Greece -- History -- To 146 B.C.; History, Ancient
162. Hearing this Apries sent to them Amasis, to cause them to cease
by persuasion; and when he had come and was seeking to restrain the
Egyptians, as he was speaking and telling them not to do so, one of the
Egyptians stood up behind him and put a helmet 139 upon his head, saying
as he did so that he put it on to crown him king. And to him this
that was done was in some degree not unwelcome, as he proved by his
behaviour; for as soon as the revolted Egyptians had set him up as king,
he prepared to march against Apries: and Apries hearing this sent to
Amasis one of the Egyptians who were about his own person, a man of
reputation, whose name was Patarbemis, enjoining him to bring Amasis
alive into his presence. When this Patarbemis came and summoned Amasis,
the latter, who happened to be sitting on horseback, lifted up his leg
and behaved in an unseemly manner, 140 bidding him take that back to
Apries. Nevertheless, they say, Patarbemis made demand of him that he
should go to the king, seeing that the king had sent to summon him; and
he answered him that he had for some time past been preparing to do
so, and that Apries would have no occasion to find fault with him. Then
Patarbemis both perceiving his intention from that which he said, and
also seeing his preparations, departed in haste, desiring to make known
as quickly as possible to the king the things which were being done:
and when he came back to Apries not bringing Amasis, the king paying
no regard to that which he said, 141 but being moved by violent anger,
ordered his ears and his nose to be cut off. And the rest of the
Egyptians who still remained on his side, when they saw the man of most
repute among them thus suffering shameful outrage, waited no longer but
joined the others in revolt, and delivered themselves over to Amasis.
163. Then Apries having heard this also, armed his foreign mercenaries
and marched against the Egyptians: now he had about him Carian and
Ionian mercenaries to the number of thirty thousand; and his royal
palace was in the city of Saïs, of great size and worthy to be seen.
So Apries and his army were going against the Egyptians, and Amasis and
those with him were going against the mercenaries; and both sides came
to the city of Momemphis and were about to make trial of one another in
fight.
164. Now of the Egyptians there are seven classes, and of these one
class is called that of the priests, and another that of the
warriors, while the others are the cowherds, swineherds, shopkeepers,
interpreters, and boatmen. This is the number of the classes of the
Egyptians, and their names are given them from the occupations
which they follow. Of them the warriors are called Calasirians and
Hermotybians, and they are of the following districts, 142—for all Egypt
is divided into districts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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