Hence, They Say, This Exchange Of Blows
Has Become The Custom In Honour Of Ares Upon His Festival.
The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to
lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away
from women without first bathing:
For almost all other men except the
Egyptians and the Hellenes lie with women in temples and enter into a
temple after going away from women without bathing, since they hold
that there is no difference in this respect between men and beasts:
for they say that they see beasts and the various kinds of birds
coupling together both in the temples and in the sacred enclosures of
the gods; if then this were not pleasing to the god, the beasts would
not do so.
Thus do these defend that which they do, which by me is disallowed:
but the Egyptians are excessively careful in their observances, both
in other matters which concern the sacred rites and also in those
which follow: - Egypt, though it borders upon Libya, does not very much
abound in wild animals, but such as they have are one and all
accounted by them sacred, some of them living with men and others not.
But if I should say for what reasons the sacred animals have been thus
dedicated, I should fall into discourse of matters pertaining to the
gods, of which I most desire not to speak; and what I have actually
said touching slightly upon them, I said because I was constrained by
necessity. About these animals there is a custom of this kind: -
persons have been appointed of the Egyptians, both men and women, to
provide the food for each kind of beast separately, and their office
goes down from father to son; and those who dwell in the various
cities perform vows to them thus, that is, when they make a vow to the
god to whom the animal belongs, they shave the head of their children
either the whole or the half or the third part of it, and then set the
hair in the balance against silver, and whatever it weighs, this the
man gives to the person who provides for the animals, and she cuts up
fish of equal value and gives it for food to the animals. Thus food
for their support has been appointed and if any one kill any of these
animals, the penalty, if he do it with his own will, is death, and if
against his will, such penalty as the priests may appoint: but
whosoever shall kill an ibis or a hawk, whether it be with his will or
against his will, must die. Of the animals that live with men there
are great numbers, and would be many more but for the accidents which
befall the cats. For when the females have produced young they are no
longer in the habit of going to the males, and these seeking to be
united with them are not able. To this end then they contrive as
follows, - they either take away by force or remove secretly the young
from the females and kill them (but after killing they do not eat
them), and the females being deprived of their young and desiring
more, therefore come to the males, for it is a creature that is fond
of its young. Moreover when a fire occurs, the cats seem to be
divinely possessed; for while the Egyptians stand at intervals and
look after the cats, not taking any care to extinguish the fire, the
cats slipping through or leaping over the men, jump into the fire; and
when this happens, great mourning comes upon the Egyptians. And in
whatever houses a cat has died by a natural death, all those who dwell
in this house shave their eyebrows only, but those in which a dog has
died shave their whole body and also their head. The cats when they
are dead are carried away to sacred buildings in the city of Bubastis,
where after being embalmed they are buried; but the dogs they bury
each people in their own city in sacred tombs; and the ichneumons are
buried just in the same way as the dogs. The shrewmice however and the
hawks they carry away to the city of Buto, and the ibises to
Hermopolis; the bears (which are not commonly seen) and the wolves,
not much larger in size than foxes, they bury on the spot where they
are found lying.
Of the crocodile the nature is as follows: - during the four most
wintry months this creature eats nothing: she has four feet and is an
animal belonging to the land and the water both; for she produces and
hatches eggs on the land, and the most part of the day she remains
upon dry land, but the whole of the night in the river, for the water
in truth is warmer than the unclouded open air and the dew. Of all the
mortal creatures of which we have knowledge this grows to the greatest
bulk from the smallest beginning; for the eggs which she produces are
not much larger than those of geese and the newly-hatched young one is
in proportion to the egg, but as he grows he becomes as much as
seventeen cubits long and sometimes yet larger. He has eyes like those
of a pig and teeth large and tusky, in proportion to the size of his
body; but unlike all other beasts he grows no tongue, neither does he
move his lower jaw, but brings the upper jaw towards the lower, being
in this too unlike all other beasts. He has moreover strong claws and
a scaly hide upon his back which cannot be pierced; and he is blind in
the water, but in the air he is of a very keen sight. Since he has his
living in the water he keeps his mouth all full within of leeches; and
whereas all other birds and beasts fly from him, the trochilus is a
creature which is at peace with him, seeing that from her he receives
benefit; for the crocodile having come out of the water to the land
and then having opened his mouth (this he is wont to do generally
towards the West Wind), the trochilus upon that enters into his mouth
and swallows down the leeches, and he being benefited is pleased and
does no harm to the trochilus.
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