" Indeed we
are told that once, when Alexander had sent some small fish to
Hephaestion, Anaxarchus used this expression ironically disparaging
those who undergo great toils and run great risks to obtain
magnificent results which, after all, make them no happier or able to
enjoy themselves than other men. From these anecdotes we see that
Alexander himself did not put any belief in the story of his divine
parentage, but that he used it as a means of imposing upon others.
XXIX. From Egypt he returned to Phoenicia, and there offered
magnificent sacrifices to the gods, with grand processions, cyclic
choruses, and performances of tragic dramas. These last were
especially remarkable, for the local kings of Cyprus acted as choragi,
that is, supplied the chorus and paid all the expenses of putting the
drama upon the stage, just as is done every year at Athens by the
representatives of the tribes, and they exhibited wonderful emulation,
desiring to outdo each other in the splendour of their shows. The
contest between Nikokreon, King of Salamis, and Pasikrates, King of
Soli, is especially memorable. These two had obtained by lot the two
most celebrated actors of the day, who were named Athenodorus and
Thessalus, to act in their plays. Of these, Athenodorus was assigned
to Nikokreon, and Thessalus, in whose success Alexander himself was
personally interested, to Pasikrates. Alexander, however, never
allowed any word to escape him denoting his preference for one over
the other until after the votes had been given, and Athenodorus had
been proclaimed the winner, when, as he was going home, he said that
he would willingly have given up a province of his kingdom to save
Thessalus from being vanquished.
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