herodotus

into Libya, Asia, and Europe, since the difference between these isnot small; for in length Europe extends along by both, while inbreadth it is clear to me that it is beyond comparison larger;[42] forLibya furnishes proofs about itself that it is surrounded by sea,except so much of it as borders upon Asia; and this fact was shown byNecos king of the Egyptians first of all those about whom we haveknowledge. He when he had ceased digging the channel[43] which goesthrough from the Nile to the Arabian gulf, sent Phenicians with ships,bidding them sail and come back through the Pillars of Heracles to theNorthern Sea and so to Egypt. The Phenicians therefore set forth fromthe Erythraian Sea and sailed through the Southern Sea; and whenautumn came, they would put to shore and sow the land, wherever inLibya they might happen to be as they sailed, and then they waited forthe harvest: and having reaped the corn they would sail on, so thatafter two years had elapsed, in the third year they turned through thePillars of Heracles and arrived again in Egypt. And they reported athing which I cannot believe, but another man may, namely that insailing round Libya they had the sun on their right hand. 43. Thus wasthis country first known to be what it is, and after this it is theCarthaginians who make report of it; for as to Sataspes the son ofTeaspis the Achaimenid, he did not sail round Libya, though he wassent for this very purpose, but was struck with fear by the length ofthe voyage and the desolate nature of the land, and so returned backand did not accomplish the task which his mother laid upon him. Forthis man had outraged a daughter of Zopyros the son of Megabyzos, avirgin; and then when he was about to be impaled by order of kingXerxes for this offence, the mother of Sataspes, who was a sister ofDareios, entreated for his life, saying that she would herself layupon him a greater penalty than Xerxes; for he should be compelled(she said) to sail round Libya, until in sailing round it he came tothe Arabian gulf. So then Xerxes having agreed upon these terms,Sataspes went to Egypt, and obtaining a ship and sailors from theEgyptians, he sailed to the Pillars of Heracles; and having sailedthrough them and turned the point of Libya which is called thepromontory of Soloeis, he sailed on towards the South. Then after hehad passed over much sea in many months, as there was needed ever moreand more voyaging, he turned about and sailed back again to Egypt: andhaving come from thence into the presence of king Xerxes, he reportedsaying that at the furthest point which he reached he was sailing bydwarfish people, who used clothing made from the palm-tree, and who,whenever they came to land with their ship, left their towns and fledaway to the mountains: and they, he said, did no injury when theyentered into the towns, but took food[43a] from them only. And thecause, he said, why he had not completely sailed round Libya was thatthe ship could not advance any further but stuck fast. Xerxes howeverdid not believe that he was speaking the truth, and since he had not