Histories

They believe in no other gods except Dionysus and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat.[*](According to Movers, Orotalt is “the fire of God,” ôrath êl, and Alilat the feminine of hêlêl, “morning star”; but a simpler interpretation is Alilat = the goddess.)

When, then, the Arabian had made the pledge to the messengers who had come from Cambyses, he devised the following expedient: he filled camel-skins with water and loaded all his camels with these; then he drove them into the waterless land and there awaited Cambyses' army.