Moreover, Besides Many Other Stories
Which The Hellenes Tell Without Due Consideration, This Tale Is
Especially Foolish Which They Tell
About Heracles, namely that when he
came to Egypt, the Egyptians put on him wreaths and led him forth in
Procession to sacrifice him to Zeus; and he for some time kept quiet,
but when they were beginning the sacrifice of him at the altar, he
betook himself to prowess and slew them all. I for my part am of
opinion that the Hellenes when they tell this tale are altogether
without knowledge of the nature and customs of the Egyptians; for how
should they for whom it is not lawful to sacrifice even beasts, except
swine and the males of oxen and calves (such of them as are clean) and
geese, how should these sacrifice human beings? Besides this, how is
it in nature possible that Heracles, being one person only and
moreover a man (as they assert), should slay many myriads? Having said
so much of these matters, we pray that we may have grace from both the
gods and the heroes for our speech.
Now the reason why those of the Egyptians whom I have mentioned do not
sacrifice goats, female or male, is this: - the Mendesians count Pan to
be one of the eight gods (now these eight gods they say came into
being before the twelve gods), and the painters and image-makers
represent in painting and in sculpture the figure of Pan, just as the
Hellenes do, with goat's face and legs, not supposing him to be really
like this but to resemble the other gods; the cause however why they
represent him in this form I prefer not to say. The Mendesians then
reverence all goats and the males more than the females (and the
goatherds too have greater honour than other herdsmen), but of the
goats one especially is reverenced, and when he dies there is great
mourning in all the Mendesian district: and both the goat and Pan are
called in the Egyptian tongue /Mendes/. Moreover in my lifetime there
happened in that district this marvel, that is to say a he-goat had
intercourse with a woman publicly, and this was so done that all men
might have evidence of it.
The pig is accounted by the Egyptians an abominable animal; and first,
if any of them in passing by touch a pig, he goes into the river and
dips himself forthwith in the water together with his garments; and
then too swineherds, though they may be native Egyptians, unlike all
others, do not enter any of the temples in Egypt, nor is anyone
willing to give his daughter in marriage to one of them or to take a
wife from among them; but the swineherds both give in marriage to one
another and take from one another. Now to the other gods the Egyptians
do not think it right to sacrifice swine; but to the Moon and to
Dionysos alone at the same time and on the same full-moon they
sacrifice swine, and then eat their flesh: and as to the reason why,
when they abominate swine at all their other feasts, they sacrifice
them at this, there is a story told by the Egyptians; and this story I
know, but it is not a seemly one for me to tell. Now the sacrifice of
the swine to the Moon is performed as follows: - when the priest has
slain the victim, he puts together the end of the tail and the spleen
and the caul, and covers them up with the whole of the fat of the
animal which is about the paunch, and then he offers them with fire;
and the rest of the flesh they eat on that day of full moon upon which
they have held sacrifice, but on any day after this they will not
taste of it: the poor however among them by reason of the scantiness
of their means shape pigs of dough and having baked them they offer
these as a sacrifice. Then for Dionysos on the eve of the festival
each one kills a pig by cutting its throat before his own doors, and
after that he gives the pig to the swineherd who sold it to him, to
carry away again; and the rest of the feast of Dionysos is celebrated
by the Egyptians in the same way as by the Hellenes in almost all
things except choral dances, but instead of the /phallos/ they have
invented another contrivance, namely figures of about a cubit in
height worked by strings, which women carry about the villages, with
the privy member made to move and not much less in size than the rest
of the body: and a flute goes before and they follow singing the
praises of Dionysos. As to the reason why the figure has this member
larger than is natural and moves it, though it moves no other part of
the body, about this there is a sacred story told. Now I think that
Melampus the son of Amytheon was not without knowledge of these rites
of sacrifice, but was acquainted with them: for Melampus is he who
first set forth to the Hellenes the name of Dionysos and the manner of
sacrifice and the procession of the /phallos/. Strictly speaking
indeed, he when he made it known did not take in the whole, but those
wise men who came after him made it known more at large. Melampus then
is he who taught of the /phallos/ which is carried in procession for
Dionysos, and from him the Hellenes learnt to do that which they do. I
say then that Melampus being a man of ability contrived for himself an
art of divination, and having learnt from Egypt he taught the Hellenes
many things, and among them those that concern Dionysos, making
changes in some few points of them: for I shall not say that that
which is done in worship of the god in Egypt came accidentally to be
the same with that which is done among the Hellenes, for then these
rites would have been in character with the Hellenic worship and not
lately brought in; nor certainly shall I say that the Egyptians took
from the Hellenes either this or any other customary observance:
matters concerning Dionysos from Cadmos the Tyrian and from those who
came with him from Phenicia to the land which we now call Boeotia.
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