From the city of Heliopolis to Thebes, the journey up the Nile takes about nine days by boat. This stretch of river measures eighty-one schoenes, which equals 4,860 furlongs. These measurements help give a clear picture of the great length of Egypt and how far it extends along the river.
If we now bring together the different measurements already mentioned, the size of the country becomes clearer. The length of Egypt along the Mediterranean coast is about 3,600 furlongs. From the sea inland to the city of Thebes, the distance is roughly 6,120 furlongs. Beyond Thebes, the land continues farther south. From Thebes to the city called Elephantine, near the southern border of Egypt, the distance is another 1,800 furlongs The Egyptians Warning to the Greeks.
Egypt as Land Gained from the Sea
Most of the country described above seemed to me, just as the priests said, to be land that was gained over time by the people of Egypt. The entire region above Memphis, lying between the two mountain ranges on the east and west, appeared to have once been covered by the sea. Long ago, this area seems to have been a wide gulf, which slowly filled with soil brought down by the river.
This idea becomes clearer when Egypt is compared with other regions formed in a similar way. Though these places are much smaller, they show the same natural process. Such regions include the lands around Ilium and Teuthrania, near Ephesus, and the plain of the Maeander. In all these places, rivers have slowly built up the land by carrying earth and mud from higher ground.
Rivers That Change the Land
None of the rivers in these regions can be compared in size to the Nile, not even to one of its five mouths. Yet even smaller rivers have caused great changes to the land. One strong example is the river Achelous. This river flows through Acarnania and enters the sea opposite the Echinades Islands. Over time, it has carried so much soil that it has already joined half of these islands to the mainland Tour Guide Sofia.
If a river as small as the Achelous can reshape the land so greatly, then the power of the Nile to form Egypt becomes even more impressive.
A Gulf Near Arabia
Near Egypt, in Arabia, there is a long and narrow gulf that stretches inland from the sea known as the Erythraean Sea. This gulf provides a useful comparison. From its deepest point inland, it takes forty days to reach the open sea by rowboat. At its widest point, however, the gulf can be crossed in just half a day.
This sea experiences a regular rise and fall of the tide each day, showing how active and changeable it is.
How Egypt Was Formed Over Time
It seems reasonable to believe that Egypt was once very similar to this Arabian gulf. One large gulf may have entered from the northern sea and stretched toward Ethiopia. Another may have come from the southern ocean and reached toward Syria. These two gulfs would have nearly met, leaving only a narrow strip of land between them.
If the Nile were to change its course and flow into the Arabian gulf today, it would likely fill it with mud and soil within twenty thousand years, or perhaps even half that time. Considering the immense age of the world, it is easy to believe that much larger gulfs were filled long before our own time by a river as powerful and active as the Nile.
