Between 30,000 and 43,000 infantry and between 3,000 and 4,000 horsemen followed Alexander
into Asia Minor [334 B.C.]. He had only 70 talents for their pay, and no more than thirty days' provisions. Alexander was 200 talents in debt, having spent everything he had in making sure that his best men were able to provide for their families. When one of his generals asked what he had kept for himself, Alexander answered: "My hope." This general then refused the pension that Alexander offered him, saying: "Your soldiers will be your partners in that."
With such desire and determination, Alexander and his army crossed the
Hellespont into Asia and came to Troy. 8 At the tomb of Achilles, who was his ancestor on his mother’s side, Alexander anointed the gravestone with oil and then ran around it naked with his companions, according to the ancient custom. Achilles, he said, was a lucky man to have had a good friend while he was alive and a good poet to preserve his memory after he was dead. 9
Meanwhile, the
Persians had camped on the other side of the Granicus River to prevent Alexander from crossing.
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