Tristan Hughes

Why?

Because that's really far away from where they could potentially cause trouble back in Greece.

If he lets them go or whatever, you know, if they're still alive in the Granicus in Anatolia, what's to stop them, as we know in the future, going to the south of the Peloponnese, creating a mercenary camp and then offering their services to Persians or anti-Macedonian figures who gain prominence there in the future.

So I feel that's probably another possibility.

I mean, there is that other thing, isn't it?

That, you know, with Alexander, when he invades, he doesn't have the biggest resources in the world.

And you get that fascinating story of this figure, Memnon of Rhodes, who I think he's still in the picture after Granicus.

But he's almost like a foil to the barbarian Persian satraps, though.

So you need to kind of take a pinch of salt because he's a Greek.

But him almost advising what seems in hindsight the better strategy of them not engaging Alexander and just kind of burning the fields, stopping him getting any resources whatsoever.

And so he ultimately has to retreat.

Now...

Seems like a good idea.

Until you realise that the satraps, you know, this is their land.

So actually, you can actually see why they would want to engage and not do something so destructive.

Yeah.

And this is what defines the next part, isn't it?

So from Granicus, if you think, let's say, near Troy, so like Hisarlik, so northwest Anatolia, what he does is he follows the Aegean Sea coast down, which are the Greek cities in Persian occupation at the time, and takes them one by one, goes all the way down, also goes inland to Sardis, obviously a capital of the famous semi-mythologized King Croesus and the like, so another rich area.

The story of linking to the Temple of Artemis, of course, you know, with the legend of his birth on the day that that temple was destroyed.

So he offers to help rebuild the temple.