re he had been
appointed to command the garrison; and he shot dead with his own hand
Orsodates, a native chief who had revolted from him. At this time it
happened that a ewe brought forth a lamb, upon whose head was a tiara
in shape and colour like that of the King of Persia, with stones
hanging on each side of it.

Alexander, much disturbed at this portent, was purified by the
priests at Babylon, whom he was accustomed to make use of for this
purpose, but told his friends that he was alarmed for their sake, and
not for his own, as he feared that if he fell, heaven might transfer
his crown to some unworthy and feeble successor. However, he was soon
cheered by a better omen. The chief of Alexander's household servants,
a Macedonian named Proxenus, while digging a place to pitch the royal
tent near the river Oxus, discovered a well, full of a smooth, fatty
liquid. When the upper layer was removed, there spouted forth a clear
oil, exactly like olive oil in smell and taste, and incomparably
bright and clear: and that, too, in a country where no olive trees
grew. It is said that the water of the Oxus itself is very soft and
pleasant, and that it causes the skin of those who bathe in it to
become sleek and glossy. Alexander was greatly delighted with this
discovery, as we learn from a letter which he wrote to Antipater, in
which he speaks of this as being one of the most important and
manifest signs of the divine favour which had ever been vouchsafed to
him. The soothsayers held that the omen portended, that the campaign
would be glorious, but laborious and difficult: for oil has been given
by the gods to men to refresh them after labour.

LVIII. Alexander when on this expedition ran terrible risks in battle,
and was several times grievously wounded. His greatest losses were
caused, however, by the want of provisions, and by the severity of the
climate. He himself, striving to overcome fortune by valour, thought
nothing impossible to a brave man, and believed that, while daring
could surmount all obstacles, cowardice could not be safe behind any
defences. We are told that when he was besieging the fortress of
Sisymithres, which was placed upon a steep and inaccessible rock, his
soldiers despaired of being able to take it. He asked Oxyartes what
sort of a man Sisymithres himself was in respect of courage. When
Oxyartes answered that he was the greatest coward in the world,
Alexander said 'You tell me, that the fortress can b