ἐδήχθη δʼ ἰσχυρῶς Ἀλέξανδρος, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ συνήθη καὶ φίλον ἀποβεβληκέναι νομίζων· καὶ πόλιν οἰκίσας ἐπʼ αὐτῷ παρὰ τὸν Ὑδάσπην Βουκεφαλίαν προσηγόρευσε. λέγεται δὲ καὶ κύνα Περίταν ὄνομα τεθραμμένον ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ στεργόμενον ἀποβαλών κτίσαι πόλιν ἐπώνυμον. τοῦτο δὲ Σωτίων φησὶ Ποτάμωνος ἀκοῦσαι τοῦ Λεσβίου.
After the battle with Porus, too, Bucephalas died,—not at once, but some time afterwards,—as most writers say, from wounds for which he was under treatment, but according to Onesicritus, from old age, having become quite worn out; for he was thirty years old when he died. His death grieved Alexander mightily, who felt that he had lost nothing less than a comrade and friend; he also built a city in his memory on the banks of the Hydaspes and called it Bucephalia. It is said, too, that when he lost a dog also, named Peritas, which had been reared by him and was loved by him, he founded a city and gave it the dog’s name. Sotion says he heard this from Potamon the Lesbian.
τοὺς μέντοι Μακεδόνας ὁ πρὸς Πῶρον ἀγὼν ἀμβλυτέρους ἐποίησε καὶ τοῦ πρόσω τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἔτι προελθεῖν ἐπέσχε. μόλις γὰρ ἐκεῖνον ὠσάμενοι δισμυρίοις πεζοῖς καὶ δισχιλίοις ἱππεῦσι παραταξάμενον, ἀντέστησαν ἰσχυρῶς Ἀλεξάνδρῳ βιαζομένῳ καὶ τὸν Γάγγην περᾶσαι ποταμόν, εὖρος μὲν αὐτοῦ δύο καὶ τριάκοντα σταδίων εἶναι πυνθανόμενοι καὶ βάθος ὀργυιὰς ἑκατόν, ἀντιπέρας δὲ τὰς ὄχθας ἀποκεκρύφθαι πλήθεσιν ὅπλων καὶ ἵππων καὶ ἐλεφάντων.
As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants.
ἐλέγοντο γὰρ ὀκτὼ μὲν μυριάδας ἱπποτῶν, εἴκοσι δὲ πεζῶν, ἅρματα δὲ ὀκτακισχίλια καὶ μαχίμους ἐλέφαντας ἑξακισχιλίους ἔχοντες οἱ Γανδαριτῶν καὶ Πραισίων βασιλεῖς ὑπομένειν. καὶ κόμπος οὐκ ἦν περὶ ταῦτα. Ἀνδρόκοττος γὰρ ὕστερον οὐ πολλῷ βασιλεύσας Σελεύκῳ πεντακοσίους ἐλέφαντας ἐδωρήσατο, καὶ στρατοῦ μυριάσιν ἑξήκοντα τὴν Ἰνδικὴν ἐπῆλθεν ἅπασαν καταστρεφόμενος.
For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. And there was no boasting in these reports. For Androcottus, who reigned there not long afterwards, made a present to Seleucus of five hundred elephants, and with an army of six hundred thousand men overran and subdued all India.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ὑπὸ δυσθυμίας καὶ ὀργῆς αὐτόν εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν καθείρξας ἔκειτο, χάριν οὐδεμίαν εἰδὼς τοῖς διαπεπραγμένοις εἰ μὴ περάσειε τὸν Γάγγην, ἀλλʼ ἐξομολόγησιν ἥττης τιθέμενος τὴν ἀναχώρησιν. ὡς δὲ οἵ τε φίλοι τὰ εἰκότα παρηγοροῦντες αὐτόν οἵ τε στρατιῶται κλαυθμῷ καὶ βοῇ προσιστάμενοι ταῖς θύραις ἱκέτευον, ἐπικλασθεὶς ἀνεζεύγνυε, πολλὰ πρὸς δόξαν ἀπατηλὰ καὶ σοφιστικὰ μηχανώμενος.
At first, then, Alexander shut himself up in his tent from displeasure and wrath and lay there, feeling no gratitude for what he had already achieved unless he should cross the Ganges, nay, counting a retreat a confession of defeat. But his friends gave him fitting consolation, and his soldiers crowded about his door and besought him with loud cries and wailing, until at last he relented and began to break camp, resorting to many deceitful and fallacious devices for the enhancement of his fame.
καὶ γὰρ ὅπλα μείζονα καὶ φάτνας ἵππων καὶ χαλινοὺς βαρυτέρους κατασκευάσας ἀπέλιπέ τε καὶ διέρριψεν ἱδρύσατο δὲ βωμοὺς θεῶν, οὓς μέχρι νῦν οἱ Πραισίων βασιλεῖς διαβαίνοντες σέβονται καὶ θύουσιν Ἑλληνικὰς θυσίας. Ἀνδρόκοττος δὲ μειράκιον ὢν αὐτόν Ἀλέξανδρον εἶδε, καὶ λέγεται πολλάκις εἰπεῖν ὕστερον ὡς παρʼ οὐδὲν ἦλθε τὰ πράγματα λαβεῖν Ἀλέξανδρος, μισουμένου τε καὶ καταφρονουμένου τοῦ βασιλέως διὰ μοχθηρίαν καὶ δυσγένειαν.
For instance, he had armour prepared that was larger than usual, and mangers for horses that were higher, and bits that were heavier than those in common use, and left them scattered up and down. Moreover, he erected altars for the gods, which down to the present time are revered by the kings of the Praesii when they cross the river, and on them they offer sacrifices in the Hellenic manner. Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth.
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