Stephanos of Byzantium - Ethnika
Pyramides: in Egypt, a construction... on which it is said he expended ten thousand five hundred talents' worth of onions and garlic and cheese. They were named pyramids from the wheat, which the king gathered there and so caused a shortage of grain throughout Egypt.
External translation supplied by Brady Kiesling; reported Claude Fable 5.5 translation. Credit: Brady Kiesling and the Stephanos project (Greg Baker, Gabriel Jower, Greta Hawes, Brady Kiesling). Not individually verified; exact Greek input not supplied.
Stephanos excerpt (left) is aligned with matched Herodian passages (right). Colors indicate corresponding overlap spans.
Πυραμίδες, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, κτίσμα ... εἰς ὃ λέγεται ἀνηλωκέναι κρομμύων καὶ σκορόδων καὶ τυροῦ τάλαντα μύρια πεντακόσια. ὠνομάσθησαν δὲ πυραμίδες ἀπὸ τῶν πυρῶν, οὓς ἐκεῖ συναγαγὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔνδειαν ἐποίησε σίτου κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον.
…ις πόλις Αἰγύπτου. Ἡρόδοτος (II 91) «ἔστι καὶ Χέμμις πόλις μεγάλη νομοῦ τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ, ἐγγὺς τῆς Νέης πόλιος». φησὶ δ´ ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ νῆσον εἶναι Χέμμιν ἐν αὐτῇ. Τὰ εἰς 'μις' προσηγορικὰ ὑπὲρ δύο συλλαβὰς ὀξύνεται, πυραμίς— ὠνομάσθησαν δὲ πυραμίδες ἀπὸ τῶν πυρῶν, οὓς ἐκεῖ συναγαγὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔνδειαν ἐποίησε σίτου κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον—σησαμίς, καλαμίς, πλοκαμίς, κεραμίς. τὰ δὲ κύρια βαρύνεται, Ἄρτεμις, ὃ Δωριεῖς διὰ τοῦ 'α' προφέρονται Ἄρταμις, Σεμίραμις, Χρυσόθεμις, Θύαμις κώμη ὑπὸ Σεμιράμιδος κτισθεῖσα παρὰ τὴν Ἀραχωσίαν, Ψιττάχεμμις κώμη τῆς Αἰγυπ…