---
title: "Histories · Ἱστορίαι"
author: "Herodotus"
translator: "A. D. Godley"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 12 of 53
url: https://scriptura.si/works/herodotus-histories/12/
cite: "Herodotus, tr. A. D. Godley, Histories · Ἱστορίαι, section 12. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/herodotus-histories/12/"
---

# Histories · Ἱστορίαι

*Herodotus, tr. A. D. Godley*

The first history: why Greeks and Persians went to war, and the peoples, customs and wonders of the world around them, in Greek beside English, section by section.

> Greek: ed. A.D. Godley, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0016.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: A. D. Godley, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 12. Book II · chapters 85–112

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/herodotus-histories/12/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/herodotus-histories/12/#p-N

[¶0] 85.2. elsewhere, the men lament, with garments girt likewise. When this is done, they take the dead body to be embalmed.

> Greek: 85.2. ἐπεὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσωσι, οὕτω ἐς τὴν ταρίχευσιν κομίζουσι.

[¶1] 86.1. There are men whose sole business this is and who have this special craft.

> Greek: 86.1. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τούτῳ κατέαται καὶ τέχνην ἔχουσι ταύτην.

[¶2] 86.2. When a dead body is brought to them, they show those who brought it wooden models of corpses, painted likenesses; the most perfect way of embalming belongs, they say, to One whose name it would be impious for me to mention in treating such a matter; the second way, which they show, is less perfect than the first, and cheaper; and the third is the least costly of all. Having shown these, they ask those who brought the body in which way they desire to have it prepared.

> Greek: 86.2. οὗτοι, ἐπεάν σφι κομισθῇ νεκρός, δεικνύουσι τοῖσι κομίσασι παραδείγματα νεκρῶν ξύλινα, τῇ γραφῇ μεμιμημένα …, καὶ τὴν μὲν σπουδαιοτάτην αὐτέων φασὶ εἶναι τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον ποιεῦμαι τὸ οὔνομα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι ὀνομάζειν, τὴν δὲ δευτέρην δεικνύουσι ὑποδεεστέρην τε ταύτης καὶ εὐτελεστέρην, τὴν δὲ τρίτην εὐτελεστάτην· φράσαντες δὲ πυνθάνονται παρʼ αὐτῶν κατὰ ἥντινα βούλονταί σφι σκευασθῆναι τὸν νεκρόν.

[¶3] 86.3. Having agreed on a price, the bearers go away, and the workmen, left alone in their place, embalm the body. If they do this in the most perfect way, they first draw out part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook, and inject certain drugs into the rest.

> Greek: 86.3. οἳ μὲν δὴ ἐκποδὼν μισθῷ ὁμολογήσαντες ἀπαλλάσσονται, οἳ δὲ ὑπολειπόμενοι ἐν οἰκήμασι ὧδε τὰ σπουδαιότατα ταριχεύουσι. πρῶτα μὲν σκολιῷ σιδήρῳ διὰ τῶν μυξωτήρων ἐξάγουσι τὸν ἐγκέφαλον, τὰ μὲν αὐτοῦ οὕτω ἐξάγοντες, τὰ δὲ ἐγχέοντες φάρμακα·

[¶4] 86.4. Then, making a cut near the flank with a sharp knife of Ethiopian stone, they take out all the intestines, and clean the belly, rinsing it with palm wine and bruised spices;

> Greek: 86.4. μετὰ δὲ λίθῳ Αἰθιοπικῷ ὀξέι παρασχίσαντες παρὰ τὴν λαπάρην ἐξ ὦν εἷλον τὴν κοιλίην πᾶσαν, ἐκκαθήραντες δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ διηθήσαντες οἴνῳ φοινικηίῳ αὖτις διηθέουσι θυμιήμασι τετριμμένοισι·

[¶5] 86.5. they sew it up again after filling the belly with pure ground myrrh and casia and any other spices, except frankincense. After doing this, they conceal the body for seventy days, embalmed in saltpetre; no longer time is allowed for the embalming;

> Greek: 86.5. ἔπειτα τὴν νηδὺν σμύρνης ἀκηράτου τετριμμένης καὶ κασίης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θυμιημάτων, πλὴν λιβανωτοῦ, πλήσαντες συρράπτουσι ὀπίσω. ταῦτα δὲ ποιήσαντες ταριχεύουσι λίτρῳ κρύψαντες ἡμέρας ἑβδομήκοντα· πλεῦνας δὲ τουτέων οὐκ ἔξεστι ταριχεύειν.

[¶6] 86.6. and when the seventy days have passed, they wash the body and wrap the whole of it in bandages of fine linen cloth, anointed with gum, which the Egyptians mostly use instead of glue;

> Greek: 86.6. ἐπεὰν δὲ παρέλθωσι αἱ ἑβδομήκοντα, λούσαντες τὸν νεκρὸν κατειλίσσουσι πᾶν αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι κατατετμημένοισι, ὑποχρίοντες τῷ κόμμι, τῷ δὴ ἀντὶ κόλλης τὰ πολλὰ χρέωνται Αἰγύπτιοι.

[¶7] 86.7. then they give the dead man back to his friends. These make a hollow wooden figure like a man, in which they enclose the corpse, shut it up, and keep it safe in a coffin-chamber, placed erect against a wall.

> Greek: 86.7. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ παραδεξάμενοί μιν οἱ προσήκοντες ποιεῦνται ξύλινον τύπον ἀνθρωποειδέα, ποιησάμενοι δὲ ἐσεργνῦσι τὸν νεκρόν, καὶ κατακληίσαντες οὕτω θησαυρίζουσι ἐν οἰκήματι θηκαίῳ, ἱστάντες ὀρθὸν πρὸς τοῖχον.

[¶8] 87.1. That is how they prepare the dead in the most costly way; those who want the middle way and shun the costly, they prepare as follows.

> Greek: 87.1. οὕτω μὲν τοὺς τὰ πολυτελέστατα σκευάζουσι νεκρούς, τοὺς δὲ τὰ μέσα βουλομένους τὴν δὲ πολυτελείην φεύγοντας σκευάζουσι ὧδε·

[¶9] 87.2. The embalmers charge their syringes with cedar oil and fill the belly of the dead man with it, without making a cut or removing the intestines, but injecting the fluid through the anus and preventing it from running out; then they embalm the body for the appointed days; on the last day they drain the belly of the cedar oil which they put in before.

> Greek: 87.2. ἐπεὰν τοὺς κλυστῆρας πλήσωνται τοῦ ἀπὸ κέδρου ἀλείφατος γινομένου, ἐν ὦν ἔπλησαν τοῦ νεκροῦ τὴν κοιλίην, οὔτε ἀναταμόντες αὐτὸν οὔτε ἐξελόντες τὴν νηδύν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἕδρην ἐσηθήσαντες καὶ ἐπιλαβόντες τὸ κλύσμα τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ ταριχεύουσι τὰς προκειμένας ἡμέρας, τῇ δὲ τελευταίῃ ἐξιεῖσι ἐκ τῆς κοιλίης τὴν κεδρίην τὴν ἐσῆκαν πρότερον.

[¶10] 87.3. It has such great power as to bring out with it the internal organs and intestines all dissolved; meanwhile, the flesh is eaten away by the saltpetre, and in the end nothing is left of the body but hide and bones. Then the embalmers give back the dead body with no more ado.

> Greek: 87.3. ἣ δὲ ἔχει τοσαύτην δύναμιν ὥστε ἅμα ἑωυτῇ τὴν νηδὺν καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα κατατετηκότα ἐξάγει· τὰς δὲ σάρκας τὸ λίτρον κατατήκει, καὶ δὴ λείπεται τοῦ νεκροῦ τὸ δέρμα μοῦνον καὶ τὰ ὀστέα. ἐπεὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσωσι, ἀπʼ ὦν ἔδωκαν οὕτω τὸν νεκρόν, οὐδὲν ἔτι πρηγματευθέντες.

[¶11] 88.1. The third manner of embalming, the preparation of the poorer dead, is this: they cleanse the belly with a purge, embalm the body for the seventy days and then give it back to be taken away.

> Greek: 88.1. ἡ δὲ τρίτη ταρίχευσις ἐστὶ ἥδε, ἣ τοὺς χρήμασι ἀσθενεστέρους σκευάζει· συρμαίῃ διηθήσαντες τὴν κοιλίην ταριχεύουσι τὰς ἑβδομήκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ ἔπειτα ἀπʼ ὦν ἔδωκαν ἀποφέρεσθαι.

[¶12] 89.1. Wives of notable men, and women of great beauty and reputation, are not at once given to the embalmers, but only after they have been dead for three or four days;

> Greek: 89.1. τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας τῶν ἐπιφανέων ἀνδρῶν, ἐπεὰν τελευτήσωσι, οὐ παραυτίκα διδοῦσι ταριχεύειν, οὐδὲ ὅσαι ἂν ἔωσι εὐειδέες κάρτα καὶ λόγου πλεῦνος γυναῖκες· ἀλλʼ ἐπεὰν τριταῖαι ἢ τεταρταῖαι γένωνται, οὕτω παραδιδοῦσι τοῖσι ταριχεύουσι.

[¶13] 89.2. this is done to deter the embalmers from having intercourse with the women. For it is said that one was caught having intercourse with the fresh corpse of a woman, and was denounced by his fellow-workman.

> Greek: 89.2. τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῦσι οὕτω τοῦδε εἵνεκεν, ἵνα μή σφι οἱ ταριχευταὶ μίσγωνται τῇσι γυναιξί· λαμφθῆναι γὰρ τινὰ φασὶ μισγόμενον νεκρῷ προσφάτῳ γυναικός, κατειπεῖν δὲ τὸν ὁμότεχνον.

[¶14] 90.1. Anyone, Egyptian or foreigner, known to have been carried off by a crocodile or drowned by the river itself, must by all means be embalmed and wrapped as attractively as possible and buried in a sacred coffin by the people of the place where he is cast ashore;

> Greek: 90.1. ὃς δʼ ἂν ἢ αὐτῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ ξείνων ὁμοίως ὑπὸ κροκοδείλου ἁρπασθεὶς ἢ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ φαίνηται τεθνεώς, κατʼ ἣν ἂν πόλιν ἐξενειχθῇ, τούτους πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ἐστὶ ταριχεύσαντας αὐτὸν καὶ περιστείλαντας ὡς κάλλιστα θάψαι ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι·

[¶15] 90.2. none of his relatives or friends may touch him, but his body is considered something more than human, and is handled and buried by the priests of the Nile themselves.

> Greek: 90.2. οὐδὲ ψαῦσαι ἔξεστι αὐτοῦ ἄλλον οὐδένα οὔτε τῶν προσηκόντων οὔτε τῶν φίλων, ἀλλά μιν αἱ οἱ ἱρέες αὐτοὶ τοῦ Νείλου ἅτε πλέον τι ἢ ἀνθρώπου νεκρὸν χειραπτάζοντες θάπτουσι.

[¶16] 91.1. The Egyptians shun using Greek customs, and (generally speaking) the customs of all other peoples as well. Yet, though the rest are wary of this, there is a great city called Khemmis, in the Theban district, near the New City.

> Greek: 91.1. ἑλληνικοῖσι δὲ νομαίοισι φεύγουσι χρᾶσθαι, τὸ δὲ σύμπαν εἰπεῖν, μηδʼ ἄλλων μηδαμὰ μηδαμῶν ἀνθρώπων νομαίοισι. οἱ μέν νυν ἄλλοι Αἰγύπτιοι οὕτω τοῦτο φυλάσσουσι, ἔστι δὲ Χέμμις πόλις μεγάλη νομοῦ τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ ἐγγὺς Νέης πόλιος·

[¶17] 91.2. In this city is a square temple of Perseus son of Danae, in a grove of palm trees. Before this temple stand great stone columns; and at the entrance, two great stone statues. In the outer court there is a shrine with an image of Perseus standing in it.

> Greek: 91.2. ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλι ἐστὶ Περσέος τοῦ Δανάης ἱρὸν τετράγωνον, πέριξ δὲ αὐτοῦ φοίνικες πεφύκασι. τὰ δὲ πρόπυλα τοῦ ἱροῦ λίθινα ἐστὶ κάρτα μεγάλα· ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτοῖσι ἀνδριάντες δύο ἑστᾶσι λίθινοι μεγάλοι. ἐν δὲ τῷ περιβεβλημένῳ τούτῳ νηός τε ἔνι καὶ ἄγαλμα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐνέστηκε τοῦ Περσέος.

[¶18] 91.3. The people of this Khemmis say that Perseus is seen often up and down this land, and often within the temple, and that the sandal he wears, which is four feet long, keeps turning up, and that when it does turn up, all Egypt prospers.

> Greek: 91.3. οὗτοι οἱ Χεμμῖται λέγουσι τὸν Περσέα πολλάκις μὲν ἀνὰ τὴν γῆν φαίνεσθαί σφι πολλάκις δὲ ἔσω τοῦ ἱροῦ, σανδάλιόν τε αὐτοῦ πεφορημένον εὑρίσκεσθαι ἐὸν τὸ μέγαθος δίπηχυ, τὸ ἐπεὰν φανῇ, εὐθηνέειν ἅπασαν Αἴγυπτον.

[¶19] 91.4. This is what they say; and their doings in honor of Perseus are Greek, inasmuch as they celebrate games that include every form of contest, and offer animals and cloaks and skins as prizes.

> Greek: 91.4. ταῦτα μὲν λέγουσι, ποιεῦσι δὲ τάδε Ἑλληνικὰ τῷ Περσέι· ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν τιθεῖσι διὰ πάσης ἀγωνίης ἔχοντα, παρέχοντες ἄεθλα κτήνεα καὶ χλαίνας καὶ δέρματα.

[¶20] 91.5. When I asked why Perseus appeared only to them, and why, unlike all other Egyptians, they celebrate games, they told me that Perseus was by lineage of their city; for Danaus and Lynceus, who travelled to Greece, were of Khemmis; and they traced descent from these down to Perseus.

> Greek: 91.5. εἰρομένου δέ μευ ὅ τι σφι μούνοισι ἔωθε ὁ Περσεὺς ἐπιφαίνεσθαι καὶ ὅ τι κεχωρίδαται Αἰγυπτίων τῶν ἄλλων ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν τιθέντες, ἔφασαν τὸν Περσέα ἐκ τῆς ἑωυτῶν πόλιος γεγονέναι· τὸν γὰρ Δαναὸν καὶ τὸν Λυγκέα ἐόντας Χεμμίτας ἐκπλῶσαι ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων γενεηλογέοντες κατέβαινον ἐς τὸν Περσέα.

[¶21] 91.6. They told how he came to Khemmis, too, when he came to Egypt for the reason alleged by the Greeks as well—namely, to bring the Gorgon's head from Libya —and recognized all his relatives; and how he had heard the name of Khemmis from his mother before he came to Egypt. It was at his bidding, they said, that they celebrated the games.

> Greek: 91.6. ἀπικόμενον δὲ αὐτὸν ἐς Αἴγυπτον κατʼ αἰτίην τὴν καὶ Ἕλληνες λέγουσι, οἴσοντα ἐκ Λιβύης τὴν Γοργοῦς κεφαλήν, ἔφασαν ἐλθεῖν καὶ παρὰ σφέας καὶ ἀναγνῶναι τοὺς συγγενέας πάντας· ἐκμεμαθηκότα δέ μιν ἀπικέσθαι ἐς Αἴγυπτον τὸ τῆς Χέμμιος οὔνομα, πεπυσμένον παρὰ τῆς μητρός. ἀγῶνα δέ οἱ γυμνικὸν αὐτοῦ κελεύσαντος ἐπιτελέειν.

[¶22] 92.1. All these are the customs of Egyptians who live above the marsh country. Those who inhabit the marshes have the same customs as the rest of Egyptians, even that each man has one wife just like Greeks. They have, besides, devised means to make their food less costly.

> Greek: 92.1. ταῦτα μὲν πάντα οἱ κατύπερθε τῶν ἑλέων οἰκέοντες Αἰγύπτιοι νομίζουσι· οἱ δὲ δὴ ἐν τοῖσι ἕλεσι κατοικημένοι τοῖσι μὲν αὐτοῖσι νόμοισι χρέωνται τοῖσι καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι Αἰγύπτιοι, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα καὶ γυναικὶ μιῇ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν συνοικέει κατά περ Ἕλληνες, ἀτὰρ πρὸς εὐτελείην τῶν σιτίων τάδε σφι ἄλλα ἐξεύρηται.

[¶23] 92.2. When the river is in flood and flows over the plains, many lilies, which the Egyptians call lotus, grow in the water. They gather these and dry them in the sun; then they crush the poppy-like center of the plant and bake loaves of it.

> Greek: 92.2. ἐπεὰν πλήρης γένηται ὁ ποταμὸς καὶ τὰ πεδία πελαγίσῃ, φύεται ἐν τῷ ὕδατι κρίνεα πολλά, τὰ Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι λωτόν· ταῦτʼ ἐπεὰν δρέψωσι αὐαίνουσι πρὸς ἥλιον καὶ ἔπειτα τὸ ἐκ μέσου τοῦ λωτοῦ, τῇ μήκωνι ἐὸν ἐμφερές, πτίσαντες ποιεῦνται ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἄρτους ὀπτοὺς πυρί.

[¶24] 92.3. The root of this lotus is edible also, and of a sweetish taste; it is round, and the size of an apple.

> Greek: 92.3. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ λωτοῦ τούτου ἐδωδίμη καὶ ἐγγλύσσει ἐπιεικέως, ἐὸν στρογγύλον, μέγαθος κατὰ μῆλον.

[¶25] 92.4. Other lilies grow in the river, too, that are like roses; the fruit of these is found in a calyx springing from the root by a separate stalk, and is most like a comb made by wasps; this produces many edible seeds as big as olive pits, which are eaten both fresh and dried.

> Greek: 92.4. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα κρίνεα ῥόδοισι ἐμφερέα, ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ γινόμενα καὶ ταῦτα, ἐξ ὧν ὁ καρπὸς ἐν ἄλλῃ κάλυκι παραφυομένῃ ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης γίνεται, κηρίῳ σφηκῶν ἰδέην ὁμοιότατον· ἐν τούτῳ τρωκτὰ ὅσον τε πυρὴν ἐλαίης ἐγγίνεται συχνά, τρώγεται δὲ καὶ ἁπαλὰ ταῦτα καὶ αὖα.

[¶26] 92.5. They also use the byblus which grows annually: it is gathered from the marshes, the top of it cut off and put to other uses, and the lower part, about twenty inches long, eaten or sold. Those who wish to use the byblus at its very best, roast it before eating in a red-hot oven. Some live on fish alone. They catch the fish, take out the intestines, then dry them in the sun and eat them dried.

> Greek: 92.5. τὴν δὲ βύβλον τὴν ἐπέτειον γινομένην ἐπεὰν ἀνασπάσωσι ἐκ τῶν ἑλέων, τὰ μὲν ἄνω αὐτῆς ἀποτάμνοντες ἐς ἄλλο τι τρέπουσι, τὸ δὲ κάτω λελειμμένον ὅσον τε ἐπὶ πῆχυν τρώγουσι καὶ πωλέουσι· οἳ δὲ ἂν καὶ κάρτα βούλωνται χρηστῇ τῇ βύβλῳ χρᾶσθαι, ἐν κλιβάνῳ διαφανέι πνίξαντες οὕτω τρώγουσι. οἳ δὲ τινὲς αὐτῶν ζῶσι ἀπὸ τῶν ἰχθύων μοῦνον, τοὺς ἐπεὰν λάβωσι καὶ ἐξέλωσι τὴν κοιλίην, αὐαίνουσι πρὸς ἥλιον καὶ ἔπειτα αὔους ἐόντας σιτέονται.

[¶27] 93.1. Fish that go in schools are seldom born in rivers; they are raised in the lakes, and this is how they behave: when the desire of spawning comes on them, they swim out to sea in schools, the males leading, and throwing out their milt, while the females come after and swallow and conceive from it.

> Greek: 93.1. οἱ δὲ ἰχθύες οἱ ἀγελαῖοι ἐν μὲν τοῖσι ποταμοῖσι οὐ μάλα γίνονται, τρεφόμενοι δὲ ἐν τῇσι λίμνῃσι τοιάδε ποιεῦσι. ἐπεάν σφεας ἐσίῃ οἶστρος κυΐσκεσθαι, ἀγεληδὸν ἐκπλέουσι ἐς θάλασσαν· ἡγέονται δὲ οἱ ἔρσενες ἀπορραίνοντες τοῦ θοροῦ, αἳ δὲ ἑπόμεναι ἀνακάπτουσι καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κυΐσκονται.

[¶28] 93.2. When the females have grown heavy in the sea, then all the fish swim back to their own haunts. But the same no longer lead; now the leadership goes to the females. They go before in a school as the males had, and now and then throw off some of their eggs (which are like millet-seeds), which the males devour as they follow. These millet-seeds, or eggs, are fish.

> Greek: 93.2. ἐπεὰν δὲ πλήρεες γένωνται ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ἀναπλώουσι ὀπίσω ἐς ἤθεα τὰ ἑωυτῶν ἕκαστοι, ἡγέονται μέντοι γε οὐκέτι οἱ αὐτοί, ἀλλὰ τῶν θηλέων γίνεται ἡ ἡγεμονία· ἡγεύμεναι δὲ ἀγεληδὸν ποιεῦσι οἷόν περ ἐποίευν οἱ ἔρσενες· τῶν γὰρ ᾠῶν ἀπορραίνουσι κατʼ ὀλίγους τῶν κέγχρων, οἱ δὲ ἔρσενες καταπίνουσι ἑπόμενοι. εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ κέγχροι οὗτοι ἰχθύες.

[¶29] 93.3. The fish that are reared come from the eggs that survive and are not devoured. Those fish that are caught while swimming seawards show bruises on the left side of their heads; those that are caught returning, on the right side.

> Greek: 93.3. ἐκ δὲ τῶν περιγινομένων καὶ μὴ καταπινομένων κέγχρων οἱ τρεφόμενοι ἰχθύες γίνονται. οἵ δʼ ἂν αὐτῶν ἁλῶσι ἐκπλώοντες ἐς θάλασσαν, φαίνονται τετριμμένοι τὰ ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ τῶν κεφαλέων, οἳ δʼ ἂν ὀπίσω ἀναπλώοντες, τὰ ἐπὶ δεξιὰ τετρίφαται.

[¶30] 93.4. This happens because they keep close to the left bank as they swim seawards, and keep to the same bank also on their return, grazing it and keeping in contact with it as well as they can, I suppose lest the current make them miss their way.

> Greek: 93.4. πάσχουσι δὲ ταῦτα διὰ τόδε· ἐχόμενοι τῆς γῆς ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ καταπλώουσι ἐς θάλασσαν, καὶ ἀναπλώοντες ὀπίσω τῆς αὐτῆς ἀντέχονται, ἐγχριμπτόμενοι καὶ ψαύοντες ὡς μάλιστα, ἵνα δὴ μὴ ἁμάρτοιεν τῆς ὁδοῦ διὰ τὸν ῥόον.

[¶31] 93.5. When the Nile begins to rise, hollow and marshy places near the river are the first to begin to fill, the water trickling through from the river, and as soon as they are flooded, they are suddenly full of little fishes.

> Greek: 93.5. ἐπεὰν δὲ πληθύνεσθαι ἄρχηται ὁ Νεῖλος, τά τε κοῖλα τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ τέλματα τὰ παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν πρῶτα ἄρχεται πίμπλασθαι διηθέοντος τοῦ ὕδατος ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ· καὶ αὐτίκα τε πλέα γίνεται ταῦτα καὶ παραχρῆμα ἰχθύων σμικρῶν πίμπλαται πάντα.

[¶32] 93.6. Where these probably come from, I believe that I can guess. When the Nile falls, the fish have dropped their eggs into the mud before they leave with the last of the water; and when in the course of time the flood comes again in the following year, from these eggs at once come the fish.

> Greek: 93.6. κόθεν δὲ οἰκὸς αὐτοὺς γίνεσθαι, ἐγώ μοι δοκέω κατανοέειν τοῦτο· τοῦ προτέρου ἔτεος ἐπεὰν ἀπολίπῃ ὁ Νεῖλος, οἱ ἰχθύες ἐντεκόντες ᾠὰ ἐς τὴν ἰλὺν ἅμα τῷ ἐσχάτῳ ὕδατι ἀπαλλάσσονται· ἐπεὰν δὲ περιελθόντος τοῦ χρόνου πάλιν ἐπέλθῃ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐκ τῶν ᾠῶν τούτων παραυτίκα γίνονται οἱ ἰχθύες οὗτοι.

[¶33] 94.1. So much, then, for the fish. The Egyptians who live around the marshes use an oil drawn from the castor-berry, which they call kiki. They sow this plant, which grows wild in Hellas, on the banks of the rivers and lakes;

> Greek: 94.1. καὶ περὶ μὲν τοὺς ἰχθύας οὕτω ἔχει. ἀλείφατι δὲ χρέωνται Αἰγυπτίων οἱ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα οἰκέοντες ἀπὸ τῶν σιλλικυπρίων τοῦ καρποῦ, τὸ καλεῦσι μὲν Αἰγύπτιοι κίκι, ποιεῦσι δὲ ὧδε. παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τῶν τε ποταμῶν καὶ τῶν λιμνέων σπείρουσι τὰ σιλλικύπρια ταῦτα, τὰ ἐν Ἕλλησι αὐτόματα ἄγρια φύεται·

[¶34] 94.2. sown in Egypt, it produces abundant fruit, though malodorous; when they gather this, some bruise and press it, others boil after roasting it, and collect the liquid that comes from it. This is thick and useful as oil for lamps, and gives off a strong smell.

> Greek: 94.2. ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ σπειρόμενα καρπὸν φέρει πολλὸν μὲν δυσώδεα δέ· τοῦτον ἐπεὰν συλλέξωνται, οἳ μὲν κόψαντες ἀπιποῦσι, οἳ δὲ καὶ φρύξαντες ἀπέψουσι, καὶ τὸ ἀπορρέον ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ συγκομίζονται. ἔστι δὲ πῖον καὶ οὐδὲν ἧσσον τοῦ ἐλαίου τῷ λύχνῳ προσηνές, ὀδμὴν δὲ βαρέαν παρέχεται.

[¶35] 95.1. Against the mosquitos that abound, the following have been devised by them: those who dwell higher up than the marshy country are well served by the towers where they ascend to sleep, for the winds prevent the mosquitos from flying aloft;

> Greek: 95.1. πρὸς δὲ τοὺς κώνωπας ἀφθόνους ἐόντας τάδε σφι ἐστὶ μεμηχανημένα. τοὺς μὲν τὰ ἄνω τῶν ἑλέων οἰκέοντας οἱ πύργοι ὠφελέουσι, ἐς τοὺς ἀναβαίνοντες κοιμῶνται· οἱ γὰρ κώνωπες ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων οὐκ οἷοί τε εἰσὶ ὑψοῦ πέτεσθαι.

[¶36] 95.2. those living about the marshes have a different recourse, instead of the towers. Every one of them has a net, with which he catches fish by day, and at night he sets it around the bed where he rests, then creeps under it and sleeps.

> Greek: 95.2. τοῖσι δὲ περὶ τὰ ἕλεα οἰκέουσι τάδε ἀντὶ τῶν πύργων ἄλλα μεμηχάνηται· πᾶς ἀνὴρ αὐτῶν ἀμφίβληστρον ἔκτηται, τῷ τῆς μὲν ἡμέρης ἰχθῦς ἀγρεύει, τὴν δὲ νύκτα τάδε αὐτῷ χρᾶται· ἐν τῇ ἀναπαύεται κοίτῃ, περὶ ταύτην ἵστησι τὸ ἀμφίβληστρον καὶ ἔπειτα ἐνδὺς ὑπʼ αὐτὸ κατεύδει.

[¶37] 95.3. If he sleeps wrapped in a garment or cloth, the mosquitos bite through it; but through the net they absolutely do not even venture.

> Greek: 95.3. οἱ δὲ κώνωπες, ἢν μὲν ἐν ἱματίῳ ἐνειλιξάμενος εὕδῃ ἢ σινδόνι, διὰ τούτων δάκνουσι, διὰ δὲ τοῦ δικτύου οὐδὲ πειρῶνται ἀρχήν.

[¶38] 96.1. The boats in which they carry cargo are made of the acacia, which is most like the lotus of Cyrene in form, and its sap is gum. Of this tree they cut logs of four feet long and lay them like courses of bricks, and build the boat by fastening these four foot logs to long and close-set stakes; and having done so, they set crossbeams athwart and on the logs.

> Greek: 96.1. τὰ δὲ δὴ πλοῖά σφι, τοῖσι φορτηγέουσι, ἐστὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀκάνθης ποιεύμενα, τῆς ἡ μορφὴ μὲν ἐστὶ ὁμοιοτάτη τῷ Κυρηναίῳ λωτῷ, τὸ δὲ δάκρυον κόμμι ἐστί. ἐκ ταύτης ὦν τῆς ἀκάνθης κοψάμενοι ξύλα ὅσον τε διπήχεα πλινθηδὸν συντιθεῖσι ναυπηγεύμενοι τρόπον τοιόνδε·

[¶39] 96.2. They use no ribs. They caulk the seams within with byblus. There is one rudder, passing through a hole in the boat's keel. The mast is of acacia-wood and the sails of byblus. These boats cannot move upstream unless a brisk breeze continues; they are towed from the bank; but downstream they are managed thus:

> Greek: 96.2. περὶ γόμφους πυκνοὺς καὶ μακροὺς περιείρουσι τὰ διπήχεα ξύλα· ἐπεὰν δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ ναυπηγήσωνται, ζυγὰ ἐπιπολῆς τείνουσι αὐτῶν· νομεῦσι δὲ οὐδὲν χρέωνται· ἔσωθεν δὲ τὰς ἁρμονίας ἐν ὦν ἐπάκτωσαν τῇ βύβλῳ. πηδάλιον δὲ ἓν ποιεῦνται, καὶ τοῦτο διὰ τῆς τρόπιος διαβύνεται. ἱστῷ δὲ ἀκανθίνῳ χρέωνται, ἱστίοισι δὲ βυβλίνοισι. ταῦτα τὰ πλοῖα ἀνὰ μὲν τὸν ποταμὸν οὐ δύναται πλέειν, ἢν μὴ λαμπρὸς ἄνεμος ἐπέχῃ, ἐκ γῆς δὲ παρέλκεται, κατὰ ῥόον δὲ κομίζεται ὧδε·

[¶40] 96.4. they have a raft made of tamarisk wood, fastened together with matting of reeds, and a pierced stone of about two talents' weight; the raft is let go to float down ahead of the boat, connected to it by a rope, and the stone is connected by a rope to the after part of the boat.

> Greek: 96.4. ἔστι ἐκ μυρίκης πεποιημένη θύρη, κατερραμμένη ῥιπὶ καλάμων, καὶ λίθος τετρημένος διτάλαντος μάλιστά κῃ σταθμόν· τούτων τὴν μὲν θύρην δεδεμένην κάλῳ ἔμπροσθε τοῦ πλοίου ἀπιεῖ ἐπιφέρεσθαι, τὸν δὲ λίθον ἄλλῳ κάλῳ ὄπισθε.

[¶41] 96.5. So, driven by the current, the raft floats swiftly and tows the “baris” (which is the name of these boats,) and the stone dragging behind on the river bottom keeps the boat's course straight. There are many of these boats; some are of many thousand talents' burden.

> Greek: 96.5. ἡ μὲν δὴ θύρη τοῦ ῥόου ἐμπίπτοντος χωρέει ταχέως καὶ ἕλκει τὴν βᾶριν (τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ οὔνομα ἐστὶ τοῖσι πλοίοισι τούτοισι), ὁ δὲ λίθος ὄπισθε ἐπελκόμενος καὶ ἐὼν ἐν βυσσῷ κατιθύνει τὸν πλόον. ἔστι δέ σφι τὰ πλοῖα ταῦτα πλήθεϊ πολλά, καὶ ἄγει ἔνια πολλὰς χιλιάδας ταλάντων.

[¶42] 97.1. When the Nile overflows the land, only the towns are seen high and dry above the water, very like the islands in the Aegean sea. These alone stand out, the rest of Egypt being a sheet of water. So when this happens, folk are not ferried, as usual, in the course of the stream, but clean over the plain.

> Greek: 97.1. ἐπεὰν δὲ ἐπέλθῃ ὁ Νεῖλος τὴν χώρην, αἱ πόλιες μοῦναι φαίνονται ὑπερέχουσαι, μάλιστά κῃ ἐμφερέες τῇσι ἐν τῷ Αἰγαίῳ πόντῳ νήσοισι· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα τῆς Αἰγύπτου πέλαγος γίνεται, αἱ δὲ πόλιες μοῦναι ὑπερέχουσι. πορθμεύονται ὦν, ἐπεὰν τοῦτο γένηται, οὐκέτι κατὰ τὰ ῥέεθρα τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀλλὰ διὰ μέσου τοῦ πεδίου.

[¶43] 97.2. Indeed, the boat going up from Naucratis to Memphis passes close by the pyramids themselves, though the course does not go by here, but by the Delta's point and the town Cercasorus; but your voyage from the sea and Canobus to Naucratis will take you over the plain near the town of Anthylla and that which is called Arkhandrus' town.

> Greek: 97.2. ἐς μέν γε Μέμφιν ἐκ Ναυκράτιος ἀναπλώοντι παρʼ αὐτὰς τὰς πυραμίδας γίνεται ὁ πλόος· ἔστι δὲ οὐδʼ οὗτος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ ὀξὺ τοῦ Δέλτα καὶ παρὰ Κερκάσωρον πόλιν· ἐς δὲ Ναύκρατιν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης καὶ Κανώβου διὰ πεδίου πλέων ἥξεις κατʼ Ἄνθυλλάν τε πόλιν καὶ τὴν Ἀρχάνδρου καλευμένην.

[¶44] 98.1. Anthylla is a town of some reputation, and is especially assigned to the consort of the reigning king of Egypt, to provide her shoes. This has been done since Egypt has been under Persian dominion.

> Greek: 98.1. τουτέων δὲ ἡ μὲν Ἄνθυλλα ἐοῦσα λογίμη πόλις ἐς ὑποδήματα ἐξαίρετος δίδοται τοῦ αἰεὶ βασιλεύοντος Αἰγύπτου τῇ γυναικί (τοῦτο δὲ γίνεται ἐξ ὅσου ὑπὸ Πέρσῃσι ἐστὶ Αἴγυπτος), ἡ δὲ ἑτέρη πόλις δοκέει μοι τὸ οὔνομα ἔχειν ἀπὸ τοῦ Δαναοῦ γαμβροῦ Ἀρχάνδρου τοῦ Φθίου τοῦ Ἀχαιοῦ·

[¶45] 98.2. The other town, I think, is named after Arkhandrus son of Phthius the Achaean, and son-in-law of Danaus; for it is called Arkhandrus' town. It may be that there was another Arkhandrus; but the name is not Egyptian.

> Greek: 98.2. καλέεται γὰρ δὴ Ἀρχάνδρου πόλις. εἴη δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλος τις Ἄρχανδρος, οὐ μέντοι γε Αἰγύπτιον τὸ οὔνομα.

[¶46] 99.1. So far, all I have said is the record of my own autopsy and judgment and inquiry. Henceforth I will record Egyptian chronicles, according to what I have heard, adding something of what I myself have seen.

> Greek: 99.1. μέχρι μὲν τούτου ὄψις τε ἐμὴ καὶ γνώμη καὶ ἱστορίη ταῦτα λέγουσα ἐστί, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦδε Αἰγυπτίους ἔρχομαι λόγους ἐρέων κατὰ τὰ ἤκουον· προσέσται δὲ αὐτοῖσί τι καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ὄψιος.

[¶47] 99.2. The priests told me that Min was the first king of Egypt, and that first he separated Memphis from the Nile by a dam. All the river had flowed close under the sandy mountains on the Libyan side, but Min made the southern bend of it, which begins about twelve and one half miles above Memphis, by damming the stream, thereby drying up the ancient channel, and carried the river by a channel so that it flowed midway between the hills.

> Greek: 99.2. Μῖνα τὸν πρῶτον βασιλεύσαντα Αἰγύπτου οἱ ἱρέες ἔλεγον τοῦτο μὲν ἀπογεφυρῶσαι τὴν Μέμφιν. τὸν γὰρ ποταμὸν πάντα ῥέειν παρὰ τὸ ὄρος τὸ ψάμμινον πρὸς Λιβύης, τὸν δὲ Μῖνα ἄνωθεν, ὅσον τε ἑκατὸν σταδίους ἀπὸ Μέμφιος, τὸν πρὸς μεσαμβρίης ἀγκῶνα προσχώσαντα τὸ μὲν ἀρχαῖον ῥέεθρον ἀποξηρῆναι, τὸν δὲ ποταμὸν ὀχετεῦσαι τὸ μέσον τῶν ὀρέων ῥέειν.

[¶48] 99.3. And to this day the Persians keep careful watch on this bend of the river, strengthening its dam every year to keep the current in; for were the Nile to burst its dikes and overflow here, all Memphis would be in danger of flooding.

> Greek: 99.3. ἔτι δὲ καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ Περσέων ὁ ἀγκὼν οὗτος τοῦ Νείλου ὡς ἀπεργμένος ῥέῃ ἐν φυλακῇσι μεγάλῃσι ἔχεται, φρασσόμενος ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος· εἰ γὰρ ἐθελήσει ῥήξας ὑπερβῆναι ὁ ποταμὸς ταύτῃ, κίνδυνος πάσῃ Μέμφι κατακλυσθῆναι ἐστί.

[¶49] 99.4. Then, when this first king Min had made dry land of what he thus cut off, he first founded in it that city which is now called Memphis (for even Memphis lies in the narrow part of Egypt ), and outside of it he dug a lake from the river to its north and west (for the Nile itself bounds it on the east); and secondly, he built in it the great and most noteworthy temple of Hephaestus.

> Greek: 99.4. ὡς δὲ τῷ Μῖνι τούτῳ τῷ πρώτῳ γενομένῳ βασιλέι χέρσον γεγονέναι τὸ ἀπεργμένον, τοῦτο μὲν ἐν αὐτῷ πόλιν κτίσαι ταύτην ἥτις νῦν Μέμφις καλέεται· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἡ Μέμφις ἐν τῷ στεινῷ τῆς Αἰγύπτου· ἔξωθεν δὲ αὐτῆς περιορύξαι λίμνην ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πρὸς βορέην τε καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέρην (τὸ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ αὐτὸς ὁ Νεῖλος ἀπέργει), τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὸ ἱρὸν ἱδρύσασθαι ἐν αὐτῇ, ἐὸν μέγα τε καὶ ἀξιαπηγητότατον.

[¶50] 100.1. After him came three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll. In all these many generations there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to the country; the rest were all Egyptian men.

> Greek: 100.1. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον κατέλεγον οἱ ἱρέες ἐκ βύβλου ἄλλων βασιλέων τριηκοσίων καὶ τριήκοντα οὐνόματα. ἐν τοσαύτῃσι δὲ γενεῇσι ἀνθρώπων ὀκτωκαίδεκα μὲν Αἰθίοπες ἦσαν, μία δὲ γυνὴ ἐπιχωρίη, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι ἄνδρες Αἰγύπτιοι.

[¶51] 100.2. The name of the queen was the same as that of the Babylonian princess, Nitocris. She, to avenge her brother (he was king of Egypt and was slain by his subjects, who then gave Nitocris the sovereignty) put many of the Egyptians to death by treachery.

> Greek: 100.2. τῇ δὲ γυναικὶ οὔνομα ἦν, ἥτις ἐβασίλευσε, τό περ τῇ Βαβυλωνίῃ, Νίτωκρις· τὴν ἔλεγον τιμωρέουσαν ἀδελφεῷ, τὸν Αἰγύπτιοι βασιλεύοντα σφέων ἀπέκτειναν, ἀποκτείναντες δὲ οὕτω ἐκείνῃ ἀπέδοσαν τὴν βασιληίην, τούτῳ τιμωρέουσαν πολλοὺς Αἰγυπτίων διαφθεῖραι δόλῳ.

[¶52] 100.3. She built a spacious underground chamber; then, with the pretence of inaugurating it, but with quite another intent in her mind, she gave a great feast, inviting to it those Egyptians whom she knew to have had the most complicity in her brother's murder; and while they feasted, she let the river in upon them by a vast secret channel.

> Greek: 100.3. ποιησαμένην γάρ μιν οἴκημα περίμηκες ὑπόγαιον καινοῦν τῷ λόγῳ, νόῳ δὲ ἄλλα μηχανᾶσθαι· καλέσασαν δέ μιν Αἰγυπτίων τοὺς μάλιστα μεταιτίους τοῦ φόνου ᾔδεε πολλοὺς ἱστιᾶν, δαινυμένοισι δὲ ἐπεῖναι τὸν ποταμὸν διʼ αὐλῶνος κρυπτοῦ μεγάλου.

[¶53] 100.4. This was all that the priests told of her, except that when she had done this she cast herself into a chamber full of hot ashes, to escape vengeance.

> Greek: 100.4. ταύτης μὲν πέρι τοσαῦτα ἔλεγον, πλὴν ὅτι αὐτήν μιν, ὡς τοῦτο ἐξέργαστο, ῥίψαι ἐς οἴκημα σποδοῦ πλέον, ὅκως ἀτιμώρητος γένηται.

[¶54] 101.1. But of the other kings they related no achievement or act of great note, except of Moeris, the last of them.

> Greek: 101.1. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων βασιλέων οὐ γὰρ ἔλεγον οὐδεμίαν ἔργων ἀπόδεξιν καὶ οὐδὲν εἶναι λαμπρότητος, πλὴν ἑνὸς τοῦ ἐσχάτου αὐτῶν Μοίριος·

[¶55] 101.2. This Moeris was remembered as having built the northern forecourt of the temple of Hephaestus, and dug a lake, of as great a circumference as I shall later indicate; and built pyramids there also, the size of which I will mention when I speak of the lake. All this was Moeris' work, they said; of none of the rest had they anything to record.

> Greek: 101.2. τοῦτον δὲ ἀποδέξασθαι μνημόσυνα τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὰ πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον τετραμμένα προπύλαια, λίμνην τε ὀρύξαι, τῆς ἡ περίοδος ὅσων ἐστὶ σταδίων ὕστερον δηλώσω, πυραμίδας τε ἐν αὐτῇ οἰκοδομῆσαι, τῶν τοῦ μεγάθεος πέρι ὁμοῦ αὐτῇ τῇ λίμνῃ ἐπιμνήσομαι· τοῦτον μὲν τοσαῦτα ἀποδέξασθαι, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οὐδένα οὐδέν.

[¶56] 102.1. Leaving the latter aside, then, I shall speak of the king who came after them, whose name was Sesostris.

> Greek: 102.1. παραμειψάμενος ὦν τούτους τοῦ ἐπὶ τούτοισι γενομένου βασιλέος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Σέσωστρις, τούτου μνήμην ποιήσομαι·

[¶57] 102.2. This king, the priests said, set out with a fleet of long ships from the Arabian Gulf and subjugated all those living by the Red Sea, until he came to a sea which was too shallow for his vessels.

> Greek: 102.2. τὸν ἔλεγον οἱ ἱρέες πρῶτον μὲν πλοίοισι μακροῖσι ὁρμηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ Ἀραβίου κόλπου τοὺς παρὰ τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν θάλασσαν κατοικημένους καταστρέφεσθαι, ἐς ὃ πλέοντά μιν πρόσω ἀπικέσθαι ἐς θάλασσαν οὐκέτι πλωτὴν ὑπὸ βραχέων.

[¶58] 102.3. After returning from there back to Egypt, he gathered a great army (according to the account of the priests) and marched over the mainland, subjugating every nation to which he came.

> Greek: 102.3. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ὡς ὀπίσω ἀπίκετο ἐς Αἴγυπτον, κατὰ τῶν ἱρέων τὴν φάτιν, πολλὴν στρατιὴν τῶν λαβὼν ἤλαυνε διὰ τῆς ἠπείρου, πᾶν ἔθνος τὸ ἐμποδὼν καταστρεφόμενος.

[¶59] 102.4. When those that he met were valiant men and strove hard for freedom, he set up pillars in their land, the inscription on which showed his own name and his country's, and how he had overcome them with his own power;

> Greek: 102.4. ὁτέοισι μέν νυν αὐτῶν ἀλκίμοισι ἐνετύγχανε καὶ δεινῶς γλιχομένοισι περὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίης, τούτοισι μὲν στήλας ἐνίστη ἐς τὰς χώρας διὰ γραμμάτων λεγούσας τό τε ἑωυτοῦ οὔνομα καὶ τῆς πάτρης, καὶ ὡς δυνάμι τῇ ἑωυτοῦ κατεστρέψατο σφέας·

[¶60] 102.5. but when the cities had made no resistance and been easily taken, then he put an inscription on the pillars just as he had done where the nations were brave; but he also drew on them the private parts of a woman, wishing to show clearly that the people were cowardly.

> Greek: 102.5. ὅτεων δὲ ἀμαχητὶ καὶ εὐπετέως παρέλαβε τὰς πόλιας, τούτοισι δὲ ἐνέγραφε ἐν τῇσι στήλῃσι κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ τοῖσι ἀνδρηίοισι τῶν ἐθνέων γενομένοισι, καὶ δὴ καὶ αἰδοῖα γυναικὸς προσενέγραφε, δῆλα βουλόμενος ποιέειν ὡς εἴησαν ἀνάλκιδες.

[¶61] 103.1. He marched over the country doing this until he had crossed over from Asia to Europe and defeated the Scythians and Thracians. Thus far and no farther, I think, the Egyptian army went; for the pillars can be seen standing in their country, but in none beyond it.

> Greek: 103.1. ταῦτα δὲ ποιέων διεξήιε τὴν ἤπειρον, ἐς ὃ ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίης ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην διαβὰς τούς τε Σκύθας κατεστρέψατο καὶ τοὺς Θρήικας. ἐς τούτους δέ μοι δοκέει καὶ προσώτατα ἀπικέσθαι ὁ Αἰγύπτιος στρατός· ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ τούτων χώρῃ φαίνονται σταθεῖσαι αἱ στῆλαι, τὸ δὲ προσωτέρω τούτων οὐκέτι.

[¶62] 103.2. From there, he turned around and went back home; and when he came to the Phasis river, that King, Sesostris, may have detached some part of his army and left it there to live in the country (for I cannot speak with exact knowledge), or it may be that some of his soldiers grew weary of his wanderings, and stayed by the Phasis.

> Greek: 103.2. ἐνθεῦτεν δὲ ἐπιστρέψας ὀπίσω ἤιε, καὶ ἐπείτε ἐγίνετο ἐπὶ Φάσι ποταμῷ, οὐκ ἔχω τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ἀτρεκέως εἰπεῖν εἴτε αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς Σέσωστρις ἀποδασάμενος τῆς ἑωυτοῦ στρατιῆς μόριον ὅσον δὴ αὐτοῦ κατέλιπε τῆς χώρης οἰκήτορας, εἴτε τῶν τινες στρατιωτέων τῇ πλάνῃ αὐτοῦ ἀχθεσθέντες περὶ Φᾶσιν ποταμὸν κατέμειναν.

[¶63] 104.1. For it is plain to see that the Colchians are Egyptians; and what I say, I myself noted before I heard it from others. When it occurred to me, I inquired of both peoples; and the Colchians remembered the Egyptians better than the Egyptians remembered the Colchians;

> Greek: 104.1. φαίνονται μὲν γὰρ ἐόντες οἱ Κόλχοι Αἰγύπτιοι, νοήσας δὲ πρότερον αὐτὸς ἢ ἀκούσας ἄλλων λέγω. ὡς δέ μοι ἐν φροντίδι ἐγένετο, εἰρόμην ἀμφοτέρους, καὶ μᾶλλον οἱ Κόλχοι ἐμεμνέατο τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἢ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τῶν Κόλχων·

[¶64] 104.2. the Egyptians said that they considered the Colchians part of Sesostris' army. I myself guessed it, partly because they are dark-skinned and woolly-haired; though that indeed counts for nothing, since other peoples are, too; but my better proof was that the Colchians and Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only nations that have from the first practised circumcision.

> Greek: 104.2. νομίζειν δʼ ἔφασαν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τῆς Σεσώστριος στρατιῆς εἶναι τοὺς Κόλχους. αὐτὸς δὲ εἴκασα τῇδε, καὶ ὅτι μελάγχροες εἰσὶ καὶ οὐλότριχες. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐς οὐδὲν ἀνήκει· εἰσὶ γὰρ καὶ ἕτεροι τοιοῦτοι· ἀλλὰ τοῖσιδε καὶ μᾶλλον, ὅτι μοῦνοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων Κόλχοι καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ Αἰθίοπες περιτάμνονται ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς τὰ αἰδοῖα.

[¶65] 104.3. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine acknowledge that they learned the custom from the Egyptians, and the Syrians of the valleys of the Thermodon and the Parthenius, as well as their neighbors the Macrones, say that they learned it lately from the Colchians. These are the only nations that circumcise, and it is seen that they do just as the Egyptians.

> Greek: 104.3. Φοίνικες δὲ καὶ Σύροι οἱ ἐν τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁμολογέουσι παρʼ Αἰγυπτίων μεμαθηκέναι, Σύριοι δὲ οἱ περὶ Θερμώδοντα καὶ Παρθένιον ποταμὸν καὶ Μάκρωνες οἱ τούτοισι ἀστυγείτονες ἐόντες ἀπὸ Κόλχων φασὶ νεωστὶ μεμαθηκέναι. οὗτοι γὰρ εἰσὶ οἱ περιταμνόμενοι ἀνθρώπων μοῦνοι, καὶ οὗτοι Αἰγυπτίοισι φαίνονται ποιεῦντες κατὰ ταὐτά.

[¶66] 104.4. But as to the Egyptians and Ethiopians themselves, I cannot say which nation learned it from the other; for it is evidently a very ancient custom. That the others learned it through traffic with Egypt, I consider clearly proved by this: that Phoenicians who traffic with Hellas cease to imitate the Egyptians in this matter and do not circumcise their children.

> Greek: 104.4. αὐτῶν δὲ Αἰγυπτίων καὶ Αἰθιόπων οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν ὁκότεροι παρὰ τῶν ἑτέρων ἐξέμαθον· ἀρχαῖον γὰρ δή τι φαίνεται ἐόν. ὡς δὲ ἐπιμισγόμενοι Αἰγύπτῳ ἐξέμαθον, μέγα μοι καὶ τόδε τεκμήριον γίνεται· Φοινίκων ὁκόσοι τῇ Ἑλλάδι ἐπιμίσγονται, οὐκέτι Αἰγυπτίους μιμέονται κατὰ τὰ αἰδοῖα. ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐπιγινομένων οὐ περιτάμνουσι τὰ αἰδοῖα.

[¶67] 105.1. Listen to something else about the Colchians, in which they are like the Egyptians: they and the Egyptians alone work linen and have the same way of working it, a way peculiar to themselves; and they are alike in all their way of life, and in their speech. Linen has two names: the Colchian kind is called by the Greeks Sardonian; that which comes from Egypt is called Egyptian.

> Greek: 105.1. φέρε νῦν καὶ ἄλλο εἴπω περὶ τῶν Κόλχων, ὡς Αἰγυπτίοισι προσφερέες εἰσί· λίνον μοῦνοι οὗτοί τε καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐργάζονται καὶ κατὰ ταὐτά, καὶ ἡ ζόη πᾶσα καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα ἐμφερής ἐστι ἀλλήλοισι. λίνον δὲ τὸ μὲν Κολχικὸν ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων Σαρδωνικὸν κέκληται, τὸ μέντοι ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου ἀπικνεύμενον καλέεται Αἰγύπτιον.

[¶68] 106.1. As to the pillars that Sesostris, king of Egypt, set up in the countries, most of them are no longer to be seen. But I myself saw them in the Palestine district of Syria, with the aforesaid writing and the women's private parts on them.

> Greek: 106.1. αἱ δὲ στῆλαι τὰς ἵστα κατὰ τὰς χώρας ὁ Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς Σέσωστρις, αἱ μὲν πλεῦνες οὐκέτι φαίνονται περιεοῦσαι, ἐν δὲ τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ Συρίῃ αὐτὸς ὥρων ἐούσας καὶ τὰ γράμματα τὰ εἰρημένα ἐνεόντα καὶ γυναικὸς αἰδοῖα.

[¶69] 106.2. Also, there are in Ionia two figures of this man carved in rock, one on the road from Ephesus to Phocaea, and the other on that from Sardis to Smyrna.

> Greek: 106.2. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ περὶ Ἰωνίην δύο τύποι ἐν πέτρῃσι ἐγκεκολαμμένοι τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρός, τῇ τε ἐκ τῆς Ἐφεσίης ἐς Φώκαιαν ἔρχονται καὶ τῇ ἐκ Σαρδίων ἐς Σμύρνην.

[¶70] 106.3. In both places, the figure is over twenty feet high, with a spear in his right hand and a bow in his left, and the rest of his equipment proportional; for it is both Egyptian and Ethiopian;

> Greek: 106.3. ἑκατέρωθι δὲ ἀνὴρ ἐγγέγλυπται μέγαθος πέμπτης σπιθαμῆς, τῇ μὲν δεξιῇ χειρὶ ἔχων αἰχμὴν τῇ δὲ ἀριστερῇ τόξα, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην σκευὴν ὡσαύτως· καὶ γὰρ Αἰγυπτίην καὶ Αἰθιοπίδα ἔχει·

[¶71] 106.4. and right across the breast from one shoulder to the other a text is cut in the Egyptian sacred characters, saying: “I myself won this land with the strength of my shoulders.” There is nothing here to show who he is and whence he comes, but it is shown elsewhere.

> Greek: 106.4. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὤμου ἐς τὸν ἕτερον ὦμον διὰ τῶν στηθέων γράμματα ἱρὰ Αἰγύπτια διήκει ἐγκεκολαμμένα, λέγοντα τάδε· ἐγὼ τήνδε τὴν χώρην ὤμοισι τοῖσι ἐμοῖσι ἐκτησάμην. ὅστις δὲ καὶ ὁκόθεν ἐστί, ἐνθαῦτα μὲν οὐ δηλοῖ, ἑτέρωθι δὲ δεδήλωκε·

[¶72] 106.5. Some of those who have seen these figures guess they are Memnon, but they are far indeed from the truth.

> Greek: 106.5. τὰ δὴ καὶ μετεξέτεροι τῶν θεησαμένων Μέμνονος εἰκόνα εἰκάζουσί μιν εἶναι, πολλὸν τῆς ἀληθείης ἀπολελειμμένοι.

[¶73] 107.1. Now when this Egyptian Sesostris (so the priests said) reached Daphnae of Pelusium on his way home, leading many captives from the peoples whose lands he had subjugated, his brother, whom he had left in charge in Egypt, invited him and his sons to a banquet and then piled wood around the house and set it on fire.

> Greek: 107.1. τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Αἰγύπτιον Σέσωστριν ἀναχωρέοντα καὶ ἀνάγοντα πολλοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἐθνέων τῶν τὰς χώρας κατεστρέψατο, ἔλεγον οἱ ἱρέες, ἐπείτε ἐγίνετο ἀνακομιζόμενος ἐν Δάφνῃσι τῇσι Πηλουσίῃσι, τὸν ἀδελφεὸν ἑωυτοῦ, τῷ ἐπέτρεψε ὁ Σέσωστρις τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τοῦτον ἐπὶ ξείνια αὐτὸν καλέσαντα καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ τοὺς παῖδας περινῆσαι ἔξωθεν τὴν οἰκίην ὕλῃ, περινήσαντα δὲ ὑποπρῆσαι.

[¶74] 107.2. When Sesostris was aware of this, he at once consulted his wife, whom (it was said) he had with him; and she advised him to lay two of his six sons on the fire and make a bridge over the burning so that they could walk over the bodies of the two and escape. This Sesostris did; two of his sons were thus burnt but the rest escaped alive with their father.

> Greek: 107.2. τὸν δὲ ὡς μαθεῖν τοῦτο, αὐτίκα συμβουλεύεσθαι τῇ γυναικί· καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτὸν ἅμα ἄγεσθαι· τὴν δέ οἱ συμβουλεῦσαι τῶν παίδων ἐόντων ἓξ τοὺς δύο ἐπὶ τὴν πυρὴν ἐκτείναντα γεφυρῶσαι τὸ καιόμενον, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἐπʼ ἐκείνων ἐπιβαίνοντας ἐκσώζεσθαι. ταῦτα ποιῆσαι τὸν Σέσωστριν, καὶ δύο μὲν τῶν παίδων κατακαῆναι τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἀποσωθῆναι ἅμα τῷ πατρί.

[¶75] 108.1. After returning to Egypt, and avenging himself on his brother, Sesostris found work for the multitude which he brought with him from the countries which he had subdued.

> Greek: 108.1. νοστήσας δὲ ὁ Σέσωστρις ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ τισάμενος τὸν ἀδελφεόν, τῷ μὲν ὁμίλῳ τὸν ἐπηγάγετο τῶν τὰς χώρας κατεστρέψατο, τούτῳ μὲν τάδε ἐχρήσατο·

[¶76] 108.2. It was these who dragged the great and long blocks of stone which were brought in this king's reign to the temple of Hephaestus; and it was they who were compelled to dig all the canals which are now in Egypt, and involuntarily made what had been a land of horses and carts empty of these.

> Greek: 108.2. τούς τέ οἱ λίθους τοὺς ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ βασιλέος κομισθέντας ἐς τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὸ ἱρόν, ἐόντας μεγάθεϊ περιμήκεας, οὗτοι ἦσαν οἱ ἑλκύσαντες, καὶ τὰς διώρυχας τὰς νῦν ἐούσας ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πάσας οὗτοι ἀναγκαζόμενοι ὤρυσσον, ἐποίευν τε οὐκ ἑκόντες Αἴγυπτον, τὸ πρὶν ἐοῦσαν ἱππασίμην καὶ ἁμαξευομένην πᾶσαν, ἐνδεᾶ τούτων.

[¶77] 108.3. For from this time Egypt, although a level land, could use no horses or carts, because there were so many canals going every which way. The reason why the king thus intersected the country was this:

> Greek: 108.3. ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου Αἴγυπτος ἐοῦσα πεδιὰς πᾶσα ἄνιππος καὶ ἀναμάξευτος γέγονε· αἴτιαι δὲ τούτων αἱ διώρυχες γεγόνασι ἐοῦσαι πολλαὶ καὶ παντοίους τρόπους ἔχουσαί.

[¶78] 108.4. those Egyptians whose towns were not on the Nile, but inland from it, lacked water whenever the flood left their land, and drank only brackish water from wells.

> Greek: 108.4. κατέταμνε δὲ τοῦδε εἵνεκα τὴν χώρην ὁ βασιλεύς· ὅσοι τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μὴ ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ ἔκτηντο τὰς πόλις ἀλλʼ ἀναμέσους, οὗτοι, ὅκως τε ἀπίοι ὁ ποταμός, σπανίζοντες ὑδάτων πλατυτέροισι ἐχρέωντο τοῖσι πόμασι, ἐκ φρεάτων χρεώμενοι.

[¶79] 109.1. For this reason Egypt was intersected. This king also (they said) divided the country among all the Egyptians by giving each an equal parcel of land, and made this his source of revenue, assessing the payment of a yearly tax.

> Greek: 109.1. τούτων μὲν δὴ εἵνεκα κατετμήθη ἡ Αἴγυπτος. κατανεῖμαι δὲ τὴν χώρην Αἰγυπτίοισι ἅπασι τοῦτον ἔλεγον τὸν βασιλέα, κλῆρον ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τετράγωνον διδόντα, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τὰς προσόδους ποιήσασθαι, ἐπιτάξαντα ἀποφορὴν ἐπιτελέειν κατʼ ἐνιαυτόν.

[¶80] 109.2. And any man who was robbed by the river of part of his land could come to Sesostris and declare what had happened; then the king would send men to look into it and calculate the part by which the land was diminished, so that thereafter it should pay in proportion to the tax originally imposed.

> Greek: 109.2. εἰ δὲ τινὸς τοῦ κλήρου ὁ ποταμός τι παρέλοιτο, ἐλθὼν ἂν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐσήμαινε τὸ γεγενημένον· ὁ δὲ ἔπεμπε τοὺς ἐπισκεψομένους καὶ ἀναμετρήσοντας ὅσῳ ἐλάσσων ὁ χῶρος γέγονε, ὅκως τοῦ λοιποῦ κατὰ λόγον τῆς τεταγμένης ἀποφορῆς τελέοι.

[¶81] 109.3. From this, in my opinion, the Greeks learned the art of measuring land; the sunclock and the sundial, and the twelve divisions of the day, came to Hellas from Babylonia and not from Egypt.

> Greek: 109.3. δοκέει δέ μοι ἐνθεῦτεν γεωμετρίη εὑρεθεῖσα ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐπανελθεῖν· πόλον μὲν γὰρ καὶ γνώμονα καὶ τὰ δυώδεκα μέρεα τῆς ἡμέρης παρὰ Βαβυλωνίων ἔμαθον οἱ Ἕλληνες.

[¶82] 110.1. Sesostris was the only Egyptian king who also ruled Ethiopia. To commemorate his name, he set before the temple of Hephaestus two stone statues, of himself and of his wife, each fifty feet high, and statues of his four sons, each thirty-three feet.

> Greek: 110.1. βασιλεὺς μὲν δὴ οὗτος μοῦνος Αἰγύπτιος Αἰθιοπίης ἦρξε, μνημόσυνα δὲ ἐλίπετο πρὸ τοῦ Ἡφαιστείου ἀνδριάντας λιθίνους, δύο μὲν τριήκοντα πηχέων, ἑωυτόν τε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα, τοὺς δὲ παῖδας ἐόντας τέσσερας εἴκοσι πηχέων ἕκαστον·

[¶83] 110.2. Long afterwards, Darius the Persian would have set up his statue before these; but the priest of Hephaestus forbade him, saying that he had achieved nothing equal to the deeds of Sesostris the Egyptian; for Sesostris (he said) had subjugated the Scythians, besides as many nations as Darius had conquered, and Darius had not been able to overcome the Scythians;

> Greek: 110.2. τῶν δὴ ὁ ἱρεὺς τοῦ Ἡφαίστου χρόνῳ μετέπειτα πολλῷ Δαρεῖον τὸν Πέρσην οὐ περιεῖδε ἱστάντα ἔμπροσθε ἀνδριάντα, φὰς οὔ οἱ πεποιῆσθαι ἔργα οἷά περ Σεσώστρι τῷ Αἰγυπτίῳ· Σέσωστριν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα τε καταστρέψασθαι ἔθνεα οὐκ ἐλάσσω ἐκείνου καὶ δὴ καὶ Σκύθας, Δαρεῖον δὲ οὐ δυνασθῆναι Σκύθας ἑλεῖν·

[¶84] 110.3. therefore, it was not just that Darius should set his statue before the statues of Sesostris, whose achievements he had not equalled. Darius, it is said, let the priest have his way.

> Greek: 110.3. οὔκων δίκαιον εἶναι ἱστάναι ἔμπροσθε τῶν ἐκείνου ἀναθημάτων μὴ οὐκ ὑπερβαλλόμενον τοῖσι ἔργοισι. Δαρεῖον μέν νυν λέγουσι πρὸς ταῦτα συγγνώμην ποιήσασθαι.

[¶85] 111.1. When Sesostris died, he was succeeded in the kingship (the priests said) by his son Pheros. This king waged no wars, and chanced to become blind, for the following reason: the Nile came down in such a flood as there had never been, rising to a height of thirty feet, and the water that flowed over the fields was roughened by a strong wind;

> Greek: 111.1. Σεσώστριος δὲ τελευτήσαντος ἐκδέξασθαι ἔλεγον τὴν βασιληίην τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ Φερῶν, τὸν ἀποδέξασθαι μὲν οὐδεμίαν στρατηίην, συνενειχθῆναι δέ οἱ τυφλὸν γενέσθαι διὰ τοιόνδε πρῆγμα. τοῦ ποταμοῦ κατελθόντος μέγιστα δὴ τότε ἐπʼ ὀκτωκαίδεκα πήχεας, ὡς ὑπερέβαλε τὰς ἀρούρας, πνεύματος ἐμπεσόντος κυματίης ὁ ποταμὸς ἐγένετο·

[¶86] 111.2. then, it is said, the king was so audacious as to seize a spear and hurl it into the midst of the river eddies. Right after this, he came down with a disease of the eyes, and became blind. When he had been blind for ten years, an oracle from the city of Buto declared to him that the term of his punishment was drawing to an end, and that he would regain his sight by washing his eyes with the urine of a woman who had never had intercourse with any man but her own husband.

> Greek: 111.2. τὸν δὲ βασιλέα λέγουσι τοῦτον ἀτασθαλίῃ χρησάμενον, λαβόντα αἰχμὴν βαλεῖν ἐς μέσας τὰς δίνας τοῦ ποταμοῦ, μετὰ δὲ αὐτίκα καμόντα αὐτὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλωθῆναι. δέκα μὲν δὴ ἔτεα εἶναί μιν τυφλόν, ἑνδεκάτῳ δὲ ἔτεϊ ἀπικέσθαι οἱ μαντήιον ἐκ Βουτοῦς πόλιος ὡς ἐξήκει τέ οἱ ὁ χρόνος τῆς ζημίης καὶ ἀναβλέψει γυναικὸς οὔρῳ νιψάμενος τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, ἥτις παρὰ τὸν ἑωυτῆς ἄνδρα μοῦνον πεφοίτηκε, ἄλλων ἀνδρῶν ἐοῦσα ἄπειρος.

[¶87] 111.3. Pheros tried his own wife first; and, as he remained blind, all women, one after another. When he at last recovered his sight, he took all the women whom he had tried, except the one who had made him see again, and gathered them into one town, the one which is now called “Red Clay”; having concentrated them together there, he burnt them and the town;

> Greek: 111.3. καὶ τὸν πρώτης τῆς ἑωυτοῦ γυναικὸς πειρᾶσθαι, μετὰ δέ, ὡς οὐκ ἀνέβλεπε, ἐπεξῆς πασέων πειρᾶσθαι· ἀναβλέψαντα δὲ συναγαγεῖν τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἐπειρήθη, πλὴν ἢ τῆς τῷ οὔρῳ νιψάμενος ἀνέβλεψε, ἐς μίαν πόλιν, ἣ νῦν καλέεται Ἐρυθρὴ βῶλος· ἐς ταύτην συναλίσαντα ὑποπρῆσαι πάσας σὺν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλι·

[¶88] 111.4. but the woman by whose means he had recovered his sight, he married. Most worthy of mention among the many offerings which he dedicated in all the noteworthy temples for his deliverance from blindness are the two marvellous stone obelisks which he set up in the temple of the Sun. Each of these is made of a single block, and is over one hundred and sixty-six feet high and thirteen feet thick.

> Greek: 111.4. τῆς δὲ νιψάμενος τῷ οὔρῳ ἀνέβλεψε, ταύτην δὲ ἔσχε αὐτὸς γυναῖκα. ἀναθήματα δὲ ἀποφυγὼν τὴν πάθην τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἄλλα τε ἀνὰ τὰ ἱρὰ πάντα τὰ λόγιμα ἀνέθηκε καὶ τοῦ γε λόγον μάλιστα ἄξιον ἐστὶ ἔχειν, ἐς τοῦ Ἡλίου τὸ ἱρὸν ἀξιοθέητα ἀνέθηκε ἔργα, ὀβελοὺς δύο λιθίνους, ἐξ ἑνὸς ἐόντα ἑκάτερον λίθου, μῆκος μὲν ἑκάτερον πηχέων ἑκατόν, εὖρος δὲ ὀκτὼ πηχέων.

[¶89] 112.1. Pheros was succeeded (they said) by a man of Memphis, whose name in the Greek tongue was Proteus. This Proteus has a very attractive and well-appointed temple precinct at Memphis, south of the temple of Hephaestus.

> Greek: 112.1. τούτου δὲ ἐκδέξασθαι τὴν βασιληίην ἔλεγον ἄνδρα Μεμφίτην, τῷ κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλήνων γλῶσσαν οὔνομα Πρωτέα εἶναι· τοῦ νῦν τέμενος ἐστὶ ἐν Μέμφι κάρτα καλόν τε καὶ εὖ ἐσκευασμένον, τοῦ Ἡφαιστείου πρὸς νότον ἄνεμον κείμενον.

[¶90] 112.2. Around the precinct live Phoenicians of Tyre, and the whole place is called the Camp of the Tyrians. There is in the precinct of Proteus a temple called the temple of the Stranger Aphrodite; I guess this is a temple of Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, partly because I have heard the story of Helen's abiding with Proteus, and partly because it bears the name of the Foreign Aphrodite: for no other of Aphrodite's temples is called by that name.

> Greek: 112.2. περιοικέουσι δὲ τὸ τέμενος τοῦτο Φοίνικες Τύριοι, καλέεται δὲ ὁ χῶρος οὗτος ὁ συνάπας Τυρίων στρατόπεδον. ἔστι δὲ ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ τοῦ Πρωτέος ἱρὸν τὸ καλέεται ξείνης Ἀφροδίτης· συμβάλλομαι δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἱρὸν εἶναι Ἑλένης τῆς Τυνδάρεω, καὶ τὸν λόγον ἀκηκοὼς ὡς διαιτήθη Ἑλένη παρὰ Πρωτέι, καὶ δὴ καὶ ὅτι ξείνης Ἀφροδίτης ἐπώνυμον ἐστί· ὅσα γὰρ ἄλλα Ἀφροδίτης ἱρά ἐστι, οὐδαμῶς ξείνης ἐπικαλέεται.