A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Priene; Alexandria 303
farther as he did seems utterly unjustifiable. At the ^j^^*^'^^
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period I refer to,
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then, he sent troops to pillage the terri- Pergamum,
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and friendly
tory of Priene, Attalus assisting and urging him on trom a toAriarathes
private grudge which he entertained tov;ard the Prienians.
some of them being
After losing many slaves and cattle,
slaughtered close to the city itself, the Prienians, unable
to defend themselves, first sent an embassy to the Rho-
dians and eventually appealed for protection to Rome. . . . wanting.
But he would not listen to the proposal. Hence it came
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about that the Prienians, who had great hopes from hold-
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ing so large a sum of money, found themselves entirely care of the
disappointed. For they repaid Orophernes his deposit, „.mdd bring
and thanks to this same deposit, were unjustly exposed to
severe damage at the hands of Ariarathes.
III.
Alexandria
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The former kings of Egypt, satisfied with what they Exclusive-^
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possessed, and not desirous of foreign commerce, enter- early Egyptained
a dislike to all mariners, especially the Greeks,
who on account of the poverty of their own country, Strabo xvii.
ravaged and coveted the property of other nations. They
stationed a guard, who had orders to keep off all persons
who approached. To the guard was assigned as a place of
residence the spot called Rhacotis, which is now a part of
the city of Alexandria, situated above the arsenal. At
that time, however, it was a village. The country about
the village was given up to herdsmen, who were also able
by their numbers to prevent strangers, from entering the
country.
When Alexander arrived, and perceived the advantages
of the situation, he determined to build the city on the
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harbor. The resulting prosperity of the place was in- 'j«^^g*'^gj
timated, it is said, by a presage which occurred while the