§17.1.26πλησίον δὲ τῆς Ἀρσινόης καὶ ἡ τῶν Ἡρώων ἐστὶ πόλις καὶ ἡ Κλεοπατρὶς ἐν τῷ μυχῷ τοῦ Ἀραβίου κόλπου τῷ πρὸς Αἴγυπτον καὶ λιμένες καὶ κατοικίαι διώρυγές τε πλείους καὶ λίμναι πλησιάζουσαι τούτοις· ἐνταῦθα δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ Φαγρωριοπολίτης νομὸς καὶ πόλις Φαγρωριόπολις.
Near Arsinoe are also the city of the Heroes and Cleopatris, at the recess of the Arabian Gulf which faces Egypt, and there are harbors, settlements, several canals, and lakes adjacent to them; here also are the Phagriopolite nome and the city of Phagriopolis.
ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ τῆς διώρυγος τῆς ἐκδιδούσης εἰς τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν ἀπὸ κώμης ἄρχεται Φακούσης, ᾗ συνεχής ἐστι καὶ ἡ Φίλωνος κώμη· πλάτος δʼ ἔχει πηχῶν ἑκατὸν ἡ διῶρυξ, βάθος δʼ ὅσον ἀρκεῖν μυριοφόρῳ νηί· οὗτοι δʼ οἱ τόποι πλησιάζουσι τῇ κορυφῇ τοῦ Δέλτα.
The starting-point of the canal which empties into the Red Sea begins from the village of Phacusa, with which the village of Philon is continuous; the canal has a width of one hundred cubits, and a depth sufficient for a ship of ten thousand tons burden; and these places are near the vertex of the Delta.
§17.1.27αὐτοῦ δὲ καὶ ἡ Βούβαστος πόλις καὶ ὁ Βουβαστίτης νομὸς καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ὁ Ἡλιοπολίτης νομός.
There also are the city of Bubastus and the Bubastite nome, and above it the Heliopolite nome.
ἐνταῦθα δʼ ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ Ἡλίου πόλις ἐπὶ χώματος ἀξιολόγου κειμένη, τὸ ἱερὸν ἔχουσα τοῦ Ἡλίου καὶ τὸν βοῦν τὸν Μνεῦιν ἐν σηκῷ τινι τρεφόμενον, ὃς παρʼ αὐτοῖς νενόμισται θεός, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν Μέμφει ὁ Ἆπις.
Here is Heliopolis, situated on a remarkable mound, containing the temple of the Sun and the bull Mnevis, which is kept in a certain enclosure and is regarded by them as a god, just as Apis is in Memphis.
πρόκεινται δὲ τοῦ χώματος λίμναι τὴν ἀνάχυσιν ἐκ τῆς πλησίον διώρυγος ἔχουσαι.
In front of the mound lie lakes which have their inflow from the neighboring canal.
νυνὶ μὲν οὖν ἐστι πανέρημος ἡ πόλις, τὸ ἱερὸν ἔχουσα τῷ Αἰγυπτίῳ τρόπῳ κατεσκευασμένον ἀρχαῖον, ἔχον πολλὰ τεκμήρια τῆς Καμβύσου μανίας καὶ ἱεροσυλίας, ὃς τὰ μὲν πυρὶ τὰ δὲ σιδήρῳ διελωβᾶτο τῶν ἱερῶν, ἀκρωτηριάζων καὶ περικαίων, καθάπερ καὶ τοὺς ὀβελίσκους, ὧν δύο καὶ εἰς Ῥώμην ἐκομίσθησαν οἱ μὴ κεκακωμένοι τελέως, ἄλλοι δʼ εἰσὶ κἀκεῖ καὶ ἐν Θήβαις, τῇ νῦν Διοσπόλει, οἱ μὲν ἑστῶτες ἀκμὴν πυρίβρωτοι οἱ δὲ καὶ κείμενοι.
Now, indeed, the city is entirely deserted, containing the ancient temple built in the Egyptian style, which bears many signs of the madness and sacrilege of Cambyses, who damaged some of the temples with fire and others with iron, mutilating and burning them, just as he did the obelisks, of which two, which were not completely damaged, were carried to Rome, while others are still there and also in Thebes, the present Diospolis—some standing, although burnt by fire, and others lying on the ground.
§17.1.28τῆς δὲ κατασκευῆς τῶν ἱερῶν ἡ διάθεσις τοιαύτη· κατὰ τὴν εἰσβολὴν τὴν εἰς τὸ τέμενος λιθόστρωτόν ἐστιν ἔδαφος, πλάτος μὲν ὅσον πλεθριαῖον ἢ καὶ ἔλαττον, μῆκος δὲ καὶ τριπλάσιον καὶ τετραπλάσιον, ἔστιν ὅπου καὶ μεῖζον· καλεῖται δὲ τοῦτο δρόμος, καθάπερ Καλλίμαχος εἴρηκεν
ὁ δρόμος ἱερὸς οὗτος Ἀνούβιδος. διὰ δὲ τοῦ μήκους παντὸς ἑξῆς ἐφʼ ἑκάτερα τοῦ πλάτους σφίγγες ἵδρυνται λίθιναι, πήχεις εἴκοσιν ἢ μικρῷ πλείους ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων διέχουσαι, ὥσθʼ ἕνα μὲν ἐκ δεξιῶν εἶναι στίχον τῶν σφιγγῶν ἕνα δʼ ἐξ εὐωνύμων· μετὰ δὲ τὰς σφίγγας πρόπυλον μέγα, εἶτʼ ἄλλο προελθόντι πρόπυλον, εἶτʼ ἄλλο· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ διωρισμένος ἀριθμὸς οὔτε τῶν προπύλων οὔτε τῶν σφιγγῶν· ἄλλα δʼ ἐν ἄλλοις ἱεροῖς, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ μήκη καὶ τὰ πλάτη τῶν δρόμων.
The disposition of the construction of the temples is as follows: at the entrance into the sacred precinct there is a stone-paved floor, in width about a plethron or even less, and in length three or four times as much, or in some places even more; and this is called a dromos, just as Callimachus has said: "This is the sacred dromos of Anubis." Throughout its entire length, stone sphinxes are set up in a row on both sides of the width, at a distance of twenty cubits or slightly more from one another, so that there is one row of sphinxes on the right and another on the left; and after the sphinxes is a great propylon, then as one goes forward another propylon, and then another; and there is no fixed number either of the propylaea or of the sphinxes, but they vary in different temples, just as do the lengths and widths of the dromoi.
μετὰ δὲ τὰ προπύλαια ὁ νεὼς πρόναον ἔχων μέγα καὶ ἀξιόλογον, τὸν δὲ σηκὸν σύμμετρον, ξόανον δʼ οὐδέν, ἢ οὐκ ἀνθρωπόμορφον, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων τινός·
After the propylaea is the temple, having a large and remarkable pronaos, and the cella in proportion, but no wooden image, or at least none in human form, but of some of the irrational animals.
τοῦ δὲ προνάου παρʼ ἑκάτερον πρόκειται τὰ λεγόμενα πτερά· ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα ἰσοϋψῆ τῷ νεῷ τείχη δύο, κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν ἀφεστῶτα ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων μικρὸν πλέον ἢ τὸ πλάτος ἐστὶ τῆς κρηπῖδος τοῦ νεώ, ἔπειτʼ εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν προϊόντι κατʼ ἐπινευούσας γραμμὰς μέχρι πηχῶν πεντήκοντα ἢ ἑξήκοντα·
On each side of the pronaos lie what are called the wings; these are two walls of equal height with the temple, at first standing apart from each other a little more than the width of the foundation of the temple, and then, as one goes forward, extending along converging lines for fifty or sixty cubits.
ἀναγλυφὰς δʼ ἔχουσιν οἱ τοῖχοι οὗτοι μεγάλων εἰδώλων, ὁμοίων τοῖς Τυρρηνικοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἀρχαίοις σφόδρα τῶν παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι δημιουργημάτων.
These walls have relief-carvings of large images, resembling Etruscan works and those very ancient Greek fabrications.
ἔστι δέ τις καὶ πολύστυλος οἶκος, καθάπερ ἐν Μέμφει, βαρβαρικὴν ἔχων τὴν κατασκευήν· πλὴν γὰρ τοῦ * μεγάλων εἶναι καὶ πολλῶν καὶ πολυστίχων τῶν στύλων οὐδὲν ἔχει χαρίεν οὐδὲ γραφικόν, ἀλλὰ ματαιοπονίαν ἐμφαίνει μᾶλλον.
There is also a hall with many columns, as in Memphis, having a barbarian construction; for, except that the columns are large and numerous and in many rows, it has nothing graceful or artistic, but rather displays a waste of labor.