Geomorphology regards the understanding of landforms and changes that take place on the earth. Modern day geomorphology is founded upon the arguments coined by ancient and medieval scholars. Such scholars included Herodotus, (485-425BC) and Aristotle (382 – 322 BC). Each of these philosophers had reported their own findings regarding diverse geomorphological phenomena. Although the scholars might have agreed on various aspects, there was immense criticism; thus the divergent claims. In this essay, I will briefly compare and contrast Herodotus’ and Aristotle’s arguments in some of the ideas that led to the development of modern geomorphology.
River Siltation
Both Herodotus and Aristotle present arguments in regards to river siltation. Herodotus first notes that there were yearly increments silt and clay deposits in the Nile River on its flood plains. He explains that the Nile River floods every year, and in the process, it irrigates the flood plain along either bank and deposits fresh silt along its banks. He noted that the Nile has three distinct regions (Rennell, 2011).. He further explained that flood waters from the White Nile flow through an enormous marsh called the "Sudd" in the southern part of the modern country of Sudan, and arrive later and more slowly than the flood waters from the Blue Nile and the Atbara River. This contribution was crucial in determining the modern day irrigation along the Nile as well as determining where people could live. Aristotle had not visited Egypt himself, but he had at hand excellent observations in the works of Herodotus who had visited there in 450 BC, and perhaps reports of other travellers as well. Regarding the Nile, Aristotle concurs with Herodotus in the sense that he also noted that the Nile had three distinct regions (Wilson, 172).
However, Aristotle seems to differ with Herodotus among other entropists. His explanation for siltation is quite different. Aristotle, writing of the Egyptian delta in his Meteorologica, believed that Egypt had once been a much wetter place that had for some considerable time been drying out. He notes that districts of the earth undergo periodic senescence and rejuvenation depending on the amount of wet exhalation on the ground (Hugget 2013). He accounts for the initial state of the rivers by associating it with “great winter,” a period within the great cycle of time when huge amount of rains fall thus recharging the ground with moisture that rejuvenates rivers. According to Aristotle, the periodic nature of the “great winters” is what accounts for the death and rebirth of rivers. He contends that abundant rivers result from moist regions, and these rivers flow to the sea where they deposit silt. He explains that the silt displaces the sea, which in turn floods the adjoining low-lying regions. Therefore, Aristotle concludes that rivers are intermediaries between moisture and silt.
Formation of Volcanoes
Both Herodotus and Aristotle explained the formation of mountain; moreover, the two seem to agree on opinions about the exact processes that led to the formation of volcanoes. While it was a commonplace that mountains were an expression anger of the gods, Herodotus demystified the phenomenon arguing that mountains were products of earthquakes. Just as Herodotus, Aristotle argued that mountains and earthquakes were related. He posits that the earthquakes were as a result of the mixture of moisture and dry air within the earth (Hugget, 2013).
Eustatic Changes
With regards to sea floor spreading, both Herodotus and Aristotle made significant contribution to the modern concepts on this phenomenon. Herodotus had visited Egypt and noticed the presence of shells on the hills of Egypt. He thus inference that the sea must have once extended over the upper Egypt which by then was covered by dry land, this contribution was instrumental in coining the modern day explanations of eustatic changes (Rennell 2011). On the same point, Aristotle seems to agree on the fact that the sea once covered vast regions of dry last in the past.
However, Aristotle’s explanation of the changing sea levels veers from Herodotus’. Aristotle attributes the changing seas levels to his theory of moist and dry parts of the earth. He purports that the same parts of the earth are not always moist or dry, but they change according as rivers come into existence and dry up. And so the relation of land to sea changes too and a place does not always remain land or sea throughout all time, but where there was dry land there comes to be sea, and where there is now sea, there one day comes to be dry land. He further argues that these changes must follow some order and cycle. The principle and cause of these changes is that the interior of the earth grows and decays, like the bodies of plants and animals. This explanation seems to diverge from Herodotus’ explanation which is solely founded on the presence of shells in dry land.
Further scrutiny into the two philosophers’ contribution to the contemporary geomorphology reveals more contrast between them. For instance, Aristotle explained the origin of rivers, which Herodotus may not have explained. Aristotle contends that spring-fed streams are seasonal and non-permanent due to limestone for it could not maintain permanent drainage as most of the streams disappeared and formed subterranean drainage. He argues that springs were watered from rains through the processes of run-off, percolation, and seepage. He also explained that springs were watered through condensation of underground saturated air and water vapor (Wilson, 2013). This shows that unlike his colleague Herodotus, Aristotle tried to coin the modern explanation of formation of rivers and springs.
Conclusion
The essay has revealed that although Herodotus and Aristotle both made significant contributions to the modern day geomorphology, the two had both similar and dissimilar opinions on various phenomena. First, we note that both acknowledge that rivers had different stages of death and rejuvenation which they associate to siltation. However, they differ in opinion in regards to the formation of silt. The two scholars also seem to agree on the formation of volcanoes which the both attribute to earthquakes and moisture. The other area where the ideas of the two scholars seem to conflict is the idea of the changing sea levels. Although both seem to agree that the sea levels must have receded, Aristotle attributes this to the idea of moist and dry regions of the earth, so that the interior of the earth grows and decays, like the bodies of plants and animals.
References
Wilson, M. (2013). Structure and Method in Aristotle's Meteorologica: A More Disorderly Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rennell, J. (2011). The Geographical System of Herodotus. London: Lyon Public Library.
Hugget, R. (2013). Fundamentals of Geomorphology. Boston: Routledge.
