Note 177 — Chapter II
W. (William) Falconer translation
An island opposite to Alexandria, and seven stadia distant therefrom. The Ptolemies united it to the mainland by means of a pier, named Hepta-stadium, in allusion to its length. The sands which accumulated against the pier became the site of the present city of Alexandria. It was not on this island that the celebrated Pharos of Alexandria was erected, but on a desolate rock a little to the N.E. It received the same name as the island, to which it was joined by another pier. As to the passage of Homer, (Odyssey iv. 354-357,) where he says that Pharos is one day’s sail from the Egyptus, he does not mean Egypt, as Strabo fancies, but the mouth of the Nile, which river in his time was called the Egyptus, and probably fell into the sea about one day’s sail from Pharos.