297 



and that the rise of Memphis, was the downfall of 

 Thebes.* 



Be this as it may, Menes appears to have been the first 

 who was engaged in raising mounds, digging canals,t 

 and actually changing the course of the Nile,:): which 

 formerly flowed along at the foot of the Lybian moun- 

 tains, and which I shall notice in the sequel. 



This constitutes the sera from which we ought, pro- 

 bably, to date the commencement of the formation of 

 the delta, and also the point at which it began. 



Jlenes, in order to accomplish the above object, 

 caused a bank to be constructed at the distance of a 

 hundred stadia (two leagues and a quarter) from 

 Memphis, towards the south, and by digging a new 

 canal through the valley, between the Lybian moun- 

 tains and those on the Arabian side, diverted th$ 

 course of the Nile. 



A consequence of this new change was that, not- 

 withstanding the great height to which the embank- 

 ments were raised, by the immense, quantity of earth 

 which was removed to form a channel for so large a 

 river, the banks were subject, at every inundation of 

 the river, to irruptions from the force of the waters, 

 which caused breaches through the banks, carrying 



* Herodotus Euterpe, chap. 99. 



t Thi> was carried to such an extent in the time of Sesostris, 

 that the Egyptians laid aside the using; of wheel carriages, which 

 they had till then em ployed. Herodotus, book 2. 



\ Herodotus Euterpe, chap. 99. 



39 



