Arabia

A general term for the deserts east of Egypt and south of Phoenicia.

Arabia was mentioned by the historian, Herodotus, and the people of Arabia were clearly distinguished from other nations but it wasn’t until the time of Alexander the Great (circa 330 BCE) that the land of Arabia became fully defined by the Greeks; Herodotus states that Arabia is the furthest to the south of all the world.

One of the most significant things that Herodotus says about Arabia is that the sacred bird, the phoinix, originated there.

Herodotus also mentions a winged serpent which attempted to fly from Arabia into Egypt each spring but were met at a pass in the desert by the sacred Egyptian bird, the Ibis, and killed; these flying serpents also guarded the frankincense plant; the aromatic storax plant was burned to drive the serpents away from the frankincense and allow the Arabians to harvest the profitable export.

• Histories, book 1, chapters 131 and 198; book 2, chapters 8, 11, 15, 19, 73, 75 and 141; book 3, chapters 7, 8, 91, 97 and 107-113