herodotus

while Heracles is of the second rank, who are called the twelve gods,and Dionysos is of the third rank, namely of those who were born ofthe twelve gods. Now as to Heracles I have shown already how manyyears old he is according to the Egyptians themselves, reckoning downto the reign of Amasis, and Pan is said to have existed for yet moreyears than these, and Dionysos for the smallest number of years ascompared with the others; and even for this last they reckon down tothe reign of Amasis fifteen thousand years. This the Egyptians saythat they know for a certainty, since they always kept a reckoning andwrote down the years as they came. Now the Dionysos who is said tohave been born of Semele the daughter of Cadmos, was born aboutsixteen hundred years before my time, and Heracles who was the son ofAlcmene, about nine hundred years, and that Pan who was born ofPenelope, for of her and of Hermes Pan is said by the Hellenes to havebeen born, came into being later than the wars of Troy, about eighthundred years before my time. 146. Of these two accounts every man mayadopt that one which he shall find the more credible when he hears it.I however, for my part, have already declared my opinion aboutthem.[129] For if these also, like Heracles the son of Amphitryon, hadappeared before all men's eyes and had lived their lives to old age inHellas, I mean Dionysos the son of Semele and Pan the son of Penelope,then one would have said that these also[130] had been born mere men,having the names of those gods who had come into being long before:but as it is, with regard to Dionysos the Hellenes say that as soon ashe was born Zeus sewed him up in his thigh and carried him to Nysa,which is above Egypt in the land of Ethiopia; and as to Pan, theycannot say whither he went after he was born. Hence it has becomeclear to me that the Hellenes learnt the names of these gods laterthan those of the other gods, and trace their descent as if theirbirth occurred at the time when they first learnt their names.Thus far then the history is told by the Egyptians themselves; 147,but I will now recount that which other nations also tell, and theEgyptians in agreement with the others, of that which happened in thisland: and there will be added to this also something of that which Ihave myself seen.Being set free after the reign of the priest of Hephaistos, theEgyptians, since they could not live any time without a king, set upover them twelve kings, having divided all Egypt into twelve parts.These made intermarriages with one another and reigned, makingagreement that they would not put down one another by force, nor seekto get an advantage over one another, but would live in perfectfriendship: and the reason why they made these agreements, guardingthem very strongly from violation, was this, namely that an oracle hadbeen given to them at first when they began to exercise their rule,