P. 13: Alexander's Birth. Alexander was born 356 B.C., at Pella, the capital of Macedonia; according to Plutarch, on the same day that the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was burned. One of his culogists declared that it was no wonder that the temple was burned, since Diana was absent, engaged in bringing Alexander into the world. Plutarch describes his complexion as fair, with a tinge of red in his face and on his breast. His proper title was Alexander III, though generally known as Alexander the Great.

P. 17: The Macedonians. The Macedonians were not pure Greeks, and were never so regarded by the Greeks proper. Their history prior to 490 B.C. is involved in great obscurity. At that time Macedonia was conquered in the Persian invasion by Xerxes, and their king, Alexander I, was compelled to take part with Xerxes in the invasion of Greece. It was first developed into a powerful kingdom under Philip, the father of Alexander; and on Alexander's death, with the rest of his dominions, was ravaged by civil wars, and finally became subject to Rome in 197 B.C., and was made a Roman province in 146 B.C. This was its condition at the time of Paul's visit to it (Acts xvi. 9, 10). It is now a part of Turkey in Europe, but no longer as an independent province.

P. 21: Aristotle. Aristotle's father, Nicomachus, was a special friend of Amyntas, Philip's father, and it is said that when Alexander was born Philip sent a letter to Aristotle, saying, "I am thankful to the gods, not so much for his birth as that he was born in your time," and inviting the philosopher to take charge of the prince's education. This is somewhat mythical, but it Illustrates the probable relations between the royal and the philosophical families. Aristotle may be regarded as the founder of the modern scientific school; and Plato, his great rival, of the modern meta-physical school. Aristotle studied things, Plato thought; Aristotle gathered knowledge from all quarters, Plato meditated problems the most profound. "History, the human mind, and all departments of nature," says President Seelye, in his admirable though too brief article in "Johnson's Cyclopedia," "furnish Aristotle contributions. He has no rival in the variety and extent of the facts which lie has collected, and the patient industry of his investigations." He seems to have had actual charge of Alexander's education from the time when lie was thirteen years of age till, in his father's absence, he was appointed regent, at the age of seventeen. For a comprehensive account of Aristotle's life and works, and a brief exposition of his philosophy, see Smith's "Dictionary of Biography and Mythology," art. Aristotle.

P. 23: Hanging Gardens. For fuller description of the Hanging Gardens, see Cyrus the Great.

P. 24: Bucephalus. The story of Bucephalus is told a little differently by Plutarch. According to him, the horse was offered for sale to Philip for thirteen talents, about twelve thousand dollars. He says that Alexander promised to pay the price of the horse if he should fail to manage him.

P. 32: Philip's Wife. The lady here referred to was Cleopatra, probably the niece of Attalus, though, apparently by mistake, called his daughter by some writers. After the death of Philip, his first wife, Olympias, killed Cleopatra; some accounts say by hanging, others by boiling her in a brazen kettle.

P. 43: Demosthenes. Demosthenes was born about 385 B.C., and died 322 B.C., of poison which he took in exile, to avoid being delivered into the hands of his enemies. His father died when he was only seven years of age, and the major part of his fortune was wasted by his guardians. He achieved his success as orator, in spite of a feeble constitution and defects in his organs of speech, by the most laborious and painstaking study. At the age of thirty, he was already a successful lawyer. The object of his Philippics was to arouse his countrymen against the ambitious schemes of conquest of Philip of Macedon; he failed through no fault of his, but because of the apathy of the Athenians, and the rivalries and jealousies between the Grecian States, which prevented their making a common cause against their conquerors. Like Cicero, he lived in the days of his country's decay; like Cicero, he endeavored in vain to resist the corruption of his age, and restore his country to its old-time power and glory; like Cicero, he was exiled, recalled from exile, and finally died to escape his personal and political enemies. For an excellent account of him and his orations, seethe volume devoted to" Demosthenes," in the "Ancient Classics for English Readers" (J. B. Lippincott & Co.).

P. 72: Siege and Destruction of Thebes. According to the best authorities, Alexander left the fate of Thebes to be determined by his Greek allies, who were inveterate enemies of the Thebans, and, in determining its entire destruction, meted out to it what they would have received if the Thebans had been victorious. Alexander moderated their wrath by the measures of mercy which are described in the text. The house of Pindar was left standing in the general demolition of the city, which remained without inhabitants for twenty years.

P. 81: Pelion and Ossa. The attempt of the sons of Aloeus to pile Pelion upon Ossa is thus described by Homer, book xi., lines 384-397 (Bryant's Translation):

"When the twain
Had seen but nine years of their life, they stood
In breadth of frame nine cubits, and in height
Nine fathoms. They against the living gods
Threatened to wage upon Olyrnpian height
Fierce and tumultuous battle, and to fling
Ossa upon Olympus, and to pile
Pelion, with all its growth of' leafy woods,
on Ossa, that the heavens might thus be scaled.
And they, if they had reached their prime of youth,
Had made their menace good. The son of Jove
And amber-haired Latona, took their lives
Ere yet beneath their temples sprang the down
And covered with its sprouting tufts the chin."

P. 84: Greek Worship. The principal ceremony of ancient worship, whether public or domestic, was a repast; the former was partaken of in common by all the citizens in honor of the protecting divinities. For a graphic account of such a scene of worship see Homer's "Odyssey," book iii., Bryant's edition, line 538, etc. Festive processions were frequent accompaniments of these religious meals. See DeCoulanges Ancient City chap. vii. ; Guhl and Koner's Life of the Greeks and Romans, pp. 281-287.

P. 85: The Muses. In the most ancient works we find only three Muses, each with her musical instrument; later, nine Muses, possessing both different attributes and different symbols. They are as follows: (1) Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, with a tablet and stylus, or pen; (2) Clio, the Muse of History, with an open roll of paper or an open chest of books; (3) Euterpe, the Muse of Lyric Poetry, with a flute; (4) Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, with a tragic mask; (5) Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance and Song, with a lyre; (6) Erato, the Muse of the Poetry of Love, also sometimes with a lyre; (7) Polyhymnia, the Muse of Sublime Poetry, usually in a pensive attitude; (8) Urania, the Muse of Astronomy, with a staff pointing to a globe; (9) Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, with a comic mask, a shepherd's staff, or a wreath of ivy.

P. 89: Troy. At the time this book was written, the question whether any such poet as Homer ever lived, whether his poems were not legends gathered from various sources, whether there was any historical basis for them, and, if so, what, were grave ones among classical scholars.

The researches of Dr. Schliemann and the literary researches of English Homeric students, prominent among whom is Mr. Gladstone, have now established, almost beyond a doubt, that the poems of Homer have a historical basis, and are, in the highest and best sense, historical as a record of manners and customs, feelings and tastes, principles and institutions, that there was a solid nucleus of fact in his account of the Trojan war, and that the site of ancient Troy is the spot covered with ruins and now known as Hissarlik. Dr. Schliemann's investigations among these ruins have thrown great light on the Homeric poems, and gone far to afford a demonstration of their historical character. The material for the study of this subject will be found in Dr. Schliemann's Troy and its Ruins, Mr. Gladstone's Juventus Mundi, Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, and Times and Place of Homer. See also Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, art. Ilium.

P. 107: Phalanx. Philip has been sometimes credited with inventing the phalanx: it seems, however, to have existed prior to his time, though to have been improved and brought to its perfection under him.

P. 119: Climax. Some of the ancient historians attributed the successful march through the sea at Climax to the miraculous interposition of Heaven, which caused the sea to retire; but Alexander himself treated the matter lightly, simply saying that he marched from Phaselis by the way called Climax; and both Strabo and Plutarch repudiate the idea of there having been any miracle.

P. 147: Tyre. Plutarch tells the singular story respecting the manner in which the siege of Tyre was brought to its termination. Aristander, Alexander's principal soothsayer, declared on the very last day of the month that the city would certainly be taken that month. Alexander, perceiving that he was disconcerted by the ridicule which this prophecy brought upon him, and that the faith in his prophecies was liable to be greatly weakened in the army, decreed that the day should be called the twenty-eighth instead of the thirtieth, then ordered an assault which was conducted with so much vigor as to be successful.

The destruction of Tyre is one of the most striking of all the fulfillments of Old Testament prophecies. It was one of the most ancient of the great cities of the East; its glory and its power are graphically described in Ezek. xxvii. While yet a great and prosperous city, and apparently impregnable, its downfall was foretold by the Hebrew prophets (Jer. xxv. 22; xxvil. 3; Joel iii. 4-8; Amos 1. 9, 10). These prophecies have become literally fulfilled. The fishermen dry their nets on the rocks of Tyre, as Ezekiel declared they should (Ezek. xxvi. 14); its harbor has been filled up with its ruins; and even if an honest government and a revived commerce should give back prosperity to Palestine, the woe denounced against Tyre, 11 Thou shalt be built no more," would remain.

P. 174: The Visit to Jerusalem. The story of Alexander's visit to Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Encyclopeedia Britannica, and is discredited in Smith's Dictionary of Biography. It is probably a legend of Jewish invention. Josephus places this visit subsequent to the siege of Gaza.

P. 181: Jupiter Ammon. Ammon, variously spelled Amon, Amun, and Amon, was the name of an Ethiopian deity whose worship extended over Egypt, and finally into Greece and Rome: in the latter country he took the double name of Jupiter Ammon. His chief temple and oracle in Egypt were in Thebes; and the homage which Alexander paid to him in the oasis was probably in accordance with his policy of ingratiating himself with the priesthood of the various countries which he conquered.

The oasis of Ammonium is about six miles in length, and three in breadth: the ground is abundantly watered by springs, and the high cultivation of the oasis, which still sustains a population of about 8000, is attested by the abundance of its fruits. Ruins of the Temple of Ammon still remain.

P. 187: Alexandria. This famous city was built upon a strip of land between the sea and a lake; two main streets, two hundred and forty feet wide, crossing each other at right angles in the centre of the city, left a free passage for the sea-breezes. The most important of all the public buildings of this city, and the ones which have given it a deserved fame in antiquity, were those belonging to the Museum, in which was the great library which became the largest and most famous in the world, and which contained in Cleopatra's time at least four hundred thousand volumes, and rendered Alexandria so illustrious that men in every department of learning resorted thither for instruction.

Among the most notable fruits of Alexandrian learning was the Greek translation of the Old Testament, generally known as the Septuagint, from the legendary account of its translation by 72 persons selected for the purpose under the orders of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 50 years after Alexander's death.

P. 214: The Burning of Persepolis. Tbat Thais had anything to do with the burning of Persepolis is very doubtful. It rests on the sole authority of one of the least trustworthy of the historians of Alexander, and is declared by Smith's Dictionary "to be, in all probability, a mere fable. The destruction by fire in a drunken bout is unquestionable. Perhaps the story of Thais was invented to relieve Alexander's name somewhat from odium.

P. 251: Alexander's Last Campaigns. The statement in the text that Alexander's soldiers refused to cross the Indus and go on to the Ganges, is not exactly accurate. They crossed the western tributary of the Indus and the central tributary of the Indus, and reached the river Ghara, its eastern tributary and the eastern boundary of the Punjaub, but refused to go farther east. At the continence of the Chenall and the Ghara Alexander founded a city, giving it his name. He then descended to the mouth of the Indus and sailed into the Indian Ocean, from which point he returned to Babylon, where his death occurred as narrated in the text.