he heard this the shepherd kept silence; but since this word was often
repeated, as he visited them constantly and attended to them, at last
he declared the matter to his master, and at his command he brought the
children before his face. Then Psammetichos having himself also heard
it, began to inquire what nation of men named anything _bekos_, and
inquiring he found that the Phrygians had this name for bread. In this
manner and guided by an indication such as this, the Egyptians were
brought to allow that the Phrygians were a more ancient people than
themselves. That so it came to pass I heard from the priests of that
Hephaistos who dwells at Memphis; but the Hellenes relate, besides many
other idle tales, that Psammetichos cut out the tongues of certain women
and then caused the children to live with these women.

With regard then to the rearing of the children they related so much as
I have said: and I heard also other things at Memphis when I had speech
with the priests of Hephaistos. Moreover I visited both Thebes and
Heliopolis for this very cause, namely because I wished to know whether
the priests at these places would agree in their accounts with those at
Memphis; for the men of Heliopolis are said to be the most learned in
records of the Egyptians. Those of their narrations which I heard with
regard to the gods I am not earnest to relate in full, but I shall name
them only because I consider that all men are equally ignorant of these
matters: and whatever things of them I may record I shall record only
because I am compelled by the course of the story. But as to those
matters which concern men, the priests agreed with one another in saying
that the Egyptians were the first of all men on earth to find out the
course of the year, having divided the seasons into twelve parts to make
up the whole; and this they said they found out from the stars: and they
reckon to this extent more wisely than the Hellenes, as it seems to
me, inasmuch as the Hellenes throw in an intercalated month every other