a voyage also to
Tyre of Phenicia, hearing that in that place there was a holy temple
of Heracles; and I saw that it was richly furnished with many votive
offerings besides, and especially there were in it two pillars, the one
of pure gold and the other of an emerald stone of such size as to shine
by night: and having come to speech with the priests of the god, I asked
them how long a time it was since their temple had been set up: and
these also I found to be at variance with the Hellenes, for they said
that at the same time when Tyre was founded, the temple of the god also
had been set up, and that it was a period of two thousand three hundred
years since their people began to dwell at Tyre. I saw also at Tyre
another temple of Heracles, with the surname Thasian; and I came
to Thasos also and there I found a temple of Heracles set up by the
Phenicians, who had sailed out to seek for Europa and had colonised
Thasos; and these things happened full five generations of men before
Heracles the son of Amphitryon was born in Hellas. So then my inquiries
show clearly that Heracles is an ancient god, and those of the Hellenes
seem to me to act most rightly who have two temples of Heracles set
up, and who sacrifice to the one as an immortal god and with the
title Olympian, and make offerings of the dead to the other as a hero.
Moreover, besides many other stories which the Hellenes tell without
due consideration, this tale is especially foolish which they tell about
Heracles, namely that when he came to Egypt, the Egyptians put on him
wreaths and led him forth in procession to sacrifice him to Zeus; and he
for some time kept quiet, but when they were beginning the sacrifice of
him at the altar, he betook himself to prowess and slew them all. I for
my part am of opinion that the Hellenes when they tell this tale are
altogether without knowledge of the nature and customs of the Egyptians;
for how should they for whom it is not lawful to sacrifice even beasts,
except swine and the males of oxen and calves (such of them as are
clean) and geese, how should these sacrifice human beings? Besides this,
how is it in nature possible that Heracles, being one person only and
moreover a man (as they assert), should slay many myriads? Having said
so much of these matters, we pray that we may have grace from both the
gods and the heroes for our speech.

Now the reason why those of the Egyptians whom I have mentioned do not
sacrifice goats, fe