herodotus

Dwelling in Egypt, the land where the bountiful meadow producesDrugs more than all lands else, many good being mixed, many evil."And thus too Menelaos says to Telemachos:[100]"Still the gods stayed me in Egypt, to come back hither desiring,Stayed me from voyaging home, since sacrifice was due I performed not."In these lines he makes it clear that he knew of the wandering ofAlexander to Egypt, for Syria borders upon Egypt and the Phenicians,of whom is Sidon, dwell in Syria. 117. By these lines and by thispassage[101] it is also most clearly shown that the "Cyprian Epic" wasnot written by Homer but by some other man: for in this it is saidthat on the third day after leaving Sparta Alexander came to Ilionbringing with him Helen, having had a "gently-blowing wind and asmooth sea," whereas in the Iliad it says that he wandered from hiscourse when he brought her.118. Let us now leave Homer and the "Cyprian" Epic; but this I willsay, namely that I asked the priests whether it is but an idle talewhich the Hellenes tell of that which they say happened about Ilion;and they answered me thus, saying that they had their knowledge byinquiries from Menelaos himself. After the rape of Helen there cameindeed, they said, to the Teucrian land a large army of Hellenes tohelp Menelaos; and when the army had come out of the ships to land andhad pitched its camp there, they sent messengers to Ilion, with whomwent also Menelaos himself; and when these entered within the wallthey demanded back Helen and the wealth which Alexander had stolenfrom Menelaos and had taken away; and moreover they demandedsatisfaction for the wrongs done: and the Teucrians told the same talethen and afterwards, both with oath and without oath, namely that indeed and in truth they had not Helen nor the wealth for which demandwas made, but that both were in Egypt; and that they could not justlybe compelled to give satisfaction for that which Proteus the king ofEgypt had. The Hellenes however thought that they were being mocked bythem and besieged the city, until at last they took it; and when theyhad taken the wall and did not find Helen, but heard the same tale asbefore, then they believed the former tale and sent Menelaos himselfto Proteus. 119. And Menelaos having come to Egypt and having sailedup to Memphis, told the truth of these matters, and not only foundgreat entertainment, but also received Helen unhurt, and all his ownwealth besides. Then however, after he had been thus dealt with,Menelaos showed himself ungrateful to the Egyptians; for when he setforth to sail away, contrary winds detained him, and as this conditionof things lasted long, he devised an impious deed; for he took twochildren of natives and made sacrifice of them. After this, when it