|
The king then returned to his own land and took vengeance upon his
brother, after which he proceeded to make use of the multitudes whom he
had brought with him from the conquered countries, partly to drag the
huge masses of stone which were moved in the course of his reign to the
temple of Vulcan - partly to dig the numerous canals with which the
whole of Egypt is intersected. By these forced labours the entire
face of the country was changed; for whereas Egypt had formerly been a
region suited both for horses and carriages, henceforth it became
entirely unfit for either. Though a flat country throughout its whole
extent, it is now unfit for either horse or carriage, being cut up by
the canals, which are extremely numerous and run in all directions.
The king's object was to supply Nile water to the inhabitants of the
towns situated in the mid-country, and not lying upon the river; for
previously they had been obliged, after the subsidence of the floods,
to drink a brackish water which they obtained from wells.
|
|