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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ancient coin hunter, post: 8218584, member: 87200&quot;]The Nile River, since at least the time of Herodotus, was an object of fascination for the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. Herodotus speculated as to the source of the Nile and remarked that &quot;Egypt is the Gift of the Nile&quot; as otherwise there would be minimal life in the country, either flora or fauna due to the extreme paucity of rainfall.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1442924[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Mosaic of Palestrina, depicting Egypt and the Nile.&nbsp; (public domain)</p><p><br /></p><p>Of the Nile, the Roman geographer Strabo remarks:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Now according to him [Eratosthenes] the Nile is nine hundred or a thousand stadia distant towards the west from the Arabian Gulf, and is similar in shape to the letter N written reversed; and the other is called Astapus, though some call it Astasobas and say that another river, which flows from some lakes in the south, is the Astapus and that this river forms almost all the straight part of the body of the Nile, and that it is filled by the summer rains. </p><p><br /></p><p>The lower parts of the country on either side of Meroê, along the Nile towards the Red Sea, are inhabited by Megabari and Blemmyes, who are subject to the Aethiopians and border on the Aegyptians, and, along the sea, by Troglodytes (the Troglodytes opposite Meroê are a ten or twelve days&#039; journey distant from the Nile), but the parts on the left side of the course of the Nile, in Libya, are inhabited by Nubae, a large tribe, who, beginning at Meroê, extend as far as the bends of the river, and are not subject to the Aethiopians but are divided into several separate kingdoms. The extent of Aegypt along the sea from the Pelusiac to the Canopic mouth is one thousand three hundred stadia. This, then, is what Eratosthenes says.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a coin of Hadrian depicting Nilos, the personification of the river, on a bronze drachm...</p><p><br /></p><p>Egypt, Alexandria - Hadrian. (117-138)</p><p>Year 127-128</p><p><br /></p><p>Type: AE Drachm, 32mm 24.42 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse: AVT KAI TPAI AAPIA CEB, Laureate draped and cuirassed bust right</p><p><br /></p><p>Reverse: LDW (delta) EK in exergue, Nilos reclining left upon a <b>crocodile</b>, holding cornucopia and reed, Genius emerging from the cornucopia and pointing at letters IS in upper field</p><p><br /></p><p>Reference: Milne 1269</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/hadrian3-jpg.1080500/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/hadrian4-jpg.1080502/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Please post any relevant coins featuring the Nile, Nilos, or Aegyptos...[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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