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Herodotus · Histories §2.22.1-2.22.4

Refutation of the Melting Snow Theory of the Nile

Passage 238 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The author refutes the third explanation, which attributes the Nile's rise to melting snow, arguing that it is the most plausible-sounding yet the most mistaken, and disproves it using evidence such as southern hot winds, the absence of rain and ice, and the behaviors of local inhabitants and migratory birds.

§2.22.1ἡ δὲ τρίτη τῶν ὁδῶν πολλὸν ἐπιεικεστάτη ἐοῦσα μάλιστα ἔψευσται· λέγει γὰρ δὴ οὐδʼ αὕτη οὐδέν, φαμένη τὸν Νεῖλον ῥέειν ἀπὸ τηκομένης χιόνος· ὃς ῥέει μὲν ἐκ Λιβύης διὰ μέσων Αἰθιόπων, ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ ἐς Αἴγυπτον.
The third explanation, though by far the most plausible, is the most mistaken; for it too says nothing of worth, asserting as it does that the Nile flows from melting snow, though the river flows from Libya through the middle of Ethiopia, and discharges into Egypt.
§2.22.2κῶς ὦν δῆτα ῥέοι ἂν ἀπὸ χιόνος, ἀπὸ τῶν θερμοτάτων ῥέων ἐς τὰ ψυχρότερα τὰ πολλά ἐστι;
How, then, could it flow from snow, flowing as it does from the hottest places to those that are for the most part colder?
ἀνδρί γε λογίζεσθαι τοιούτων πέρι οἵῳ τε ἐόντι, ὡς οὐδὲ οἰκὸς ἀπὸ χιόνος μιν ῥέειν, πρῶτον μὲν καὶ μέγιστον μαρτύριον οἱ ἄνεμοι παρέχονται πνέοντες ἀπὸ τῶν χωρέων τουτέων θερμοί·
For a man capable of reasoning about such matters, the first and greatest proof that it is not even likely to flow from snow is provided by the winds, which blow hot from those countries.
§2.22.3δεύτερον δὲ ὅτι ἄνομβρος ἡ χώρη καὶ ἀκρύσταλλος διατελέει ἐοῦσα, ἐπὶ δὲ χιόνι πεσούσῃ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ἐστὶ ὗσαι ἐν πέντε ἡμέρῃσι, ὥστε, εἰ ἐχιόνιζε, ὕετο ἂν ταῦτα τὰ χωρία·
Secondly, the country is continually without rain and ice, whereas after snow has fallen, it must absolutely rain within five days, so that if it snowed, it would rain in these regions.
τρίτα δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὑπὸ τοῦ καύματος μέλανες ἐόντες.
Thirdly, the people are black from the heat.
§2.22.4ἰκτῖνοι δὲ καὶ χελιδόνες διʼ ἔτεος ἐόντες οὐκ ἀπολείπουσι, γέρανοι δὲ φεύγουσαι τὸν χειμῶνα τὸν ἐν τῇ Σκυθικῇ χώρῃ γινόμενον φοιτῶσι ἐς χειμασίην ἐς τοὺς τόπους τούτους.
Kites and swallows remain there throughout the year without leaving, and cranes, fleeing the winter that comes in the Scythian country, migrate to these places for wintering.
εἰ τοίνυν ἐχιόνιζε καὶ ὅσον ὦν ταύτην τὴν χώρην διʼ ἧς τε ῥέει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἄρχεται ῥέων ὁ Νεῖλος, ἦν ἂν τούτων οὐδέν, ὡς ἡ ἀνάγκη ἐλέγχει.
If, therefore, it snowed even to any extent in this country through which the Nile flows and from which it begins its flow, none of these things would be so, as necessity demonstrates.

Notes

  1. 2.22.1πολλὸν ἐπιεικεστάτη ἐοῦσα — The participle ἐοῦσα (Ionic dialect for οὖσα) is used here in a concessive sense ('although it is'). πολλὸν (dialectal form of πολύ) modifies the superlative ἐπιεικεστάτη to mean 'by far the most plausible'.
  2. 2.22.2ἀνδρί γε λογίζεσθαι τοιούτων πέρι οἵῳ τε ἐόντι — οἵῳ τε ἐόντι is the dative participle of οἷός τ' εἰμί ('to be able to'), modifying the preceding noun ἀνδρί. The construction functions as a dative of reference ('for a man who is capable of...'), with the infinitive λογίζεσθαι depending on it. πέρι is the postpositioned preposition περί, governing the genitive τοιούτων.
  3. 2.22.3διατελέει ἐοῦσα — The verb διατελέει (contracted διατελεῖ, 'to continue, remain') takes the supplementary participle ἐοῦσα (οὖσα) to express a continuous state ('is continually...').
  4. 2.22.3εἰ ἐχιόνιζε, ὕετο ἂν — A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence (referring to past or continuous present state). The imperfect indicative in the protasis (ἐχιόνιζε) and the imperfect indicative with the particle ἄν in the apodosis (ὕετο ἂν) express the unrealized possibility: 'if it had snowed, it would rain'.
  5. 2.22.4καὶ ὅσον ὦν — A concessive or emphatic adverbial phrase meaning 'even to any extent' or 'however little'. ὦν is the Ionic dialect form of οὖν, which serves to generalize or strengthen the concession ('soever').

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §2.22.1-2.22.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:2.22.1-2.22.4

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