suffer evils for
a hundred and fifty years, and the two kings who had risen before him
had perceived this, but he had not. Mykerinos having heard this, and
considering that this sentence had been passed upon him beyond recall,
procured many lamps, and whenever night came on he lighted these and
began to drink and take his pleasure, ceasing neither by day nor
by night; and he went about to the fen-country and to the woods and
wherever he heard there were the most suitable places for enjoyment.
This he devised (having a mind to prove that the Oracle spoke falsely)
in order that he might have twelve years of life instead of six, the
nights being turned into days.

134. This king also left behind him a pyramid, much smaller than that of
his father, of a square shape and measuring on each side three hundred
feet lacking twenty, built moreover of Ethiopian stone up to half the
height. This pyramid some of the Hellenes say was built by the courtesan
Rhodopis, not therein speaking rightly: and besides this it is evident
to me that they who speak thus do not even know who Rhodopis was,
for otherwise they would not have attributed to her the building of a
pyramid like this, on which have been spent (so to speak) innumerable
thousands of talents: moreover they do not know that Rhodopis flourished
in the reign of Amasis, and not in this king's reign; for Rhodopis lived
very many years later than the kings who left behind the pyramids. By
descent she was of Thrace, and she was a slave of Iadmon the son of
Hephaistopolis a Samian, and a fellow-slave of Esop the maker of fables;
for he too was once the slave of Iadmon, as was proved especially
in this fact, namely that when the people of Delphi repeatedly made
proclamation in accordance with an oracle, to find some one who would
take up 114 the blood-money for the death of Esop, no one else appeared,
but at length the grandson of Iadmon, called Iadmon also, took it up;
and thus it is shown that Esop too was the slave of Iadmon.

135. As for Rhodopis, she came to Egypt brought by Xanthes the Samian,
and having come thither to exercise her calling she was redeemed
from slavery for a great sum by a man of Mytilene, Charaxos son of
Scamandronymos and brother of Sappho the lyric poet. Thus was Rhodopis
set free, and she remained in Egypt and by her beauty won so much liking
that she made great gain of money for one like Rhodopis, 115 though not
enough to suffice for the cost of such a py