previous next


H. does not give the time spent on ‘the lake’, i.e. between Philae and the second cataract at Wadi Halfa (where the boat was left ἀποβάς). If this be reckoned at four days, H.'s account gives 60 days from Syene to Meroe, i.e. 4 days for the rapids, 4 days for the lake, 40 days' land journey, and 12 more by boat again. This corresponds to the estimate of Timosthenes, admiral of Ptolemy Philadelphus (60 days from Syene to Meroe, Pliny, N. H. vi. 183); ‘this is a very fair approximation to the truth’ (Bunbury, i. 302).

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: