Herodotus and His Description of Ancient Egypt

In the middle of the fifth century BC, around 450 BC, a Greek wanderer from Halicarnassus, Herodotus, was the first to reach the Nile Valley and, subsequently, to describe it in detail. Living in the period of the First Persian Occupation (the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty), he undertook to describe the world known to the Greeks in the form of the History . The second book of this vast work is dedicated to Egypt, a country that was both ancient and mysterious for the classical Greek, and even more so for the contemporary Persian.

While in the world history Herodotus is famous as the “Father of History,” in Egyptology, he is also considered one of the first ethnographers and travel writers. The phrase “Egypt is the gift of the Nile,” doron tou Nilou , is considered one of the greatest examples of insight into the natural conditions of the ancient Egyptian state. Although full of hoaxes, romanticized episodes, and misunderstandings due to relying on polyglot interpreters, the History , and especially its second volume, contains a description of modern Egypt for the classical Greeks. Thus, the text of the History serves as an invaluable source of information about the geography, religion, societal life, and even the ancient history of Egypt for modern historians.

1. Geographical Observations and the Nature of the Nile

Coming from the hot, arid, and rainy climate of Greece, the geographical sights that Herodotus saw in Egypt were quite astonishing for him. The natural history of the Nile and the peculiarities of the annual flood fascinated him to the point of trying to explain natural phenomena with rational arguments.

A. About the Mechanisms of the Inundation

Herodotus got deeply fascinated by the regular annual flood of the Nile, unusual for the Greek to whom warm winters and cool summers were familiar. He managed to collect many local legends about the causes of this phenomenon, ranging from Etesian winds to the melting of the six-month snows in the south. However, he also presented his own theories about the cause of the flood.

Most importantly, the historian described the consequences of the flood for the local inhabitants. According to the writer, the entire country turns into an ocean during this period, while towns and villages become like islands, connected only by boats and dikes. The author vividly describes how the locals take advantage of the peculiarities of the Nile flood, sowing seeds directly on wet soil without plows during the receding of the waters.

B. The Local Flora and Fauna

Herodotus was not only concerned with the effects of the Nile but also with its flora and fauna. Many of his notes in this regard serve as one of the rich sources of information for modern biologists and botanists. The local natural history is reflected in the description of the life of the ibis, phoenixes, hippopotamus, and the peculiarities of the Nile crocodile.

Herodotus draws attention to the fact that the local people manage to domesticate these animals, use them for labor or even consider them sacred. For example, according to him, the Egyptians used to attach pieces of gold leaf to the ears of crocodiles and bands of metal on their forepaws and feed them with sacred food until old age, after which they were mummified. Thanks to these and many other notes, biologists can trace the history of the local ecosystem.

2. Religion, Sacrifices, and Sacred Animal Worship

According to the author, the main feature distinguishing Egypt from the countries of Greece is that “the Egyptians are religious beyond all other men.” Sacrifices, rituals, and sacred laws permeate all aspects of life in every village and city.

A. Temples and Priests’ Lifestyle

Herodotus gives a detailed description of the architectural structure of ancient Egyptian temples and their accompanying infrastructure. Surprisingly enough, the writer managed to describe even the internal organization of the temple, the purity laws concerning priests, and their code of conduct. According to the author, priests shave their heads every two days to get rid of lice, wash their hair twice a day and twice at night with cold water, dress in white linen garments, and wear papyrus sandals.

Moreover, they follow a strict vegetarian diet, excluding beans and bottom-feeding fish from their meals. On the other hand, the priests’ diet allows for meat and fish if they are on a high hill or in a sacred grove. Interestingly, Herodotus remarks that the priests follow these dietary restrictions to avoid gas, which might harm them during long vigils.

B. Sacred Animal Worship

One of the most astonishing observations of the History concerns animal worship. Herodotus was overwhelmed by the number of animal sacrifices and mummification practices known in Egypt. According to the author, every animal had its own Gods for whom it was responsible. Thus, for example, cats were sacred to the Goddess Bast at Bubastis, while Falcon represented the God Horus, the Ibis – the God of Wisdom in Hermopolis, and the Bull – the God Apis in Memphis.

Herodotus was also surprised by the funerary rites associated with the animal sacrifice. The writer recounts how the household of the Egyptians mourned the death of a cat, shaving off their eyebrows. Moreover, a historian describes in detail the three different ways of mummification known in Egypt, which depended on the wealth of the family.

The First Method included removing the brain through the nostrils using an iron, extracting the internal organs through an incision in the abdomen, and cleaning the inside of the body with wine and spices. The body was then filled with myrrh and cassia, dehydrated in dry salt for seventy days, and wrapped in white bandages.

The Second Method was different in that cedar oil was used to remove the internal organs without making an incision in the abdomen, after which the corpse was dehydrated in natron.

Finally, The Third Method involved simply removing the intestines with purgatives and dehydrating the body for seventy days.

3. Cultural Customs and Social Inversion

Another aspect of the culture of ancient Egypt that caught the attention of the historian is the so-called inversion, that is, the reverse way of living as compared to the Greeks. This concern, among other things, the position of women and the peculiarities of daily life.

A. The Everyday Life of the People

According to Herodotus, women in Egypt often go to marketplaces while men sit at home weaving. He also noticed that Egyptians knead dough with their feet while mixing clay, writing, and calculating with the right hand instead of the left. Moreover, the writer pointed out their diligence and passion for health and hygiene. In particular, the locals got used to vomiting periodically to cleanse the body and took regular baths. He also noticed that the Egyptians were divided into several categories of physicians who specialized in eye diseases, dentistry, and internal diseases.

B. The Local Festivals

Herodotus wrote vividly about the popular festivals in Egypt, which were attended by thousands of people. Local people gathered in large numbers of men and women to play castanets, flutes, and drums, singing and shouting to the accompaniment of the river boats on their way to the city of the deity. Notably, the description of the holiday contains many details that reflect the spirit of the times.

4. Ancient History and Chronology

Finally, the Description of Egypt contains some of the early history of Egypt. Mostly consisting of the history of the Pharaohs and the history of the country after the Persian invasion, the text is rich in various assumptions and legends.

A. The Constructions of the Pyramids

Herodotus wrote the most famous account of the construction of the pyramids in the History . According to him, the most famous pyramid in Giza was built by the king Cheops, who was a tyrant who closed all the temples and forced a hundred thousand people to work in three-month shifts. These people carried blocks of stone from the mines in the East along the banks of the Nile.

While modern historians have found more accurate evidence that the pyramid builders were well-fed and disciplined, not slaves as the Greek believed, many other ancient structures and buildings were built using the labor of ordinary people and seasonal workers. It is no less remarkable that such an enormous construction as the pyramids of the fourth dynasty still continue to inspire awe and admiration among modern people who see them.

B. The Problems of Dating Due to Source Availability

When reading the Description of Egypt , it is essential to note that the author did not have complete objectivity because of the shortcomings of the source. Mostly relying on polyglot interpreters, local merchants, and dragomans, Herodotus had to accept many false facts without being able to distinguish them from real ones. Therefore, while describing the history of Egypt, he presents distorted and subjective facts, mixing real historical events with legends, folk tales, and superstitions. However, despite the presence of such problems, the Description of Egypt has great value for the modern historical study of ancient Egypt.

Conclusions

Thus, it can be noted that the description of ancient Egypt by the great historian Herodotus has great value for Egyptology, historical biology, and anthropology, as well as general history and modern geology. By analyzing such an extensive work as the History , it becomes possible to trace the stages of development of science, as well as the local history of Egypt. From the description of the festival in honor of the cat, the writer managed to reflect the attitude of the people for animals, and even the local system of healthcare with all its pros and cons.

From the description of the pyramids, one can see how great the constructions of the ancient world were, what difficulties were caused by their construction and which ones had been solved. Thus, more than two thousand four hundred years after the author finished writing the second volume of the History , his words continue to captivate modern people, opening up the ancient world and its culture.