Act 2

Scene 1

Setting : Alexander’s tent . Bactria

 The scene opens in Alexander’s tent in Bactria . Much of the original finery of the tent has
has been removed . Darius’ throne is the still there .
 Bessus , former satrap of Bactria , is brought in guarded by two soldiers . He looks messy,
but seems emotionless ,impassive and stolid .
 Ptolemy , a Macedonian officer , reads from a document Bessus accusations .
a) He was found guilty of making an armed and treacherous rebellion against his rightful
sovereign ( supreme ruler) king Alexander which caused the death of many of Alexander’s
important men .
b) He made himself the false sacrilegious style of Artaxerxes IV (King of the Achaemenid
Empire) in order to start a rebellion act against Alexander
c) He committed an impious murder against Darius
 Bessus was to be punished by being taken to the city of Ecbatana (city in Iran ) to be put to
death in the manner chosen by the High Council of Medes and Persians
 How Bessus defended himself :
He said that all what he had done was because he was a soldier defending his country against
an invader ,even to the killing of Darius .He was not afraid of death ,but he asked Alexander
for a favour which was to let him die as a soldier and to be executed in Alexander’s camp
and not as a felon (wicked person ) presented before the High council as he knew how they
would punish him for a regicide (killing a king).
 Alexander refused Bessus demand and sent him away to Ecbatana . Cleitus (old Macedonian
officer ) told Alexander that he should have accepted Bessus favour as he felt sorry for him
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 Alexander’s reasons for sending Bessus to Ecbatana :
Alexander explained to Celitus that he was nominated by Darius to be his successor ,so he
had to punish his murder according to the Persian law and not according to the military law
of the Greeks in order to the Persians accept him as their lawful rightful Great King of
Persia and not as their barbarian conqueror . ( That showed a lot about Alexander’s
character , though he pitied and felt sorry for Bessus but he was a tactful leader who
evaluated each act in order to be good for his kingdom )
 The march to Sogdiana :
Alexander gave orders that they should be ready to march to Sogdiana ( a country in central
Asia , it’s capital is Samarkand , a city of crossroads between China and Persia ) as then they
will reach India .
Perdiccas ( Macedonian officer ) told Alexander that Samarkand was country that was wild
and mountainous and there would be a lot of fighting activity there and it would be difficult
to clear it in short time , but as normal for Alexander he always accepted the challenge
refused to make any changes in the dates . And he decided that when he would go to
Samarkand he would discuss his plan of invading India as the Indians outnumbered the
Greeks , but that was not a hinder for Alexander as he had conquered the Persian .
 News from Herat ( a city Asia , in Afghanistan )
-Ptolemy informed Alexander that the chieftain Oxyartes had attacked Alexander’s garrison
in Herat . Alexander asked Ptolemy to send to an expedition to revenge for his men .
-Alexander also thought of sending Oxyarates his daughter head who was a hostage in
Alexander camp as a punishment for trying to revolt against Alexander.
-Ptolemy thought that if the chiefs of different tribes were able to communicate ,that
would be a threat against Alexander troops ,since Alexander had tried both terrorism and
conciliation but did not succeed ,so Ptolemy thought that Alexander marry Roxana
,Oxyarates’ daughter, and that would pacify and calm people of Bactria and it would impress
them that the King of Macedon married her. That would be the best way to save the lives of
the Greek soldiers .
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 Cleitus didn’t agree to the idea of Alexander’s marriage to Roxana for two reasons , the
first was that she was a barbarian peasant girl and the second was that it would make
Alexander the laughing stock of the world .
 Hephaestion enters and Alexander tells him what he intends to do .Alexander wants to
march to Samarkand and across the river of the Sands where he wants to found a new city
called Alexandria –at – the –End –of – the –World .( Shows Alexander’s great ambitious )
 Philotas enters with his hands chained , he looks weak and broken . Philotas was arrested as
he had known about a plot against Alexander’s life by Dymnos , who was fed up with
Alexander’s invasions as he wanted to go back home to his wife and he thought that getting
rid of Alexander was the only way . That plot reached Philotas ,but he did nothing as he
thought that it was only hysterical ideas . Dymnos killed himself by a dagger when he got
arrested . Then Philotas’ negligence of the plot seemed suspicious and that’s why he was
arrested and will be presented before the High Council of the Army .
 Philotas tried to ask for Alexander’s pardon , but Alexander told him that he it was all in the
hands of the High Council and that there is evidence against Philotas as there were words
against Alexander said by Philotas and reported by Antigone the woman he loved . Alexander
told him some of his words which were against the greatness of Alexander p.98
 Philotas has questioned the probability of considering Alexander god . Alexander angrily
told philotas that after his accomplishments and the countries he conquered he should be a
god just as Aristotle said , the true King is god among his men . Alexander told him that it is
what the man does is everything .
 Alexander told Philotas that he will be killed if the document is presented to the High
Council , and when Philotas asked Alexander not to present it Alexander told him on one
condition which is to say to the people in public that he didn’t mean what he said .Philotas
refused to say that in public and worship Alexander as a god .
 Philotas refused to say that in public and preferred to be put to death , saying that he was
not Alexander as “he can’t do the impossible “.

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 Alexander asked Hephaestion to return to Babylon to arrest Parmenion and to keep him
under protective custody because Parmenion was worshipped by his men and he controlled
the hearts of Alexander’s Empire as he was afraid that Parmenion might turn against
Alexander after Philotas’s punishment .
 Alexander was witty as he tried to make it seem that arresting Parmenion was for his own
good as to prevent him from the anger of the men’s anger when they hear about Philotas’s
treachery.
 Alexander ordered Hephastion to return to Babylon and ask Parmenion to come to the palace
as to get a message from Alexander . He ordered him to kill Parmnion during the arrest as
Alexander didn’t have any evidence against Parmmnion if he was presented to a trial .And
Hephastion would tell the troops that parmnion was found guilty of plotting against
Alexander’s life just like his son
 Hephastion refused doing such a thing as it would be better for him to die than to kill
Parmenion .
 After Hephastion left , Alexander admitted that he had no friends , his hands shook as he
felt that he was going to be alone with no supporters .
 Alexander decided that he has to kill all the King’s enemies . He was now mad with his own
greatness . He was blind with his accomplishments.
 Roxana enters , he held a ring in one hand and a dagger in the other and told her to choose
one hand . She chose the hand that had the ring . He put the ring in her hand and told her
that he would marry her .
 In this scene Alexander’s tragic flaw is apparent , he was greatly ambitious .
 He was a good leader who asked his followers and took their opinions before he started any
of his invasions .

The Egyptian Language School

English Language department
Subject : Adventure Story 1st Secondary
Alexander the Great
Act2
Scene 2

Setting : A corner of the hanging gardens .Babylon ( in Iraq)

 The scene opens where The Queen Mother is reading a document sent to her from
Alexander by Perdiccas . Perdiccas was sent to accompany The Queen Mother to Alexander
in Samarkand as he wished to see her before he left to India .
 The Queen Mother was surprised to know that Philotes was arrested because of treason .
She arranged to be ready to go to Alex the following day though it would be a long hard
journey .
 Parmenion comes to The Queen , thinking he can see Perdiccas .
 The Queen mother assumed that there was a plan against Parmenion as Periccas lied and said
that he was ill .
 Parmenion wanted queen mother to deliver messages to Alexander and his son as he had
heard a rumour that his son had talked in a bad way about Alexander . Parmenion was so
faithful to Alexander that he was not worried about his son and thought that he deserved
punishment in order to learn his lesson .
 While they were talking the princess drew their attention to a great number of soldiers .
Queen mother thought that they were coming to arrest Parmenion so she asked him to be
careful as she told him to leave the palace through her private apartments in order not to
be seen .
 The queen mother told him that his son was in a trouble and he had to be ready for that he
might be put in danger .
 Before leaving Parmenion gave her a locket that belonged to Alexander’s father to give it
to Alexander . He then went to see Perdiccas as he wanted to know what was Alexander’s
message to him .