Featured The river Nile

Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

Here is the next contribution to the theme Roman-Egyptian mythology. The cause for this article was the following coin, especially the meaning of the IS on the upper field of its reverse which has fascinated me.

The coin:
Egypt, Alexandria, Hadrian, AD 117-138
AE - drachm, 35.4mm, 26.43g
Alexandria, 129/30 (RY 12)
Obv.: AVT KAI - TPAI AΔPIA CEB
Bust, draped and cuirassed, seen from behind, laureate, r.
Rev.: Rivergod Nilus, bearded and laureate, nude to hips, leaning l., holding cornucopiae in outstretched r. hand and reed in l. arm, resting with l. arm on small hippopotamus, stg. r.,
in ex. LΔΩΔEK (= year 12)
in upper field LS
Ref.: Milne 1267; Dattari 1805; Köln 993; Emmet 1015
about VF, blue-green patina

IS = 16 (cubits), means the optimal level of the flood of the Nile. The S should be read as 'digamma', not as 'stigma'! The cubit was the unit length measured from elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It ranged from 45 to 53cm. But the so-called Egyptian Royal Cubit (meh nesut) was always 52.3cm (with a deviation of only under 5mm over the times!).

Mythology:
The dominating trias of Egyptian gods during Roman times was made of Serapis, Isis and Harpokrates. The next important deities seemed to be Nilus and Euthenia, at least insofar the coinage of Alexandria is considered. Nilus was the river-god of the river Nile which is the source of all life in Egypt as we all know. Although he was regarded in Pharaonian times under the name 'hapi' only as a minor deity he achieved big importance in Roman times in Alexandria. The die cutters seemed to be very free in the depiction of this god and took obviously much pleasure in developing an endless series of types and varieties. He was often assimilated with Osiris and he in turn with Serapis.

Although Nilus represents the important river Nilus, in Greek mythology he didn't play a big role. Referring to Hesiod (Theog. 338) he was son of Okeanos and Thetis. He had several children, e.g.. Memphis, mother of Libya, who then became mother of the Egyptian Belos and of Agenor. Other children were Chione, Anippe, Kaliadne and Polyxo.

The fertility of the narrow strip of country in the Nile valley depends upon the River Nile, which overflows its banks every year and brings down fresh soil from the hills. The river is at its lowest between April and June, the period of winter. Fed by the melting snows on the Abyssinian hills, and by the equatorial lakes, which are flooded during the rainy season, the gradual rise of the river becomes perceptible about the middle of June. The waters first assume a reddish tint on account of the clay which they carry. For a short period they then become greenish and unwholesome. Ere that change took place the Ancient Egyptians were wont to store up water for domestic use in large jars. By the beginning of August the Nile runs high. It was then that the canals were opened in ancient days, so that the waters might fertilize the fields. As the Nile rose the peasants were careful to remove the flocks and herds from the lowlands; and when a sudden irruption of the water, owing to the bursting. of a dike, or an unexpected and unusual increase of the river, overflowed the fields and pastures, they were seen hurrying to the spot, on foot or in boats, to rescue the animals and to remove them to the high grounds above the reach of the inundation. . . . And though some suppose the inundation does not now attain the same height as of old, those who have lived in the country have frequently seen the villages of the Delta standing, as Herodotus describes them, like islands in the Aegean Sea, with the same scenes of rescuing the cattle from the water. According to Pliny, a proper inundation is of 16 cubits . . . in 12 cubits the country suffers from famine, and feels a deficiency even in 13; 14 causes joy, 15 scarcity, 16 delight; the greatest rise of the river to this period was of 18 cubits.


When the river rose very high in the days of the Pharaohs, the lives and property of the inhabitants were endangered; in some villages the houses collapsed. Hence the legend that Ra sought to destroy his enemies among mankind.

The inundation is at its height by the end of September, and continues stationary for about a month. Not until the end of September does the river resume normal proportions. November is the month for sowing; the harvest is reaped in Upper Egypt by March and in Lower Egypt by April. It was believed by the ancient farmers that the flood was caused by the tears of Isis which she wept about Osiris. When Sirius rose before dawn about the middle of July it was identified with the goddess. In the sun-cult legend this star is Hathor, "the eye of Ra", who comes to slaughter mankind. There are evidences that human sacrifices were offered to the sun god at this period.

Background:
By Homer the Nile was called - like the old capital city Memphis and the entire land - Aigyptos. The Egyptians worshipped him as bringer of fertility, so at Silsile in Upper-Egypt and especially in Babylon, the recent Old-Kairo. Here the Under-Egyptian Nile sources were assumed whereas the Upper-Egyptian sources were sought in Elephantine (Herodot 2, 28; between the rocks Krwphi and Mwri). The inundation was measured at the southern point of the island of Rhoda near Kairo. The height of the Nile inundation is partially maintained in the so-called Stone of Annals, where 4 cubits were the normal height. In Hellenistic times the normal height was 16 cubits. But this shouldn't be seen as an increase of the flood but rather as an alteration of the used gauge.

After all the sources of the Nile were unkown to the Ancients. I remind you on the famous Four-River-Fountain of Bernini on the Piazza Navona in Rome. Here the Nile veils his head because of his unknown origin (though there is the bon-mot that the actual reason is that he doesn't want to see the church Sant'Agnese in Agone of Borromini!). Ovid (Metam. 2.254) reports the following: "When Phaethon riding the chariot of the sun scorched the earth: Nilus in terror to the world’s end fled and his head, still hidden; this seven mouths gaped dusty, seven vales without a stream.". The real sources of the river Nile were discovered not until the end of the 19. century. The exciting story of this discovery - especially the quarrel between Burton (to whom we owe the Tales of 1001 Nights!) and his rival Speke - you can find in the web.

The Hippopotamos:
Some words about the hippotamos, Hippopotamus amphibius L. It was known by the Ancients particularly from the river Nile, but from Palestine too. In rivers from West-Africa (Senegal?, Gambia?) the smaller species Hippopotamus liberiensis Mort. was known. That the hippo was found in the Indus too was stated by Onesikritos but denied by Strabo 14, 706, and not suggested by Pausanias 4, 34, 3. Already in later ancient times the hippo was nearly exstirpated in Egypt and never became homelike again. It was exported to Rome for animal fights (especially against crocodiles) and later this exotic behemoth was found in imperial bestiariums.

History of Art:
I have added the pic of the famous Nile statue in the Vatican (Photography of 1892, from my collection). The Vatican Nile, itself a copy of a Hellenistic statue, probably Alexandrian in origin, was discovered in the early sixteenth century in excavations of the shrine to Isis and Serapis near Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. Pliny the Elder mentions a similar sculpture in ancient Egypt in his Natural History (36.58), explaining that the babies surrounding the river god represent the ideal height of sixteen cubits to which the Nile river rose annually, thereby assuring abundant fertility in Lower Egypt. The sixteenth, the most important of all, is just emerging from the cornucopiae. Unfortunately the statue is much restored in the Renaissance.


Sources:
(1) Der kleine Pauly
(2) Wikipedia
(3) Wilkinson, Ancient Egypt
(4) http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/eml/eml05.htm
(5) http://www.gosahara.de/Forschung/rchtsforsch.html

Best regards

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The smart money was on global warming!...…& that's not being in denial!

@Jochen1, that is another great, interesting write up! Thank you!

 

@zumbly has a nice one, which he showed along with a nice writeup about nilometers a couple of years ago:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-nilometer.300607/

 

Here's mine....

 

Just to confuse things, Pius issued a tetradrachm from year 16 with L IS ---- or does the IS do double duty here?

 

Always happy to dust off the ol’ Nilometer.

ANTONINUS PIUS
AE Drachm. 21.28g, 32.3mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 17 (AD 153-154). RPC 14929 (this coin cited). Dattari-Savio Pl. 141, 2763 (this coin). O: Laureate head right. R: Nilus, with crocodile beside him, reclining left, holding reed and cornucopia from which issues Genius holding wreath; to left, a domed Nilometer inscribed Iς (for 16 cubits), in front of which stands a Genius; L-IZ (date) in field.
Ex Giovanni Dattari Collection

And another favorite, a Nilus and Euthenia.

ANTONINUS PIUS
AE Drachm. 26.83g, 33.5mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 5 = AD 141/2. Emmett 1628 (R3); Dattari 2776; RPC Online 14830. O: Laureate head right. R: Nilus seated right on rocks upon which a crocodile climbs, Alexandria-Euthenia wearing elephant-skin headdress standing left, holding corn ears and sistrum; [L E] in exergue.
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1981.413)

 

How could I forget the Commodus / Nilus from my AK group? Emmett 2552 year 26

 

Yes! & great pics too! I wasn't around then, thanks for the heads up @TIF.

 

Doubly duty is a nice idea. And I think the Romans liked gimmicks like that.

 

I have enjoyed visiting various Nilometers in Egypt. For example, the one on Elephantine island in Aswan and the one at Seti I's temple at Abydos.

 

I personally consider this thread as phenomenal. Being astonished to learn that a small symbol on an ancient coin, could reveal scientific and physical facts related to the flood level measurements. That was nearly inconceivable for me. Allow me,Jochen, to express my best and most sincere congratulations.

 

We look at these coins and think "ancient". Few tend to consider that the time period from the building of the great pyramids was already ancient to emperors like Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Commodus. As a matter of fact we are closer in time to the Roman emperors than they were to those rulers of the first several dynasties of pharaohs.

 

thanks for the interesting write-up @Jochen1.

That's sad, although I've read somewhere before that the Roman were that fond of the games, many animals were driven away from their lands for ever.

My coin of Hadrian with a Nilus reverse, has a hippo on it. It was struck in Rome, in 136 AD. Which makes me wonder, was the hippo then already gone in the Nile? Was the hippo associated with Nilus, even though it was already gone? Or were there still hippo's around, in 136 AD?

 

Dear @Limes!

Your question is reasonable. I have written: "Already in later ancient times the hippo was nearly exstirpated in Egypt." On Wikipedia I found: "Until the beginning of the 19th century, hippos also inhabited the Nile valley and the Nile delta in Egypt."

Best regards

 

There are hieroglyphs for lions, giraffes, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and a great assortment of birds. So they were all inhabitants of the Nile Valley in ancient times. The question is how many were left at the end of the Roman period with all of the collecting of animals for shows throughout the empire.

 

Excellent and enjoyable write-up @Jochen1
Here is my Hadrian/Nilus which is one of my favorite coins:

Roman Provincial Egypt. Hadrian, 117-138 AD. Billon Tetradrachm.
Mint of Alexandria, Egypt, struck AD 135/136 AD.
Obv: ΑVΤ ΚΑΙC ΤΡΑΙΑΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟC CΕΒ - Laurate and bearded bust of Hadrian facing left.
Rev: Nilus reclining on crocodile holding reed in right hand and cornucopiae in left; regnal year LK (year 20) in upper left field.
23.5mm, 13.36g, 12h
Ref. Dattari 1436, Milne 1491, Emmett 879, Köln 1196, RPC 6087

 

@Jochen1...Thanks for the write up I found it very interesting and it answered a few questions I had....Here's my Nilus but its Hippoless!

 

Here's my Drachm of Antoninus Pius.

 

Antoninus Pius; Alexandria harbor scene. Alexandria, Egypt; dated 154/155 AD (year 18). Æ drachm (32 MM). Obv: Bust of Antoninus Pius, l. Rev: Isis Euploea standing facing, head left, holding grain ears upward in right hand, reversed rudder in her left. To her left, prow of galley with billowing sail, moving right, behind her. Another similar galley to her right moving left (neither visible in Emmett specimen). Euthenia reclining right to Isis' left and river-god Nilus holding rudder, reclining left on the right at her feet. Date “L – IH” across upper fields.

 

@PeteB: What a wonderful coin!