herodotus

Melampus then is he who taught of the /phallos/ which is carried inprocession for Dionysos, and from him the Hellenes learnt to do thatwhich they do. I say then that Melampus being a man of abilitycontrived for himself an art of divination, and having learnt fromEgypt he taught the Hellenes many things, and among them those thatconcern Dionysos, making changes in some few points of them: for Ishall not say that that which is done in worship of the god in Egyptcame accidentally to be the same with that which is done among theHellenes, for then these rites would have been in character with theHellenic worship and not lately brought in; nor certainly shall I saythat the Egyptians took from the Hellenes either this or any othercustomary observance: but I think it most probable that Melampuslearnt the matters concerning Dionysos from Cadmos the Tyrian and fromthose who came with him from Phenicia to the land which we now callBœotia.50. Moreover the naming[51] of almost all the gods has come to Hellasfrom Egypt: for that it has come from the Barbarians I find by inquiryis true, and I am of opinion that most probably it has come fromEgypt, because, except in the case of Poseidon and the Dioscuroi (inaccordance with that which I have said before), and also of Hera andHestia and Themis and the Charites and Nereïds, the Egyptians have hadthe names of all the other gods in their country for all time. What Isay here is that which the Egyptians think themselves: but as for thegods whose names they profess that they do not know, these I thinkreceived their naming from the Pelasgians, except Poseidon; but aboutthis god the Hellenes learnt from the Libyans, for no people exceptthe Libyans have had the name of Poseidon from the first and have paidhonour to this god always. Nor, it may be added, have the Egyptiansany custom of worshipping heroes. 51. These observances then, andothers besides these which I shall mention, the Hellenes have adoptedfrom the Egyptians; but to make, as they do, the images of Hermes withthe /phallos/ they have learnt not from the Egyptians but from thePelasgians, the custom having been received by the Athenians first ofall the Hellenes and from these by the rest; for just at the time whenthe Athenians were beginning to rank among the Hellenes, thePelasgians became dwellers with them in their land, and from this verycause it was that they began to be counted as Hellenes. Whosoever hasbeen initiated in the mysteries of the Cabeiroi, which theSamothrakians perform having received them from the Pelasgians, thatman knows the meaning of my speech; for these very Pelasgians whobecame dwellers with the Athenians used to dwell before that time inSamothrake, and from them the Samothrakians received their mysteries.So then the Athenians were the first of the Hellenes who made theimages of Hermes with the /phallos/, having learnt from thePelasgians; and the Pelasgians told a sacred story about it, which is