ns to go down while some few of the priests are occupied 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. 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.

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.

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 thos