There Is, However, One Part Of His Work, In Which He Seems To Indicate The Curvature Of The African Coast To The East Beyond The Straits; But It Is Doubtful Whether In This Place He Is Speaking Of The Coast Within Or Without The Straits.

In his description of the coast between Myos Hormos and Ptolemais, he points out a bay, which, both from the identity of the name, and the circumstances respecting it which he narrates, undoubtedly is the Foul Bay of the moderns.

Strabo, who, as we have already stated, borrows freely and frequently from Agatharcides, describes this bay as full of shoals and breakers, and exposed to violent winds; and he adds, that Berenice lies at the bottom of it. The accuracy of our author, even when he is opposed by the testimony of Bruce, is fully proved in what he relates of the coast below Foul Bay: after mentioning two mountains, which he calls the Bulls, he particularly adverts to the dangerous shoals which often proved fatal to the elephant ships on their passage to and from Ptolemais. Bruce says no such shoals exist; but, as is justly observed by Dr. Vincent; the correctness of the ancients respecting them, especially Eratosthenes, Agatharcides and Artemidorus, is fully borne out by the danger and loss to which many English ships have been exposed by reason of these very shoals.

The description of Agatharcides of this side of the coast of the Red Sea, reaches no lower down than Ptolemais; this circumstance is remarkable, since we have seen that, from the inscription found at Aduli there can be no doubt that Ptolemy Euergetes had conquered Abyssinia, and established a commerce considerably lower down than Ptolemais Theron.

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