Cleitus the Black

Alexander kills Cleitus, painting by Castaigne 1898-1899

Cleitus the Black (оtherwise known as Melas) (Κλεῖτος ὁ Μέλας) (ca. 375 BC - 328 BC) was an officer of the Macedonian army led by Alexander the Great. He saved Alexander's life at the Battle of the Granicus and was killed by him in a drunken quarrel several years later. Cleitus was son of Dropides and brother of Alexander's nurse, Lanike.

Battle of the Granicus

At the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC, when Alexander was personally under attack by Rhoesaces and Spithridates, Cleitus chopped off Spithridates' arm before the Persian satrap could bring it down on Alexander and saved his life.^[1][2]

The death of Cleitus

In 328 BC Artabazus resigned his satrapy of Bactria, and Alexander gave it to Cleitus.^[3] On the eve of the day on which he was to set out to take possessions of his government, Alexander organized a banquet in the satrapial palace at Maracanda (what is now the town of Samarkand). At this banquet an angry dispute arose, the particulars of which is are variously reported by different authors.

Most of the members were rather drunk, and Alexander announced a reorganization of commands. Specifically, Cleitus was given orders to take 16,000 of the defeated Greek mercenaries who formerly fought for the Persian King north to fight the steppe nomads in Central Asia.

Cleitus knew that he would no longer be near the king and would be a forgotten man. Furious at the thought of commanding what he saw as second-rate soldiers, fighting nomads in the middle of nowhere, he spoke his mind. To make matters worse, when Alexander arrogantly boasted that his accomplishments were far greater than that of his father, Phillip II, Cleitus responded by saying that Alexander was not the legitimate king of the Macedonians, and that all of his achievements were due to his father. Alexander called for his guards, but they did not want to intervene in a quarrel between friends.

Alexander threw an apple at Cleitus's head and called for a dagger, but colleagues of the two men removed the dagger and hustled Cleitus out of the room. Nevertheless, Cleitus managed to return to the room to utter more insults against Alexander. (It is possible that Cleitus had not left the room). But sources agree that at this point Alexander got hold of a spear, and using it, killed Cleitus on the spot. Alexander would later bitterly regret killing his friend.

The motives of Cleitus in this quarrel have been interpreted in various ways. Cleitus may have been angered at Alexander's increasing adoption of Persian customs. After the death of King Darius III Alexander was legally King of the Persian Empire. Alexander was now employing eunuchs such as Bagoas (not to be confused with another Bagoas, who was a contemporary high Persian official) and was tolerant of such Persian customs as proskynesis, a sort of kow-tow thought to be degrading by many in the Macedonian army.

According to the biography of Alexander by Plutarch, there is a quote attributed to Cleitus, which is very relevant. A group of Macedonians had lost in a fight with “barbarians,” and Alexander joined in the laughing at those who had lost, whereupon Cleitus spoke up, and then Alexander insulted him using the word coward. Cleitus then gave a very relevant short speech, reminding Alexander that he, Cleitus, had saved Alexander’s life (battle of Granicus) [Source: Plutarch: Alexander: Location 19486] and what the latter now enjoyed was the result of blood and sacrifice of the Macedonians. The argument escalated leading to Alexander running Cleitus through with a spear. Source is Plutarch: Alexander: Location 20104. Plutarch had many good sources, so it is fair to include this view on behalf of Cleitus.

In popular media

The death of Cleitus at Alexander's hand is depicted in a scene of the film Alexander. The scene was intended to be the "turning point" in the campaign, when the Macedonian generals began to insist (more quietly than Cleitus) that Alexander return home. The film, however, erroneously depicts the death of Cleitus as taking place in India.

References

1. ^ Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri, i. 12, 15, 16
2. ^ Plutarch, The Life of Alexander, 16.
3. ^ Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Cleitus (2)", Boston, (1867), p. 785.

External links

• Plutarch, The Life of Alexander, 16 and 50-51.
• Livius, Clitus by Jona Lendering

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