herodotus

judge aright of these matters, the opinion of the Ionians about Egyptis not sound: but if the judgment of the Ionians is right, I declarethat neither the Hellenes nor the Ionians themselves know how toreckon since they say that the whole earth is made up of threedivisions, Europe, Asia, and Libya: for they ought to count inaddition to these the Delta of Egypt, since it belongs neither to Asianor to Libya; for at least it cannot be the river Nile by thisreckoning which divides Asia from Libya,[24] but the Nile is cleft atthe point of this Delta so as to flow round it, and the result is thatthis land would come between Asia and Libya.[25]17. We dismiss then the opinion of the Ionians, and express a judgmentof our own in this matter also, that Egypt is all that land which isinhabited by Egyptians, just as Kilikia is that which is inhabited byKilikians and Assyria that which is inhabited by Assyrians, and weknow of no boundary properly speaking between Asia and Libya exceptthe borders of Egypt. If however we shall adopt the opinion which iscommonly held by the Hellenes, we shall suppose that the whole ofEgypt, beginning from the Cataract[26] and the city of Elephantine, isdivided into two parts and that it thus partakes of both the names,since one side will thus belong to Libya and the other to Asia; forthe Nile from the Cataract onwards flows to the sea cutting Egyptthrough the midst; and as far as the city of Kercasoros the Nile flowsin one single stream, but from this city onwards it is parted intothree ways; and one, which is called the Pelusian mouth, turns towardsthe East; the second of the ways goes towards the West, and this iscalled the Canobic mouth; but that one of the ways which is straightruns thus,--when the river in its course downwards comes to the pointof the Delta, then it cuts the Delta through the midst and so issuesout to the sea. In this we have[27] a portion of the water of theriver which is not the smallest nor the least famous, and it is calledthe Sebennytic mouth. There are also two other mouths which part offfrom the Sebennytic and go to the sea, and these are called, one theSaïtic, the other the Mendesian mouth. The Bolbitinitic and Bucolicmouths, on the other hand, are not natural but made by digging. 18.Moreover also the answer given by the Oracle of Ammon bears witness insupport of my opinion that Egypt is of the extent which I declare itto be in my account; and of this answer I heard after I had formed myown opinion about Egypt. For those of the city of Marea and of Apis,dwelling in the parts of Egypt which border on Libya, being of opinionthemselves that they were Libyans and not Egyptians, and also beingburdened by the rules of religious service, because they desired notto be debarred from the use of cows' flesh, sent to Ammon saying thatthey had nought in common with the Egyptians, for they dwelt outsidethe Delta and agreed with them in nothing; and they said they desiredthat it might be lawful for them to eat everything without