LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

422 DAn TUDOR IOnEScU
open steppe, like the Scythians once pursued by Darius I (Arrian An.1.4.3-
4). the existence of the steppe suggests a region on the lower course of
the Danube, so to the east of the famous Iron Gates. the plain between the
Danube and the theiss/tisa rivers appeared to be more of a swamp than a
steppe until recently, in the modern age.
Alexander took the emptied Getic fortification and as war prey all
things left abandoned in this place by the Getae. the war trophies were
conveyed by Meleager son of philip into Macedonia, the Getic citadel
was destroyed by Alexander’s order that gave sacrifices and thanksgiving
offerings to zeus the Saviour (zeu;” Swthvr), to heracles his dynastic
heroic and divine ancestor on his father’s side (the Macedonian Argeads
were supposedly temenidae-heraclidae, descendants of the Argive hero
temenus that was in his turn descending from heracles), and to the river
god Ister/Istros (the lower Danube itself), because it was propitious for
him during the river crossing (Arrian, An.1.4.5). All these sacrifices were
offered on the Getic river bank and also there happened a most interesting
meeting; the envoys of the Celts (Keltoiv or Keltaiv, in latin Celtae) from
Central europe-northwestern Balkans arrived in Alexander’s camp. they
were probably tall and strong warriors with long hair and moustaches and
with impressive weapons also. the fierce Celts, coming from the north of
the Adriatic Sea (the Ionic Gulf in Arrian’s own text), made a powerful
impression on Alexander and his battle hardened men. the proud Celts
arrived alongside other delegations or embassies of the peoples living
along the Ister/Istros: the triballians of King Syrmus that offered their
surrender in the island of Peuce, possibly also the Getae (although Arrian
did not mention them), and maybe also envoys from the different tribes
of the thracians, Moesi, Dardanians, Illyrians, Dalmatians, perhaps even
the pannonians (not specified as such by Arrian). they arrived with
peace proposals and thus we can see Alexander’s aims in crossing the
Danube and defeating the Getae: not only his conquering ambition and
lust for conquest and exploring (povqo”) but also the need to achieve the
unconditional surrender of the triballian refugees from Peuce and to force
the northern Balkan populations of the Danube to respect the Macedonian
conquests (and not to ally themselves with the Illyrians and thracians from
the Central Balkans against Macedon).
the Celts offered Alexander no satisfaction in acknowledging that he
or his Macedonian army was the person or thing they most feared: instead,
rubbing their foreheads, they answered to Alexander’s question that the
thing they feared most was to see the heaven falling on their shoulders.
Alexander concluded our brave chronicler, made friendship and alliance