Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

VI INTRODUCTION.
mass of fictitious statements of every degree of
wildness, is only what was to be expected.
Egypt the Though the conquered nations of Western Asia,
home of the Persia, and India might view his warlike successes
Alexander
^jj]^ wouder, and mio-ht even bless the masfnastory.
' o
&
nimous warrior, it is hardly likely that their writers
and scribes would hasten to record his history,
whereby they would also incidentally describe their
own national defeat; to these countries, then, we
must not look for the original Alexander story.
Similarly, we must not look to the states of Greece
for it, because at the death of Alexander the
memory of their subjugation and the victorious
deeds which he wrought for the glory of Macedon
would be too fresh in the minds of their peoples.
One country only could be the birthplace of the
Alexander story, and that country was Egypt.
Some hundreds of years before Alexander came
to Egypt the influence, and civilization, and language
of the Greeks had found their way there, and on
his arrival in the country Alexander found the
people, at least those living in the Delta, un-
willing to meet him in battle; more than this,
they welcomed him as one who could help them
against their bitter foes the Persians, for, according
to Pseudo-Callisthenes (Bk. i. 26) he had under
his command a force of about 150,000 men. Further,
when after Alexander's death the Egyptians con-
sidered that he had founded the city of Alexandria,
which had already become a source of wealth for
their country, that he had acknowledged the god