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heart of a devoted lover of female beauty. Before the wedding, Alexander with friends tried not to go to the palace, finding a variety of things for himself, just to not listen to the lamentations of his beloved mother. Soon the wedding day came, and of course, the prince had to attend the wedding. He did not want to push at the temple, so he and his friends, who were invited, waited in the hall where they were served refreshments, the lodges were set apart, the ceiling and walls were decorated with garlands of flowers. So the newlyweds came, and Attal and his relatives, as well as all the generals of Philip, followed them. Alexander sadly recalled Thais’ symposium, where he felt happy, and here only suffering awaited him, and then he waited for the mother’s withering lamentations, which he could not soften.

      “You see,” said Hephaestion, “not everything is so bad. Decent people gathered, they served excellent food, – and he put the prince’s meat of goat, stewed in milk. Alexander tried, and his mood began to gradually improve. Then they tasted a stuffed hare, lamb with spices, so the cook was proto great and would honor the Corinthians. The prince already looked at the celebration with different eyes, and of course he understood his father, but he loved his mother. They drank fine wines from Rhodes and Crete. Then the servants brought Persian sweets, and the young men became quite cheerful, and reprimanded themselves to think about the bad.

      Nearby was his friend Hephaestion, which made his flour much easier. So the feast continued, the prince heard an exclamation for health, he himself said something immediately forgotten, and in oblivion sipped the wine from the cup, talking to Hephaestion about Athens. Suddenly, as in a dream, he heard Attal’s toast:

      “I hope this marriage will bring Macedonia a true heir,” Attal said in an unsteady voice,

      – Shut up, – he was immediately interrupted by Philip, who jumped up from the bed.

      Alexander, having heard the words of the bride’s uncle, imprinted in the brain.

      – What am I, what is illegal? with these words he jumped up and threw a silver cup into Attalus.Philip, who rushed to his son, either to separate the quarreling, or to take his son out of the hall, stumbled with a wounded leg and fell, Alexander rushed out of the hall, and Hephaestion ran after him.

      “Hephaestion, prepare horses and a wagon for the mother, as well as summon my friends with the squires,” the prince immediately asked a friend, and he rushed to immediately do what he wanted.

      Alexander ran headlong into his mother’s chambers, and saw that she, with her maids, was already collecting valuable things.

      “Mom, we’re leaving,” he told his mother.

      – Yes. I heard my son, let’s go to Epirus. (for some reason, the young man was not at all surprised) Everything will get better, I love you too, – she said with a smile, wrapping her shawl, presented by her son. They descended, and already the cart was harnessed, and the servant sat on the trestle, and the armed men waited for Hephaestion with a squire, and rode from different parts of the city to all his friends – Garpal, Nearh, Erygius and Ptolemy with their squires, a detachment of thirty mounted, and they hastily drove the Olympiad carriage to the gate, and there the guards, seeing Alexadra, easily released the fugitives, and they moved westward through the passes to Epir. Already it was evening, they moved all night for fear of pursuit. In a month they arrived in Epirus, home of the Olympics.

      The king of Epirus himself, Alexander also, met the procession at the gates of the palace.

      “Hello sister,” he said, opening fraternal embrace, kissing her and receiving a sister’s kiss in return. – I am glad to you, but not happy about the circumstances that brought you to me, but live here as you like. Olympiad, you received maintenance from three villages before the wedding, and you’ll get it now, – while the face of Alexander’s mother turned pink, the feeding was very impressive.

      “But if they attack us, I want Alexander to lead the army of Epirus,” the Epirus king said.

      – I agree with gratitude – the young man’s message with joy.

      “Well, you will live in my palace,” Alexander Epirsky finished his speech.

      The retinue and squires settled near the royal palace, in several houses that the prince bought. It was interesting in the new city, and they began to explore unfamiliar places.

      In the city house of Archon Demarat, where the news of discord in the Argead dynasty came, passions raged, because the members of the Council of Corinth gathered here, and they came here so that other people’s ears would not hear too much.

      In the garden of the house, a modest treat stood by the archons’ chairs, and the head of the archons listened to the complaints of other Council members.

      “Listen, Demarat,” Archaea said, “Phillip promised us peace without war in Hellas, roads without robbers, seas without pirates, flourishing trade, and he sowed discord in the family, and now a feud broke out, and the Hellenic Union would collapse.” Zeus, the witness, we did a lot for him, agreed with the meal, we found money for him, so that he would pull out this whole rabble from the Peloponess in the Persian campaign, and without him the plan of the campaign would collapse like the Trojan walls.

      DeMarat made a mournful face, and pretended to listen attentively. I already thought about the situation myself, but he had to squeeze out a letter to Philip from the cautious archons asking for a joining in order to kill a whole herd of hares – flatter the king of Macedonia, because de facto he was recognized as the ruler of the Peloponnese, Alexander is recognized as his successor Hellas is the same, and the fact that they share the need for war with Persia, and you need to get money from them, in order to influence Perdiccas, Parmenion and Antipater.

      “Demarat, we are ready to donate money to set up this case,” said Nicostrat, one of the richest archontes of Corinth,

      With these words, an indifference mask fell from the face of Prokpen Philip.

      “Forgive me, my friends,” he finally spoke, as if in despair holding his head with his left hand, “But this will require at least ten talents of gold. We must convince worthy commanders of the importance of our business, and then our thoughts are pure and worthy.

      “We agree, it’s cheaper than a chain of hellish wars that will plunge Corinth into the depths of Tartar.” Replied poor Nicostrat, the true patriot of Corinth.

      “And we will write a letter on behalf of the Council of Corinth, as we all worry about the Argead family,” Archaea inserted with a smile.“And by the way, the Argead dynasty is from Argos, they are Danish, and they remember it. Remember, Aminta received poor Mykene people expelled by the Argoses,” added DeMarat, “and many people from noble families of Macedonia are descendants of Mycenaean refugees. But Philip was not cruel, and did not demand the restoration of Miken, as Platea and Orchomen restored, he did not take the land from the Argosts. “It was decided that the Pythian prophecy was fulfilled, a thousand years had passed, and the order of Apollo had happened, and Argos could return the lands of the Mykene to us.” Agreed with him Archaea,

      “And we remember that the Macedonians are not strangers to us, but now Philip does a lot for peace in Hellas,” said Nicotrat, “And the Athenians interfere in the affairs of others all by right of kinship.” Everyone knows that the evpatrids of Athens are the descendants of the Messenians, all the Codds of the Messenians, including the famous Plato, therefore the Athenians always support the Messenans in all wars.

      Demarat went for the parchment, and seized the writing accessories.

      He opened the bureau, secured the sheet, and looked expectantly at Archean.

      “Let’s discuss the text, I suppose,” he raised his hand with a reed for writing,

      – Maybe we start with the appeal to “King Philip”,

      The merchants and trapezes of Corinth, wise with life, who are the most worthy of the archon, finally wrote a letter to the

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