herodotus

Egypt is divided into districts. 165. The districts of theHermotybians are those of Busiris, Saïs, Chemmis, Papremis, the islandcalled Prosopitis, and the half of Natho,--of these districts are theHermotybians, who reached when most numerous the number of sixteenmyriads.[142a] Of these not one has learnt anything of handicraft, butthey are given up to war entirely. 166. Again the districts of theCalasirians are those of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes,Sebennytos, Athribis, Pharbaithos, Thmuïs Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris,--this last is on an island opposite to the city of Bubastis. Theseare the districts of the Calasirians; and they reached, when mostnumerous, to the number of five-and-twenty myriads[142b] of men; noris it lawful for these, any more than for the others, to practise anycraft; but they practise that which has to do with war only, handingdown the tradition from father to son. 167. Now whether the Helleneshave learnt this also from the Egyptians, I am not able to say forcertain, since I see that the Thracians also and Scythians andPersians and Lydians and almost all the Barbarians esteem those oftheir citizens who learn the arts, and the descendants of them, asless honourable than the rest; while those who have got free from allpractice of manual arts are accounted noble, and especially those whoare devoted to war: however that may be, the Hellenes have all learntthis, and especially the Lacedemonians; but the Corinthians least ofall cast slight upon those who practise handicrafts.168. The following privilege was specially granted to this class andto none others of the Egyptians except the priests, that is to say,each man had twelve yokes[143] of land specially granted to him freefrom imposts: now the yoke of land measures a hundred Egyptian cubitsevery way, and the Egyptian cubit is, as it happens, equal to that ofSamos. This, I say, was a special privilege granted to all, and theyalso had certain advantages in turn and not the same men twice; thatis to say, a thousand of the Calasirians and a thousand of theHermotybians acted as body-guard to the king during each year;[144]and these had besides their yokes of land an allowance given them foreach day of five pounds weight[144a] of bread to each man, and twopounds of beef, and four half-pints[145] of wine. This was theallowance given to those who were serving as the king's bodyguard forthe time being.169. So when Apries leading his foreign mercenaries, and Amasis at thehead of the whole body of the Egyptians, in their approach to oneanother had come to the city of Momemphis, they engaged battle: andalthough the foreign troops fought well, yet being much inferior innumber they were worsted by reason of this. But Apries is said to havesupposed that not even a god would be able to cause him to cease fromhis rule, so firmly did he think that it was established. In that