Histories

The people of the place worship no other gods but Zeus and Dionysus;[*](The Greek equivalents for Amun and Osiris.) these they greatly honor, and they have a place of divination sacred to Zeus; they send out armies whenever and wherever this god through his oracle commands them[*](Herodotus' account of the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile in this chapter is for the most part vague and untrustworthy. He is right as to the current above Elephantine, as those who have made the passage between the As-Sadd al- Ali [32.866,23.966] (dam), Aswan, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaAssuan Dam and Aswan [32.666,23.83] (governorate), Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa Assuan will realize. But the conditions have of course been entirely altered by the construction of the dam.).

From this city you make a journey by water equal in distance to that by which you came from Elephantine to the capital city of Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, and you come to the land of the Deserters. These Deserters are called Asmakh, which translates, in Greek, as “those who stand on the left hand of the king”.

These once revolted and joined themselves to the Ethiopians, two hundred and forty thousand Egyptians of fighting age. The reason was as follows. In the reign of Psammetichus, there were watchposts at Elephantine facing Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, at Daphnae [32.183,30.866] (deserted settlement), Ash Sharqiyah, Lower Egypt, Egypt, AfricaDaphnae of Pelusium (deserted settlement), Shamal Sina', Desert, Egypt, Africa Pelusium facing Arabian Peninsula [45,25] (region (general)), AsiaArabia and Assyria, and at Marea facing Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya.

And still in my time the Persians hold these posts as they were held in the days of Psammetichus; there are Persian guards at Elephantine and at Daphnae [32.183,30.866] (deserted settlement), Ash Sharqiyah, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa Daphnae. Now the Egyptians had been on guard for three years, and no one came to relieve them; so, organizing and making common cause, they revolted from Psammetichus and went to Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia.

Psammetichus heard of it and pursued them; and when he overtook them, he asked them in a long speech not to desert their children and wives and the gods of their fathers. Then one of them, the story goes, pointed to his genitals and said that wherever that was, they would have wives and children.

So they came to Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, and gave themselves up to the king of the country; who, to make them a gift in return, told them to dispossess certain Ethiopians with whom he was feuding, and occupy their land. These Ethiopians then learned Egyptian customs and have become milder-mannered by intermixture with the Egyptians.

To a distance of four months' travel by land and water, then, there is knowledge of the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile, besides the part of it that is in Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt. So many months, as reckoning shows, are found to be spent by one going from Elephantine to the country of the Deserters. The river flows from the west and the sun's setting. Beyond this, no one has clear information to declare; for all that country is desolate because of the heat.