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himself up sometimes to sport, he would unawares become mad or stupified. I, being well aware of this, give up a portion of my time to each." Thus he answered his friends. 174. Amasis is said to have been, even when a private person, fond of drinking and jesting, and by no means inclined to serious business; and when the means failed him for drinking and indulging himself, he used to go about pilfering. Such persons as accused him of having their property, on his denying it, used to take him to the oracle of the place, and he was oftentimes convicted by the oracles, and oftentimes acquitted. When, therefore, he came to the throne, he acted as follows: whatever gods had absolved him from the charge of theft, of their temples he neither took any heed, nor contributed any thing towards their repair; neither did he frequent them, and offer sacrifices, considering them of no consequence at all, and as having only lying responses to give. But as many as had convicted him of the charge of theft, to them he paid the highest respect, considering them as truly gods, and delivering authentic responses.

175. Moreover, he built an admirable portico to the temple of Minerva at Sais, far surpassing all others both in height and size, as well as in the dimensions and quality of the stones; he likewise dedicated large statues, and huge andro-sphinxes, and brought other stones of a prodigious size for repairs of these he brought some from the quarries near Memphis; but those of the greatest magnitude, from the city of Elephantine, distant from Sais a passage of twenty days. But of these, that which I not the least, rather the most admire, is this; he brought a building of one stone from the city of Elephantine, and two thousand men, who were appointed to convey it, were occupied three whole years in its transport, and these men were all pilots. The length of this chamber, outside, is twenty-one cubits, the breadth fourteen, and the height eight. This is the measure of the outside of the one-stoned chamber. But inside, the length is eighteen cubits and twenty digits, and the width twelve cubits, and the height five cubits. This chamber is placed near the entrance of the sacred precinct; for they say that he did not draw it within the precinct for the following reason: the architect, as the chamber was being drawn along, heaved a deep sigh, being wearied with the work, over which so long a time had been

spent; whereupon Amasis, making a religious scruple of this, would not suffer it to be drawn any farther. Some persons however say, that one of the men employed at the levers was crushed to death by it, and that on that account it was not drawn into the precinct. 176. Amasis dedicated in all the most famous temples works admirable for their magnitude; and amongst them at Memphis, the reclining colossus before the temple of Vulcan, of which the length is seventy-five feet; and on the same base stand two statues of Ethiopian stone, each twenty feet in height, one on each side of the temple. There is also at Sais another similar statue, lying in the same manner as that at Memphis. It was Amasis also who built the temple to Isis at Memphis, which is spacious and well worthy of notice.

177. Under the reign of Amasis Egypt is said to have enjoyed the greatest prosperity, both in respect to the benefits derived from the river to the land, and from the land to the people; and it is said to have contained at that time twenty thousand inhabited cities. Amasis it was who established the law among the Egyptians, that every Egyptian should annually declare to the governor of his district, by what means he maintained himself; and if he failed to do this, or did not show that he lived by honest means, he should be punished with death. Solon the Athenian, having brought this law from Egypt, established it at Athens; and that people still continue to observe it, as being an unobjectionable regulation. 178. Amasis, being partial to the Greeks, both bestowed other favours on various of the Greeks, and moreover gave the city of Naucratis for such as arrived in Egypt to dwell in; and to such as did not wish to settle there, but only to trade by sea, he granted places where they might erect altars and temples to the gods. Now, the most spacious of these sacred buildings, which is also the most renowned and frequented, called the Hellenium, was erected at the common charge of the following cities: of the Ionians, Chios, Teos, Phocæa, and Clazomenæ; of the Dorians, Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, Phaselis; and of the Æolians, Mitylene alone. So that this temple belongs to them, and these cities appoint officers to preside over the mart: and whatever other cities claim a share in it, claim what does not belong to them. Besides this, the people of Ægina built a temple to Jupiter

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for themselves; and the Samians another to Juno, and the Milesians one to Apollo. 179. Naucratis was anciently the only place of resort for merchants, and there was no other in Egypt: and if a man arrived at any other mouth of the Nile, he was obliged to swear that he had come there against his will;" and having taken such an oath, he must sail in the same ship to the Canopic mouth; but if he should be prevented by contrary winds from doing so, he was forced to unload his goods, and carry them in barges round the Delta until he reached Naucratis. So great were the privileges of Naucratis. 180. When the Amphyctions contracted to build the temple that now stands at Delphi for three hundred talents, (for the temple that was formerly there had been burnt by accident, and it fell upon the Delphians to supply a fourth part of the sum,) the Delphians went about from city to city and solicited contributions; and doing this they brought home no small amount from Egypt. For Amasis gave them a thousand talents of alum, and the Grecians who were settled in Egypt twenty minæ.

181. Amasis also contracted a friendship and an alliance with the Cyrenæans; and resolved to take a wife from that country, either out of a desire of having a Grecian woman, or from some peculiar affection to the Cyrenæans. He therefore married, as some say, the daughter of Battus; others, of Arcesilaus; though others, of Critobulus, a person of distinction among the citizens; her name was Ladice. Whenever Amasis lay with her he was unable to have connexion with her, which was not the case with respect to other women: upon the continuance of this for a long time, Amasis said to this woman, who was called Ladice; "O woman, you have used charms against me, and no contrivance can prevent your perishing by the most cruel death of all women." But Ladice, finding that Amasis was not at all appeased by her denial of the fact, made a mental vow to Venus, that if Amasis should have intercourse with her that night, (for this was the only remedy left,) she would send a statue of the goddess to CyImmediately after the vow, Amasis had intercourse with her; and from that time forward, whenever he came to her, he was able to have connexion; and after this he was exceedingly fond of her. But Ladice performed her vow to the goddess, for having caused a statue to be made, she sent it to

rene.

Cyrene, and it was still safe in my time, facing out of the city of Cyrene. When Cambyses had conquered Egypt, and learnt who this Ladice was, he sent her back unharmed to Cyrene. 182. Amasis also dedicated offerings in Greece. In the first place, a gilded statue of Minerva at Cyrene, and his own portrait painted; secondly, to Minerva in Lindus two stone statues and a linen corselet well worthy of notice; thirdly, to Juno at Samos two images of himself carved in wood, which stood in the large temple even in my time, behind the doors. Now he made this offering at Samos, on account of the friendship that subsisted between himself and Polycrates the son of Eaces; but those at Lindus, not on account of any friendship, but because it is reported that the daughters of Danaus founded the temple of Minerva at Lindus, when they touched there in their flight from the sons of Egyptus: and these were the offerings that Amasis made. He was the first who conquered Cyprus, and subjected it to the payment of tribute.

BOOK III.

THALIA.

AGAINST this Amasis, Cambyses, son of Cyrus, made war, leading with him both others, his own subjects, and of the Grecians, Ionians and Æolians. The cause of the war was this: Cambyses, having sent a herald into Egypt, demanded the daughter of Amasis; and he made this demand at the suggestion of an Egyptian physician, who out of spite served Amasis in this manner, because, having selected him out of all the physicians in Egypt, and torn him from his wife and children, he had sent him as a present to the Persians, when Cyrus, having sent to Amasis, required of him the best oculist in Egypt. The Egyptian therefore, having this spite against him, urged on Cambyses by his suggestions, bidding him demand the daughter of Amasis, in order that if he should comply he might be grieved, or if he refused he might incur the hatred of Cambyses. But Amasis, dreading the power of the Persians, and being alarmed, knew not whether to give or to deny; for he was well aware that Cambyses purposed to take her, not as his wife, but his mistress. Having considered these things, he did as follows. There was a daughter of Apries, the former king, very tall and beautiful, the only survivor of the family; her name was Nitetis. This damsel, Amasis, having adorned with cloth of gold, sent to Persia as his own daughter. After a time, when Cambyses saluted her, addressing her by her father's name, the damsel said to him, "O king, you do not perceive that you have been imposed upon by Amasis, who, having dressed me in rich attire, sent me to you, presenting me as his own daughter; whereas, in truth, I am the daughter of Apries, whom he, though he was his own master, put to death, after he had incited the Egyptians to revolt." These words, and this accusation, induced

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