y of the temple, which is of great size, and
they counted up the number, showing colossal wooden statues in number
the same as they said; for each chief-priest there sets up in his
lifetime an image of himself: accordingly the priests, counting and
showing me these, declared to me that each one of them was a son
succeeding his own father, and they went up through the series of images
from the image of the one who had died last, until they had declared
this of the whole number. And when Hecataios had traced his descent and
connected his family with a god in the sixteenth generation, they traced
a descent in opposition to his, besides their numbering, not accepting
it from him that a man had been born from a god; and they traced their
counter-descent thus, saying that each one of the statues had been
_piromis_ son of _piromis_, until they had declared this of the whole
three hundred and forty-five statues, each one being surnamed _piromis_;
and neither with a god nor a hero did they connect their descent. Now
_piromis_ means in the tongue of Hellas "honourable and good man." From
their declaration then it followed, that they of whom the images were
had been of form like this, and far removed from being gods: but in the
time before these men they said that gods were the rulers in Egypt, not
mingling with men, and that of these always one had power at a time;
and the last of them who was king over Egypt was Oros the son of Osiris,
whom the Hellenes call Apollo: he was king over Egypt last, having
deposed Typhon. Now Osiris in the tongue of Hellas is Dionysos.

Among the Hellenes Heracles and Dionysos and Pan are accounted the
lastest-born of the gods; but with the Egyptians Pan is a very ancient
god, and he is one of those which are called eight gods, while Heracles
is of the second rank, who are called the twelve gods, and Dionysos is
of the third rank, namely of those who were born of the twelve gods. Now
as to Heracles I have shown already how many years old he is according
to the Egyptians themselves, reckoning down to the reign of Amasis, and
Pan is said to have existed for yet more years than these, and Dionysos
for the smallest number of years as compared with the others; and even
for this last they reckon down to the reign of Amasis fifteen thousand
years. This the Egyptians say that they know for a certainty, since they
always kept a reckoning and wrote down the years as they came. Now the
Dionysos who is said to ha