Histories

But the god forbade them: all the land, he said, watered by the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile in its course was Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt, and all who lived lower down than the city Elephantine and drank the river's water were Egyptians. Such was the oracle given to them.

When the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile is in flood, it overflows not only the Delta but also the lands called Libyan and Arabian, as far as two days' journey from either bank in places, and sometimes more than this, sometimes less. Concerning its nature, I could not learn anything either from the priests or from any others.

Yet I was anxious to learn from them why the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile comes down with a rising flood for a hundred days from the summer solstice; and when this number of days is passed, sinks again with a diminishing stream, so that the river is low for the whole winter until the summer solstice again.

I was not able to get any information from any of the Egyptians regarding this, when I asked them what power the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile has to be contrary in nature to all other rivers. I wished to know this, and asked; also, why no breezes blew from it as from every other river[*](Not from the river itself, perhaps; but there is a regular current of air blowing up the valley.).

But some of the Greeks, wishing to be notable for cleverness, put forward three opinions about this river, two of which I would not even mention except just to show what they are.

One of them maintains that the Etesian winds[*](The regular N.W. winds which blow in summer from the Mediterranean Sea [30,31.5] (sea)Mediterranean.) are the cause of the river being in flood, because they hinder the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile from emptying into the sea. But there are many times when the Etesian winds do not blow, yet the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile does the same as before.

And further, if the Etesian winds were the cause, then the other rivers which flow contrary to those winds should be affected like the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile, and even more so, since being smaller they have a weaker current. Yet there are many rivers in Syria [38,35] (nation), Asia Syria and many in Libya [17,25] (nation), AfricaLibya, and they behave nothing like the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile.