cupied with the image of the god, the greater number of them stand in
the entrance of the temple with wooden clubs, and other persons to the
number of more than a thousand men with purpose to perform a vow, these
also having all of them staves of wood, stand in a body opposite to
those: and the image, which is in a small shrine of wood covered over
with gold, they take out on the day before to another sacred building.
The few then who have been left about the image, draw a wain with four
wheels, which bears the shrine and the image that is within the shrine,
and the other priests standing in the gateway try to prevent it from
entering, and the men who are under a vow come to the assistance of the
god and strike them, while the others defend themselves. 63 Then there
comes to be a hard fight with staves, and they break one another's
heads, and I am of opinion that many even die of the wounds they
receive; the Egyptians however told me that no one died. This solemn
assembly the people of the place say that they established for the
following reason:--the mother of Ares, they say, used to dwell in this
temple, and Ares, having been brought up away from her, when he grew
up came thither desiring to visit his mother, and the attendants of his
mother's temple, not having seen him before, did not permit him to pass
in, but kept him away; and he brought men to help him from another city
and handled roughly the attendants of the temple, and entered to visit
his mother. Hence, they say, this exchange of blows has become the
custom in honour of Ares upon his festival.

64. The Egyptians were the first who made it a point of religion not to
lie with women in temples, nor to enter into temples after going away
from women without first bathing: for almost all other men except the
Egyptians and the Hellenes lie with women in temples and enter into a
temple after going away from women without bathing, since they hold that
there is no difference in this respect between men and beasts: for
they say that they see beasts and the various kinds of birds coupling
together both in the temples and in the sacred enclosures of the gods;
if then this were not pleasing to the god, the beasts would not do so.

65. Thus do these defend that which they do, which by me is disallowed:
but the Egyptians are excessively careful in their observances, both
in other matters which concern the sacred rites and also in those which
follow:--Egypt, though it borde