The Egypt of the Hebrews and HerodotosSayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
History
The Egypt of the Hebrews and Herodotos
Sayce, A. H. (Archibald Henry)
Egypt -- History, Ancient
But we are now able to trace his journey with some degree of exactness. He
must have arrived about the beginning of July at the mouth of the Kanôpic
arm of the Nile—the usual destination of Greek ships—and thus have made
his way by Hermopolis or Damanhur to the Greek capital Naukratis. There he
doubtless hired his Karian dragoman, with whom he sailed away over the
inundated land to Sais. But his expedition to Sais was only an excursion,
from which he returned to continue his voyage in a direct line past
Prosôpitis and the pyramids of Gizeh to Memphis. There he inspected the
great temple of Ptah, whom his countrymen identified with their Hephæstos,
and from thence he went by water to see the pyramids. It was while he was
at Memphis, moreover, that he paid a visit to Heliopolis, with its
university and its temple, of which all that is left to-day is the obelisk
of Usertesen. Next he made his voyage up the Nile, past the brick pyramids
of Dahshûr, to Anysis or Herakleopolis, and from thence to the Fayyûm.
Then he returned to Memphis, and then again passing Heliopolis sailed
northward to Bubastis and Buto. It was now probably that he made
excursions to Paprêmis and Busiris, though our ignorance of the precise
situation of these places unfortunately prevents us from being certain of
the fact. Eventually he found himself at Daphnæ, on the Pelusiac branch of
the Nile. This brought him to Pelusium, where he took ship for Tyre.
CHAPTER VII. IN THE STEPS OF HERODOTOS.
Let us follow Herodotos in his Egyptian journey and meet him where he
landed at the Kanôpic mouth of the Nile. The place had been known to Greek
sailors in days of which tradition alone had preserved a memory. It was
here that pirates and traders had raided the fields of the _fellahin_ or
exchanged slaves and Ægean vases for the precious wares of Egypt in the
age when Achæan princes ruled at Mykenæ and Tiryns. Guided by the island
of Pharos, they had made their way a few miles eastward to the mouth of
the great river which is called Aigyptos in the _Odyssey_.
When Egypt was at last opened to Greek trade and enterprise in the time of
the twenty-sixth dynasty it was still the Kanôpic arm of the Nile towards
which their vessels had to steer. Nowhere else were they allowed to land
their goods or sail up the sacred stream of the Nile. If stress of weather
drove them to some other part of the coast, they were forced to remain
there till the wind permitted them to sail to Kanôpos or to send their
goods in native boats by the same route. From time immemorial the coast of
the Delta had been carefully guarded against the piratical attacks of the
barbarians of the north. Watch-towers and garrisons were established at
fitting intervals along it, which were under the charge of a special
officer. The mouth of the Kanôpic branch of the river was guarded with
more than usual care, and here was the custom-house through which all
foreign goods had to pass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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