BOOK V. IX. 48-50 



piece of land sliaped like a triangle ; and conse- 

 quently many have called Egypt by the name of 

 the Greek letter Delta. The distance from the 

 point where the single channel first spUts into 

 branches to the Canopic mouth is 146 miles and to 

 the Pelusiac mouth 156 miles. 



The uppermost part of Egypt, mai-ching with 

 Ethiopia, is called the Thebaid. It is divided into 

 prefcctures of towns, called ' nomes ' — the Ombite, 

 ApollonopoUte, Hermonthite, Thinite, Phaturite, 

 Coptite, Tentyrite, Diospohte, Antaeopolite, Aphro- 

 ditopohte and LycopoHte nomes. The nomes be- 

 longing to the district in the neighbourhood of Pelu- 

 sium are the Pharbaethite, Bubastite, Sethroite and 

 Tanite. The remaining nomes are called the Arabic, 

 Hammoniac (on tlie way to the oracle of Jupiter 

 Ammon). Oxyrhynchite, Leontopohte, Athribite, 

 CynopoUte, HermopoUte, Xoite, Mendesian, Seben- 

 nyte, Cabasite, LatopoUte, IleUopoUte, Prosopite, 

 PanopoUte, Busirite, Onuphite, Saite, Ptenethus, 

 Ptemphus, Naucratite, MetelUte, GynaecopoUte, 

 Menelaite — these forming the region of Alexandria ; 

 and Ukewise Mareotis belonging to Libya. The 

 HeracleopoUte nome is on an ishind of the Nile 

 measuring 50 miles long, on which is also the town 

 called the City of Hercules. There are two nomes 

 called the Arsinoite ; these and the Memphite ex- 

 tend to the apex of the Delta, adjacent to which 

 on the side of Africa are the two Oasite nomes. 

 Certain authorities alter some out of these names 

 and substitute other nomes, for instance the Hero- 

 poUte and CrocodilopoUte. Between the Arsinoite 

 and Memphite nomes there was once a lake 

 measuring 250, or according to Mucianus's account 



255 



