154.3. The Ionians and Carians lived for a long time in these places, which are near the sea, on the arm of the Nile called the Pelusian, a little way below the town of Bubastis. Long afterwards, king Amasis removed them and settled them at Memphis to be his guard against the Egyptians.
154.3. οἱ δὲ Ἴωνές τε καὶ οἱ Κᾶρες τούτους τοὺς χώρους οἴκησαν χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν· εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι οἱ χῶροι πρὸς θαλάσσης ὀλίγον ἔνερθε Βουβάστιος πόλιος, ἐπὶ τῷ Πηλουσίῳ καλεομένῳ στόματι τοῦ Νείλου. τούτους μὲν δὴ χρόνῳ ὕστερον βασιλεὺς Ἄμασις ἐξαναστήσας ἐνθεῦτεν κατοίκισε ἐς Μέμφιν, φυλακὴν ἑωυτοῦ ποιεύμενος πρὸς Αἰγυπτίων.
154.4. It is a result of our communication with these settlers in Egypt (the first of foreign speech to settle in that country) that we Greeks have exact knowledge of the history of Egypt from the reign of Psammetichus onwards.
154.4. τούτων δὲ οἰκισθέντων ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, οἱ Ἕλληνες οὕτω ἐπιμισγόμενοι τούτοισι τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον γινόμενα ἀπὸ Ψαμμητίχου βασιλέος ἀρξάμενοι πάντα καὶ τὰ ὕστερον ἐπιστάμεθα ἀτρεκέως· πρῶτοι γὰρ οὗτοι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀλλόγλωσσοι κατοικίσθησαν.
154.5. There still remained in my day, in the places out of which the Ionians and Carians were turned, the winches for their ships and the ruins of their houses. This is how Psammetichus got Egypt.
154.5. ἐξ ὧν δὲ ἐξανέστησαν χώρων, ἐν τούτοισι δὲ οἵ τε ὁλκοὶ τῶν νεῶν καὶ τὰ ἐρείπια τῶν οἰκημάτων τὸ μέχρι ἐμεῦ ἦσαν.
155.1. I have often mentioned the Egyptian oracle, and shall give an account of this, as it deserves. This oracle is sacred to Leto, and is situated in a great city by the Sebennytic arm of the Nile, on the way up from the sea.
155.1. Ψαμμήτιχος μέν νυν οὕτω ἔσχε Αἴγυπτον. τοῦ δὲ χρηστηρίου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πολλὰ ἐπεμνήσθην ἤδη, καὶ δὴ λόγον περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀξίου ἐόντος ποιήσομαι. τὸ γὰρ χρηστήριον τοῦτο τὸ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐστὶ μὲν Λητοῦς ἱρόν, ἐν πόλι δὲ μεγάλῃ ἱδρυμένον κατὰ τὸ Σεβεννυτικὸν καλεόμενον στόμα τοῦ Νείλου, ἀναπλέοντι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἄνω.
155.2. Buto is the name of the city where this oracle is; I have already mentioned it. In Buto there is a temple of Apollo and Artemis. The shrine of Leto where the oracle is, is itself very great, and its outer court is sixty feet high.
155.2. οὔνομα δὲ τῇ πόλι ταύτῃ ὅκου τὸ χρηστήριον ἐστὶ Βουτώ, ὡς καὶ πρότερον ὠνόμασταί μοι. ἱρὸν δὲ ἐστὶ ἐν τῇ Βουτοῖ ταύτῃ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος, καὶ ὅ γε νηὸς τῆς Λητοῦς, ἐν τῷ δὴ τὸ χρηστήριον ἔνι, αὐτός τε τυγχάνει ἐὼν μέγας καὶ τὰ προπύλαια ἔχει ἐς ὕψος δέκα ὀργυιέων.
155.3. But what caused me the most wonder among the things apparent there I shall mention. In this precinct is the shrine of Leto, the height and length of whose walls is all made of a single stone slab; each wall has an equal length and height; namely, seventy feet. Another slab makes the surface of the roof, the cornice of which is seven feet broad.
155.3. τὸ δέ μοι τῶν φανερῶν ἦν θῶμα μέγιστον παρεχόμενον, φράσω· ἔστι ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ τούτῳ Λητοῦς νηὸς ἐξ ἑνὸς λίθου πεποιημένος ἔς τε ὕψος καὶ ἐς μῆκος καὶ τοῖχος ἕκαστος τούτοισι ἴσος τεσσεράκοντα πηχέων τούτων ἕκαστον ἐστί, τὸ δὲ καταστέγασμα τῆς ὀροφῆς ἄλλος ἐπίκειται λίθος, ἔχων τὴν παρωροφίδα τετράπηχυν.
156.1. Thus, then, the shrine is the most marvellous of all the things that I saw in this temple; but of things of second rank, the most wondrous is the island called Khemmis.
156.1. οὕτω μέν νυν ὁ νηὸς τῶν φανερῶν μοι τῶν περὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἱρὸν ἐστὶ θωμαστότατον, τῶν δὲ δευτέρων νῆσος ἡ Χέμμις καλευμένη·
156.2. This lies in a deep and wide lake near the temple at Buto, and the Egyptians say that it floats. I never saw it float, or move at all, and I thought it a marvellous tale, that an island should truly float.
156.2. ἔστι μὲν ἐν λίμνῃ βαθέῃ καὶ πλατέῃ κειμένη παρὰ τὸ ἐν Βουτοῖ ἱρόν, λέγεται δὲ ὑπʼ Αἰγυπτίων εἶναι αὕτη ἡ νῆσος πλωτή. αὐτὸς μὲν ἔγωγε οὔτε πλέουσαν οὔτε κινηθεῖσαν εἶδον, τέθηπα δὲ ἀκούων εἰ νῆσος ἀληθέως ἐστὶ πλωτή.
156.3. However that may be, there is a great shrine of Apollo on it, and three altars stand there; many palm trees grow on the island, and other trees too, some yielding fruit and some not.
156.3. ἐν δὲ ὦν ταύτῃ νηός τε Ἀπόλλωνος μέγας ἔνι καὶ βωμοὶ τριφάσιοι ἐνιδρύαται, ἐμπεφύκασι δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ φοίνικες συχνοὶ καὶ ἄλλα δένδρεα καὶ καρποφόρα καὶ ἄφορα πολλά.
156.4. This is the story that the Egyptians tell to explain why the island moves: that on this island that did not move before, Leto, one of the eight gods who first came to be, who was living at Buto where this oracle of hers is, taking charge of Apollo from Isis, hid him for safety in this island which is now said to float, when Typhon came hunting through the world, keen to find the son of Osiris.
156.4. λόγον δὲ τόνδε ἐπιλέγοντες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι φασὶ εἶναι αὐτὴν πλωτήν, ὡς ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ταύτῃ οὐκ ἐούσῃ πρότερον πλωτῇ Λητώ, ἐοῦσα τῶν ὀκτὼ θεῶν τῶν πρώτων γενομένων, οἰκέουσα δὲ ἐν Βουτοῖ πόλι, ἵνα δή οἱ τὸ χρηστήριον τοῦτο ἐστί, Ἀπόλλωνα παρʼ Ἴσιος παρακαταθήκην δεξαμένη διέσωσε κατακρύψασα ἐν τῇ νῦν πλωτῇ λεγομένῃ νήσῳ, ὅτε τὸ πᾶν διζήμενος ὁ Τυφῶν ἐπῆλθε, θέλων ἐξευρεῖν τοῦ Ὀσίριος τὸν παῖδα.
156.5. Apollo and Artemis were (they say) children of Dionysus and Isis, and Leto was made their nurse and preserver; in Egyptian, Apollo is Horus, Demeter Isis, Artemis Bubastis.
156.5. Ἀπόλλωνα δὲ καὶ Ἄρτεμιν Διονύσου καὶ Ἴσιος λέγουσι εἶναι παῖδας, Λητοῦν δὲ τροφὸν αὐτοῖσι καὶ σώτειραν γενέσθαι. Αἰγυπτιστὶ δὲ Ἀπόλλων μὲν Ὦρος, Δημήτηρ δὲ Ἶσις, Ἄρτεμις δὲ Βούβαστις.
156.6. It was from this legend and no other that Aeschylus son of Euphorion took a notion which is in no poet before him: that Artemis was the daughter of Demeter. For this reason the island was made to float. So they say.
156.6. ἐκ τούτου δὲ τοῦ λόγου καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου Αἰσχύλος ὁ Εὐφορίωνος ἥρπασε τὸ ἐγὼ φράσω, μοῦνος δὴ ποιητέων τῶν προγενομένων· ἐποίησε γὰρ Ἄρτεμιν εἶναι θυγατέρα Δήμητρος. τὴν δὲ νῆσον διὰ τοῦτο γενέσθαι πλωτήν. ταῦτα μὲν οὕτω λέγουσι.
157.1. Psammetichus ruled Egypt for fifty-three years, twenty-nine of which he spent before Azotus, a great city in Syria, besieging it until he took it. Azotus held out against a siege longer than any city of which we know.
157.1. Ψαμμήτιχος δὲ ἐβασίλευσε Αἰγύπτου τέσσερα καὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτεα, τῶν τὰ ἑνὸς δέοντα τριήκοντα Ἄζωτον τῆς Συρίης μεγάλην πόλιν προσκατήμενος ἐπολιόρκεε, ἐς ὃ ἐξεῖλε. αὕτη δὲ ἡ Ἄζωτος ἁπασέων πολίων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον χρόνον πολιορκεομένη ἀντέσχε τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν.
158.1. Psammetichus had a son, Necos, who became king of Egypt. It was he who began building the canal into the Red Sea, which was finished by Darius the Persian. This is four days' voyage in length, and it was dug wide enough for two triremes to move in it rowed abreast.
158.1. Ψαμμητίχου δὲ Νεκῶς παῖς ἐγένετο καὶ ἐβασίλευσε Αἰγύπτου, ὃς τῇ διώρυχι ἐπεχείρησε πρῶτος τῇ ἐς τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν θάλασσαν φερούσῃ, τὴν Δαρεῖος ὁ Πέρσης δεύτερα διώρυξε· τῆς μῆκος ἐστὶ πλόος ἡμέραι τέσσερες, εὖρος δὲ ὠρύχθη ὥστε τριήρεας δύο πλέειν ὁμοῦ ἐλαστρευμένας.
158.2. It is fed by the Nile, and is carried from a little above Bubastis by the Arabian town of Patumus; it issues into the Red Sea. Digging began in the part of the Egyptian plain nearest to Arabia; the mountains that extend to Memphis (the mountains where the stone quarries are) come close to this plain;
158.2. ἦκται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Νείλου τὸ ὕδωρ ἐς αὐτήν· ἦκται δὲ κατύπερθε ὀλίγον Βουβάστιος πόλιος παρὰ Πάτουμον τὴν Ἀραβίην πόλιν, ἐσέχει δὲ ἐς τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν θάλασσαν. ὀρώρυκται δὲ πρῶτον μὲν τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου τὰ πρὸς Ἀραβίην ἔχοντα· ἔχεται δὲ κατύπερθε τοῦ πεδίου τὸ κατὰ Μέμφιν τεῖνον ὄρος, ἐν τῷ αἱ λιθοτομίαι ἔνεισι·
158.3. the canal is led along the foothills of these mountains in a long reach from west to east; passing then into a ravine, it bears southward out of the hill country towards the Arabian Gulf.
158.3. τοῦ ὦν δὴ ὄρεος τούτου παρὰ τὴν ὑπώρεαν ἦκται ἡ διῶρυξ ἀπʼ ἑσπέρης μακρὴ πρὸς τὴν ἠῶ, καὶ ἔπειτα τείνει ἐς διασφάγας, φέρουσα ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρεος πρὸς μεσαμβρίην τε καὶ νότον ἄνεμον ἐς τὸν κόλπον τὸν Ἀράβιον.
158.4. Now the shortest and most direct passage from the northern to the southern or Red Sea is from the Casian promontory, the boundary between Egypt and Syria, to the Arabian Gulf, and this is a distance of one hundred and twenty five miles, neither more nor less;
158.4. τῇ δὲ ἐλάχιστον ἐστὶ καὶ συντομώτατον ἐκ τῆς βορηίης θαλάσσης ὑπερβῆναι ἐς τὴν νοτίην καὶ Ἐρυθρὴν τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην καλεομένην, ἀπὸ τοῦ Κασίου ὄρεος τοῦ οὐρίζοντος Αἴγυπτόν τε καὶ Συρίην, ἀπὸ τούτου εἰσὶ στάδιοι ἀπαρτὶ χίλιοι ἐς τὸν Ἀράβιον κόλπον.
158.5. this is the most direct route, but the canal is far longer, inasmuch as it is more crooked. In Necos' reign, a hundred and twenty thousand Egyptians died digging it. Necos stopped work, stayed by a prophetic utterance that he was toiling beforehand for the barbarian. The Egyptians call all men of other languages barbarians.
158.5. τοῦτο μὲν τὸ συντομώτατον, ἡ δὲ διῶρυξ πολλῷ μακροτέρη, ὅσῳ σκολιωτέρη ἐστί· τὴν ἐπὶ Νεκῶ βασιλέος ὀρύσσοντες Αἰγυπτίων ἀπώλοντο δυώδεκα μυριάδες. Νεκῶς μέν νυν μεταξὺ ὀρύσσων ἐπαύσατο μαντηίου ἐμποδίου γενομένου τοιοῦδε, τῷ βαρβάρῳ αὐτὸν προεργάζεσθαι. βαρβάρους δὲ πάντας οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καλέουσι τοὺς μὴ σφίσι ὁμογλώσσους.
159.1. Necos, then, stopped work on the canal and engaged in preparations for war; some of his ships of war were built on the northern sea, and some in the Arabian Gulf, by the Red Sea coast: the winches for landing these can still be seen.
159.1. παυσάμενος δὲ τῆς διώρυχος ὁ Νεκῶς ἐτράπετο πρὸς στρατηίας, καὶ τριήρεες αἳ μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ βορηίῃ θαλάσσῃ ἐποιήθησαν, αἳ δʼ ἐν τῷ Ἀραβίῳ κόλπῳ ἐπὶ τῇ Ἐρυθρῇ θαλάσσῃ, τῶν ἔτι οἱ ὁλκοὶ ἐπίδηλοι.
159.2. He used these ships when needed, and with his land army met and defeated the Syrians at Magdolus, taking the great Syrian city of Cadytis after the battle.
159.2. καὶ ταύτῃσί τε ἐχρᾶτο ἐν τῷ δέοντι καὶ Σύροισι πεζῇ ὁ Νεκῶς συμβαλὼν ἐν Μαγδώλῳ ἐνίκησε, μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην Κάδυτιν πόλιν τῆς Συρίης ἐοῦσαν μεγάλην εἷλε.
159.3. He sent to Branchidae of Miletus and dedicated there to Apollo the garments in which he won these victories. Then he died after a reign of sixteen years, and his son Psammis reigned in his place.
159.3. ἐν τῇ δὲ ἐσθῆτι ἔτυχε ταῦτα κατεργασάμενος, ἀνέθηκε τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι πέμψας ἐς Βραγχίδας τὰς Μιλησίων. μετὰ δέ, ἑκκαίδεκα ἔτεα τὰ πάντα ἄρξας, τελευτᾷ, τῷ παιδὶ Ψάμμι παραδοὺς τὴν ἀρχήν.
160.1. While this Psammis was king of Egypt, he was visited by ambassadors from Elis, the Eleans boasting that they had arranged the Olympic games with all the justice and fairness in the world, and claiming that even the Egyptians, although the wisest of all men, could not do better.
160.1. ἐπὶ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Ψάμμιν βασιλεύοντα Αἰγύπτου ἀπίκοντο Ἠλείων ἄγγελοι, αὐχέοντες δικαιότατα καὶ κάλλιστα τιθέναι τὸν ἐν Ὀλυμπίῃ ἀγῶνα πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ δοκέοντες παρὰ ταῦτα οὐδʼ ἂν τοὺς σοφωτάτους ἀνθρώπων Αἰγυπτίους οὐδὲν ἐπεξευρεῖν·
160.2. When the Eleans came to Egypt and announced why they had come, Psammis assembled the Egyptians reputed to be wisest. These assembled and learned all that the Eleans were to do regarding the games; after explaining this, the Eleans said that they had come to learn whether the Egyptians could discover any juster way.
160.2. ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενοι ἐς τὴν Αἴγυπτον οἱ Ἠλεῖοι ἔλεγον τῶν εἵνεκα ἀπίκοντο, ἐνθαῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος συγκαλέεται Αἰγυπτίων τοὺς λεγομένους εἶναι σοφωτάτους. συνελθόντες δὲ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐπυνθάνοντο τῶν Ἠλείων λεγόντων ἅπαντα τὰ κατήκει σφέας ποιέειν περὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα· ἀπηγησάμενοι δὲ τὰ πάντα ἔφασαν ἥκειν ἐπιμαθησόμενοι εἴ τι ἔχοιεν Αἰγύπτιοι τούτων δικαιότερον ἐπεξευρεῖν.
160.3. The Egyptians deliberated, and then asked the Eleans if their own citizens took part in the contests. The Eleans answered that they did: all Greeks from Elis or elsewhere might contend.
160.3. οἳ δὲ βουλευσάμενοι ἐπειρώτων τοὺς Ἠλείους εἴ σφι οἱ πολιῆται ἐναγωνίζονται. οἳ δὲ ἔφασαν καὶ σφέων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ὁμοίως τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐξεῖναι ἀγωνίζεσθαι.
160.4. Then the Egyptians said that in establishing this rule they fell short of complete fairness: “For there is no way that you will not favor your own townsfolk in the contest and wrong the stranger; if you wish in fact to make just rules and have come to Egypt for that reason, you should admit only strangers to the contest, and not Eleans.” Such was the counsel of the Egyptians to the Eleans.
160.4. οἱ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι ἔφασαν σφέας οὕτω τιθέντας παντὸς τοῦ δικαίου ἡμαρτηκέναι. οὐδεμίαν γὰρ εἶναι μηχανὴν ὅκως οὐ τῷ ἀστῷ ἀγωνιζομένῳ προσθήσονται, ἀδικέοντες τὸν ξεῖνον. ἀλλʼ εἰ δὴ βούλονται δικαίως τιθέναι καὶ τούτου εἵνεκα ἀπικοίατο ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ξείνοισι ἀγωνιστῇσι ἐκέλευον τὸν ἀγῶνα τιθέναι, Ἠλείων δὲ μηδενὶ εἶναι ἀγωνίζεσθαι. ταῦτα μὲν Αἰγύπτιοι Ἠλείοισι ὑπεθήκαντο.
161.1. Psammis reigned over Egypt for only six years; he invaded Ethiopia, and immediately thereafter died, and Apries the son of Psammis reigned in his place.
161.1. ψάμμιος δὲ ἓξ ἔτεα μοῦνον βασιλεύσαντος Αἰγύπτου καὶ στρατευσαμένου ἐς Αἰθιοπίην καὶ μεταυτίκα τελευτήσαντος ἐξεδέξατο Ἀπρίης ὁ Ψάμμιος·
161.2. He was more fortunate than any former king (except his great-grandfather Psammetichus) during his rule of twenty-five years, during which he sent an army against Sidon and fought at sea with the king of Tyre.
161.2. ὃς μετὰ Ψαμμήτιχον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ προπάτορα ἐγένετο εὐδαιμονέστατος τῶν πρότερον βασιλέων, ἐπʼ ἔτεα πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ἄρξας, ἐν τοῖσι ἐπί τε Σιδῶνα στρατὸν ἤλασε καὶ ἐναυμάχησε τῷ Τυρίῳ.
161.3. But when it was fated that evil should overtake him, the cause of it was something that I will now deal with briefly, and at greater length in the Libyan part of this history.
161.3. ἐπεὶ δέ οἱ ἔδεε κακῶς γενέσθαι, ἐγίνετο ἀπὸ προφάσιος τὴν ἐγὼ μεζόνως μὲν ἐν τοῖσι Λιβυκοῖσι λόγοισι ἀπηγήσομαι, μετρίως δʼ ἐν τῷ παρεόντι.
161.4. Apries sent a great force against Cyrene and suffered a great defeat. The Egyptians blamed him for this and rebelled against him; for they thought that Apries had knowingly sent his men to their doom, so that after their perishing in this way he might be the more secure in his rule over the rest of the Egyptians. Bitterly angered by this, those who returned home and the friends of the slain openly revolted.
161.4. ἀποπέμψας γὰρ στράτευμα ὁ Ἀπρίης ἐπὶ Κυρηναίους μεγαλωστὶ προσέπταισε, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ταῦτα ἐπιμεμφόμενοι ἀπέστησαν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, δοκέοντες τὸν Ἀπρίην ἐκ προνοίης αὐτοὺς ἀποπέμψαι ἐς φαινόμενον κακόν, ἵνα δὴ σφέων φθορὴ γένηται, αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀσφαλέστερον ἄρχοι. ταῦτα δὲ δεινὰ ποιεύμενοι οὗτοί τε οἱ ἀπονοστήσαντες καὶ οἱ τῶν ἀπολομένων φίλοι ἀπέστησαν ἐκ τῆς ἰθέης.
162.1. Hearing of this, Apries sent Amasis to dissuade them. When Amasis came up with the Egyptians, he exhorted them to desist; but as he spoke an Egyptian came behind him and put a helmet on his head, saying it was the token of royalty.
162.1. πυθόμενος δὲ Ἀπρίης ταῦτα πέμπει ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς Ἄμασιν καταπαύσοντα λόγοισι. ὁ δὲ ἐπείτε ἀπικόμενος κατελάμβανε τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ταῦτα μὴ ποιέειν, λέγοντος αὐτοῦ τῶν τις Αἰγυπτίων ὄπισθε στὰς περιέθηκέ οἱ κυνέην, καὶ περιτιθεὶς ἔφη ἐπὶ βασιληίῃ περιτιθέναι.
162.2. And Amasis showed that this was not displeasing to him, for after being made king by the rebel Egyptians he prepared to march against Apries.
162.2. καὶ τῷ οὔ κως ἀεκούσιον ἐγίνετο τὸ ποιεύμενον, ὡς διεδείκνυε. ἐπείτε γὰρ ἐστήσαντό μιν βασιλέα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οἱ ἀπεστεῶτες, παρεσκευάζετο ὡς ἐλῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀπρίην.
162.3. When Apries heard of it, he sent against Amasis an esteemed Egyptian named Patarbemis, one of his own court, instructing him to take the rebel alive and bring him into his presence. When Patarbemis came and summoned Amasis, Amasis (who was on horseback) rose up and farted, telling the messenger to take that back to Apries.
162.3. πυθόμενος δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Ἀπρίης ἔπεμπε ἐπʼ Ἄμασιν ἄνδρα δόκιμον τῶν περὶ ἑωυτὸν Αἰγυπτίων, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Πατάρβημις, ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ ζῶντα Ἄμασιν ἀγαγεῖν παρʼ ἑωυτόν. ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενος τὸν Ἄμασιν ἐκάλεε ὁ Πατάρβημις, ὁ Ἄμασις, ἔτυχε γὰρ ἐπʼ ἵππου κατήμενος, ἐπαείρας ἀπεματάισε, καὶ τοῦτό μιν ἐκέλευε Ἀπρίῃ ἀπάγειν.
162.4. But when in spite of this Patarbemis insisted that Amasis obey the king's summons and go to him, Amasis answered that he had long been preparing to do just that, and Apries would find him above reproach, for he would present himself, and bring others.
162.4. ὅμως δὲ αὐτὸν ἀξιοῦν τὸν Πατάρβημιν βασιλέος μεταπεμπομένου ἰέναι πρὸς αὐτόν· τὸν δὲ αὐτῷ ὑποκρίνεσθαι ὡς ταῦτα πάλαι παρεσκευάζετο ποιέειν, καὶ αὐτῷ οὐ μέμψεσθαι Ἀπρίην· παρέσεσθαι γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἄλλους ἄξειν.
162.5. Hearing this, Patarbemis could not mistake Amasis; he saw his preparations and hastened to depart, the more quickly to make known to the king what was going on. When Apries saw him return without Amasis, he did not stop to reflect, but in his rage and fury had Patarbemis' ears and nose cut off.
162.5. τὸν δὲ Πατάρβημιν ἔκ τε τῶν λεγομένων οὐκ ἀγνοέειν τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ παρασκευαζόμενον ὁρῶντα σπουδῇ ἀπιέναι, βουλόμενον τὴν ταχίστην βασιλέι δηλῶσαι τὰ πρησσόμενα. ὡς δὲ ἀπικέσθαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἀπρίην οὐκ ἄγοντα τὸν Ἄμασιν, οὐδένα λόγον αὐτῷ δόντα ἀλλὰ περιθύμως ἔχοντα περιταμεῖν προστάξαι αὐτοῦ τά τε ὦτα καὶ τὴν ῥῖνα.
162.6. The rest of the Egyptians, who were until now Apries' friends, seeing this outrage done to the man who was most prominent among them, changed sides without delay and offered themselves to Amasis.
162.6. ἰδόμενοι δʼ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, οἳ ἔτι τὰ ἐκείνου ἐφρόνεον, ἄνδρα τὸν δοκιμώτατον ἑωυτῶν οὕτω αἰσχρῶς λύμῃ διακείμενον, οὐδένα δὴ χρόνον ἐπισχόντες ἀπιστέατο πρὸς τοὺς ἑτέρους καὶ ἐδίδοσαν σφέας αὐτοὺς Ἀμάσι.
163.1. Learning of this, too, Apries armed his guard and marched against the Egyptians; he had a bodyguard of Carians and Ionians, thirty thousand of them, and his royal palace was in the city of Saïs, a great and marvellous palace.
163.1. πυθόμενος δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὁ Ἀπρίης ὥπλιζε τοὺς ἐπικούρους καὶ ἤλαυνε ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους· εἶχε δὲ περὶ ἑωυτὸν Κᾶράς τε καὶ Ἴωνας ἄνδρας ἐπικούρους τρισμυρίους· ἦν δέ οἱ τὰ βασιλήια ἐν Σάι πόλι, μεγάλα ἐόντα καὶ ἀξιοθέητα.
163.2. Apries' men marched against the Egyptians, and so did Amasis' men against the foreigners. So they both came to Momemphis and were going to make trial of one another.
163.2. καὶ οἵ τε περὶ τὸν Ἀπρίην ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἤισαν καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἄμασιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ξείνους· ἔν τε δὴ Μωμέμφι πόλι ἐγένοντο ἀμφότεροι καὶ πειρήσεσθαι ἔμελλον ἀλλήλων.
164.1. The Egyptians are divided into seven classes: priests, warriors, cowherds, swineherds, merchants, interpreters, and pilots. There are this many classes, each named after its occupation.
164.1. ἔστι δὲ Αἰγυπτίων ἑπτὰ γένεα, καὶ τούτων οἳ μὲν ἱρέες οἳ δὲ μάχιμοι κεκλέαται, οἳ δὲ βουκόλοι οἳ δὲ συβῶται, οἳ δὲ κάπηλοι, οἳ δὲ ἑρμηνέες, οἳ δὲ κυβερνήται. γένεα μὲν Αἰγυπτίων τοσαῦτα ἐστί, οὐνόματα δέ σφι κέεται ἀπὸ τῶν τεχνέων.
164.2. The warriors are divided into Kalasiries and Hermotubies, and they belong to the following districts (for all divisions in Egypt are made according to districts).
164.2. οἱ δὲ μάχιμοι αὐτῶν καλέονται μὲν Καλασίριές τε καὶ Ἑρμοτύβιες, ἐκ νομῶν δὲ τῶνδε εἰσί· κατὰ γὰρ δὴ νομοὺς Αἴγυπτος ἅπασα διαραίρηται.
165.1. The Hermotubies are from the districts of Busiris, Saïs, Khemmis, and Papremis, the island called Prosopitis, and half of Natho—from all of these; their number, at its greatest, attained to a hundred and sixty thousand. None of these has learned any common trade; they are free to follow the profession of arms alone.
165.1. Ἑρμοτυβίων μὲν οἵδε εἰσὶ νομοί, Βουσιρίτης, Σαΐτης, Χεμμίτης, Παπρημίτης, νῆσος ἡ Προσωπῖτις καλεομένη, Ναθῶ τὸ ἥμισυ. ἐκ μὲν τούτων τῶν νομῶν Ἑρμοτύβιες εἰσί, γενόμενοι, ὅτε ἐπὶ πλείστους ἐγένοντο, ἑκκαίδεκα μυριάδες. καὶ τούτων βαναυσίης οὐδεὶς δεδάηκε οὐδέν, ἀλλʼ ἀνέωνται ἐς τὸ μάχιμον.
166.1. The Kalasiries are from the districts of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennys, Athribis, Pharbaïthis, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris (this last is in an island opposite the city of Bubastis )— from all of these; their number, at its greatest, attained to two hundred and fifty thousand men.
166.1. καλασιρίων δὲ οἵδε ἄλλοι νομοί εἰσι, Θηβαῖος, Βουβαστίτης, Ἀφθίτης, Τανίτης, Μενδήσιος, Σεβεννύτης, Ἀθριβίτης, Φαρβαϊθίτης, Θμουΐτης, Ὀνουφίτης, Ἀνύτιος, Μυεκφορίτης· οὗτος ὁ νομὸς ἐν νήσῳ οἰκέει ἀντίον Βουβάστιος πόλιος.
166.2. These too may practise no trade but war, which is their hereditary calling. Now whether this, too, the Greeks have learned from the Egyptians, I cannot confidently judge. I know that in Thrace and Scythia and Persia and Lydia and nearly all foreign countries, those who learn trades are held in less esteem than the rest of the people, and those who have least to do with artisans' work, especially men who are free to practise the art of war, are highly honored.
166.2. οὗτοι δὲ οἱ νομοὶ Καλασιρίων εἰσί, γενόμενοι, ὅτε ἐπὶ πλείστους ἐγένοντο, πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν. οὐδὲ τούτοισι ἔξεστι τέχνην ἐπασκῆσαι οὐδεμίαν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐς πόλεμον ἐπασκέουσι μοῦνα, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεκόμενος. εἰ μέν νυν καὶ τοῦτο παρʼ Αἰγυπτίων μεμαθήκασι οἱ Ἕλληνες, οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως κρῖναι, ὁρέων καὶ Θρήικας καὶ Σκύθας καὶ Πέρσας καὶ Λυδοὺς καὶ σχεδὸν πάντας τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀποτιμοτέρους τῶν ἄλλων ἡγημένους πολιητέων τοὺς τὰς τέχνας μανθάνοντας καὶ τοὺς ἐκγόνους τούτων, τοὺς δὲ ἀπαλλαγμένους τῶν χειρωναξιέων γενναίους νομιζομένους εἶναι, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς ἐς τὸν πόλεμον ἀνειμένους·
167.2. This much is certain: that this opinion, which is held by all Greeks and particularly by the Lacedaemonians, is of foreign origin. It is in Corinth that artisans are held in least contempt.
167.2. μεμαθήκασι δʼ ὦν τοῦτο πάντες οἱ Ἕλληνες καὶ μάλιστα Λακεδαιμόνιοι. ἥκιστα δὲ Κορίνθιοι ὄνονται τοὺς χειροτέχνας.
168.1. The warriors were the only Egyptians, except the priests, who had special privileges: for each of them an untaxed plot of twelve acres was set apart. This acre is a square of a hundred Egyptian cubits each way, the Egyptian cubit being equal to the Samian.
168.1. γέρεα δέ σφι ἦν τάδε ἐξαραιρημένα μούνοισι Αἰγυπτίων πάρεξ τῶν ἱρέων, ἄρουραι ἐξαίρετοι δυώδεκα ἑκάστῳ ἀτελέες. ἡ δὲ ἄρουρα ἑκατὸν πηχέων ἐστὶ Αἰγυπτίων πάντῃ, ὁ δὲ Αἰγύπτιος πῆχυς τυγχάνει ἴσος ἐὼν τῷ Σαμίῳ.
168.2. These lands were set apart for all; it was never the same men who cultivated them, but each in turn. A thousand Kalasiries and as many Hermotubies were the king's annual bodyguard. These men, besides their lands, each received a daily provision of five minae's weight of roast grain, two minae of beef, and four cups of wine. These were the gifts received by each bodyguard.
168.2. ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τοῖσι ἅπασι ἦν ἐξαραιρημένα, τάδε δὲ ἐν περιτροπῇ ἐκαρποῦντο καὶ οὐδαμὰ ὡυτοί. Καλασιρίων χίλιοι καὶ Ἑρμοτυβίων ἐδορυφόρεον ἐνιαυτὸν ἕκαστοι τὸν βασιλέα· τούτοισι ὦν τάδε πάρεξ τῶν ἀρουρέων ἄλλα ἐδίδοτο ἐπʼ ἡμέρῃ ἑκάστῃ, ὀπτοῦ σίτου σταθμὸς πέντε μνέαι ἑκάστῳ, κρεῶν βοέων δύο μνέαι, οἴνου τέσσερες ἀρυστῆρες. ταῦτα τοῖσι αἰεὶ δορυφορέουσι ἐδίδοτο.
169.1. When Apries with his guards and Amasis with the whole force of Egyptians came to the town of Momemphis, they engaged; and though the foreigners fought well, they were vastly outnumbered, and therefore were beaten.
169.1. ἐπείτε δὲ συνιόντες ὅ τε Ἀπρίης ἄγων τοὺς ἐπικούρους καὶ ὁ Ἄμασις πάντας Αἰγυπτίους ἀπίκοντο ἐς Μώμεμφιν πόλιν, συνέβαλον· καὶ ἐμαχέσαντο μὲν εὖ οἱ ξεῖνοι, πλήθεϊ δὲ πολλῷ ἐλάσσονες ἐόντες κατὰ τοῦτο ἑσσώθησαν.
169.2. Apries, they say, supposed that not even a god could depose him from his throne, so firmly did he think he was established; and now, defeated in battle and taken captive, he was brought to Saïs, to the royal dwelling which belonged to him once but now belonged to Amasis.
169.2. Ἀπρίεω δὲ λέγεται εἶναι ἥδε διάνοια, μηδʼ ἂν θεόν μιν μηδένα δύνασθαι παῦσαι τῆς βασιληίης· οὕτω ἀσφαλέως ἑωυτῷ ἱδρῦσθαι ἐδόκεε. καὶ δὴ τότε συμβαλὼν ἑσσώθη καὶ ζωγρηθεὶς ἀπήχθη ἐς Σάιν πόλιν, ἐς τὰ ἑωυτοῦ οἰκία πρότερον ἐόντα, τότε δὲ Ἀμάσιος ἤδη βασιληία.
169.3. There, he was kept alive for a while in the palace and well treated by Amasis. But presently the Egyptians complained that there was no justice in keeping alive one who was their own and their king's bitterest enemy; whereupon Amasis gave Apries up to them, and they strangled him and then buried him in the burial-place of his fathers.
169.3. ἐνθαῦτα δὲ τέως μὲν ἐτρέφετο ἐν τοῖσι βασιληίοισι, καί μιν Ἄμασις εὖ περιεῖπε· τέλος δὲ μεμφομένων Αἰγυπτίων ὡς οὐ ποιέοι δίκαια τρέφων τὸν σφίσι τε καὶ ἑωυτῷ ἔχθιστον, οὕτω δὴ παραδιδοῖ τὸν Ἀπρίην τοῖσι Αἰγυπτίοισι. οἳ δέ μιν ἀπέπνιξαν καὶ ἔπειτα ἔθαψαν ἐν τῇσι πατρωίῃσι ταφῇσι·
169.4. This is in the temple of Athena, very near to the sanctuary, on the left of the entrance. The people of Saïs buried within the temple precinct all kings who were natives of their district.
169.4. αἳ δὲ εἰσὶ ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τῆς Ἀθηναίης, ἀγχοτάτω τοῦ μεγάρου, ἐσιόντι ἀριστερῆς χειρός. ἔθαψαν δὲ Σαῗται πάντας τοὺς ἐκ νομοῦ τούτου γενομένους βασιλέας ἔσω ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ.
169.5. The tomb of Amasis is farther from the sanctuary than the tomb of Apries and his ancestors; yet it, too, is within the temple court; it is a great colonnade of stone, richly adorned, the pillars made in the form of palm trees. In this colonnade are two portals, and the place where the coffin lies is within their doors.
169.5. καὶ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ Ἀμάσιος σῆμα ἑκαστέρω μὲν ἐστὶ τοῦ μεγάρου ἢ τὸ τοῦ Ἀπρίεω καὶ τῶν τούτου προπατόρων, ἔστι μέντοι καὶ τοῦτο ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ τοῦ ἱροῦ, παστὰς λιθίνη μεγάλη καὶ ἠσκημένη στύλοισί τε φοίνικας τὰ δένδρεα μεμιμημένοισι καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ δαπάνῃ· ἔσω δὲ ἐν τῇ παστάδι διξὰ θυρώματα ἕστηκε, ἐν δὲ τοῖσι θυρώμασι ἡ θήκη ἐστί.
170.1. There is also at Saïs the burial-place of one whose name I think it impious to mention in speaking of such a matter; it is in the temple of Athena, behind and close to the length of the wall of the shrine.
170.1. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ ταφαὶ τοῦ οὐκ ὅσιον ποιεῦμαι ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πρήγματι ἐξαγορεύειν τὸ οὔνομα ἐν Σάι, ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τῆς Ἀθηναίης, ὄπισθε τοῦ νηοῦ, παντὸς τοῦ τῆς Ἀθηναίης ἐχόμεναι τοίχου.
170.2. Moreover, great stone obelisks stand in the precinct; and there is a lake nearby, adorned with a stone margin and made in a complete circle; it is, as it seemed to me, the size of the lake at Delos which they call the Round Pond.
170.2. καὶ ἐν τῷ τεμένεϊ ὀβελοὶ ἑστᾶσι μεγάλοι λίθινοι, λίμνη τε ἐστὶ ἐχομένη λιθίνῃ κρηπῖδι κεκοσμημένη καὶ ἐργασμένη εὖ κύκλῳ καὶ μέγαθος, ὡς ἐμοὶ ἐδόκεε, ὅση περ ἡ ἐν Δήλῳ ἡ τροχοειδὴς καλεομένη.
171.1. On this lake they enact by night the story of the god's sufferings, a rite which the Egyptians call the Mysteries. I could say more about this, for I know the truth, but let me preserve a discreet silence.
171.1. ἐν δὲ τῇ λίμνῃ ταύτῃ τὰ δείκηλα τῶν παθέων αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς ποιεῦσι, τὰ καλέουσι μυστήρια Αἰγύπτιοι. περὶ μέν νυν τούτων εἰδότι μοι ἐπὶ πλέον ὡς ἕκαστα αὐτῶν ἔχει, εὔστομα κείσθω.
171.2. Let me preserve a discreet silence, too, concerning that rite of Demeter which the Greeks call Thesmophoria, except as much of it as I am not forbidden to mention.
171.2. καὶ τῆς Δήμητρος τελετῆς πέρι, τὴν οἱ Ἕλληνες θεσμοφόρια καλέουσι, καὶ ταύτης μοι πέρι εὔστομα κείσθω, πλὴν ὅσον αὐτῆς ὁσίη ἐστὶ λέγειν·
171.3. The daughters of Danaus were those who brought this rite out of Egypt and taught it to the Pelasgian women; afterwards, when the people of the Peloponnese were driven out by the Dorians, it was lost, except in so far as it was preserved by the Arcadians, the Peloponnesian people which was not driven out but left in its home.
171.3. αἱ Δαναοῦ θυγατέρες ἦσαν αἱ τὴν τελετὴν ταύτην ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐξαγαγοῦσαι καὶ διδάξασαι τὰς Πελασγιώτιδας γυναῖκας· μετὰ δὲ ἐξαναστάσης πάσης Πελοποννήσου ὑπὸ Δωριέων ἐξαπώλετο ἡ τελετή, οἱ δὲ ὑπολειφθέντες Πελοποννησίων καὶ οὐκ ἐξαναστάντες Ἀρκάδες διέσωζον αὐτὴν μοῦνοι.
172.1. After Apries was deposed, Amasis became king; he was from a town called Siuph in the district of Saïs.
172.1. Ἀπρίεω δὲ ὧδε καταραιρημένου ἐβασίλευσε Ἄμασις, νομοῦ μὲν Σαΐτεω ἐών, ἐκ τῆς δὲ ἦν πόλιος, οὔνομά οἱ ἐστὶ Σιούφ.
172.2. Now at first he was scorned and held in low regard by the Egyptians on the ground that he was a common man and of no high family; but presently he won them over by being shrewd and not arrogant.
172.2. τὰ μὲν δὴ πρῶτα κατώνοντο τὸν Ἄμασιν Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἐν οὐδεμιῇ μοίρῃ μεγάλῃ ἦγον ἅτε δὴ δημότην τὸ πρὶν ἐόντα καὶ οἰκίης οὐκ ἐπιφανέος· μετὰ δὲ σοφίῃ αὐτοὺς ὁ Ἄμασις, οὐκ ἀγνωμοσύνῃ προσηγάγετο.
172.3. He had among his countless treasures a golden washbowl, in which he and all those who ate with him were accustomed to clean their feet. This he broke in pieces and out of it made a god's image, which he set in a most conspicuous spot in the city; and the Egyptians came frequently to this image and held it in great reverence.
172.3. ἦν οἱ ἄλλα τε ἀγαθὰ μυρία, ἐν δὲ καὶ ποδανιπτὴρ χρύσεος, ἐν τῷ αὐτός τε ὁ Ἄμασις καὶ οἱ δαιτυμόνες οἱ πάντες τοὺς πόδας ἑκάστοτε ἐναπενίζοντο· τοῦτον κατʼ ὦν κόψας ἄγαλμα δαίμονος ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐποιήσατο, καὶ ἵδρυσε τῆς πόλιος ὅκου ἦν ἐπιτηδεότατον· οἱ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι φοιτέοντες πρὸς τὤγαλμα ἐσέβοντο μεγάλως.
172.4. When Amasis learned what the townsfolk were doing, he called the Egyptians together and told them that the image had been made out of the washbowl, in which Egyptians had once vomited and urinated and cleaned their feet, but which now they greatly revered.
172.4. μαθὼν δὲ ὁ Ἄμασις τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἀστῶν ποιεύμενον, συγκαλέσας Αἰγυπτίους ἐξέφηνε φὰς ἐκ τοῦ ποδανιπτῆρος τὤγαλμα γεγονέναι, ἐς τὸν πρότερον μὲν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐνεμέειν τε καὶ ἐνουρέειν καὶ πόδας ἐναπονίζεσθαι, τότε δὲ μεγάλως σέβεσθαι.
172.5. “Now then,” he said, “I have fared like the washbowl, since if before I was a common man, still, I am your king now.” And he told them to honor and show respect for him.
172.5. ἤδη ὦν ἔφη λέγων ὁμοίως αὐτὸς τῷ ποδανιπτῆρι πεπρηγέναι· εἰ γὰρ πρότερον εἶναι δημότης, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ παρεόντι εἶναι αὐτῶν βασιλεύς· καὶ τιμᾶν τε καὶ προμηθέεσθαι ἑωυτοῦ ἐκέλευε.
173.1. The following was how he scheduled his affairs: in the morning, until the the hour when the marketplace filled, he readily conducted whatever business was brought to him; the rest of the day, he drank and joked at the expense of his companions and was idle and playful.
173.1. τοιούτῳ μὲν τρόπῳ προσηγάγετο τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ὥστε δικαιοῦν δουλεύειν, ἐχρᾶτο δὲ καταστάσι πρηγμάτων τοιῇδε· τὸ μὲν ὄρθριον μέχρι ὅτευ πληθούσης ἀγορῆς προθύμως ἔπρησσε τὰ προσφερόμενα πρήγματα, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου ἔπινέ τε καὶ κατέσκωπτε τοὺς συμπότας καὶ ἦν μάταιός τε καὶ παιγνιήμων.
173.2. But this displeased his friends, who admonished him thus: “O King, you do not conduct yourself well by indulging too much in vulgarity. You, a celebrated man, ought to conduct your business throughout the day, sitting on a celebrated throne; and thus the Egyptians would know that they are governed by a great man, and you would be better spoken of; as it is, what you do is by no means kingly.”
173.2. ἀχθεσθέντες δὲ τούτοισι οἱ φίλοι αὐτοῦ ἐνουθέτεον αὐτὸν τοιάδε λέγοντες. ὦ βασιλεῦ, οὐκ ὀρθῶς, σεωυτοῦ προέστηκας, ἐς τὸ ἄγαν φαῦλον προάγων σεωυτόν. σὲ γὰρ ἐχρῆν ἐν θρόνῳ σεμνῷ σεμνὸν θωκέοντα διʼ ἡμέρης πρήσσειν τὰ πρήγματα, καὶ οὕτω Αἰγύπτιοί τʼ ἂν ἠπιστέατο ὡς ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς μεγάλου ἄρχονται, καὶ ἄμεινον σὺ ἂν ἤκουες· νῦν δὲ ποιέεις οὐδαμῶς βασιλικά.
173.3. But he answered them like this: “Men that have bows string them when they must use them, and unstring them when they have used them; were bows kept strung forever, they would break, and so could not be used when needed.
173.3. ὃ δʼ ἀμείβετο τοῖσιδε αὐτούς. τὰ τόξα οἱ ἐκτημένοι, ἐπεὰν μὲν δέωνται χρᾶσθαι, ἐντανύουσι· εἰ γὰρ δὴ τὸν πάντα χρόνον ἐντεταμένα εἴη, ἐκραγείη ἄν, ὥστε ἐς τὸ δέον οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν αὐτοῖσι χρᾶσθαι.
173.4. Such, too, is the nature of man. Were one to be always at serious work and not permit oneself a bit of relaxation, he would go mad or idiotic before he knew it; I am well aware of that, and give each of the two its turn.” Such was his answer to his friends.
173.4. οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἀνθρώπου κατάστασις· εἰ ἐθέλοι κατεσπουδάσθαι αἰεὶ μηδὲ ἐς παιγνίην τὸ μέρος ἑωυτὸν ἀνιέναι, λάθοι ἂν ἤτοι μανεὶς ἢ ὅ γε ἀπόπληκτος γενόμενος· τὰ ἐγὼ ἐπιστάμενος μέρος ἑκατέρῳ νέμω. ταῦτα μὲν τοὺς φίλους ἀμείψατο.
174.1. It is said that even when Amasis was a private man he was fond of drinking and joking and was not at all a sober man; and that when his drinking and pleasure-seeking cost him the bare necessities, he would go around stealing. Then when he contradicted those who said that he had their possessions, they would bring him to whatever place of divination was nearby, and sometimes the oracles declared him guilty and sometimes they acquitted him.
174.1. λέγεται δὲ ὁ Ἄμασις, καὶ ὅτε ἦν ἰδιώτης, ὡς φιλοπότης ἦν καὶ φιλοσκώμμων καὶ οὐδαμῶς κατεσπουδασμένος ἀνήρ· ὅκως δέ μιν ἐπιλείποι πίνοντά τε καὶ εὐπαθέοντα τὰ ἐπιτήδεα, κλέπτεσκε ἂν περιιών· οἳ δʼ ἄν μιν φάμενοι ἔχειν τὰ σφέτερα χρήματα ἀρνεύμενον ἄγεσκον ἐπὶ μαντήιον, ὅκου ἑκάστοισι εἴη. πολλὰ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἡλίσκετο ὑπὸ τῶν μαντηίων, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀπέφευγε.
174.2. When he became king, he did not take care of the shrines of the gods who had acquitted him of theft, or give them anything for maintenance, or make it his practice to sacrifice there, for he knew them to be worthless and their oracles false; but he took scrupulous care of the gods who had declared his guilt, considering them to be gods in very deed and their oracles infallible.
174.2. ἐπείτε δὲ καὶ ἐβασίλευσε, ἐποίησε τοιάδε· ὅσοι μὲν αὐτὸν τῶν θεῶν ἀπέλυσαν μὴ φῶρα εἶναι, τούτων μὲν τῶν ἱρῶν οὔτε ἐπεμέλετο οὔτε ἐς ἐπισκευὴν ἐδίδου οὐδέν, οὐδὲ φοιτέων ἔθυε ὡς οὐδενὸς ἐοῦσι ἀξίοισι ψευδέα τε μαντήια ἐκτημένοισι· ὅσοι δέ μιν κατέδησαν φῶρα εἶναι, τούτων δὲ ὡς ἀληθέων θεῶν ἐόντων καὶ ἀψευδέα μαντήια παρεχομένων τὰ μάλιστα ἐπεμέλετο.
175.1. Amasis made a marvellous outer court for the temple of Athena at Saïs, far surpassing all in its height and size, and in the size and quality of the stone blocks; moreover, he set up huge images and vast man-headed sphinxes, and brought enormous blocks of stone besides for the building.
175.1. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐν Σάι τῇ Ἀθηναίῃ προπύλαια θωμάσια οἷα ἐξεποίησε, πολλὸν πάντας ὑπερβαλόμενος τῷ τε ὕψεϊ καὶ τῷ μεγάθεϊ, ὅσων τε τὸ μέγαθος λίθων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁκοίων τεῶν· τοῦτο δὲ κολοσσοὺς μεγάλους καὶ ἀνδρόσφιγγας περιμήκεας ἀνέθηκε, λίθους τε ἄλλους ἐς ἐπισκευὴν ὑπερφυέας τὸ μέγαθος ἐκόμισε.
175.2. Some of these he brought from the stone quarries of Memphis; the largest came from the city of Elephantine, twenty days' journey distant by river from Saïs.
175.2. ἠγάγετο δὲ τούτων τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Μέμφιν ἐουσέων λιθοτομιέων, τοὺς δὲ ὑπερμεγάθεας ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλιος πλόον καὶ εἴκοσι ἡμερέων ἀπεχούσης ἀπὸ Σάιος.
175.3. But what I admire most of his works is this: he brought from Elephantine a shrine made of one single block of stone; its transport took three years and two thousand men had the carriage of it, all of them pilots. This chamber is thirty-five feet long, twenty-three feet wide, thirteen feet high.
175.3. τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἥκιστα αὐτῶν ἀλλὰ μάλιστα θωμάζω, ἔστι τόδε· οἴκημα μουνόλιθον ἐκόμισε ἐξ Ἐλεφαντίνης πόλιος, καὶ τοῦτο ἐκόμιζον μὲν ἐπʼ ἔτεα τρία, δισχίλιοι δέ οἱ προσετετάχατο ἄνδρες ἀγωγέες, καὶ οὗτοι ἅπαντες ἦσαν κυβερνῆται. τῆς δὲ στέγης ταύτης τὸ μὲν μῆκος ἔξωθεν ἐστὶ εἷς τε καὶ εἴκοσι πήχεες, εὖρος δὲ τεσσερεσκαίδεκα, ὕψος δὲ ὀκτώ.
175.4. These are the external dimensions of the chamber which is made of one block; its internal dimensions are: thirty-one feet long, twenty feet wide, eight feet high. It stands at the entrance of the temple;
175.4. ταῦτα μὲν τὰ μέτρα ἔξωθεν τῆς στέγης τῆς μουνολίθου ἐστί, ἀτὰρ ἔσωθεν τὸ μῆκος ὀκτωκαίδεκα πηχέων καὶ πυγόνος …, τὸ δὲ ὕψος πέντε πηχέων ἐστί. αὕτη τοῦ ἱροῦ κέεται παρὰ τὴν ἔσοδον·
175.5. it was not dragged within (so they say) because while it was being drawn the chief builder complained aloud of the great expense of time and his loathing of the work, and Amasis taking this to heart would not let it be drawn further. Some also say that a man, one of those who heaved up the shrine, was crushed by it, and therefore it was not dragged within.
175.5. ἔσω γάρ μιν ἐς τὸ ἱρόν φασι τῶνδε εἵνεκα οὐκ ἐσελκύσαι· τὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα αὐτῆς ἑλκομένης τῆς στέγης ἀναστενάξαι, οἷά τε χρόνου ἐγγεγονότος πολλοῦ καὶ ἀχθόμενον τῷ ἔργῳ, τὸν δὲ Ἄμασιν ἐνθύμιον ποιησάμενον οὐκ ἐᾶν ἔτι προσωτέρω ἑλκύσαι. ἤδη δὲ τινὲς λέγουσι ὡς ἄνθρωπος διεφθάρη ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τῶν τις αὐτὴν μοχλευόντων, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου οὐκ ἐσελκυσθῆναι.
176.1. Furthermore, Amasis dedicated, besides monuments of marvellous size in all the other temples of note, the huge image that lies supine before Hephaestus' temple at Memphis; this image is seventy-five feet in length; there stand on the same base, on either side of the great image, two huge statues hewn from the same block, each of them twenty feet high.
176.1. ἀνέθηκε δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἱροῖσι ὁ Ἄμασις πᾶσι τοῖσι ἐλλογίμοισι ἔργα τὸ μέγαθος ἀξιοθέητα, ἐν δὲ καὶ ἐν Μέμφι τὸν ὕπτιον κείμενον κολοσσὸν τοῦ Ἡφαιστείου ἔμπροσθε, τοῦ πόδες πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα εἰσὶ τὸ μῆκος· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ βάθρῳ ἑστᾶσι τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐόντος λίθου δύο κολοσσοί, εἴκοσι ποδῶν τὸ μέγαθος ἐὼν ἑκάτερος, ὃ μὲν ἔνθεν ὃ δʼ ἔνθεν τοῦ μεγάλου.
176.2. There is at Saïs another stone figure of like size, supine as is the figure at Memphis. It was Amasis, too, who built the great and most marvellous temple of Isis at Memphis.
176.2. ἔστι δὲ λίθινος ἕτερος τοσοῦτος καὶ ἐν Σάι, κείμενος κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ ἐν Μέμφι. τῇ Ἴσι τε τὸ ἐν Μέμφι ἱρὸν Ἄμασις ἐστὶ ὁ ἐξοικοδομήσας, ἐὸν μέγα τε καὶ ἀξιοθεητότατον.
177.1. It is said that in the reign of Amasis Egypt attained to its greatest prosperity, in respect of what the river did for the land and the land for its people: and that the number of inhabited cities in the country was twenty thousand.
177.1. ἐπʼ Ἀμάσιος δὲ βασιλέος λέγεται Αἴγυπτος μάλιστα δὴ τότε εὐδαιμονῆσαι καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῇ χώρῃ γινόμενα καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρης τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι, καὶ πόλις ἐν αὐτῇ γενέσθαι τὰς ἁπάσας τότε δισμυρίας τὰς οἰκεομένας.
177.2. It was Amasis also who made the law that every Egyptian declare his means of livelihood to the ruler of his district annually, and that omitting to do so or to prove that one had a legitimate livelihood be punishable with death. Solon the Athenian got this law from Egypt and established it among his people; may they always have it, for it is a perfect law.
177.2. νόμον τε Αἰγυπτίοισι τόνδε Ἄμασις ἐστὶ ὁ καταστήσας, ἀποδεικνύναι ἔτεος ἑκάστου τῷ νομάρχῃ πάντα τινὰ Αἰγυπτίων ὅθεν βιοῦται· μὴ δὲ ποιεῦντα ταῦτα μηδὲ ἀποφαίνοντα δικαίην ζόην ἰθύνεσθαι θανάτῳ. Σόλων δὲ ὁ Ἀθηναῖος λαβὼν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τοῦτον τὸν νόμον Ἀθηναίοισι ἔθετο· τῷ ἐκεῖνοι ἐς αἰεὶ χρέωνται ἐόντι ἀμώμῳ νόμῳ.
178.1. Amasis became a philhellene, and besides other services which he did for some of the Greeks, he gave those who came to Egypt the city of Naucratis to live in; and to those who travelled to the country without wanting to settle there, he gave lands where they might set up altars and make holy places for their gods.
178.1. φιλέλλην δὲ γενόμενος ὁ Ἄμασις ἄλλα τε ἐς Ἑλλήνων μετεξετέρους ἀπεδέξατο, καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῖσι ἀπικνευμένοισι ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἔδωκε Ναύκρατιν πόλιν ἐνοικῆσαι· τοῖσι δὲ μὴ βουλομένοισι αὐτῶν οἰκέειν, αὐτοῦ δὲ ναυτιλλομένοισι ἔδωκε χώρους ἐνιδρύσασθαι βωμοὺς καὶ τεμένεα θεοῖσι.
178.2. Of these the greatest and most famous and most visited precinct is that which is called the Hellenion, founded jointly by the Ionian cities of Chios, Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae, the Dorian cities of Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, and Phaselis, and one Aeolian city, Mytilene.
178.2. τὸ μέν νυν μέγιστον αὐτῶν τέμενος, καὶ ὀνομαστότατον ἐὸν καὶ χρησιμώτατον, καλεύμενον δὲ Ἑλλήνιον, αἵδε αἱ πόλιες εἰσὶ αἱ ἱδρυμέναι κοινῇ, Ἱώνων μὲν Χίος καὶ Τέως καὶ Φώκαια καὶ Κλαζομεναί, Δωριέων δὲ Ῥόδος καὶ Κνίδος καὶ Ἁλικαρνησσὸς καὶ Φάσηλις, Αἰολέων δὲ ἡ Μυτιληναίων μούνη.
178.3. It is to these that the precinct belongs, and these are the cities that furnish overseers of the trading port; if any other cities advance claims, they claim what does not belong to them. The Aeginetans made a precinct of their own, sacred to Zeus; and so did the Samians for Hera and the Milesians for Apollo.
178.3. τουτέων μὲν ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ τέμενος, καὶ προστάτας τοῦ ἐμπορίου αὗται αἱ πόλιες εἰσὶ αἱ παρέχουσαι· ὅσαι δὲ ἄλλαι πόλιες μεταποιεῦνται, οὐδέν σφι μετεὸν μεταποιεῦνται. χωρὶς δὲ Αἰγινῆται ἐπὶ ἑωυτῶν ἱδρύσαντο τέμενος Διός, καὶ ἄλλο Σάμιοι Ἥρης καὶ Μιλήσιοι Ἀπόλλωνος.
179.1. Naucratis was in the past the only trading port in Egypt. Whoever came to any other mouth of the Nile had to swear that he had not come intentionally, and had then to take his ship and sail to the Canobic mouth; or if he could not sail against contrary winds, he had to carry his cargo in barges around the Delta until he came to Naucratis. In such esteem was Naucratis held.
179.1. ἦν δὲ τὸ παλαιὸν μούνη Ναύκρατις ἐμπόριον καὶ ἄλλο οὐδὲν Αἰγύπτου· εἰ δέ τις ἐς τῶν τι ἄλλο στομάτων τοῦ Νείλου ἀπίκοιτο, χρῆν ὀμόσαι μὴ μὲν ἑκόντα ἐλθεῖν, ἀπομόσαντα δὲ τῇ νηὶ αὐτῇ πλέειν ἐς τὸ Κανωβικόν· ἢ εἰ μή γε οἷά τε εἴη πρὸς ἀνέμους ἀντίους πλέειν, τὰ φορτία ἔδεε περιάγειν ἐν βάρισι περὶ τὸ Δέλτα, μέχρι οὗ ἀπίκοιτο ἐς Ναύκρατιν. οὕτω μὲν δὴ Ναύκρατις ἐτετίμητο.
180.1. When the Amphictyons paid three hundred talents to have the temple that now stands at Delphi finished (as that which was formerly there burnt down by accident), it was the Delphians' lot to pay a fourth of the cost.
180.1. Ἀμφικτυόνων δὲ μισθωσάντων τὸν ἐν Δελφοῖσι νῦν ἐόντα νηὸν τριηκοσίων ταλάντων ἐξεργάσασθαι (ὁ γὰρ πρότερον ἐὼν αὐτόθι αὐτόματος κατεκάη), τοὺς Δελφοὺς δὴ ἐπέβαλλε τεταρτημόριον τοῦ μισθώματος παρασχεῖν.
180.2. They went about from city to city collecting gifts, and got most from Egypt; for Amasis gave them a thousand talents' weight of astringent earth, and the Greek settlers in Egypt twenty minae.
180.2. πλανώμενοι δὲ οἱ Δελφοὶ περὶ τὰς πόλις ἐδωτίναζον, ποιεῦντες δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐλάχιστον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἠνείκαντο· Ἄμασις μὲν γάρ σφι ἔδωκε χίλια στυπτηρίης τάλαντα, οἱ δὲ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ οἰκέοντες Ἕλληνες εἴκοσι μνέας.
181.1. Amasis made friends and allies of the people of Cyrene. And he decided to marry from there, either because he had his heart set on a Greek wife, or for the sake of the Corcyreans' friendship;
181.1. Κυρηναίοισι δὲ Ἄμασις φιλότητά τε καὶ συμμαχίην συνεθήκατο, ἐδικαίωσε δὲ καὶ γῆμαι αὐτόθεν, εἴτʼ ἐπιθυμήσας Ἑλληνίδος γυναικὸς εἴτε καὶ ἄλλως φιλότητος Κυρηναίων εἵνεκα·
181.2. in any case, he married a certain Ladice, said by some to be the daughter of Battus, of Arcesilaus by others, and by others again of Critobulus, an esteemed citizen of the place. But whenever Amasis lay with her, he became unable to have intercourse, though he managed with every other woman;
181.2. γαμέει δὲ ὦν οἳ μὲν λέγουσι Βάττου οἳ δʼ Ἀρκεσίλεω θυγατέρα, οἳ δὲ Κριτοβούλου ἀνδρὸς τῶν ἀστῶν δοκίμου, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Λαδίκη· τῇ ἐπείτε συγκλίνοιτο ὁ Ἄμασις, μίσγεσθαι οὐκ οἷός τε ἐγίνετο, τῇσι δὲ ἄλλῃσι γυναιξὶ ἐχρᾶτο.
181.3. and when this happened repeatedly, Amasis said to the woman called Ladice, “Woman, you have cast a spell on me, and there is no way that you shall avoid perishing the most wretchedly of all women.”
181.3. ἐπείτε δὲ πολλὸν τοῦτο ἐγίνετο, εἶπε ὁ Ἄμασις πρὸς τὴν Λαδίκην ταύτην καλεομένην, ὦ γύναι, κατά με ἐφάρμαξας, καὶ ἔστι τοι οὐδεμία μηχανὴ μὴ οὐκ ἀπολωλέναι κάκιστα γυναικῶν πασέων.
181.4. So Ladice, when the king did not relent at all although she denied it, vowed in her heart to Aphrodite that, if Amasis could have intercourse with her that night, since that would remedy the problem, she would send a statue to Cyrene to her. And after the prayer, immediately, Amasis did have intercourse with her. And whenever Amasis came to her thereafter, he had intercourse, and he was very fond of her after this.
181.4. ἡ δὲ Λαδίκη, ἐπείτε οἱ ἀρνευμένῃ οὐδὲν ἐγίνετο πρηΰτερος ὁ Ἄμασις, εὔχεται ἐν τῷ νόῳ τῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ, ἤν οἱ ὑπʼ ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα μιχθῇ ὁ Ἄμασις, τοῦτο γάρ οἱ κακοῦ εἶναι μῆχος, ἄγαλμά οἱ ἀποπέμψειν ἐς Κυρήνην. μετὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτίκα οἱ ἐμίχθη ὁ Ἄμασις. καὶ τὸ ἐνθεῦτεν ἤδη, ὁκότε ἔλθοι Ἄμασις πρὸς αὐτήν, ἐμίσγετο, καὶ κάρτα μιν ἔστερξε μετὰ τοῦτο.
181.5. Ladice paid her vow to the goddess; she had an image made and sent it to Cyrene, where it stood safe until my time, facing outside the city. Cambyses, when he had conquered Egypt and learned who Ladice was, sent her away to Cyrene unharmed.
181.5. ἡ δὲ Λαδίκη ἀπέδωκε τὴν εὐχὴν τῇ θεῷ· ποιησαμένη γὰρ ἄγαλμα ἀπέπεμψε ἐς Κυρήνην, τὸ ἔτι καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ ἦν σόον, ἔξω τετραμμένον τοῦ Κυρηναίων ἄστεος. ταύτην τὴν Λαδίκην, ὡς ἐπεκράτησε Καμβύσης Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐπύθετο αὐτῆς ἥτις εἴη, ἀπέπεμψε ἀσινέα ἐς Κυρήνην.
182.1. Moreover, Amasis dedicated offerings in Hellas. He gave to Cyrene a gilt image of Athena and a painted picture of himself; to Athena of Lindus, two stone images and a marvellous linen breast-plate; and to Hera in Samos, two wooden statues of himself that were still standing in my time behind the doors in the great shrine.
182.1. ἀνέθηκε δὲ καὶ ἀναθήματα ὁ Ἄμασις ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, τοῦτο μὲν ἐς Κυρήνην ἄγαλμα ἐπίχρυσον Ἀθηναίης καὶ εἰκόνα ἑωυτοῦ γραφῇ εἰκασμένην, τοῦτο δὲ τῇ ἐν Λίνδῳ Ἀθηναίῃ δύο τε ἀγάλματα λίθινα καὶ θώρηκα λίνεον ἀξιοθέητον, τοῦτο δʼ ἐς Σάμον τῇ Ἥρῃ εἰκόνας ἑωυτοῦ διφασίας ξυλίνας, αἳ ἐν τῷ νηῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ ἱδρύατο ἔτι καὶ τὸ μέχρι ἐμεῦ, ὄπισθε τῶν θυρέων.
182.2. The offerings in Samos were dedicated because of the friendship between Amasis and Polycrates, son of Aeaces; what he gave to Lindus was not out of friendship for anyone, but because the temple of Athena in Lindus is said to have been founded by the daughters of Danaus, when they landed there in their flight from the sons of Egyptus. Such were Amasis' offerings. Moreover, he was the first conqueror of Cyprus, which he made tributary to himself.
182.2. ἐς μέν νυν Σάμον ἀνέθηκε κατὰ ξεινίην τὴν ἑωυτοῦ τε καὶ Πολυκράτεος τοῦ Αἰάκεος, ἐς δὲ Λίνδον ξεινίης μὲν οὐδεμιῆς εἵνεκεν, ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἱρὸν τὸ ἐν Λίνδῳ τὸ τῆς Ἀθηναίης λέγεται τὰς Δαναοῦ θυγατέρας ἱδρύσασθαι προσσχούσας, ὅτε ἀπεδίδρησκον τοὺς Αἰγύπτου παῖδας. ταῦτα μὲν ἀνέθηκε ὁ Ἄμασις, εἷλε δὲ Κύπρον πρῶτος ἀνθρώπων καὶ κατεστρέψατο ἐς φόρου ἀπαγωγήν.