for I do not think that any one nation knows much more about such things than any other” (II, 4). He also wrote a disclaimer: “I am not anxious to repeat what I was told about the Egyptian religion. Greek historians often wrote about the mysterious ways in which the Egyptians worshipped their deities, such as this note by Herodotus: “There are not a great many wild animals in Egypt…Such as there are-both wild and tame-are without exception held to be sacred” (II, 65). The Greeks acknowledged that much ancient wisdom, such as the basics of mathematics, architecture, art, science, medicine, and even philosophy, ultimately derived from the Egyptians but they still had some difficulty in understanding, accepting, or even dealing with the alien and unfamiliar aspects of the religion. Encounters with its strange customs have frequently led people, both ancient and modern, to have misconceptions about this land. Throughout the centuries, ancient Egypt and its civilization have often been referred to in terms of the dark and mysterious. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease which no doctor can diagnose.” (Inscription reported to have been carved on an Egyptian royal tomb) “Cursed be those that disturb the rest of Pharaoh.
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