herodotus

came to an end completely; and then after the provisions the beasts ofburden also were eaten up and came to an end. Now if Cambyses when heperceived this had changed his plan and led his army back, he wouldhave been a wise man in spite of[22] his first mistake; as it was,however, he paid no regard, but went on forward without stopping. Thesoldiers accordingly, so long as they were able to get anything fromthe ground, prolonged their lives by eating grass; but when they cameto the sand, some did a fearful deed, that is to say, out of eachcompany of ten they selected by lot one of themselves and devouredhim: and Cambyses, when he heard it, being alarmed by this eating ofone another gave up the expedition against the Ethiopians and setforth to go back again; and he arrived at Thebes having suffered lossof a great number of his army. Then from Thebes he came down toMemphis and allowed the Hellenes to sail away home.26. Thus fared the expedition against the Ethiopians: and those of thePersians who had been sent to march against the Ammonians set forthfrom Thebes and went on their way with guides; and it is known thatthey arrived at the city of Oasis, which is inhabited by Samians saidto be of the Aischrionian tribe, and is distant seven days' journeyfrom Thebes over sandy desert: now this place is called in the speechof the Hellenes the "Isle of the Blessed." It is said that the armyreached this place, but from that point onwards, except the Ammoniansthemselves and those who have heard the account from them, no man isable to say anything about them; for they neither reached theAmmonians nor returned back. This however is added to the story by theAmmonians themselves:--they say that as the army was going from thisOasis through the sandy desert to attack them, and had got to a pointabout mid-way between them and the Oasis, while they were taking theirmorning meal a violent South Wind blew upon them, and bearing with itheaps of the desert sand it buried them under it, and so theydisappeared and were seen no more. Thus the Ammonians say that it cameto pass with regard to this army.27. When Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis appeared to the Egyptians,whom the Hellenes call Epaphos: and when he had appeared, forthwiththe Egyptians began to wear their fairest garments and to havefestivities. Cambyses accordingly seeing the Egyptians doing thus, andsupposing that they were certainly acting so by way of rejoicingbecause he had fared ill, called for the officers who had charge ofMemphis; and when they had come into his presence, he asked them whywhen he was at Memphis on the former occasion, the Egyptians weredoing nothing of this kind, but only now, when he came there afterlosing a large part of his army. They said that a god had appeared tothem, who was wont to appear at intervals of long time, and thatwhenever he appeared, then all the Egyptians rejoiced and kept