τῶν δὲ δυώδεκα βασιλέων δικαιοσύνῃ χρεωμένων, ἀνὰ χρόνον ὡς ἔθυσαν ἐν τῷ ἱρῷ τοῦ Ἡφαίστου, τῇ ὑστάτῃ τῆς ὁρτῆς, μελλόντων κατασπείσειν, ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ἐξήνεικέ σφι φιάλας χρυσέας, τῇσί περ ἐώθεσαν σπένδειν, ἁμαρτὼν τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ, ἕνδεκα δυώδεκα ἐοῦσι.
ἐνθαῦτα ὡς οὐκ εἶχε φιάλην ὁ ἔσχατος ἑστεὼς αὐτῶν Ψαμμήτιχος, περιελόμενος τὴν κυνέην ἐοῦσαν χαλκέην ὑπέσχε τε καὶ ἔσπενδε. κυνέας δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἅπαντες ἐφόρεόν τε βασιλέες καὶ ἐτύγχανον τότε ἔχοντες.
Ψαμμήτιχος μέν νυν οὐδενὶ δολερῷ νόῳ χρεώμενος ὑπέσχε τὴν κυνέην· οἳ δὲ ἐν φρενὶ λαβόντες τό τε ποιηθὲν ἐκ Ψαμμητίχου καὶ τὸ χρηστήριον, ὅτι ἐκέχρηστό σφι τὸν χαλκέῃ σπείσαντα αὐτῶν φιάλῃ τοῦτον βασιλέα ἔσεσθαι μοῦνον Αἰγύπτου, ἀναμνησθέντες τοῦ χρησμοῦ κτεῖναι μὲν οὐκ ἐδικαίωσαν Ψαμμήτιχον, ὡς ἀνεύρισκον βασανίζοντες ἐξ οὐδεμιῆς προνοίης αὐτὸν ποιήσαντα, ἐς δὲ τὰ ἕλεα ἔδοξέ σφι διῶξαι ψιλώσαντας τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς δυνάμιος, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἑλέων ὁρμώμενον μὴ ἐπιμίσγεσθαι τῇ ἄλλῃ Αἰγύπτῳ.
Now the twelve kings continued to rule justly, but in course of time it happened thus:—After sacrifice in the temple of Hephaistos they were about to make libation on the last day of the feast, and the chief-priest, in bringing out for them the golden cups with which they had been wont to pour libations, missed his reckoning and brought eleven only for the twelve kings. Then that one of them who was standing last in order, namely Psammetichos, since he had no cup took off from his head his helmet, which was of bronze, and having held it out to receive the wine he proceeded to make libation: likewise all the other kings were wont to wear helmets and they happened to have them then. Now Psammetichos held out his helmet with no treacherous meaning; but they taking note of that which had been done by Psammetichos and of the oracle, namely how it had been declared to them that whosoever of them should make libation with a bronze cup should be sole king of Egypt, recollecting, I say, the saying of the Oracle, they did not indeed deem it right to slay Psammetichos, since they found by examination that he had not done it with any forethought, but they determined to strip him of almost all his power and to drive him away into the fen-country, and that from the fen-country he should not hold any dealings with the rest of Egypt.
τὸν δὲ Ψαμμήτιχον τοῦτον πρότερον φεύγοντα τὸν Αἰθίοπα Σαβακῶν, ὅς οἱ τὸν πατέρα Νεκῶν ἀπέκτεινε, τοῦτον φεύγοντα τότε ἐς Συρίην, ὡς ἀπαλλάχθη ἐκ τῆς ὄψιος τοῦ ὀνείρου ὁ Αἰθίοψ, κατήγαγον Αἰγυπτίων οὗτοι οἳ ἐκ νομοῦ τοῦ Σαΐτεω εἰσί.
μετὰ δὲ βασιλεύοντα τὸ δεύτερον πρὸς τῶν ἕνδεκα βασιλέων καταλαμβάνει μιν διὰ τὴν κυνέην φεύγειν ἐς τὰ ἕλεα.
ἐπιστάμενος ὦν ὡς περιυβρισμένος εἴη πρὸς αὐτῶν, ἐπενόεε τίσασθαι τοὺς διώξαντας. πέμψαντι δέ οἱ ἐς Βουτοῦν πόλιν ἐς τὸ χρηστήριον τῆς Λητοῦς, ἔνθα δὴ Αἰγυπτίοισι ἐστὶ μαντήιον ἀψευδέστατον, ἦλθε χρησμὸς ὡς τίσις ἥξει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης χαλκέων ἀνδρῶν ἐπιφανέντων.
καὶ τῷ μὲν δὴ ἀπιστίη μεγάλη ὑπεκέχυτο χαλκέους οἱ ἄνδρας ἥξειν ἐπικούρους. χρόνου δὲ οὐ πολλοῦ διελθόντος ἀναγκαίη κατέλαβε Ἴωνάς τε καὶ Κᾶρας ἄνδρας κατὰ ληίην ἐκπλώσαντας ἀπενειχθῆναι ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ἐκβάντας δὲ ἐς γῆν καὶ ὁπλισθέντας χαλκῷ ἀγγέλλει τῶν τις Αἰγυπτίων ἐς τὰ ἕλεα ἀπικόμενος τῷ Ψαμμητίχῳ, ὡς οὐκ ἰδὼν πρότερον χαλκῷ ἄνδρας ὁπλισθέντας, ὡς χάλκεοι ἄνδρες ἀπιγμένοι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης λεηλατεῦσι τὸ πεδίον.
ὁ δὲ μαθὼν τὸ χρηστήριον ἐπιτελεύμενον φίλα τε τοῖσι Ἴωσι καὶ Καρσὶ ποιέεται καί σφεας μεγάλα ὑπισχνεύμενος πείθει μετʼ ἑωυτοῦ γενέσθαι. ὡς δὲ ἔπεισε, οὕτω ἅμα τοῖσι τὰ ἑωυτοῦ βουλομένοισι Αἰγυπτίοισι καὶ τοῖσι ἐπικούροισι καταιρέει τοὺς βασιλέας.
This Psammetichos had formerly been a fugitive from the Ethiopian Sabacos who had killed his father Necos, from him, I say, he had then been a fugitive in Syria; and when the Ethiopian had departed in consequence of the vision of the dream, the Egyptians who were of the district of Saïs brought him back to his own country. Then afterwards, when he was king, it was his fate to be a fugitive a second time on account of the helmet, being driven by the eleven kings into the fen-country. So then holding that he had been grievously wronged by them, he thought how he might take vengeance on those who had driven him out: and when he had sent to the Oracle of Leto in the city of Buto, where the Egyptians have their most truthful Oracle, there was given to him the reply that vengeance would come when men of bronze appeared from the sea. And he was strongly disposed not to believe that bronze men would come to help him; but after no long time had passed, certain Ionians and Carians who had sailed forth for plunder were compelled to come to shore in Egypt, and they having landed and being clad in bronze armour, one of the Egyptians, not having before seen men clad in bronze armour, came to the fen-land and brought a report to Psammetichos that bronze men had come from the sea and were plundering the plain. So he, perceiving that the saying of the Oracle was coming to pass, dealt in a friendly manner with the Ionians and Carians, and with large promises he persuaded them to take his part. Then when he had persuaded them, with the help of those Egyptians who favoured his cause and of these foreign mercenaries he overthrew the kings.
κρατήσας δὲ Αἰγύπτου πάσης ὁ Ψαμμήτιχος ἐποίησε τῷ Ἡφαίστῳ προπύλαια ἐν Μέμφι τὰ πρὸς νότον ἄνεμον τετραμμένα, αὐλήν τε τῷ Ἄπι, ἐν τῇ τρέφεται ἐπεὰν φανῇ ὁ Ἆπις, οἰκοδόμησε ἐναντίον τῶν προπυλαίων, πᾶσάν τε περίστυλον ἐοῦσαν καὶ τύπων πλέην· ἀντὶ δὲ κιόνων ὑπεστᾶσι κολοσσοὶ δυωδεκαπήχεες τῇ αὐλῇ. ὁ δὲ Ἆπις κατὰ τὴν Ἑλλήνων γλῶσσαν ἐστὶ Ἔπαφος.
Having thus got power over all Egypt, Psammetichos made for Hephaistos that gateway of the temple at Memphis which is turned towards the South Wind; and he built a court for Apis, in which Apis is kept when he appears, opposite to the gateway of the temple, surrounded all with pillars and covered with figures; and instead of columns there stand to support the roof of the court colossal statues twelve cubits high. Now Apis is in the tongue of the Hellenes Epaphos.
τοῖσι δὲ Ἴωσι καὶ τοῖσι Καρσὶ τοῖσι συγκατεργασαμένοισι αὐτῷ ὁ Ψαμμήτιχος δίδωσι χώρους ἐνοικῆσαι ἀντίους ἀλλήλων, τοῦ Νείλου τὸ μέσον ἔχοντος, τοῖσι οὐνόματα ἐτέθη Στρατόπεδα· τούτους τε δή σφι τοὺς χώρους δίδωσι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ὑπέσχετο πάντα ἀπέδωκε.
καὶ δὴ καὶ παῖδας παρέβαλε αὐτοῖσι Αἰγυπτίους τὴν Ἑλλάδα γλῶσσαν ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι. ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων ἐκμαθόντων τὴν γλῶσσαν οἱ νῦν ἑρμηνέες ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ γεγόνασι.
οἱ δὲ Ἴωνές τε καὶ οἱ Κᾶρες τούτους τοὺς χώρους οἴκησαν χρόνον ἐπὶ πολλόν· εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι οἱ χῶροι πρὸς θαλάσσης ὀλίγον ἔνερθε Βουβάστιος πόλιος, ἐπὶ τῷ Πηλουσίῳ καλεομένῳ στόματι τοῦ Νείλου. τούτους μὲν δὴ χρόνῳ ὕστερον βασιλεὺς Ἄμασις ἐξαναστήσας ἐνθεῦτεν κατοίκισε ἐς Μέμφιν, φυλακὴν ἑωυτοῦ ποιεύμενος πρὸς Αἰγυπτίων.
τούτων δὲ οἰκισθέντων ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, οἱ Ἕλληνες οὕτω ἐπιμισγόμενοι τούτοισι τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον γινόμενα ἀπὸ Ψαμμητίχου βασιλέος ἀρξάμενοι πάντα καὶ τὰ ὕστερον ἐπιστάμεθα ἀτρεκέως· πρῶτοι γὰρ οὗτοι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀλλόγλωσσοι κατοικίσθησαν.
ἐξ ὧν δὲ ἐξανέστησαν χώρων, ἐν τούτοισι δὲ οἵ τε ὁλκοὶ τῶν νεῶν καὶ τὰ ἐρείπια τῶν οἰκημάτων τὸ μέχρι ἐμεῦ ἦσαν.
To the Ionians and to the Carians who had helped him Psammetichos granted portions of land to dwell in, opposite to one another with the river Nile between, and these were called “Encampments”: these portions of land he gave them, and he paid them besides all that he had promised: moreover he placed with them Egyptian boys to have them taught the Hellenic tongue; and from these, who learnt the language thoroughly, are descended the present class of interpreters in Egypt. Now the Ionians and Carians occupied these portions of land for a long time, and they are towards the sea a little below the city of Bubastis, on that which is called the Pelusian mouth of the Nile. These men king Amasis afterwards removed from thence and established them at Memphis, making them into a guard for himself against the Egyptians: and they being settled in Egypt, we who are Hellenes know by intercourse with them the certainty of all that which happened in Egypt beginning from king Psammetichos and afterwards; for these were the first men of foreign tongue who settled in Egypt: and in the land from which they were removed there still remained down to my time the sheds where their ships were drawn up and the ruins of their houses.
Thus then Psammetichos obtained Egypt:
Cite This Text