Histories

to show himself displaying the head and wearing the fleece of a ram which he had flayed and beheaded. It is from this that the Egyptian images of Zeus have a ram's head; and in this, the Egyptians are imitated by the Ammonians, who are colonists from Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt and Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia and speak a language compounded of the tongues of both countries.

It was from this, I think, that the Ammonians got their name, too; for the Egyptians call Zeus “Amon”. The Thebans, then, consider rams sacred for this reason, and do not sacrifice them.

But one day a year, at the festival of Zeus, they cut in pieces and flay a single ram and put the fleece on the image of Zeus, as in the story; then they bring an image of Heracles near it. Having done this, all that are at the temple mourn for the ram, and then bury it in a sacred coffin.

Concerning Heracles, I heard it said that he was one of the twelve gods. But nowhere in Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt could I hear anything about the other Heracles, whom the Greeks know.

I have indeed a lot of other evidence that the name of Heracles did not come from Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas to Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt, but from Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt to Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas (and in Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas to those Greeks who gave the name Heracles to the son of Amphitryon), besides this: that Amphitryon and Alcmene, the parents of this Heracles, were both Egyptian by descent[*](As grandchildren of Perseus, for whose Egyptian origin see Hdt. 2.91.) ; and that the Egyptians deny knowing the names Poseidon and the Dioscuri, nor are these gods reckoned among the gods of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt.