ψάμμιος δὲ ἓξ ἔτεα μοῦνον βασιλεύσαντος Αἰγύπτου καὶ στρατευσαμένου ἐς Αἰθιοπίην καὶ μεταυτίκα τελευτήσαντος ἐξεδέξατο Ἀπρίης ὁ Ψάμμιος·
ὃς μετὰ Ψαμμήτιχον τὸν ἑωυτοῦ προπάτορα ἐγένετο εὐδαιμονέστατος τῶν πρότερον βασιλέων, ἐπʼ ἔτεα πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι ἄρξας, ἐν τοῖσι ἐπί τε Σιδῶνα στρατὸν ἤλασε καὶ ἐναυμάχησε τῷ Τυρίῳ.
ἐπεὶ δέ οἱ ἔδεε κακῶς γενέσθαι, ἐγίνετο ἀπὸ προφάσιος τὴν ἐγὼ μεζόνως μὲν ἐν τοῖσι Λιβυκοῖσι λόγοισι ἀπηγήσομαι, μετρίως δʼ ἐν τῷ παρεόντι.
ἀποπέμψας γὰρ στράτευμα ὁ Ἀπρίης ἐπὶ Κυρηναίους μεγαλωστὶ προσέπταισε, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ταῦτα ἐπιμεμφόμενοι ἀπέστησαν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, δοκέοντες τὸν Ἀπρίην ἐκ προνοίης αὐτοὺς ἀποπέμψαι ἐς φαινόμενον κακόν, ἵνα δὴ σφέων φθορὴ γένηται, αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀσφαλέστερον ἄρχοι. ταῦτα δὲ δεινὰ ποιεύμενοι οὗτοί τε οἱ ἀπονοστήσαντες καὶ οἱ τῶν ἀπολομένων φίλοι ἀπέστησαν ἐκ τῆς ἰθέης.
When Psammis had been king of Egypt for only six years and had made an expedition to Ethiopia and immediately afterwards had ended his life, Apries the son of Psammis received the kingdom in succession. This man came to be the most prosperous of all the kings up to that time except only his forefather Psammetichos; and he reigned five-and-twenty years, during which he led an army against Sidon and fought a sea-fight with the king of Tyre. Since however it was fated that evil should come upon him, it came by occasion of a matter which I shall relate at greater length in the Libyan history, and at present but shortly. Apries having sent a great expedition against the Kyrenians, met with correspondingly great disaster; and the Egyptians considering him to blame for this revolted from him, supposing that Apries had with forethought sent them out to evident calamity, in order (as they said) that there might be a slaughter of them, and he might the more securely rule over the other Egyptians. Being indignant at this, both these men who had returned from the expedition and also the friends of those who had perished made revolt openly.
πυθόμενος δὲ Ἀπρίης ταῦτα πέμπει ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς Ἄμασιν καταπαύσοντα λόγοισι. ὁ δὲ ἐπείτε ἀπικόμενος κατελάμβανε τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ταῦτα μὴ ποιέειν, λέγοντος αὐτοῦ τῶν τις Αἰγυπτίων ὄπισθε στὰς περιέθηκέ οἱ κυνέην, καὶ περιτιθεὶς ἔφη ἐπὶ βασιληίῃ περιτιθέναι.
καὶ τῷ οὔ κως ἀεκούσιον ἐγίνετο τὸ ποιεύμενον, ὡς διεδείκνυε. ἐπείτε γὰρ ἐστήσαντό μιν βασιλέα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οἱ ἀπεστεῶτες, παρεσκευάζετο ὡς ἐλῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀπρίην.
πυθόμενος δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Ἀπρίης ἔπεμπε ἐπʼ Ἄμασιν ἄνδρα δόκιμον τῶν περὶ ἑωυτὸν Αἰγυπτίων, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Πατάρβημις, ἐντειλάμενος αὐτῷ ζῶντα Ἄμασιν ἀγαγεῖν παρʼ ἑωυτόν. ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενος τὸν Ἄμασιν ἐκάλεε ὁ Πατάρβημις, ὁ Ἄμασις, ἔτυχε γὰρ ἐπʼ ἵππου κατήμενος, ἐπαείρας ἀπεματάισε, καὶ τοῦτό μιν ἐκέλευε Ἀπρίῃ ἀπάγειν.
ὅμως δὲ αὐτὸν ἀξιοῦν τὸν Πατάρβημιν βασιλέος μεταπεμπομένου ἰέναι πρὸς αὐτόν· τὸν δὲ αὐτῷ ὑποκρίνεσθαι ὡς ταῦτα πάλαι παρεσκευάζετο ποιέειν, καὶ αὐτῷ οὐ μέμψεσθαι Ἀπρίην· παρέσεσθαι γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ἄλλους ἄξειν.
τὸν δὲ Πατάρβημιν ἔκ τε τῶν λεγομένων οὐκ ἀγνοέειν τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ παρασκευαζόμενον ὁρῶντα σπουδῇ ἀπιέναι, βουλόμενον τὴν ταχίστην βασιλέι δηλῶσαι τὰ πρησσόμενα. ὡς δὲ ἀπικέσθαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἀπρίην οὐκ ἄγοντα τὸν Ἄμασιν, οὐδένα λόγον αὐτῷ δόντα ἀλλὰ περιθύμως ἔχοντα περιταμεῖν προστάξαι αὐτοῦ τά τε ὦτα καὶ τὴν ῥῖνα.
ἰδόμενοι δʼ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, οἳ ἔτι τὰ ἐκείνου ἐφρόνεον, ἄνδρα τὸν δοκιμώτατον ἑωυτῶν οὕτω αἰσχρῶς λύμῃ διακείμενον, οὐδένα δὴ χρόνον ἐπισχόντες ἀπιστέατο πρὸς τοὺς ἑτέρους καὶ ἐδίδοσαν σφέας αὐτοὺς Ἀμάσι.
Hearing this Apries sent to them Amasis, to cause them to cease by persuasion; and when he had come and was seeking to restrain the Egyptians, as he was speaking and telling them not to do so, one of the Egyptians stood up behind him and put a helmet upon his head, saying as he did so that he put it on to crown him king. And to him this that was done was in some degree not unwelcome, as he proved by his behaviour; for as soon as the revolted Egyptians had set him up as king, he prepared to march against Apries: and Apries hearing this sent to Amasis one of the Egyptians who were about his own person, a man of reputation, whose name was Patarbemis, enjoining him to bring Amasis alive into his presence. When this Patarbemis came and summoned Amasis, the latter, who happened to be sitting on horseback, lifted up his leg and behaved in an unseemly manner, bidding him take that back to Apries. Nevertheless, they say, Patarbemis made demand of him that he should go to the king, seeing that the king had sent to summon him; and he answered him that he had for some time past been preparing to do so, and that Apries would have no occasion to find fault with him. Then Patarbemis both perceiving his intention from that which he said, and also seeing his preparations, departed in haste, desiring to make known as quickly as possible to the king the things which were being done: and when he came back to Apries not bringing Amasis, the king paying no regard to that which he said, but being moved by violent anger, ordered his ears and his nose to be cut off. And the rest of the Egyptians who still remained on his side, when they saw the man of most repute among them thus suffering shameful outrage, waited no longer but joined the others in revolt, and delivered themselves over to Amasis.
πυθόμενος δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὁ Ἀπρίης ὥπλιζε τοὺς ἐπικούρους καὶ ἤλαυνε ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους· εἶχε δὲ περὶ ἑωυτὸν Κᾶράς τε καὶ Ἴωνας ἄνδρας ἐπικούρους τρισμυρίους· ἦν δέ οἱ τὰ βασιλήια ἐν Σάι πόλι, μεγάλα ἐόντα καὶ ἀξιοθέητα.
καὶ οἵ τε περὶ τὸν Ἀπρίην ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἤισαν καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἄμασιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ξείνους· ἔν τε δὴ Μωμέμφι πόλι ἐγένοντο ἀμφότεροι καὶ πειρήσεσθαι ἔμελλον ἀλλήλων.
Then Apries having heard this also, armed his foreign mercenaries and marched against the Egyptians: now he had about him Carian and Ionian mercenaries to the number of thirty thousand; and his royal palace was in the city of Saïs, of great size and worthy to be seen. So Apries and his army were going against the Egyptians, and Amasis and those with him were going against the mercenaries; and both sides came to the city of Momemphis and were about to make trial of one another in fight.
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