The Old and the Restless - The Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus' Histories by Robert J. Hagan

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truly dreadful prospect for any Greek used to mild weather almost year-round, and certainly
befitting a distant end of the known world. It is true that the rainfall patterns of the Eurasian
continent east of the Black Sea are quite different than those of the Mediterranean civilizations,
where it hardly ever rains in the winter and is quite dry in the summer. Herodotus even writes
that “there is no fairer region in the whole known world” than Ionia (1.140).
In climate, the Egyptians experienced conditions opposite from the Scythians. Egypt is
"one of the hottest places in the world," and the sun there is powerful enough to evaporate the
Nile. As opposed to the overbearing winter of the north, inland Libya, just beyond Egypt, is "in
the grip of constant summer" (2.25). The implications of such extreme weather on the
populations of Egypt and Scythia are manifold, as we shall see shortly.
When discussing Egypt’s geography, Herodotus spends a significant amount of energy on
what we might call scientific explanation. He is perplexed by the science behind the Nile's flow,
particularly the fact that it floods in the summer, unlike most known rivers, which flood in the
winter. He states three extant theories on why the Nile floods in the summer, and then debunks
them. However, he turns to Egypt's powerful sun as the reason, citing its powers of evaporation,
and its drift across the across the sky because of storms. While we now know this to be false,
Herodotus' powers of reasoning are admirable and his arguments well organized.
Herodotus also associates the idiosyncratic behavior of the Egyptians with their different
climate and river. He writes that “Just as the Egyptians have a climate peculiar to themselves,
and their river is different from all other rivers, so, too, have they instituted customs and laws
contrary for the most part to those of the rest of mankind” (2.35). He notes several examples of
customs that are opposite to those of the rest of the world; they write from right to left, keep their