herodotus

inging his life to a swift close;[113] for he had not done thatwhich it was appointed for him to do, since it was destined that Egyptshould suffer evils for a hundred and fifty years, and the two kingswho had risen before him had perceived this, but he had not. Mykerinoshaving heard this, and considering that this sentence had been passedupon him beyond recall, procured many lamps, and whenever night cameon he lighted these and began to drink and take his pleasure, ceasingneither by day nor by night; and he went about to the fen-country andto the woods and wherever he heard there were the most suitable placesfor enjoyment. This he devised (having a mind to prove that the Oraclespoke falsely) in order that he might have twelve years of lifeinstead of six, the nights being turned into days.134. This king also left behind him a pyramid, much smaller than thatof his father, of a square shape and measuring on each side threehundred feet lacking twenty, built moreover of Ethiopian stone up tohalf the height. This pyramid some of the Hellenes say was built bythe courtesan Rhodopis, not therein speaking rightly: and besides thisit is evident to me that they who speak thus do not even know whoRhodopis was, for otherwise they would not have attributed to her thebuilding of a pyramid like this, on which have been spent (so tospeak) innumerable thousands of talents: moreover they do not knowthat Rhodopis flourished in the reign of Amasis, and not in thisking's reign; for Rhodopis lived very many years later than the kingswho left behind the pyramids. By descent she was of Thrace, and shewas a slave of Iadmon the son of Hephaistopolis a Samian, and afellow-slave of Esop the maker of fables; for he too was once theslave of Iadmon, as was proved especially in this fact, namely thatwhen the people of Delphi repeatedly made proclamation in accordancewith an oracle, to find some one who would take up[114] the bloodmoneyfor the death of Esop, no one else appeared, but at length thegrandson of Iadmon, called Iadmon also, took it up; and thus it isshown that Esop too was the slave of Iadmon. 135. As for Rhodopis, shecame to Egypt brought by Xanthes the Samian, and having come thitherto exercise her calling she was redeemed from slavery for a great sumby a man of Mytilene, Charaxos son of Scamandronymos and brother ofSappho the lyric poet. Thus was Rhodopis set free, and she remained inEgypt and by her beauty won so much liking that she made great gain ofmoney for one like Rhodopis,[115] though not enough to suffice for thecost of such a pyramid as this. In truth there is no need to ascribeto her very great riches, considering that the tithe of her wealth maystill be seen even to this time by any one who desires it: forRhodopis wished to leave behind her a memorial of herself in Hellas,namely to cause a thing to be made such as happens not to have beenthought of or dedicated in a temple by any besides, and to dedicatethis at Delphi as a memorial of herself. Accordingly with the tithe of