hey are drawn by the Sun. The Nile however, alone of all rivers, not
having rain and being drawn by the Sun, naturally flows during this time
of winter in much less than its proper volume, that is much less than in
summer; 33 for then it is drawn equally with all the other waters, but
in winter it bears the burden alone. Thus I suppose the Sun to be the
cause of these things.

26. He is also the cause in my opinion that the air in these parts is
dry, since he makes it so by scorching up his path through the heaven:
34 thus summer prevails always in the upper parts of Libya. If however
the station of the seasons had been changed, and where now in the heaven
are placed the North Wind and winter, there was the station of the South
Wind and of the midday, and where now is placed the South Wind, there
was the North, if this had been so, the Sun being driven from the midst
of the heaven by the winter and the North Wind would go to the upper
parts of Europe, just as now he comes to the upper parts of Libya, and
passing in his course throughout the whole of Europe I suppose that he
would do to the Ister that which he now works upon the Nile.

27. As to the breeze, why none blows from the river, my opinion is that
from very hot places it is not natural that anything should blow, and
that a breeze is wont to blow from something cold.

28. Let these matters then be as they are and as they were at the first:
but as to the sources of the Nile, not one either of the Egyptians or of
the Libyans or of the Hellenes, who came to speech with me, professed to
know anything, except the scribe of the sacred treasury of Athene at the
city of Sais in Egypt. To me however this man seemed not to be speaking
seriously when he said that he had certain knowledge of it; and he said
as follows, namely that there were two mountains of which the tops ran
up to a sharp point, situated between the city of Syene, which is in
the district of Thebes, and Elephantine, and the names of the mountains
were, of the one Crophi and of the other Mophi. From the middle between
these two mountains flowed (he said) the sources of the Nile, which were
fathomless in depth, and half of the water flowed to Egypt and towards
the North Wind, the other half to Ethiopia and the South Wind. As for
the fathomless depth of the source, he said that Psammetichos king of
Egypt came to a trial of this matter; for he had a rope twisted of many
thousands of fathoms and let it down in