Ἄορνος (Aornos)

Ἄορνος* (Aornos)

(For those interested, Aornos was Alexander's final siege in his Indian campaign. It was an extremely elaborate and well fortified piece of the Hindu Kush. To me, Aornos represents the point from which Alexander began pushing for the sake of pushing. Wherein this king, whose meaning and raison d'être we conquest, became acutely aware that he could not possibly keep that which he is about to take.  There's something very humanizing about that impasse, about that point where Alexander saw the limits of his prowess manifest before him.  He would go as far as the Hyphasis river, where his troops would refuse to march forward and go over the Ganges.)

My conquest gives me reason

My eyes cannot stray

Heracles** couldn't take it

But nothing will stand in my way

The lines move ever backwards

There can be no retreat

I shall always be with you in spirit

Where the Acesines and Hydaspes meet!

I am come thus far

But I'll never see Macedon again

Aornos o Aornos

Won't you let me rest

Lost in a land I own

Own but do not understand

Wisemen and soothsayers around me

Asia falling apart in my hand

(I am come thus far

But I'll never see Macedon again

Aornos o Aornos

Won't you let me rest )

The gods do so hate the mortals

Whose glory shan't quietly die

Oh, what hateful things are glory and victory

The absence they leave in our lives

*Aornos was the Greek name of this fort, which literally means "birdless." Why was that the case? I haven't a clue but there are some etymological speculation online.

**There is a story where Alexander was enticed to take this fortress to compete with Heracles. Alexander's family, the Argeads, claimed to be descendants of the Theban demigod, and legend has it that Heracles himself could not take Aornos. This story is widely doubted and Arrian, who wrote The Anabasis of Alexander, also didn't believe it, but I thought it was a compelling little side-note