herodotus

they die are not given at once to be embalmed, nor such women as arevery beautiful or of greater regard than others, but on the third orfourth day after their death (and not before) they are delivered tothe embalmers. They do so about this matter in order that theembalmers may not abuse their women, for they say that one of them wastaken once doing so to the corpse of a woman lately dead, and hisfellow-craftsman gave information. 90. Whenever any one, either of theEgyptians themselves or of strangers, is found to have been carriedoff by a crocodile or brought to his death by the river itself, thepeople of any city by which he may have been cast up on land mustembalm him and lay him out in the fairest way they can and bury him ina sacred burial-place, nor may any of his relations or friends besidestouch him, but the priests of the Nile themselves handle the corpseand bury it as that of one who was something more than man.91. Hellenic usages they will by no means follow, and to speakgenerally they follow those of no other men whatever. This rule isobserved by most of the Egyptians; but there is a large city namedChemmis in the Theban district near Neapolis, and in this city thereis 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 ofstone and of very great size, and at the entrance of it stand twogreat statues of stone. Within this enclosure is a temple-house[76]and in it stands an image of Perseus. These people of Chemmis say thatPerseus is wont often to appear in their land and often within thetemple, and that a sandal which has been worn by him is foundsometimes, being in length two cubits, and whenever this appears allEgypt prospers. This they say, and they do in honour of Perseus afterHellenic fashion thus,--they hold an athletic contest, which includesthe whole list of games, and they offer in prizes cattle and cloaksand skins: and when I inquired why to them alone Perseus was wont toappear, and wherefore they were separated from all the other Egyptiansin that they held an athletic contest, they said that Perseus had beenborn of their city, for Danaos and Lynkeus were men of Chemmis and hadsailed to Hellas, and from them they traced a descent and came down toPerseus: and they told me that he had come to Egypt for the reasonwhich the Hellenes also say, namely to bring from Libya the Gorgon'shead, and had then visited them also and recognised all his kinsfolk,and they said that he had well learnt the name of Chemmis before hecame to Egypt, since he had heard it from his mother, and that theycelebrated an athletic contest for him by his own command.92. All these are customs practised by the Egyptians who dwell abovethe fens: and those who are settled in the fen-land have the samecustoms for the most part as the other Egyptians, both in othermatters and also in that they live each with one wife only, as do the