herodotus

who had been caught in a trap in the king's treasure-chamber, and themost cunning deed in that he made drunk the guards and took down thedead body of his brother hanging up; and she when she heard it triedto take hold of him, but the thief held out to her in the darkness thearm of the corpse, which she grasped and held, thinking that she washolding the arm of the man himself; but the thief left it in her handsand departed, escaping through the door. (f) Now when this also wasreported to the king, he was at first amazed at the ready inventionand daring of the fellow, and then afterwards he sent round to all thecities and made proclamation granting a free pardon to the thief, andalso promising a great reward if he would come into his presence. Thethief accordingly trusting to the proclamation came to the king, andRhampsinitos greatly marvelled at him, and gave him this daughter ofhis to wife, counting him to be the most knowing of all men; for asthe Egyptians were distinguished from all other men, so was he fromthe other Egyptians.122. After these things they said this king went down alive to thatplace which by the Hellenes is called Hades, and there played at dicewith Demeter, and in some throws he overcame her and in others he wasovercome by her; and he came back again having as a gift from her ahandkerchief of gold: and they told me that because of the going downof Rhampsinitos the Egyptians after he came back celebrated a feast,which I know of my own knowledge also that they still observe even tomy time; but whether it is for this cause that they keep the feast orfor some other, I am not able to say. However, the priests weave arobe completely on the very day of the feast, and forthwith they bindup the eyes of one of them with a fillet, and having led him with therobe to the way by which one goes to the temple of Demeter, theydepart back again themselves. This priest, they say, with his eyesbound up is led by two wolves to the temple of Demeter, which isdistant from the city twenty furlongs, and then afterwards the wolveslead him back again from the temple to the same spot. 123. Now as tothe tales told by the Egyptians, any man may accept them to whom suchthings appear credible; as for me, it is to be understood throughoutthe whole of the history[103] that I write by hearsay that which isreported by the people in each place. The Egyptians say that Demeterand Dionysos are rulers of the world below; and the Egyptians are alsothe first who reported the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal,and that when the body dies, the soul enters into another creaturewhich chances then to be coming to the birth, and when it has gone theround of all the creatures of land and sea and of the air, it entersagain into a human body as it comes to the birth; and that it makesthis round in a period of three thousand years. This doctrine certainHellenes adopted, some earlier and some later, as if it were of theirown invention, and of these men I know the names but I abstain from