When Philip's son Alexander invaded the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 334 BC, Memnon, aware of the political issues the Macedonians dealt with, urged king Darius III (336–330 BC) to orchestrate a rebellion in Greece and he advised the Persian satraps to lay waste to the land that Alexander would have to pass, depriving his army of food and supplies. This would make it harder for Alexander and his army to survive on their long journey before the battle. The satraps did not trust Memnon because of his nationality, and did not ravage their territories. Initially hesitant, Darius made Memnon the commander of the western satrapies (provinces) after the defeat at the Battle of Granicus. During the defense of Halicarnassus, Memnon was the leading commander, and nearly defeated Alexander's attack. He then started using the empire's naval superiority against Alexander and started negotiations with Sparta in order to take the war to mainland Greece. He began a campaign to capture the Aegean islands using the Persian fleet and led a direct assault on Macedonia, while Alexander was resting at Phaselis. Memnon managed to capture the island of Chios and most of Lesbos. Demosthenes, after hearing of Memnon's successes, began to prepare Athens for a revolt against Alexander, along with other Greek cities, while Sparta began to prepare for war. By a stroke of fortune for Alexander, Memnon died during the siege of Mytilene, after transferring command to his nephew, Pharnabazus. Memnon's widow Barsine, according to Plutarch and Justin, later became Alexander's mistress and allegedly bore him a son, Heracles. After Alexander's death, Heracles contended for the throne with Nearchus' initial support (who himself had married Barsine's daughter by Mentor). Their bid met insufficient support, and Barsine and Heracles were murdered in 309 BC by Polyperchon.