Histories

Psammetichus heard of it and pursued them; and when he overtook them, he asked them in a long speech not to desert their children and wives and the gods of their fathers. Then one of them, the story goes, pointed to his genitals and said that wherever that was, they would have wives and children.

So they came to Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), AfricaEthiopia, and gave themselves up to the king of the country; who, to make them a gift in return, told them to dispossess certain Ethiopians with whom he was feuding, and occupy their land. These Ethiopians then learned Egyptian customs and have become milder-mannered by intermixture with the Egyptians.

To a distance of four months' travel by land and water, then, there is knowledge of the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile, besides the part of it that is in Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt. So many months, as reckoning shows, are found to be spent by one going from Elephantine to the country of the Deserters. The river flows from the west and the sun's setting. Beyond this, no one has clear information to declare; for all that country is desolate because of the heat.

But I heard this from some men of Shahhat [21.866,32.833] (inhabited place), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya, AfricaCyrene, who told me that they had gone to the oracle of Ammon, and conversed there with Etearchus king of the Ammonians, and that from other subjects the conversation turned to the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile, how no one knows the source of it. Then Etearchus told them that once he had been visited by some Nasamonians.

These are a Libyan people, inhabiting the country of the Golfe de Gabes [10.417,34.000] (gulf), Tunis, AfricaSyrtis and a little way to the east of the Golfe de Gabes [10.417,34.000] (gulf), Tunis, AfricaSyrtis.