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«He says these gods, the Sun and the Moon, who are Osiris and Isis according to the Egyptians, govern the whole universe, nourishing and making all things grow in three-part seasons, which complete their cycle with an invisible motion, namely spring, summer, and winter; and that these, having natures most opposite 3.3.2 to one another, complete the year in the most excellent harmony. And that the nature of these gods contributes the most to the generation of all living things, the one being of fire and spirit, the other of moisture and dryness, and both in common being of air; and through these all things are generated and nourished. Wherefore the entire body of the nature of the whole is composed of sun and moon, and their five aforesaid parts, spirit and fire <and> dryness, and further moisture and lastly air, just as in the case of a man we enumerate head and hands and feet and the other parts, in the same way 3.3.3 the body of the universe is wholly composed of the aforesaid. And that the first men among the Egyptians to use articulate speech considered each of these a god and gave each its own name according to its nature. Thus, they named the spirit Zeus, when the word is translated; whom, being the cause of the spirit of life in animals, they considered to be a sort of 3.3.4 father of all. And they say that the most famous of the poets among the Greeks agrees with this when he says of this god: "father of men and of gods." And that they named fire, when translated, Hephaestus, believing him to be a great god and one who contributes much to all things for both generation and complete growth. And that they named the earth Mother, regarding her as a kind of vessel for things that grow; and that the Greeks similarly call her Demeter, the word having changed 3.3.5 a little through time. For in ancient times she was named Earth Mother, just as Orpheus also attests, saying: Earth, mother of all, Demeter, giver of wealth. And they say the ancients named the moist element Oceanus, which when translated is 'mother of nourishment'; and it is supposed by some of the Greeks to be Oceanus, about whom the poet also speaks: Oceanus, origin of gods, and mother Tethys. 3.3.6 For the Egyptians believe that Oceanus is their river, the Nile, near which the births of the gods also took place. For in the whole inhabited world, only in Egypt are there many cities founded by the ancient gods; such as that of Zeus, of Helios, of Hermes, of Apollo, of Pan, of Eileithyia, and of many others.3.3.7 And they say they named the air Athena, when the word is translated, and they considered her to be the daughter of Zeus and supposed her a virgin, both because the air is incorruptible by nature and because it occupies the highest place of the whole universe; wherefore it was mythologized that she was born from the head of Zeus. And she was also named Tritogeneia from the fact that her 3.3.8 nature changes three times a year, in spring, summer, and winter. And she is also called 'grey-eyed' (glaukopis), not, as some of the Greeks supposed, from having grey eyes—for this would be foolish—but from the air having a greyish appearance. And they say that the five aforesaid gods travel over the whole inhabited world, appearing to men in the forms of sacred animals, and at other times changing into the likeness of men or of certain other creatures. 3.3.9 And that this is not mythical, but possible, if indeed these are in truth the ones who generate all things. And that the poet, having come to Egypt and having partaken of such accounts from the priests, placed somewhere in his poetry the aforementioned as something that happens: And the gods in the likeness of strangers from other lands, assuming all kinds of forms, wander through the cities, watching over the insolence and good order of men. Therefore, concerning the gods in heaven and those who have had an eternal generation, the Egyptians say such things. 3.3.10 And they say that others, terrestrial, were born from these, who were indeed mortal, but because of their intelligence and common beneficence to mankind, they obtained the

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«Τούτους δὲ τοὺς θεοὺς τὸν Ἥλιόν φησι καὶ τὴν Σελήνην, Ὄσιριν ὄντας κατ' Αἰγυπτίους καὶ Ἶσιν τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον διοικεῖν τρέφοντάς τε καὶ αὔξοντας πάντα τριμερέσιν ὥραις, ἀοράτῳ κινήσει τὴν περίοδον ἀπαρτιζούσαις, τῇ τε ἐαρινῇ καὶ θερινῇ καὶ χειμερινῇ· ταύτας δὲ ἐναντιωτάτην 3.3.2 ἀλλήλαις τὴν φύσιν ἐχούσας ἀπαρτίζειν τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἀρίστῃ συμφωνίᾳ. φύσιν δὲ συμβάλλεσθαι πλείστην εἰς τὴν τῶν ἁπάντων ζῳογονίαν τῶν θεῶν τούτων τὸν μὲν πυρώδους καὶ πνεύματος, τὴν δὲ ὑγροῦ καὶ ξηροῦ, κοινῇ δ' ἀμφοτέρους ἀέρος· καὶ διὰ τούτων πάντα γεννᾶσθαι καὶ τρέφεσθαι. διὸ καὶ τὸ μὲν ἅπαν σῶμα τῆς τῶν ὅλων φύσεως ἐξ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης ἀπαρτίζεσθαι, τὰ δὲ τούτων μέρη πέντε τὰ προειρημένα, τό τε πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ πῦρ <καὶ> τὸ ξηρόν, ἔτι δὲ τὸ ὑγρὸν καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον τὸ ἀερῶδες, ὥσπερ ἐπ' ἀνθρώπου κεφαλὴν καὶ χεῖρας καὶ πόδας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μέρη καταριθμοῦμεν, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον 3.3.3 τὸ σῶμα τοῦ κόσμου συγκεῖσθαι πᾶν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων. τούτων δ' ἕκαστον θεὸν νομίσαι καὶ προσηγορίαν ἰδίαν ἑκάστῳ θεῖναι κατὰ τὸ οἰκεῖον τοὺς πρώτους διαλέκτῳ χρησαμένους διηρθρωμένῃ τῶν κατ' Αἴγυπτον ἀνθρώπων. τὸ μὲν οὖν πνεῦμα ∆ία προσαγορεῦσαι μεθερμηνευομένης τῆς λέξεως· ὃν αἴτιον ὄντα τοῦ ψυχικοῦ τοῖς ζῴοις ἐνόμισαν ὑπάρχειν πάντων οἱονεί τινα 3.3.4 πατέρα. συμφωνεῖν δὲ τούτοις φασὶ καὶ τὸν ἐπιφανέστατον τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι ποιητῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου λέγοντα· «πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε». τὸ δὲ πῦρ μεθερμηνευόμενον Ἥφαιστον ὀνομάσαι, νομίσαντας μέγαν εἶναι θεὸν καὶ πολλὰ συμβάλλεσθαι πᾶσιν εἰς γένεσίν τε καὶ τελείαν αὔξησιν. τὴν δὲ γῆν ὥσπερ ἀγγεῖόν τι τῶν φυομένων ὑπολαμβάνοντας μητέρα προσαγορεῦσαι· καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας δὲ ταύτην παραπλησίως ∆ήμητραν καλεῖν, βραχὺ μετατε3.3.5 θείσης διὰ τὸν χρόνον τῆς λέξεως. τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν ὀνομάζεσθαι γῆν μητέρα, καθάπερ καὶ τὸν Ὀρφέα προσμαρτυρεῖν λέγοντα· Γῆ μήτηρ πάντων, ∆ημήτηρ πλουτοδότειρα. τὸ δ' ὑγρὸν ὀνομάσαι λέγουσι τοὺς παλαιοὺς Ὠκεανόν, ὃ μεθερμηνευόμενον μὲν εἶναι τροφῆς μητέρα, παρ' ἐνίοις δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ὠκεανὸν ὑπάρχειν ὑπειλῆφθαι, περὶ οὗ καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν λέγειν· Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν. 3.3.6 οἱ γὰρ Αἰγύπτιοι νομίζουσιν Ὠκεανὸν εἶναι τὸν παρ' αὐτοῖς ποταμὸν Νεῖλον, πρὸς ᾧ καὶ τὰς τῶν θεῶν γενέσεις ὑπάρξαι. τῆς γὰρ πάσης οἰκουμένης κατὰ μόνην τὴν Αἴγυπτον εἶναι πόλεις πολλὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων θεῶν ἐκτισμένας· οἷον ∆ιός, Ἡλίου, Ἑρμοῦ, Ἀπόλλωνος, Πανός, Εἰλειθυίας, ἄλλων πλειόνων.3.3.7 τὸν δὲ ἀέρα προσαγορεῦσαί φασιν Ἀθηνᾶν, μεθερμηνευομένης τῆς λέξεως, καὶ ∆ιὸς θυγατέρα τε νομίσαι ταύτην καὶ παρθένον ὑποστήσασθαι διά τε τὸ ἄφθορον εἶναι φύσει τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τὸν ἀκρότατον ἐπέχειν τόπον τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου· διόπερ ἐκ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ ∆ιὸς μυθολογηθῆναι γενέσθαι ταύτην. ὠνομάσθαι δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ Τριτογένειαν ἀπὸ τοῦ τρὶς μεταβάλλειν αὐτῆς τὴν 3.3.8 φύσιν κατ' ἐνιαυτόν, ἔαρος καὶ θέρους καὶ χειμῶνος. λέγεσθαι δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ γλαυκῶπιν, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἔνιοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὑπέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς γλαυκοὺς ἔχειν· τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ εὔηθες ὑπάρχειν· ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸν ἀέρα τὴν πρόσοψιν ἔχειν ἔγγλαυκον. φασὶ δὲ τοὺς πέντε θεοὺς τοὺς προειρημένους τὴν πᾶσαν οἰκουμένην ἐπιπορεύεσθαι φανταζομένους τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐν ἱερῶν ζῴων μορφαῖς, ἔστι δ' ὅτε εἰς ἀνθρώπων ἰδέας ἤ τινων ἄλλων μεταβάλλοντας. 3.3.9 καὶ τοῦτο μὴ μυθῶδες ὑπάρχειν, ἀλλὰ δυνατόν, εἴπερ οὗτοι πρὸς ἀλήθειάν εἰσιν οἱ πάντα γεννῶντες. καὶ τὸν ποιητὴν δ' εἰς Αἴγυπτον παραβαλόντα καὶ μετασχόντα παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων τῶν τοιούτων λόγων θεῖναί που κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν τὸ προειρημένον ὡς γινόμενον· Καί τε θεοὶ ξείνοισιν ἐοικότες ἀλλοδαποῖσι παντοῖοι τελέθοντες ἐπιστρωφῶσι πόληας, ἀνθρώπων ὕβριν τε καὶ εὐνομίην ἐσορῶντες. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ θεῶν καὶ γένεσιν ἀΐδιον ἐσχηκότων τοσαῦτα λέγουσιν Αἰγύπτιοι. 3.3.10 Ἄλλους δὲ ἐκ τούτων ἐπιγείους γενέσθαι φασίν, ὑπάρξαντας μὲν θνητούς, διὰ δὲ σύνεσιν καὶ κοινὴν ἀνθρώπων εὐεργεσίαν τετευχότας τῆς