All language subtitles for Alexander.2004 2160p_ENGLISH

Alexander,
the army will divide.

Satrapies will revolt.

Without your orders,
there'll be war.

We beg you. Tell us who.

Our world is gone now.

I'm the last left alive.

Whether that's a blessing
or a curse...

who by Hades would know.

But I've paid my price...

in blood.

And in broken dreams.

They say we were
the greatest fighting force

ever known to man.

Greater even
than the expedition to Troy.

But how can I say it?

How can I tell you
what it is like to be young

and to dream big dreams?

To believe when Alexander
looked you in the eye,

you could do anything.

Anything.

In his presence,
by the light of Apollo,

we were better than ourselves.

Truly, I've known
many great men in my life...

but only one colossus.

And only now, when old,

do I understand who this force
of nature really was.

Or do 1?

Did such a man
as Alexander exist?

Of course not.

We idolize him,
make him better than he was.

Men, all men,
reach and fall...

Reach and fall.

In the East,
the vast Persian Empire

ruled almost all
the known world.

In the West, the once great
Greek city-states--

Thebes, Athens, Sparta.

Had fallen from pride.

For 100 years now,

the Persian kings
had bribed the Greeks,

with their gold,
to fight as mercenaries.

It was Philip, the one-eyed,
who changed all this,

uniting tribes
of illiterate sheepherders

from the high and lowlands.

With his blood and guts,
he built a professional army

that brought the devious Greeks
to their knees.

He then turned his eye
on Persia,

where it was said
the Great King Darius himself,

on his throne in Babylon,
feared Philip.

Philip was murdered,
much to Persia's delight

and perhaps sponsored
by their gold.

And Alexander, at 20,

became the new ruler
of Macedonia.

Announcing revenge
for the death of Philip,

Alexander liberated

all of the cities
of western Asia south to Egypt,

where he was declared
Pharaoh of Egypt

and worshipped as a god.

And finally, he provoked
the rise to battle...

...in the heart
of the Persian Empire,

near Babylon.

It was mad.

Forty thousand of us against
hundreds of thousands

of barbarian races
unknown to us

gathered under Darius himself.

East and west
had now come together

to decide the fate
of the known world.

It was the day Alexander
had waited for all his life.

Son of a god.

It was a myth, of course.

At least it started as a myth.

I know.

I was there.

In the crack
of the Persian line,

we'll go for the head.

Kill Darius?

The gods have brought him
to us at last.

If I die, it's one Macedonian.

But the Persians,
they cannot move

without Darius' command.

Here.

Right here, we cut the throat
of the Persian army.

This is madness.

You'll never get
within 100 paces of him.

Have you seen the sheer
size of his force, Alexander?

Not if you hold them
on the left, my brave PARMENION,

with your son Philotas,
for just one,

two hours tomorrow.

And you, unbreakable Antigonus,
the center phalanx.

Perdiccas, Leonnatus...

Nearchus...

Polyperchon.

If you pin them on the walls
of your sarissas,

here in the center,

their cavalry will follow me
out to the right.

And when bold Cassander breaks,
stretching their left,

a hole will open.

Then I and my cavalry...

Our revered Cleitus,

Ptolemy

and Hephaistion.

Will strike through that gap

and deal the deathblow

- to Darius' head.
- Since when,

by the light of Apollo,
Alexander,

has cavalry been used
to break an infantry line?

And what was it we did
to Chaeronea?

Alexander,
even with luck,

timing, the gods, they're
at least five to our one,

which means in truth
we must rout them tomorrow,

destroy their army completely.

Or we'll be picked apart
by bandit tribes

on the long journey home.

Right.

You speak of home and retreat,

but do you understand,
Parmenion?

Babylon's my new home.

Alexander,

if we must fight,

do so with stealth.

Use your numbers well.

We should attack tonight
when they least expect us.

I didn't cross Asia to steal
this victory, Cassander.

No, you are too honorable for that.

No doubt influenced
from sleeping

with Tales of Troy
under your pillow.

But your father
was no lover of Homer's.

The lands west of the Euphrates,

Alexander, the hand
of his daughter in marriage.

Since when has a Greek
ever been given such honors?

These are not honors,
Parmenion, they're bribes,

which the Greeks
have accepted too long.

Do you forget, Parmenion, that
the man who murdered my father

- lies across the valley floor?
- Come, Alexander,

we're still not really sure
if it was Persian gold

behind the assassination.

But that is no matter!

Your father taught you
never to surrender

your reason to your passion.

Now, I urge you,

with all my experience, regroup!

Fall back to the coast,
raise a larger force. Hmm?

I would, if I were Parmenion.

But I am Alexander.

And no more than Earth
has two suns

will Asia bear two kings.

These are my terms.

And if Darius isn't a coward
who hides behind his men,

then he'll come
to me tomorrow.

And when he bows down
to Greece...

Alexander will be merciful.

By Ares' chains,
he's got balls, men.

I mean, give the man his due,
Parmenion.

And, lads, feast tonight,

for tomorrow
we will dine in Hades.

I've seen one before.
Still alive.

To whom do you pray?

Phobos.

Fear?

Bad omen.

More so for Darius.

I've come to believe

the fear of death drives
all men, Hephaistion.

And this we didn't learn
as schoolboys.

It is the cause
of all our misfortunes.

- So, mighty Crateros.
- Your Majesty.

Are you ready
for tomorrow's dawn?

It's been too long coming
if you ask me.

The men are skittish as colts

and the damn bulls
won't shut their snouts.

Good.

Fear makes men fight better.

Post your sentries alertly,
but rest them well.

Don't you worry, general.

I'm known to sleep
with my eyes open

as a baby's arse.

Only because someone
might steal his loot, sire.

Well, someone owes Crateros
for his cheapness.

He buys neither gloves
nor blankets to warm himself.

Who needs gloves
when you come from grace?

Who needs clothes
when you can fight naked?

He's right.

After tomorrow,

even the thrifty
among you shall be kings.

Gods are with us,
Your Majesty.

We'll stain the ground
in Persian blood, my king.

You're in the first row
tomorrow, boy.

I've always believed,
Alexander, but...

this seems so much bigger
than us.

Did Patroclus doubt Achilles
when they stood side by side

at the seat of Troy?

Patroclus died first.

If you do...

If you were to fall,
Hephaistion,

even if Macedonia were
to lose a king,

I will avenge you.

And follow you down
to the house of death.

I would do the same.

On the eve of battle,
it's hardest to be alone.

Then perhaps...

Perhaps this is
a farewell then...

my Alexander.

Fear not, Hephaistion.

We are at the beginning.

Blood makes the world rise.

Blood makes the rain fall.

Blood makes the earth grow.

And in blood,
all men are born and die.

Blood is the food
of the gods below.

Come, Bucephalus.
Today we ride to our destiny.

Company, group! Regroup!

Phalanx, turn right!

Phalanx, attention!

Neoptolemus.

I remember you the day
you took the siege tower

at Tyre.

You were a giant.

And today,
how will you fight?

Dexippos, by Athena,

how far was it
you threw your man

wrestling at
the last Olympic Games?

Will you match it with your spear?

And, Timander,

son of Menander,
a great soldier to my father.

I still mourn
your brother, Addaios,

who died so bravely
at Halicarnassus.

What an honored family
you descend from, Timander.

You fight for them today.

You've all honored
your country

and your ancestors.

And now we come

to this most distant place in Asia,

where across from us,

Darius has at last
gathered a vast army...

But look again at this horde.

And ask yourselves,

who is this great king

who pays assassins
in gold coins

to murder my father,
our king,

in a most despicable
and cowardly manner?

Who is this great king, Darius,

who enslaves his own men to fight?

Who is this king
but a king of air?

These men do not fight
for their homes.

They fight because this king
tells them they must.

And when they fight,

they will melt away
like the air

because they know no loyalty
to a king of slaves.

But we are not here today
as slaves.

We are here today

as Macedonian freemen!

And though outnumbered...

I say to you who know
the price of tyranny...

who've carried
the Persian yoke too long,

you have a strength
born of your hearts,

and all their arms,
their numbers,

their chariots,
and all their fine horses

will mean nothing
in the hands of slaves.

Some of you,

perhaps myself,

will not live to see the sun set
over these mountains today.

For I will be in the very thick
of battle with you.

But remember this:

the greatest honor
a man can ever achieve

is to live with great courage

and to die
with his countrymen

in battle for his home.

I say to you,

what every warrior has known
since the beginning of time.

Conquer your fear

and I promise you,
you will conquer death.

And someday I vow to you,

your sons and your grandsons
will look into your eyes.

And when they ask you

why you fought
so bravely at Gaugamela,

you will answer,

with all the strength
of your great, great hearts,

"I was here this day
at Gaugamela...

"for the freedom...

"and glory...

of Greece!"

Zeus be with us!

Cassander! Four columns, go!

Where does he go?

I don't know, Majesty.

Envelop him, Bessus.

Hephaistion, go!

Phalanx!

He makes a mistake,
Pharnakes.

Yes, great king.

Be brave, men!

Steady on the left, lads!

Bend if you must
but never break.

And keep watching
the cavalry on the left.

Pick up the pace!

Prepare to repel chariots!

Cassander!

- Forward, men!
- Forward!

Left!

Left turn!

Infantry, clear out now!

Hold your positions!

Hold your positions!

Father!

We must fall back
to the gully, Father.

No, hold!

Where is he?
We're far too thin!

Get word to Alexander!

- Move!
- Yes, sir.

Come, Macedonians!
Ride! Ride!

Drive for the hole!

- Drive for the hole!
- Drive for the hole!

Prince Merdicus.
Bring these men up!

Back and to the left!
Back and to the left!

General!

Get to home!
And go home fast!

I cannot see!

Philotas! Philotas!

Father.

Go. Tell Alexander yourself.

And if he won't listen,
then survive me

and avenge this betrayal!

Pay attention, lad!

Your father still watches over you!

Darius!

Find your horses.

Darius!

Go! Go!

We can reach
those mountains by sunset,

go all night
and catch Darius at dawn.

Provision the horses!

Alexander!
Alexander, my father's lost!

They've overrun the flank!
They're into the baggage train!

Parmenion's crumbling!

Alexander,

if you chase him,
you risk losing your army here.

And if we capture him,
we gain an empire.

You can run to the ends
of the earth, you coward,

but you'll never run far enough!

To Parmenion!

You bleed free, my lord.

May I tend to your wound?
No, Hermolaus, not now.

There's far worse than me.
Go to them.

Help them.

How was this done, soldier?

Spear.

But I got two
of the buggers.

Your Majesty.

You're very brave.

What shall I call you?

Glaukos, my king.
Glaukos.

And where's your home?

lllyria.

Let your body go loose.

Think of home now.

Be brave again, Glaukos...

and you will live on
in glory.

Alexander...

The Persian Empire,

the greatest
the world had yet known,

was destroyed.

And Alexander, at 25,
was now king of all.

If you hesitate, she will strike.

Yes.

They are like people.

You can love them for years.

Feed them, nurture them...

but still,
they can turn on you.

Mmm.

Don't hurt her.

Good.

Now...

He calls me a barbarian.

He makes a mockery
of Dionysus every night.

Some called his mother,
Queen Olympias, a sorceress

and said that Alexander
was the child of Zeus.

Others, Dionysus.

Women are the only ones
who know Dionysus.

But truly, there was not a man
in Macedonia who didn't look

at father and son,
side by side, and wonder.

My little Achilles.

Mwah.

Stay, Alexander, down.

- Mama...
- Down.

What is it you want?!

- Six months. Did you miss me?
- No!

No. No, not here!

Proud bitch.
I'm still your king.

King of what?! Sheepherders?

I am of Achilles' royal blood.

The blood of Herakles runs
in my veins.

You are nothing
but a drunken whore.

Shut your foul mouth.

You 10-titted bitch from Hades!

Which god could I curse
to have ever laid eyes on you!?

Son! Ow! God!

Do you think
people respect you?

You think they don't know
your bastards?

What?

Damn your sorceress soul!

You keep him here
like one of your shakes!

I told you not!
I told you not.

- You'll obey me.
- I will not!

You'll obey me, or I'll kill you
with my own hands.

Let her go!

No! Stop! Papa!

No!

- Obey me!
-Your Majesty! No!

In the name of the gods.

He will never be yours! Never!

In my womb,
I carried my avenger!

In the world he grew up to,

I've come to believe
it was in friendship

that Alexander found
his sanity.

You don't need much
to fight.

When you're in the front ranks
of a battle,

facing some
Northern barbarian tribe,

courage won't be in the soles
of your feet, Perdiccas.

Or in the thickness
of your tunic, Philotas.

Or in the lining
of your stomach, Nearchus.

It's in the heart of a man.

You don't need
to eat every day

or until you're full, Ptolemy.

You don't need to lie in bed
in a morning

when you can have
some good bean soup,

Cassander,
after a forced night march.

Come on, Alexander.

Where's your hunger
to twist Hephaistion's head off?

Is he stronger than you?

Then beat him another way.

Come on! Who will ever
respect you as a king?

You think it's because
of your father?

The first rule of war is to do
what you ask your men to do.

No more, no less.

Good, Hephaistion.
That's it.

Well done.
Good wrestling, Hephaistion.

That's what I want.
Hey! Come, come, come.

You did well, but you lost.

Now, both of you,
congratulate the other. Go on.

Would you want me
to let you win, Alexander?

You're right.

But I promise you,

I will beat you one day,
Hephaistion.

It was said later

that Alexander
was never defeated,

except
by Hephaistion's thighs.

Although an inferior race,

the Persians control at least
four-fifths of the known world.

From Ethiopia and Egypt
in the south,

to Caucasus and the
two inland seas in the north...

Philip brought
such as Aristotle

from Athens to educate
our rough people.

They rule,
and we sit around like frogs.

- Master?
- Yes?

- Master!
- Yeah, out with it.

Why are the Persians
so cruel?

Oh, come on, Nearchus.

That is not the subject
for today, Nearchus.

But, uh, it is true
that the Oriental races

are known
for their barbarity

and their slavish devotion
to their senses.

Which are so dull,
they castrate young boys,

such as yourselves,
for their sexual pleasure.

Yes.

Excess in all things
is the undoing of men.

That is why
we Greeks are superior.

We practice control
of our senses.

Moderation.

We hope.

Then what of Achilles at Troy,
master?

Was he not excessive?

Achilles simply lacks restraint.

He dominates other men
so completely

that even when he withdraws
from battle,

crazed with grief over
his dead lover Patroclus,

he seriously endangers
his own army.

He is a deeply selfish man.

Then would you say
that the love between Achilles

and Patroclus
is a corrupting one?

When men lie together in lust,

it is a surrender
to the passions

and does nothing
for the excellence in us.

Nor does any other excess,
Cassander,

jealousy among them.

But when men lie together
and knowledge

and virtue
are passed between them,

that is pure and excellent.

When they compete
to bring out the good,

the best in each other,

this is the love
between men

that can build a city-state

and lift us
from our frog pond.

But can a man love
a woman equally, master?

A woman? Of course not.

A woman is a slave
to her passion, Hephaistion.

Oh, naturally,
there are exceptions

and we must honor them.

Such as Pallas Athena,
goddess of wisdom and war.

But never forget,

she is sprung
not from the loins of Zeus,

but from his mind.

Now, you think on all this,
my young frogs,

for in you resides the future
of Greek civilization.

To strive for honor
is the highest purpose of all.

To rule over our baser emotions.

To follow reason,
the divine part in each of you.

Yes,

to love excellence
is truly to love the gods.

Now,
will you stop distracting me?!

Back to geography
and things that we know.

Is it possible that the source
of Egypt's mighty River Nile

could rise in these distant
mountains of the outer earth?

If so, an experienced navigator
could find his way here

by this river east,

down into the great plains
of India,

out into the eastern ocean
at end of the world,

and by this route,
up the Nile,

back to Egypt,

into the Middle Sea
and home to Greece.

Now, if only these frogs
could look outward

and act on their
favored position at the center,

Greece could rule the world.

Why is it, master,

in myth these lands
you speak of are known?

India, where Herakles
and Dionysus traveled.

All these men who went east,

Theseus, Jason, Achilles,
were victorious.

From generation
to generation,

their stories have
been passed on.

Why? Unless there
was truth to them?

Tales of Amazons?

Minotaurs, Gorgons,
Icarus flying into the sun?

No, Alexander.

Only common people believe
these tales,

as they believe most anything.

We are here precisely
to educate ourselves

against such foolish passions.

But if we are superior
to the Persians,

as you say,
why do we not rule them?

It is. It has always been
our Greek dream to go east.

My father long wants it.

The East has a way

of swallowing men
and their dreams.

But still, to think
it's these myths

that lead us forward
to the greatest glory,

why is it wrong
to act on them?

I can only warn you,
not teach you.

Beware of what you dream for.

The gods have a way
of punishing such pride.

And growing more ambitious,

Philip now planned
the invasion of Persia.

Is that the best
you can do, Cleitus?

Back to the phalanx
with you,

I'll ride him myself.

No one will ride that beast,
Your Majesty.

Not with your leg.

He's been beaten
far too often.

My noble king,

he's a high-spirited animal, yes.

High-spirited and worthy
of-- Of Philip of Macedon.

Now for three
and a half talents,

I couldn't possibly make
a profit on him, but for you--

Why would I want such a beast?
I already have a wife.

Do I seem so old?

- Stay down, stay down.
- Hold him.

A broken neck comes free,
you fool.

He's too nervous for battle.
You'll sell him for meat.

Buy him for me, Father.
I'll ride him.

And if you don't?

I'll pay for him myself.

With what,
your singing voice?

I'll pay you!

I tell you,
the horse can't be ridden, lad.

His mind is broken.

He can be ridden. By me.

If you can rule that horse,
I'll make him yours...

at half the price.

That horse will kill him, Philip.

- He'll break the boy in two.
- Will he?

Perhaps she'll make
a musician out of him yet.

You don't like your shadow,
do you?

It's like a dark spirit
coming up to get you.

Do you see? That's us.

It's just a trick of Apollo's.

He's the god of...

the sun.

But I'll show you how
to outwit him,

you and me together.

The boy doesn't have
the craft, Philip.

He could hurt himself.

He'll have to figure
that out for himself.

It's time.

Good idea.

Indeed there are times, Philip,

I wonder if he is your blood.

- I only worry that..
- What? What was that, Attalus?

Nothing.

I was just noticing
how the people

like seeing you
and Eurydice together.

You go, boy!

You ride that horse
and by Zeus I say,

you can rule the world!

Bucephalus.

That's what I'll call you.

Strong and stubborn.

Bucephalus and Alexander.

Come now, let's ride together!

Ah, he's got
some Titan in him yet!

Attalus! Cleitus!

For Zeus' sake,
he beat you, man!

Now, Bucephalus, show them.

My son.

My son!

You remember Prometheus,
don't you?

Who stole the secret of fire
and gave it to man.

It made Zeus so angry,

he chained Prometheus to a rock
in the great Caucasus,

and each day, his eagle pecked
out the poor man's liver.

And each night,
it grew back again

so that it could be eaten
the next day.

Miserable fate.

Oedipus tore out his eyes
when he found out

he'd murdered his father
and married his mother.

Knowledge that came too late.

Jason...

he went east and brought back
the Golden Fleece.

And married
a barbarian wife, Medea.

Later, when he left her
for a younger wife,

Medea slaughtered
their two children in vengeance.

My mother would never hurt me.

It's never easy to escape
our mothers, Alexander.

All your life,
beware of women.

They're far more dangerous
than men.

I'm sure you remember Achilles
from Tales of Troy.

- He's my favorite.
- Why?

Because he loved Patroclus
and avenged his death.

Because he lived without fear
and slew Hector.

Some say he was
a hotheaded fool,

who fought only for himself
and not for the Greeks.

But he was a hero,
the greatest at Troy.

And his fate?

That he must die young
but with great glory.

Did he have a choice?

Oh, yes.

He could have a long life,
but there would be no glory.

You dream of glory, Alexander.
Your mother encourages you.

There's no glory
without suffering,

and this she will not allow.

She makes you weak.

Gods have never
made it easy for man.

Look, Herakles.

Even after he accomplished
his 12 labors,

he was punished with madness,
slaughtered his three children.

Poor Herakles.

Great Herakles.

All greatness comes from loss.

Even you, the gods
will one day judge harshly.

When I'm king like you,
one day, Father?

Don't rush the day, boy.
You risk all.

My father threw me into battle
before I knew how to fight.

When I killed
my first man, he said:

"Now you know."

I hated him then,
but I understand why now.

A king isn't born, Alexander.

He's made by steel
and by suffering.

A king must know
how to hurt those he loves.

It's lonely.
Ask Herakles.

Ask any of them.

Fate is cruel.

No man or woman
could be too powerful

or too beautiful
without disaster befalling.

They laugh
when you rise too high

and crush everything
you've built with a whim.

What glory they give,
in the end, they take away.

They...
They make of us slaves.

Truth is in our hearts,

and none will tell you this
but your father.

Men hate the gods.

The only reason
we worship any of them

is because we fear worse.

What's worse?

The Titans.

If they were ever
to be set free,

it'd be a darkness such
as we have never seen before.

Could they ever come back?

Can Zeus imprison the Titans
forever under Mount Olympus?

It's said that when Zeus

burned them to dust
with his lightning bolt,

he took the Titans' ashes
and in a cold revenge,

mixed it with those
of mortal men.

Why?

Who knows these things?

One day, things will change.

Men will change.

But first, the gods must change.

But all this you'll forget,
Alexander.

That's why we call them myths.

We can't bear
to remember them.

I'll remember.

And one day,
I'll be on walls like these.

Alexander once said to me:

"We are most alone
when we are with the myths.”

Phalanx!

And thus, it came to pass,

in a dream as mythical
to all Greeks

as Achilles defeating
the Trojans,

at this one glorious moment in time,

Alexander was loved by all.

But in the end,

I believe Babylon was a far
easier mistress to enter

than she was to leave.

Sikander! Sikander! Sikander!

Aristotle may have
called them barbarians,

but he never saw Babylon.
Such as we've only dreamed.

We have enough gold here
to support

another three generations
of Macedonian armies.

And Macedonia would
soon corrupt, Cassander.

Wealth in great quantities
brings the crows.

Not for the men
who fought, I trust.

We'll pay them well,
Antigonus,

but not as mercenaries
for future services.

Now you sound like Philip.

Philip never saw Babylon.

No, he didn't, Hephaistion.

Hello!

Alexander, I know
you think me a stiff old sod,

but whatever our differences,
know this day,

your father would be
very proud of you.

Thank you, Parmenion.

I ask you to forgive me
my own anger, my pride.

They, too, blind me.

A magnificent
mainland work from the last century.

The golden age, Alexander.

Worth much to Athens
and to our alliances.

Take back what is ours,

but spare what belongs
to the Persians.

Yes.

We're the richest men
to walk the earth, my friends.

Not if you keep
giving it all away.

The grandsons of goat herders,

we how rule
2 million square miles.

But...

none of you fear

that this great fortune
may drive us all to destruction.

You overvalue us.

For as long
as Darius breathes,

he is the legitimate king
of Asia,

and I but the king of air.

But he has no power,
Alexander.

He's lost in the mountains
with no army.

As long as he's lost, Philotas,
he can be believed in.

Only when he's found
will it be decided.

It seems you've already
made up your mind, Alexander.

We must finish what we failed
to do at Gaugamela, PARMENION.

We must hunt Darius down.
If it be, to the ends of earth.

That was not
your father's mission.

And I am not my father.

Come on.
Have you so quickly forgotten?

Fortune favors the bold!

No wonder

Darius fled when he had this
to come back to.

One for every night of the year.

How will I ever go
back to Lysimache after this?

I advise you not to touch,
Leonnatus.

Here, I'll take care of it
for you. Heh.

Aristotle was perhaps prescient.

Do these images fool us
with their beauty

and degrade our souls?

Bagoas, great king.

- Darius' boy.
- Bagoas.

Nicely gilded, Your Majesty.

Most successful.

He was certainly one

of the great king's favorites.

How old? Is great well
with the years.

What are you now, Bagoas?
Eighteen, 197

- Where does he come from?
- The north, sire.

From the hills near Azusa.

You speak our language.

Good.
I'd like to learn yours.

Is learnable, my lord.

So tell me, Bagoas...

do my eyes betray me...

or do you wish
to be set free

to go back to your homeland?

All my family's long dead,
great king.

With your permission,
I will stay on.

Very well then, Bagoas.

Ptolemy, administer this.

And that's the same
of every person in the harem,

woman and eunuch.

Whoever wishes to be sent home
to their families, let them.

What? Hear that, boys?

- No!
- Set them free!

No! No!

Get off!

Great King Alexander.

The princess

of the thousand roses

and eldest daughter of
the formerly Great King Darius:

Stateira.

Noble Alexander...

I come to beg for the lives
of my sisters...

my mother,
my grandmother.

You are not wrong,
Princess Stateira.

He, too, is Alexander.

Please.

I plead for my family's lives.

Sell me as a slave,
great king, but--

Look now...

in my eyes...

princess...

and tell me,

how would you like
to be treated?

As I am...

a princess.

Then so be it.

You and your family shall
be treated as my family.

You shall live in this palace
as long as you choose.

Have you any other requests
for me, my noble princess?

No.

Everything I wish...

I have requested.

You truly are...

a queen.

Yes, she would be
a perfect match for you,

but you do nothing.

Three months
you've been in Babylon

and leave me in Pella

at the mercy of your enemies,
of which you have many.

Antipater,

accustomed now to the power
that you have given him.

I must watch him grow stronger.

I am certain
that he communicates secretly

with Parmenion,
who is dangerous.

But beware, most of all,
of those closest to you.

They are like snakes...

and can be turned.

General Crateros.

Cassander is Antipater's son.

Even Cleitus,
your father's favorite

and Ptolemy,
your friend, yes.

But beware of men
who think too much.

They blind themselves.

Only Hephaistion
do I leave out.

But all of them
you make rich

while your mother
and yourself,

you leave in generous poverty.

Why won't you ever believe me?

It is only a dark mind like mine

that can know
these secrets of the heart.

For they are dark, Alexander.

So dark.

But in you,

the son of Zeus,

lies the light of the world.

Your companions

will be shadows
in the underworld

when you are
a name living forever

in history
as the most glorious,

shining light of youth,

forever young,
forever inspiring.

Never will there be
an Alexander like you.

Alexander the Great.

Remember, bring me to Babylon
as you promised.

I can only help you,

for they know
if they harm you,

they will face my wrath,

as Queen of Babylon.

It's a high ransom

she charges for nine months'
lodging in the womb.

Bring her, Alexander.

- It'll give her such joy.
- Joy?

When I'm the cracked mirror
of her dreams?

Stay with me tonight,
Hephaistion.

I'll take my own bath.

Thank you, Bagoas.

What bothers you?

I see in her everything I fear.

Yet I have no idea
what it is, this fear.

She was always so sure
I was born of Zeus.

Why, Hephaistion?

I think there are things
beyond our imagining,

like the lightning,
tales of strange conceptions.

I don't doubt it.

What is being told me?

What destiny do we--?
Do I have?

Well, if I'm Patroclus,
I die first.

Then you, Achilles.

The generals are upset.

They question
your obsession with Darius.

They say it was never meant
for you to be king of Asia.

Naturally.

They want only to return
to their homes, rich with gold.

But I've seen the future,
Hephaistion.

I've seen it now a thousand times,
on a thousand faces.

These people want...

Need change.

Aristotle was wrong
about them.

How so?

Look at those
we've conquered.

They leave
their dead unburied.

They smash their enemies' skulls
and drink them as dust.

They mate in public.

What can they think

or sing or write
when none can read?

But as Alexander's army,

they can go where
they never thought possible.

They can soldier
or work in the cities.

The Alexandrias,
from Egypt to the outer ocean.

We could connect
these lands, Hephaistion,

and the people.

Some say
these Alexandrias

have become extensions
of Alexander himself.

They draw people into the cities
so as to make slaves of them.

But we freed them,
Hephaistion,

from the Persia
where everyone lived as slaves.

To free the people
of the world...

such would be
beyond the glory

of Achilles,
beyond Herakles...

A feat to rival Prometheus,

who was always
a friend to man.

Remember the fates
of these heroes.

- They suffered greatly.
- Oh, we all suffer.

Your father, mine.

They all came to the end
of their time.

And in the end,
when it's over,

all that matters is
what you've done.

You once said,

"The fear of death
drives all men."”

Are there no other forces?

Is there not love
in your life...

Alexander?

What would you do

if you ever reached
the end of the world?

I'd turn back
and conquer its opposite.

I wonder sometimes if it's not
your mother you run from.

So many years,
so many miles between you.

What is it you fear?

Who knows these things?

When I was a child,
my mother thought me divine.

My father, weak.

Which am I, Hephaistion?

Weak or divine?

All I know is...

I trust only you
in this world.

I've missed you.

I need you.

It is you I love,
Hephaistion.

No other.

You're everything
I care for...

and by the sweet breath
of Aphrodite,

I'm so jealous of losing you
to this world you want so badly.

You'll never lose me,
Hephaistion.

I'll be with you always.

Till the end.

The campaign in the northeast
of Persia

turned into a hard guerrilla
war of almost three years.

We chased Darius
towards Bactria,

but missed taking him
by hours.

He was dying
when we found him, sire.

He asked for water.

He drank and died.

The Great King Darius
had been betrayed

by his own commanders.

Fully honoring his corpse,

Alexander hunted down
these commanders

into unknown lands,

crossing even beyond
the River Oxus into Sogdia.

We fought them as far

as the unknown steppes
of Scythia,

where only legendary heroes
had once trod.

The surveyors told us
we were now on the borders

of where Europe
and Asia meet.

In fact,
we were totally lost.

Here, Alexander founded
his 10th Alexandria

and settled it with veterans,
their women

and any who would dare
the frontier life.

Unable to accept defeat
in any form,

Alexander persisted in breaking
every tribe that resisted,

until the day
he received the head

of his last enemy
who'd surrendered.

For Alexander,

there could be no pretender
to the throne of Asia,

which now included
all of Sogdia and Bactria.

It was here that he made

one of his most mysterious
decisions.

Ten years
after his mother's insistence

he marry a Macedonian...

Through our union,

Greek and barbarian,
may be reconciled in peace.

...the most powerful man
in the world

took a girl
of no political significance.

Why?

Some say it was for alliance
with the tribes.

Others, the desire
for a successor.

And yet others said
Alexander truly fell in love.

Who Roxane really was,

I doubt that any of us
ever saw further

than the pools
of those black eyes.

On this glorious occasion...

I toast this great army
that has given so much.

And in honor of them,

those of you who set out
with us seven long years ago,

I pronounce all your debts paid

forthwith
from the royal treasury.

Praise Alexander!

And in honor of my bride...

my beautiful bride,
we recognize the many women

who've shared
the long hard road with us

and grant them dowries
befitting a proper marriage.

And what about our boys?

And lastly...

Lastly, the gods demand
no less of us

that your children
with these women

be given
a proper Greek education

and military training
under our protection,

so as to be the new soldiers
of our kingdom in Asia.

Your father must be
turning in his grave, Alexander.

After all this time,
a hill chief's daughter.

Now, you call this
tribal wedding legitimate?

Do you forget, Parmenion,

my father took a barbarian
as his queen?

Yes, but few would call it
a profoundly happy marriage.

But what's the point, Alexander?
She's your captive.

Just take her
as your concubine.

Because I want a son.
Damn you, Philotas.

Then half your nobles
have sisters

who'd make fine
Macedonian mothers.

To take an Asian as my queen,
not a captive,

is a sign of deep respect
for our subjects.

It will, more than anything,
bring us together, unify us.

Which is not to say I won't take
a Macedonian one day.

As a second wife?
You insult Macedonia.

Never will our people
accept this girl's son as king.

They'll be angry enough
when they find out

their husbands all have
second wives in Barbaria.

Then they'll learn!

By Athena's justice,
this girl has spirit.

She'll breed a brave son.

Alexander!

This is about the honor
of our kingdom.

Exactly.
What can be won, Alexander?

We came here to Asia
to punish them for their crimes.

We've achieved that.

Seven years from home,

now we drift
from one far region to another,

chasing nomads and bandits,

when Macedonia bleeds
its manpower.

For what?
To build roads in Asia?

To give these people cities?

And now make an army of them?

To found cities
and expand our reach is not to drift.

- What benefit to Macedon?
- It's far richer than before!

Look what you give them.

With respect, Parmenion,

had you fought better
at Gaugamela,

we could have had Darius--

- How dare you, Nearchus?!
- General Nearchus to you, boy.

Alexander spread
our flank too thin!

There was nothing my father

- or any of you could've done!
- Philotas!

Alexander, I've known you
since you were born.

I supported you
at your father's death.

At the very least,
for Zeus' sake,

and in respect to the council
that chose you king,

give us a Macedonian heir.

A Macedonian heir.

- You've been heard clearly.
- But, Alexander..

Parmenion!

And after the wedding,

you'll take two brigades
back to Babylon,

where I look to you
and Antipater in Greece,

to maintain our empire
and supply this expedition.

I'll winter in the north

with my advance army
at Marakand.

Then I pray to Apollo
you soon realize how far

you've turned
from your father's path!

Ah, damn you, Parmenion,
by the gods and your Apollo.

What was in my father's guts

wasn't overripe in reason
like yours!

He never lusted for war,
Alexander, or enjoyed it so.

He consulted
his peers in council,

among equals,
the Macedonian way.

He didn't make decisions
based on his personal desires.

I've taken us further
than my father ever dreamed.

Old man...

we're in new worlds.

Alexander, be reasonable!

Were they ever meant
to be our equals?!

Share our rewards?!

You remember
what Aristotle said.

An Asian?

What would a wedding vow
ever mean to a race

that has never kept
their word to a Greek?

- Aristotle be damned!
- Alexander!

By Zeus and all the gods,

what makes you so much better
than them, Cassander?!

Better than you really are.

In you and those
like you is this.

Alexander.

What disturbs me most

is not your lack of respect
for my judgment!

It's your contempt for a world
far older than ours.

If I ever knew a girl
like that, Crateros, kill me.

Have another drink, Cleitus.

Shouldn't you be bound
to a king?

Cleitus.

Alexander,

you look weak when
you not accept these honors.

I understand,
my dear father,

but it's against Greek ways.

Then Greek ways are weak.

I still think
she got the better of him

in this bargain.

My daughter, Roxane,

she shall make you
good wife.

She shall kill for you.

Lord Sikander,

ruler of heaven...

and earth.

In honor
of this great alliance,

I, Oxyartes,
offer you these great gifts.

Alexander,

I would like to honor a toast
to you from my people.

Good morning, sire.

Alexander, give us a kiss.

We shall fight for you,
Alexander.

It shall be bloody.

Who's the bear?

Parmenion.

You've been in complete control
of your supply lines.

His pessimism is infectious.

But he'll stay loyal...

as long as his son
remains with us.

Her eyes tell me
she cares for you, Alexander.

Perhaps too much.

In the ways
of my country,

those who love too much
lose everything...

and those who love
with irony...

last.

I found it in Egypt.

The man who sold it to me
said it came from a time

when man worshipped
sun and stars.

I'll always think of you
as the sun, Alexander.

And I pray your dream
will shine on all men.

I wish you a son.

You're a great man.

Many will love you, Alexander,
but none so pure and deep--

You...

love him?

He is Hephaistion.

Thank you, Bagoas.

Your boy?

There are many different ways
to love, Roxane.

Come.

No.

No, no!

No!

You have no fear.

It's fitting.

A man searches for a woman
at Earth's top...

and finds her.

The myth becomes real.

Great man, Sikander...

you I kill now.

Do it.

End it. I would do the--

I would do the same.

I'll die a fool
for this...love.

My life is now yours.

You will have my son.

Who is this woman
you call your queen, Alexander?

A hill girl?

You with your breeding.

Already she makes enemies
with her strong, clumsy nature.

Do not confuse us.

I was never a barbarian
as Philip said.

We are of Achilles'
royal blood.

Zeus is your father.

Oh, I understand she brings
you some happiness,

but how can she help you?

You must know

that she does not speak
in your name,

which is yours
and yours alone.

Preserve it, secret it,

and hear me
when I tell you, act.

And act soon.

After seven years,
people wonder:

"Who is this King Alexander?"

I have given you ample proof.

Antipater daily undermines
your authority.

Return to Babylon
and strengthen your center.

Or come home to Macedonia
and reorganize.

But do not chase your dream
further east.

Your life
and mine depend on it.

Remember,

my only thoughts are of you.

As you, too, must face

your glorious destiny.

Think kindly of your mother.

Provide for me.

Protect me from your enemies
when you are gone.

And remember always:

it is I who love you
more than any.

If only you were not
a pale reflection

of my mother's heart.

Pregnant so soon.

The little whore.

He will marry her in the spring,
during Dionysus' Festival,

and when her first son is born,

her sweet uncle Attalus
will convince Philip

to name the boy
his successor

with himself as regent.

And you...

You will be sent
on some impossible mission

against some
monstrous Northern tribe

to be mutilated in one more
meaningless battle over cattle.

And I, no longer queen,
will be put to death

with your sister

and the remaining members
of our family.

I wish sometimes you could see
the light, Mother.

The truth is,
he's taken nothing from you

that you've not been
long without.

The only way is to strike.

Announce your marriage
to a Macedonian now.

Beget a child of pure blood.

He would be one of them,
not mine,

and he would have no choice
but to make you king.

There is still Kynnane.

Eurydice was perfect.

If your father, that pig,
had not ravaged her first!

Say nothing more
of my father.

Do you hear me?
Say nothing.

You're right.

Forgive me.

A mother loves too much.

Who shall I sing to sleep
at night anymore?

I wish we could
spend more time together.

Like we used to,

when you were
the sweetest boy.

There's never been time, Mother.

Since I was a child,
I've been groomed

to be ever the best.

Oh, my poor child,
you're like Achilles,

cursed by your greatness.

Yes. Take my strength.

You must never confuse
your feelings

with your duties, Alexander.

A king must make public gestures
for the common people.

I know, but you will
be 19 this summer

and the girls already say
you don't like them.

You like Hephaistion more.

I understand.
It's natural for a young man.

But if you go to Asia
without leaving your successor,

you risk all.

Hephaistion loves me,
as I am...

not who.

Loves? Loves?

In the name of Dionysus,

understand how Philip thinks,
for your own sake.

Your life hangs
in the balance.

I know these things, Alexander.
You are nothing to him.

His spies are inside
your closest circle

to ensure that
you don't plot against him.

And still you sleep.

You will not live out this year
unless you act!

Stop!

I'm his only worthy son.

You crazed woman.

He'd never hurt me.

Even if Eurydice had a boy,

he'd be 20
before he'd let him rule.

Yes, and you would be 40.

Old and wise,
like Parmenion.

And Philip's young son
would be 20.

Like you now,
but raised by him, his blood.

He will never give you
the throne now, Alexander.

Never.

What would you have me do?

Whatever is necessary.

Where have you lost
your mind?

It would be civil war,
clan against clan, chaos.

Yes. And you would win.

Because the young ones
love you like a god.

I forbid you to ever talk
to me like that!

Such a man would be forever
chased by the Furies!

What have you to fear
from the Furies

for killing an impostor
to the throne

before he murders you
and your mother?

Why won't you ever believe me?

Philip did not want you.

You had a condition
of the breathing

and he wanted to leave you
in the mountains

for the birds to peck
at your eyes!

What you don't know,
my poor child.

Lanice knows nothing of this.

Lanice?

I was there.

Lanice was not.

No, Alexander,
Zeus is your father.

I laid with him that night
in the wind,

as sure as any mortal man.

Never have I been
made love to as I was then.

Enough.

Half the mothers in Greece
share such a fantasy.

I warn you, Mother.

Make no mistake.

You will treat this girl
as nothing more important

than his other wives.

You will behave
as we always have.

As the first.

I wonder...

did you ever love him?

What?

I never stopped.

What is it, Orestes?

I beg your forgiveness,
my king.

I cannot be part of this.

Who did this?

Tell me.

- Say it!
- Hermolaus!

Death to all tyrants!

I didn't do this!

I've known you and loved you
as long as I know.

Never will you find a man
as devoted as I.

The conspiracy,
such as it was,

deeply upset Alexander.

Not only because
it involved the young people

who shared his dream,

but more intimately,
it implicated Philotas,

his companion from boyhood,

when a page confessed
that a few days before,

he'd informed Philotas...

- Alexander.
- ...of the plot.

Remember me for who I am.

I do remember you, Philotas,

but not as you remember
yourself.

And it appears to me
and others here,

from the testimony given
by your mistress,

that the true weather
of your soul is ambition.

No.

We all felt there was more here
than sexual bickering.

Alexander wanted the truth

and Philotas' answers
were lacking merit.

Please take him away.

Alexander put him silently
and quickly

to trial by his peers,

and whether plotter
or opportunist,

Philotas was found guilty
of treason.

No, Alexander, no!

Remove him!

The suspects were all executed.

None of us defended Philotas,

but then again,
none of us ever liked him.

And of course his power was
carved up by the rest of us.

Before he died,
we tortured him

to find out what
his father Parmenion knew.

But this we never learned.

What to do with Parmenion
and his 20,000 troops

guarding our supply lines was
a far more delicate matter.

Was he innocent in this?

Or had he decided to act before
age further withered his power?

The men will
follow their king.

Alexander won't be there.

Necessity required Alexander to act,

and he sealed the camp
within the hour

of the first accusations
against Philotas.

Then go, Antigonus.

And Cleitus.

And go quickly.

Three days' hard riding
sent Antigonus and Cleitus

to Parmenion, the general
most loyal to Philip.

His soldiers accepted
the finding of guilt

against Parmenion,

as they understood well
the code of vengeance

that made the head
of family responsible

for the behavior of all.

Many of us felt
we were better off

without that pompous thorn
Parmenion,

as Alexander promoted
all of us generously.

If we issue the gold bullion
in the name of Alexander,

then we meet a resistance.
I still have it in gold...

Cleitus. Antigonus.

Parmenion.

Come, Alexander,
drink this sadness away.

If only thirst could
quench sorrow, Ptolemy.

There's only one thing better
than winning a battle, son,

and that's the taste
of a new woman.

You'll find it far sweeter
than self-pity.

- Pausanias, you bore me.
- Alexander!

Be gone with you.

Alexander, I found you
the right girl.

- What's your name, darling?
- Antigone.

- What's your name?
- Antigone.

- I love you.
- And I love you, Cleitus.

- Please, no!
- There you go.

No!

I'll sleep in my grave,
Hephaistion.

While alive, I prefer dancing.

Pausanias.

Who's your new friend?

- There's your new friend.
- No! Please don't!

No! Please, no!

No! Please!

A toast.

A toast!

I drink to our Greek friends
and to our new union,

Macedonia and Greece,
equals in greatness!

And to Philip, our king,

without whom this union
could not be possible.

Come, Attalus, leave some
damn air in the hall!

And last, I drink
to the king's marriage

to my niece, Eurydice,

a Macedonian queen
we can be proud of!

To Philip and Eurydice

and to their legitimate sons!

Alexander, don't!

What am I,

you son of a dog?

Come, then!

Shut up!

- Shut up, all of you!
- Alexander, please.

This is my wedding,
not some public brawl.

Insolent pup.

Apologize, by Zeus,
before you dishonor me.

You defend the man
who called my mother a whore

and me a bastard.

And I dishonor you?

Ah! You listen
like your mother.

Attalus is my family now,
the same as you.

Then choose your relatives
more carefully.

Don't expect me to sit here
and watch you shame yourself.

Shame?

You insult me!

I insult you!

A man not fit to lick
the ground my mother walks on.

Shame?

You dog,
questioning your queen.

Shame?!

I've nothing to be ashamed of,
you arrogant brat.

I'll marry the girl
if I want,

and I'll have
as many sons as I want,

and there's nothing you or your
harpy mother can do about it.

Why, drunken man,
must you think

everything I do and say
comes from my mother?

Because I know her heart,
by Hera,

and I see her in your eyes.

You covet this throne too much.

Now, we all know

that she-wolf of a mother
of yours wants me dead.

Well, you can both dream, boy.

Come, Philip,
this is the wine talking.

- Leave the boy. It'll wait till morning.
- Now!

I command you.

Apologize to your kinsman.

Apologize.

No kinsman to me.

Good night, old man.

And when my mother
remarries,

I'll invite you
to her wedding.

You bastard!

You'll obey me.
Come here.

This is the man who is going to
take you from Greece to Persia?

He can't even make it
from one couch to the next.

Get out of my palace!
You're exiled, you bastard!

Banished from the land,
you're not welcome here!

You're no son of mine!

In the spring,

Alexander marched
an army of 150,000

across the passes
of the Hindu Kush

into the unknown.

In his dream,

it was the promised route
to the end of the world.

We were now a mobile empire,

stretching back thousands
of miles to Greece.

Cooks and architects,
doctors, surveyors,

moneylenders and wives,

children, lovers, whores.

And slaves,

that anonymous, bent,
working spine of this new beast.

Ravaged or expanded,
for better or worse,

no occupied territory
remained the same again.

Although devoted to Roxane,

Alexander's visits
to her tent diminished

as a year, then two,
went by without a successor,

wounding Alexander's
great pride.

The surveyors are saying

that Zeus chained
Prometheus up there.

In one of those caves.

They say there's a giant
eagle's nest just above it.

I suppose he drops
down each night

to peck out
poor Prometheus' liver.

You remember what Aristotle
told us of these mountains?

Yes, I do.

That when we reach
these heights,

we'd look back and see
Macedonia to the west

and the outer ocean
to the east.

But I fear this world is
far larger than anyone dreamed.

A world of Titans.

The scouts have been up
every known trail, Alexander.

There is no way across.

Except to the south,

into India.

Were we gods,

we'd breach these walls
to the eastern ocean.

We will, Alexander.

In a few years' time,
we will return.

But first, the men must
see their homes.

Have you found your home...

Ptolemy?

More and more, I think
it will be Alexandria.

Well, at least it's hot.

And Thais...

she loved it there.

Women bring men home.

I have no such feeling.

Oh, you have Babylon,
Alexander.

Where your mother
awaits your invitation.

Yes, I have Babylon.

But each land,
each boundary I cross...

I strip away another illusion.

I sense death will be the last.

Yet still I push...

harder and harder
to reach this...home.

Where has our eagle gone?

We must go on, Ptolemy.

Until we find an end.

India, the land
where the sun was born,

fabled to be even richer
than Persia,

had never been explored
or conquered.

From the beginning,

we struggled to unify
a land without a center,

kings who conspired
against one another,

a labyrinth of tribes urged on
by zealots and philosophers

to die by the thousands
for their strange gods.

We saw things
we'd never dreamed

and could hardly describe.

We saw birds that could talk
and men that couldn't.

Crateros,
in the advance party,

fought against men
with hairy skins

who were tiny and lived
in the tops of trees.

They're animals.

Till Hephaistion

convinced us these were animals
who imitated men,

but wore their own skin.

They called
this tribe "monkey."

Monkey. Monkey.

But we saw little difference

with the tribes
who lived among them.

His hand.

So much like ours.

They are men, Roxane.

Hello, little man.

Do they speak?

No, but they do sing,

make noises from the roofs
of the forest.

We saw men who walked
naked in public

and spent hours at a time
staring and doing nothing.

Some who lived 200 years.

And then, there was the rain.

Never before had we seen water

that fell from the gods
for 60 days and nights.

Well done today.

Make sure the women
and children are fed.

You know better, Machatas.

What's your son going to say?

Come on, man.
The older you get, the stronger.

That's right, king.
You're my horse, Alexander.

I'll be with you at your side.

Everything rotted in this rain,

and scores of men
died miserably

from the tiny serpents...

Cleitus,
bring the snake healers!

...that were everywhere
in this evil land.

What happened, lad?

It's to the neck.

- Oh, no.
- Zeus, no.

Hold on, Dimnus.
Hold on.

Be brave. Be brave.

Oh, Zeus.

Our quest for gold
and glory evaporated

as we realized
there was none to be had.

Tempers worsened.

We massacred all Indians
who resisted.

And with the local water putrid,

we drank the strong wine.

As we moved south and east,

Alexander often returned
the lands we'd conquered

to their defeated kings
so as to make them allies.

But this did not sit well
with the army,

who began to wonder:

Were we here for riches?

Or had Alexander,

in some remorseless
and crazed quest

to imitate
the glory of Herakles,

forgotten them?

One thing an army
knows quickly in their bones

is which way
the gods are blowing.

Kiss him!

To Bagoas.

To Bagoas!

And to my mother's god,
Dionysus...

Dionysus!

...who, we're told by
our Indian allies, traveled here

before Herakles,
some 6000 years ago.

To a hero.

To a hero!

Roxane.

You lose face.

These Indians...

they are a low,
evil people.

You don't try
to understand them.

I try.

But this I know,
Alexander.

In Persia,
you are a great king.

Here...

they hate you.

Let us go back to Babylon.

There you are strong.

We'll talk about this later.

Yes.

Later.

Talk.

I shall come.

Tonight.

And I shall wait.

Good night, my king.

Your Majesty.

Come, Alexander,
drink with us.

Alexander!

I remember a time

you hated
how your father drank.

Now I know why.

Dionysus is hero.

But he is also mind breaker.

He destroys our self-control.

Self-control is a lover
I've known too long, Ptolemy.

The struggle worries me
to the bone.

And success I find to be
as corrupt as failure.

But Dionysus,
bless his ancient soul,

frees me from myself.

And then, I move up.

I am simply, Alexander.

A toast to Bagoas.

And to the 30,000
beautiful Persian boys

we're training to fight
in this great army.

And to the memory of Philip.

Had he lived to see

his Macedonians transformed
into such a pretty army.

To Philip.
To a real hero.

Philip!

To Cleitus
and his new appointment

as satrap of Bactria.

Cleitus!

That's a fancy way
of putting it,

Ptolemy.

But we all know
what a pension and an exile is,

after 30 years' service.

Exile?

From where, Cleitus?

From my home, Alexander,
Macedonia.

You could've asked me
where I wanted

to spend the rest
of my life.

You call

governing
this major province exile?

Has Your Majesty given
any of his closest companions

a province
so far from home?

Then you won't make
a very good satrap,

will you, Cleitus?

So be it.

Let me rot
in Macedonian rags

rather than shine
in Eastern pomp.

I won't quake
and bow down

like the sycophants
you have around you.

Hephaistion,

Nearchus, Perdiccas

As governor of one
of our most Asian of Satrapies,

Cleitus,
does it not occur to you

that if my Persian subjects
bow down before me,

it's important for them
to do so?

Do I insist on Greeks
doing the same?

You accept Greek offerings
as a son of Zeus, do you not?

Only when offered.

Then why don't you refuse
these vain flatteries?

What freedom is this,
to bow before you?

You bow before Herakles,
do you not?

And he was mortal,
but a son of Zeus.

How can you, so young,
compare yourself to Herakles?

Why not?

I've achieved more in my years.

Traveled as far.
Probably farther.

Herakles did it by himself.

Did you conquer Asia
by yourself, Alexander?

I mean, who planned
the Asian invasion

when you were
still being spanked

on your bottom
by my sister Lanice?

Was it not your father?

Or is his blood
no longer good enough?

- Zeus-Amon, is it?
- You insult me, Cleitus.

You mock my family.
Be careful.

Never would your father
have taken barbarians as his friends,

asked us to fight with them
as equals in war.

Are we not good enough
any longer?

I remember a time

when we could talk as men,
straight to the eye.

None of this scraping,
groveling.

I remember a time
when we hunted,

when we wrestled
on the gymnasium floor.

And now you kiss them?

Take a barbarian,

childless wife
and dare call her queen?

Go quickly, Cleitus,
before you ruin your life.

Doesn't your great pride fear
the gods any longer?

This army...
This army is your blood, boy!

Without it, you're nothing!

You no longer serve
the purpose of this march!

- Get him from my sight!
- I don't serve your purpose?!

What was I serving when I saved
your puppy life at Gaugamela?

Were you Zeus' boy?

What if I left you to die
in the dust there?

Do you think we'd be forced now
to mate with brown apes?

Alexander!

Turn out the guards!
Arrest him for treason!

- I'll go with him.
- Alexander.

- Who's with him?
- No.

Who's with him?!

1 call Father Zeus to witness.

I call you to trial before him!

And we'll see how deep
this conspiracy cuts!

- Take him!
- In the name of the gods,

get him out of here!

Now look at you!

Great white ass, Alexander.

Hiding behind his fairy god!

Or are you too great to remember
whose life was saved by me?!

I am more a man
than you'll ever be!

Get him out!

Ever!

He's gone. He's gone.

Alexander.

Come on!

What a tyrant you are!

An evil tyrant
you've become, Alexander.

You speak about plots
against you?

What about poor Parmenion?

Get out!

He served you well.
Look how you repaid him.

You made me do your foul deed.
Have you no shame?

You ungrateful wretch!

No one,
not my vilest enemy,

has spoken like you to me.

Hear what I say!

There's more, false king!

Alexander!

Your barbarian mother's
a living shame!

- Let me pass.
- None can enter, Your Highness.

I am the queen!

I want to see him.
I've waited three days.

He says none, not even you.

- He needs me.
- No, he doesn't.

And he needs you?

Hephaistion,
you make a mistake.

The army grows restless,
questioning.

Alexander.

They need your reassurance.

Heinous.

Like an old lover they forgive,
but they will never forget.

-He was an aging drunk.
-He was my friend.

His sister Lanice nursed me.

And how did I repay her?

Two brothers dead,
fighting him by my own hands.

Her last remaining blood.

What will she do but weep
on the day of my birth?

Come. You know
more than any,

great deeds are done by men
who took and never regretted.

You're Alexander.

Pity and grief
will only destroy you.

Have I become so arrogant
that I am blind?

Sometimes, to expect
the best of everyone is...

arrogance.

Then Cleitus spoke true.
I have become a tyrant.

No.

But perhaps a stranger.

You've gone too far.

They don't
understand you anymore.

They speak of Philip now

as if I were a passing cloud,

soon to be forgotten.

I've failed...

utterly.

You're mortal.

And they know it.

And they forgive you

because you make them
proud of themselves.

Philip once said...

that there's a Titan
in all of us.

That they wait,
mixed in our ashes.

It wasn't because of the wine,
I killed.

It was because I wanted to.

Philip, King of Macedonia

and leader of the Greeks.

All my life,
I've waited to see Greeks

grovel with respect
for Macedonia.

Today is that day.

They say already,
"Philip was a great general,

but Alexander
is simply great.”

But if you ever
insult me again,

I'll kill you.

I've missed you.

In the spring, Persia.

You'll command my horse
from the right.

I'm honored, Father.

I wouldn't miss it

for all the gold
in the world.

Which, one day,
you'll have.

Making himself a 13th god.

He's drunk so much wine,

my poor Philip,
he's lost his mind.

- Your Majesty.
- Attalus.

I hope the prince
is enjoying the spectacle

as much as our regent.

He's very tired.

Pausanias,
bring the rest of the guard.

Royal guard!

To the arena! March!

No guard, Your Majesty?
In all this crowd?

- Greeks all over the place.
- Cleitus, Cleitus.

My Cleitus.

This man you can
always trust, Alexander.

Treat him as you would me.

He'll guard your back for you.

Yes, Father.

My people are guard
enough today, Cleitus.

Let these Greeks
see for themselves

how I can walk
through my people.

Then let them
call me tyrant.

Bring the main guard in
after my entry only.

Cleitus, make sure the wine
flows steady all day.

I want them to like me.

Weren't you told?
I go in alone.

Follow with the main guard.

Go on.

- Go on.
- Father, it's best I go with you.

You want the world to see
you're my successor.

Is that what she wants?

Don't look so hurt all the time,
Alexander. Be a man!

You count yourself lucky
you were here at all today,

after your public display.

By Herakles, by Zeus,
by all the gods,

obey me this once!

Have courage, Father.

And go on your way
rejoicing that at each step

you may recall your valor.

And now,
our beloved King Philip,

in whose honor
these wedding games begin.

Pausanias, I told you...

Who's your new friend?

There's your new friend.

No! Please, don't! No!

The king lives!

Alexander, son of Philip!

May the gods
bless the king!

Long live Alexander!

Alexander is king!

You're king now.
You're king.

Long live Alexander!

- Alexander!
- King Alexander!

Alexander is king!

Alexander!

May the gods bless Alexander!

May the gods bless
the king!

Alexander!

You break my heart, you men.

Afraid.

Of course you have fears.

We all have fears

because no one has ever
gone this far before.

And now we are weeks
from the encircling ocean,

our route home.

We'll build
a fleet of ships

and sail all the way
back down the Nile to Egypt.

And from Alexandria,
we shall be home within weeks.

There to be reunited
with our loved ones.

To share our great treasures
and tales of Asia.

And to enjoy our imperishable
glory to the ends of time.

- Follow Alexander.
- I'll follow you.

What?

Silence?

We're with you, Alexander!

Crateros.

Crateros!

And another one.

My king.

I'm a fighting man.

I don't like
no bellyaching.

I won't tolerate it
in any of my units.

I lost many a man.

Young ones, never been
with a woman.

Some died of disease.

Some were butchered in Scythia
by the banks of the Oxus.

Some died good.

Some just didn't
get no luck.

But they died.

Forty thousand I come over with
eight years ago.

And we march after you
more than 10,000 miles.

In the rain and the sun,
we fought for you.

Some of us,
50 battles we've been in.

We killed many a barbarian.

And now when I look around,
how many of them faces do I see?

And now you want us to fight

more of these crazy monkey
tribes east of here.

We hear talk of thousands
of these elephant monsters

cross a hundred more rivers.

Crateros. Good Crateros.

Who better than you to speak,
most noble of men.

But you know
there's no part of me

without a scar
or a bone broken.

By sword, knife, stone,
catapult, and club.

I've shared every hardship
with all of you.

Aye, you have, my king,
and we love you for it.

But, by Zeus,
too many have died.

You have no children,
Alexander,

and we're just humble men,

we seek no disturbance
with the gods.

All we wish for...

is to see our children
and our wives

and our grandchildren
one last time

before we join our brothers
in that dark house

they call Hades.

Yes.
You're right, Crateros.

I have been negligent.

I should've sent you veterans
home sooner, and I will.

The first of you shall be
the Silver Shields.

And then every man
who's served seven years.

With full pensions
from our treasury.

And respected, rich, loved.

You'll be treated
by your wives and children

as heroes for the rest
of your lives

and enjoy a peaceful death.

But you dream, Crateros.

Your simplicity long ended
when you took Persian mistresses

and children,
and you thickened your holdings

with plunder and jewels.

Because you've fallen in love
with all the things

in life that destroy men.

Do you not see?!

And you,
as well as I, know

that as the years decline
and the memories stale

and all your
great victories fade,

it will always be remembered,
you left your king in Asia!

For I will go on,
with my Asians.

To the jackals with you,
then, Alexander.

We come for you,
and you discard us.

- Shame!
- We want to go home.

We're tired of glory.

We want to see our wives
and children before we die.

I've got children
I haven't even seen.

I want to see my children.

I've paid
for your bastard children.

I've taken nothing for myself.

And all I've asked of you
is one more month.

- Shame!
- That's your king!

What would your father say?

I've taken you further
than my father ever dreamed.

So go home. I look to the
barbarians for their courage.

I go east!

He wants us all dead so
no one can speak of his crimes.

- Who said that?
- We'll never make it back to Macedonia.

You despicable coward.
Come forth.

- Make your accusations public.
- So you can have us killed?

Son of Zeus.

You desecrate
your real father's memory.

Or did you murder him
like you did Cleitus?

Hide! Hide in this mob
'cause I will take your life!

You men insult my honor,
my paternity.

Arrest him.

And him. Yes.

And you,
this loudmouth Demetrius.

You call me murderer?

I have no such blood
on my hands.

And him.

Yes, you'll know
the pain of treason.

You mock my shame
for Cleitus

and say I'd harm a hair
of my father's head.

Arrest him.

After all I've done for you,
you swine.

You cowards. Traitors.

Come on, then.
Where are your daggers?

In smashing the mutiny

and executing
the ringleaders,

he did nothing, to my mind,

that any general in wartime
would not have done.

But clearly,
the army was divided.

And Alexander was
no longer loved by all.

He drove on,
south to the outer ocean.

I confess a disappointment.

Especially on these reports
of your taking on Eastern ways.

Beware how these manners
inflame the senses with pride.

However,

I have lived
long enough now...

to question...

when so many others
invest such emotion

in their disrespect for you.

I can only hope
that you continue

what you began
as the boy I knew at 12.

Be that man always,
Alexander,

and you will not slip.

And perhaps you will prove
this old materialist,

as you always thought me:

A dreamer after all.

Stay calm.

Together we are strong
as gods.

Cover with your left,
strike hard with your right.

Fear is rot.
A waste of time.

Lock shields.

Battle positions!

Move!

Choppers, prepare your knives!

Follow me.

Strike hard, boys!
Strike hard.

Come, Macedonians.
Why do you hang back? Hurry!

Cavalry!

Split to thirds.
Regroup and encircle.

Hold the line!

Reverse side!

- Oh, no. Cavalry on me.
- Follow Alexander!

Charge. Charge. Charge.

The phalanx is in jeopardy.

Meleager, ride to Pharnakes

and tell him return
to the center at once.

Find Hephaistion
at the riverbank

- and bring all cavalry to the center.
- Yes, king!

We must reach Crateros
before it's too late.

Hephaistion! To the center!

Alexander!

Come, Macedonians. Ride.

Ride!

Coenus! Get out of there!

No!

Alexander!

- The horses won't go!
- On foot, then.

Fall back, men! Fall back!

Come, Bucephalus.

Fear not, my friend.

Bucephalus.

'Tis only sun and shadow.

Bucephalus and Alexander.

One last time, it's you and me.

Isn't it a lovely thing
to live with great courage

and to die leaving
an everlasting fame?

Come, Macedonians!
Why do you retreat?!

Do you want to live forever?
In the name of Zeus, attack!

Attack!

Alexander!

Alexander!

- The king is down!
- To the king!

It was the bloodiest
of his battles.

Pure butchery.

We'd never be men again.

Get out.

Go.

How can you behave
so shamelessly in public?

Because it was meant to be.

This isn't how I wanted
to become king.

No one blames you.

They blame me already
behind my back! In secret.

- Slander is not power.
- Shame is?

Who killed my father?

Tell me.

Tell me, or shall I put you
on trial for his murder?

- Pausanias.
- He had help!

Did you help him?

No, never.

Why? Why would 1?

So many wanted it.

Greeks, Persians, men, women.

I'd be shocked if there were
not a god he had not profaned.

How ironic though,
in the end,

a boy he rutted with once
too often returned the favor.

You're mad. You're cursed.

You've unleashed Furies,
you don't even know their power.

Oh, now who is exaggerating?

Even if it was
the wish of your heart--

That's a lie! He was my father!
I loved him!

He was not your father!

You owe no blood debt
to that man.

You lie and lie and lie.

So many lies you've spun
like a sorceress, confusing me.

Look at you. Look at you.

You are everything
that he was not.

He was coarse,
you are refined.

He was a general,
and you are a king.

He could not rule himself

and you shall rule the world.

You're so cursed by all the gods
when you speak like this.

Such thick pride

and no mourning
for your husband.

Mourn...

him?

What do you know of Philip?

No, Alexander.
Zeus is your father.

Act like it.

My first act would be
to kill you!

You murdered me in my cradle.

You birthed me
in a sack of hate.

Hate you have for those
stronger than you.

Hate you have for men.

I taught you my heart,
Alexander!

And by Zeus and Dionysus,
you grew beautiful.

Damn your sorceress soul.

Your soul is mine, Alexander.

No! No!

You've taken from me everything
I've ever loved and made me you!

Stop it!
Stop acting like a boy!

You're a king. Act like one.

Parmenion is with us, for once.
Execute Attalus without delay.

Then confiscate their lands and
root out that family forever.

Eurydice? Never.

Laugh, you monster.

You heart breaker.

How will you live out
the year like this?

Have you learned
nothing from Philip?

No. From you, Mother.

The best.

What have I done
to make you hate me so?

One day,
you will understand this.

But I have only you
in my heart.

I know what you need.

Now is the time.

The gods favor you.

Great wealth,
power, conquest.

All you desire.

The world is yours!

Take it.

Take it.

He never saw
his mother again.

And while he was away,
fighting the Northern tribes,

Olympias had Philip's
new wife, Eurydice,

and her infant son murdered.

By necessity, Alexander had
her uncle Attalus executed.

He lives! Alexander!

Men of Macedon...

we're going home.

What? Why?

- Home?
- We're going home.

We're going home.

His life should have ended
in India,

but that's myth.

In life, Herakles died
of a poisoned shirt,

given him in error
by his jealous wife.

Great Zeus,

we have worshipped you in blood.

Look kindly
on our homeward steps

and smile upon our backs.

May all those

who come here after us know,
when they see this altar,

that Titans were once here.

Making his devotions
to the gods

at the end
of the great journey,

Alexander bade
the East farewell

and marched
his army directly west

across the great Gedrosian desert,

seeking the shortest route home
to Babylon.

Here, he watched helplessly
the cruel breaking of his army.

Not by any human foe...

but by nature.

To this day, there is no
accounting of how many died.

It was the worst blunder of his life.

And when he finally
reentered Babylon,

after six years
in the Far East,

Alexander again seized
the imagination

of the world
by taking two more wives.

Now Alexander
had three wives, two lovers,

a contentious mother
in a turbulent Greece,

satraps of dubious loyalty
in several provinces,

generals questioning
his every decision.

And beneath it all,

a restive new army made up
of 10 Asians for every Greek,

all held together
by one slender thread.

They took another reading,
Your Majesty.

The harbor can only be
dredged to 20 feet.

Then get me a second
opinion from the Phoenicians.

- I tell you, it goes deeper.
- Alexander.

We're well over 12,000 talents
on wood alone for the fleet.

And their armor costs
are staggering.

Cast another dye,
we shall back them.

How?

Our armor.. Our Treasury...

With our future, Cassander,
the best capital we have.

Even so,
Your Majesty,

I seriously doubt
the Phoenicians

can make
a timber quote in time.

Perhaps we could sail
with fewer ships

or delay until the spring--

There'll be no delays, Nearchus.

Ptolemy,
how goes our library?

Trees are falling
as we speak, Your Majesty.

Good. We must not forget
our libraries.

All the Alexandrias we have,
I want libraries.

Just last night he was..

It's the water, Your Majesty.

He mixed it
with the wine.

But how can this be?

Typhus of India?

Oh, I wouldn't tax yourself,
Your Majesty.

A few good nights' rest
will do it.

Uh, but no wine
or cold chicken.

With the regimen of cares
that I've put in place...

Come, doctor.

I feel better.

Soon, I'll be up.

We leave for Arabia
in the spring,

and I couldn't leave
without you.

Arabia.

You used to dress me up
like a sheik,

wave your wooden scimitar.

You were the only one
who'd never let me win.

The only one who's ever
been honest with me.

You saved me from myself.

Please don't leave me,
Hephaistion.

I...

I remember the young man
who wanted to be Achilles

and then outdid him.

And then what happened?

Ours is a myth
only young men believe.

But how beautiful
a myth it was.

Oh, we reach, we fall.

Oh, Hephaistion.

I worry for you without me.

I am nothing without you.

Come, fight, Hephaistion.

We will die together.

We'll have children
with our wives,

and our sons will play
together as we once did.

A thousand ships we'll launch
from here, Hephaistion.

We'll round Arabia
and sail up the gulf to Egypt.

From there, we'll build
a channel through the desert

and out to the Middle Sea.

And then we'll move
on Carthage.

And that great island, Sicily,
they'll pay large tribute.

After that, the Roman tribe,
good fighters. We'll beat them.

And then explore
the northern forests

and out the Pillars of Herakles
to the western ocean.

And then one day,

populations will mix
and travel freely.

Asia and Europe
will come together.

And we'll grow old,
Hephaistion,

looking out our balcony
at this new world.

Hephaistion?

Hephaistion?

Where is this doctor?!

I can't explain this,
Your Majesty.

It's not possible.
I swear by Apollo.

Execute him!

Take him out now
and execute him!

Come away, come away.
Liars!

Liars. You all hated him.
All of you.

Get out.

Get out now!

Be gone.

Be gone with you!
Harpies! Get out! Get out!

Are you drunk again?

- Get out.
- He's dead.

- Who?
- Many hated him,

but I don't think any other
would have dared.

Hephaistion is dead?

Are you mad?

You monster.

Are you mad?!

You've taken from me
all that I've ever loved.

May all the Furies through time
damn your miserable heart.

Obey me!

Alexander.

I have your child. Alexander.

Alexander, we have a son.

No!

- The child!
- Oh, Your Majesty, no.

Alexander, I have your child.

Alexander, my husband, my king.
We have a son.

My poor, poor, ill-fated son.

Never touch me again.

No!

One last toast!

Before the dawn.

To my old friends.

- And to the myths.
- To the myths.

Yes, come on. Finish it.

To the next dawn.

My little Achilles.

- Bless you, Alexander.
- Lord, we love you.

Bless you, Alexander.

My lord, these herbs
are from Delphi.

They saved my brother.

- Rest yourself.
- Thank you.

We love you, Alexander.

Alexander.

Alexander.

We love you, Alexander...

and your seed.

Keep moving, men, please.

Yes, come.

Come to Babylon. I await you.
Your only loving son.

For the men.

Bagoas.

Can you prop me up a little?
It catches me here.

I've never been so idle.

The fleet will never get out
by spring. I must go.

You have given me all.

Bagoas.

And you have given me...

the happiest times
of my life, Alexander.

Happy? What is happy?

While in your mind and body
are stretched to breaking,

you have no thought
beyond the next.

And you look back then...

and there it was,
happiness.

In the doing,
never the thinking.

Still, you have made me
so happy.

It is done, Bagoas.

It is done.

Wait.
We have his son.

Alexander! Wait.

Wait.

Vultures! Wait!

We have his son.

Just three more months.

Please live!

Alexander,
the army will divide.

Satrapies will revolt.

Without your orders,
there'll be war.

We beg you. Tell us who.

Who will rule this great empire
if you leave us?

Who do you want to,
Alexander?

We beg you, tell us.

The myth becomes real.

Zeus is your father.

Who will it be?

Pray tell us, who?

- What did he say?
- "To the best.”

- He said, "To the best."
- What?

- No, he said, "To Crateros."”
- To Crateros?

Why would he say
Crateros?

On the 10th of June,

a month short of his 33rd year,

Alexander's great heart
finally gave out.

And as he vowed,
he joined Hephaistion.

But in his short life,
he achieved, without doubt,

the mythic glory
of his ancestor Achilles

and more.

Olympias' transgression
in the murder of his father is,

to my mind, a probability.

His, a burden.

Alexander was too in love
with glory

for him to steal it.

But by blood, and blood alone,
he was guilty.

No!

Bolt the doors.
The body stays in Babylon!

The body belongs
to Macedon.

Within hours,

we were fighting
like jackals for his corpse.

The wars of the world
had begun.

Forty years, off and on,
they endured--

Cassander in Greece.

Crateros and Antigonus
in western Asia.

Solucas and Perdiccas
in the East.

Myself in Egypt.

...Until we divided
his empire in four parts.

Gentlemen,
we are not savages!

- We are the future...
- Get out of the way! Get out!

I think Alexander would have
been disappointed in us.

Naturally, rumors grew
he'd been poisoned

by one faction
of his generals or another,

but the truth
in these matters

has long since been
driven from currency.

Cassander saw to that
with his fake diaries,

painting Alexander as a sick
and bloated drunk.

Many believed,

to remove suspicion
from himself.

Now, he certainly proved
he had the temperament

for politics and murder

when seven years later,
he executed Olympias.

Who met her death
with great courage.

Five years..

No, it was six years
after that,

Cassander finally achieved
the complete destruction

of Alexander's bloodline
when he poisoned Roxane

and Alexander's
13-year-old son...

the true heir
to the empire.

But Roxane too,
like Olympias,

played by stern rules,
supported by several generals.

Days after Alexander's death,
she had Stateira poisoned.

It was reason enough
for some to believe

she was the one behind
Hephaistion's sudden demise.

But this is unproven
in my mind.

Bagoas disappeared
from the histories entirely,

a wise move, perhaps.

But I will say his, uh, love
and devotion for Alexander

were unquestionable
and extraordinary.

Now I am the keeper
of his body,

embalmed here
in the Egyptian ways.

I followed him as Pharaoh
and have now ruled 40 years.

I have two sons, each jealous
of the other's power.

But they will grow

to make fine fathers
and husbands.

And I trust they'll be just
in their affairs.

But they have never seen

the great cavalry charge
of Gaugamela,

or the mountains
of the Hindu Kush

when we crossed
the 100,000 men army into India.

He was a god, Cadmos,

or as close as anything
I've ever known.

"Tyrant!" they yell so easily.
I laugh.

No tyrant ever gave
back so much.

What do they know of the world,
these schoolboys?

It takes strong men to rule.

Alexander was more,
he was a Prometheus,

a friend to man.

He changed the world.

Before him,
there were tribes...

and after him,
all was possible.

There was suddenly a sense
the world could be ruled

by one king
and be better for all.

Eighteen great Alexandrias

he built
across this world.

It was an empire, not of land
and gold, Cadmos,

but of the mind.

It was a Hellenic civilization,

open to all.

But the truth
is never simple...

and yet it is.

The truth is,
we did kill him.

By silence, we consented.

Because...

Because we couldn't go on.

What, by Ares,
did we have to look forward to,

but to be discarded
in the end, like Cleitus?

After all this time,
to give away our wealth

to Asian sycophants
we despised?

Mixing the races, harmony?

Oh, he talked of these things,

but wasn't it really
about Alexander

and another population
ready to obey him?

I never believed
in his dream.

None of us did.

That's the truth of his life.

The dreamers exhaust us.

They must die
before they kill us

with their blasted dreams.

Oh, just throw all that away,
Cadmos.

It's an old fool's rubbish.

You shall write,

"He died of fever
and a weakened condition."

Yes, great Pharaoh.

Oh, he could have stayed home
in Macedonia,

married, raised a family.

He'd have died a celebrated man.

But this was not Alexander.

All his life,

he fought to free himself
from fear.

And by this, and this alone,
he was made free.

The freest man
I've ever known.

His tragedy was one
of increasing loneliness

and impatience with those
who could not understand.

And if his desire

to reconcile Greek
and barbarian ended in failure,

oh, what failure!

His failure towered
over other men's successes.

I've lived....

I've lived long life, Cadmos,

but the glory
and the memory of man

will always belong to the ones
who follow their great visions.

And the greatest of these
is the one they now call...

Megas Alexandros.

The greatest of them all.