The Wives Of Men Of Rank When They Die Are Not
Given At Once To Be Embalmed, Nor Such Women As Are Very Beautiful Or
Of Greater Regard Than Others, But On The Third Or Fourth Day After
Their Death (And Not Before) They Are Delivered To The Embalmers.
They
do so about this matter in order that the embalmers may not abuse
their women, for they say that one of them was taken once doing so to
the corpse of a woman lately dead, and his fellow-craftsman gave
information.
Whenever any one, either of the Egyptians themselves or
of strangers, is found to have been carried off by a crocodile or
brought to his death by the river itself, the people of any city by
which he may have been cast up on land must embalm him and lay him out
in the fairest way they can and bury him in a sacred burial-place, nor
may any of his relations or friends besides touch him, but the priests
of the Nile themselves handle the corpse and bury it as that of one
who was something more than man.
Hellenic usages they will by no means follow, and to speak generally
they follow those of no other men whatever. This rule is observed by
most of the Egyptians; but there is a large city named Chemmis in the
Theban district near Neapolis, and in this city there is a temple of
Perseus the son of Danae which is of a square shape, and round it grow
date-palms: the gateway of the temple is built of stone and of very
great size, and at the entrance of it stand two great statues of
stone. Within this enclosure is a temple-house and in it stands an
image of Perseus. These people of Chemmis say that Perseus is wont
often to appear in their land and often within the temple, and that a
sandal which has been worn by him is found sometimes, being in length
two cubits, and whenever this appears all Egypt prospers. This they
say, and they do in honour of Perseus after Hellenic fashion thus, -
they hold an athletic contest, which includes the whole list of games,
and they offer in prizes cattle and cloaks and skins: and when I
inquired why to them alone Perseus was wont to appear, and wherefore
they were separated from all the other Egyptians in that they held an
athletic contest, they said that Perseus had been born of their city,
for Danaos and Lynkeus were men of Chemmis and had sailed to Hellas,
and from them they traced a descent and came down to Perseus: and they
told me that he had come to Egypt for the reason which the Hellenes
also say, namely to bring from Libya the Gorgon's head, and had then
visited them also and recognised all his kinsfolk, and they said that
he had well learnt the name of Chemmis before he came to Egypt, since
he had heard it from his mother, and that they celebrated an athletic
contest for him by his own command.
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