Semneh, at the second cataract, to
Memphis and Sais, in the Delta, each presenting an offering to the god
of the temple.

In the third year of this reign Germanicus Caesar, who, much against his
will, had been sent into the East as governor, found time to leave his
own province, and to snatch a hasty view of the time-honoured buildings
of Egypt. Descending the river to Thebes, and, while gazing on the
huge remains of the temples, he asked the priests to read to him the
hieroglyphical writing on the walls. He was told that it recounted the
greatness of the country in the time of King Ramses, when there were
seven hundred thousand Egyptians of an age to bear arms; and that
with these troops Ramses had conquered the Libyans, Ethiopians, Medes,
Persians, Bactrians, Scythians, Syrians, Armenians, Cappadocians,
Bithynians, and Lycians. He was also told the tributes laid upon each
of those nations; the weight of gold and silver, the number of chariots
and horses, the gifts of ivory and scents for the temples, and the
quantity of grain which the conquered provinces sent to feed the
population of Thebes. After listening to the musical statue of
Amenhothes, Germanicus went on to Elephantine and Syene; and, on his
return, he turned aside to the pyramids and the Lake of Mceris, which
regulated the overflow of the Nile on the neighbouring fields. At
Memphis, Germanicus consulted the sacred bull Apis as to his future
fortune, and met with an unfavourable answer. The manner of consulting
Apis was for the visitor to hold out some food in his hand, and the
answer was understood to be favourable if the bull turned his head
to eat, but unfavourable if he looked another way. When Germanicus
accordingly held out a handful of grain, the well-fed animal turned his
head sullenly towards the other side of his stall; and on the death of
this young prince, which shortly followed, the Egyptians did not
forget to praise the bull's foresight. This blameless and seemingly
praiseworthy visit of Germanicus did not, however, escape the notice
of the jealous Tiberius. He had been guilty of gaining the love of the
people by walking about without guards, in a plain Greek dress, and of
lowering the price of grain in a famine by opening the public granaries;
and Tiberius sternly reproached him with breaking the known law of
Augustus, by which no Roman citizen of consular or even of equestrian
rank might enter Alexandria without leave from the emperor.

The