In the late seventh century BCE, Egypt's Saite renaissance under Pharaoh Necho II looked seaward as few rulers of the Nile ever had. Necho reorganized Egypt's defenses and began the digging of a canal to connect the Nile with the Red Sea, and, if we trust a tantalizing report, he commissioned a Phoenician fleet to sail out of the Red Sea, round the southern tip of Africa, and return to Egypt by way of the Mediterranean.
The story comes to us through Herodotus, who records the sailors' most curious claim: at one stretch of the voyage, that the Sun stood on their right. Later generations seized upon this detail as an accidental proof that they had indeed crossed into the southern hemisphere.
Terry Bailey explains.
A Nile crocodile allowing the trochilus bird to eat leeches in its mouth. By Henry Scherren, 1906.
Herodotus in Histories (Book 4.42) writes that Necho sent Phoenician mariners from the "Erythraean Sea" (the Greek term for the Red Sea) with orders to sail westward around Libya, what the Greeks called Africa, and return through the Pillars of Heracles at Gibraltar. The expedition, he claims, took three years, with crews putting ashore each autumn to sow grain and waiting for the harvest before continuing. On their return, they reported, to Herodotus' own skepticism, that they had seen the Sun on their right while sailing, which is precisely what one would observe when travelling west along Africa's southern coast in the southern hemisphere.
That single aside has become the strongest internal argument for the authenticity of the account, for it is an observation unlikely to have been invented by a fifth-century BCE Greek listener yet matches astronomical reality.
Necho II (r. 610–595 BCE) faced Assyrian collapse and Babylonian expansion to the northeast and saw value in sea power and connectivity across east and west. He began the construction of the so-called "Canal of the Pharaohs," a Nile–Red Sea link through the Wadi Tumilat, a project supported by archaeological evidence and later refurbished by the Persians under Darius I. If any sailors were capable of executing such a reconnaissance mission at the very edge of the known world, it was the Phoenicians, cosmopolitan merchants of the Levant who maintained outposts across the Mediterranean and, crucially, beyond the Straits of Gibraltar.
A plausible reconstruction of the voyage follows Herodotus' outline. In the first year, the fleet likely departed the Red Sea and rode the northeast monsoon down the East African coast, halting seasonally to grow provisions as Herodotus describes. In the second year, they would have crossed below the Tropic of Capricorn, skirted a stormy southern coastline, and made the observation of the Sun standing to their right. From there they would have turned northward into the South Atlantic, assisted by the Benguela Current. The third year would have brought them up the West African coast along the Canary Current, through the Pillars of Heracles, and back into the Mediterranean for the return to Egypt. The three-year rhythm of sailing, overwintering, and planting grain makes logistical sense for a flotilla dependent on seasonal winds and local provisioning.
Although we lack any archaeological direct evidence of the expedition itself, sixth- and fifth-century BCE Phoenician merchant ships were more than capable of such a voyage. These deep-bellied, long-range carriers were designed for coast-hugging navigation and could sustain themselves over great distances. Archaeological finds from a sixth-century BCE Phoenician wreck off Cartagena in Spain included goods traced to Morocco and even amber from the Baltic. Such evidence demonstrates that Phoenician traders routinely linked Atlantic and Mediterranean circuits, the very expertise required for Necho's plan.
There is no direct archaeological proof of the circumnavigation, no anchor inscribed with Necho's cartouche found on a South African beach, however, indirect evidence shows that by around 600 BCE, the constituent legs of the voyage were within Phoenician reach. Excavations at Mogador Island off the Moroccan coast reveal Phoenician presence between the seventh and fifth centuries BCE, with purple-dye production and Atlantic trade firmly established. Later Carthaginian explorations, most famously Hanno's Periplus, describe voyages down the West African coast, confirming that Punic sailors had knowledge of and interest in those waters. Meanwhile, archaeological remains of the Nile–Red Sea canal attest to Egyptian efforts to maintain seafaring access, infrastructure without which the expedition would not have been possible.
Greek awareness of Egyptian maritime projects should not be overlooked. By the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, the Nile Delta settlement of Naukratis functioned as a Greek emporion, cementing Greek–Egyptian exchange networks. Even if Greeks did not sail with Necho's fleet, information about the venture could easily have reached Greek audiences and, in time, Herodotus himself.
Skepticism about the account remains. Egyptologist Alan B. Lloyd, among others, has argued that the expedition sits awkwardly with Egyptian priorities and that Herodotus or his sources may have misunderstood or embellished elements of the tale. The absence of direct archaeological finds is also a sobering reminder of the fragility of the evidence. Even Herodotus himself confesses doubt about the Phoenicians' "Sun on the right" claim ironically, the very point modern scholars find most persuasive.
Yet three considerations keep many in the "plausible to likely" camp. First is technical feasibility: Phoenician ships and seamanship were fully capable of long coastal voyages, as the Cartagena wreck and Atlantic trade goods demonstrate. Second is the astronomical "tell": the report of the Sun standing on the right is a striking observational detail difficult to forge anachronistically. Third is continuity of Atlantic activity: sites such as Mogador confirm Phoenicians operating along the Atlantic facade during this very period, and Hanno's later voyage proves that long-distance Punic exploration was a reality, not a fantasy.
If the Phoenicians indeed rounded Africa, they must have passed its southern tip, whether Cape Agulhas or the Cape of Good Hope, navigating the notorious currents and seasonal winds that would challenge even later mariners. Herodotus' three-year cadence of planting and waiting accords well with the rhythm of ancient voyaging dictated by monsoon and trade wind cycles.
Needless to say, Herodotus 4.42 remains the lone ancient source, and while no direct proof of the circumnavigation has been found, a network of indirect evidence supports its plausibility. The canal works linking the Nile and Red Sea, Phoenician presence in Atlantic Morocco, long-range Phoenician wrecks, and Punic traditions of African exploration together suggest that such an expedition was well within reach. The circumnavigation under Necho II remains unproven but credible. If it occurred as reported, it would mark the first recorded rounding of Africa, an extraordinary feat of Saite ambition executed by the Phoenicians, the finest mariners of their age. It would also represent a one-off achievement not repeated, at least in the historical record, until the great oceanic voyages of the Age of Discovery two millennia later.
Conclusion
In conclusion, weighing the evidence, Necho II's alleged Phoenician circumnavigation of Africa occupies a fascinating space between history and legend. Herodotus' testimony is tantalizing, at once doubtful and yet unwittingly corroborative in its mention of the Sun on the right. The absence of direct archaeological proof prevents certainty, however, even without archaeological evidence it does not mean the voyage did not take place. Needless to say, the convergence of circumstantial factors, the existence of the Nile–Red Sea canal, the demonstrated reach of Phoenician seafaring, the archaeological traces of Atlantic presence, and later Punic voyages down the African coast, all lend weight to the claim.
Even if we cannot confirm the expedition, its plausibility is a reminder of the extraordinary maritime capabilities of the ancient Mediterranean world. If true, the voyage would stand not only as a triumph of Egyptian and perhaps Greek initiative but also Phoenician seamanship, in addition to, a landmark moment in the global history of exploration. If false, the story still reveals how ancient peoples imagined the limits of their world and the daring ventures that might transcend them. Either way, the account survives as one of the most compelling intersections of myth, history, and geography in antiquity, an enduring tale of human ambition pushing against the edges of the known world.
The site has been offering a wide variety of high-quality, free history content since 2012. If you’d like to say ‘thank you’ and help us with site running costs, please consider donating here.
Notes:
Herodotus
Herodotus, often called the "Father of History," was a fifth-century BCE Greek writer whose monumental work, The Histories, laid the foundations for the Western tradition of historical inquiry. Born in Halicarnassus, a city in Asia Minor under Persian rule, Herodotus grew up amidst diverse cultures, which likely shaped his curiosity about peoples, places, and events far beyond his homeland. His great work is a sprawling account of the Greco-Persian Wars, but it is also much more than a military chronicle. It explores geography, anthropology, customs, myths, and legends, offering readers not only an account of battles and kings but also a tapestry of the ancient world as Herodotus understood it.
What distinguishes Herodotus is not only his attempt to gather information from various sources but also the way he wove those stories together. He travelled widely, collecting oral traditions and eyewitness accounts, which he then presented in a narrative that aimed to explain not only what happened, but why it happened. Yet, his reliance on hearsay and storytelling meant that he did not always distinguish clearly between fact and embellishment. Herodotus admitted as much, often inserting phrases such as "so the Egyptians say" or "this is what I have heard," leaving the judgment to the reader.
Herodotus' writing was also deeply colored by artistic license. He was not a dispassionate recorder of events, but a storyteller who sought to engage and entertain as much as to inform. His descriptions of far-off lands, strange customs, and miraculous events often blur the line between history and folklore. For instance, his accounts of gold-digging ants in India or the fabulous size of Persian armies are regarded today as exaggerations or imaginative flourishes. At the same time, these elements reveal his skill as a narrator, capable of bringing history to life with drama and color.
Though later historians such as Thucydides criticized Herodotus for his tendency toward embellishment, modern scholarship recognize that his artistic approach helped preserve cultural memory and human experience in ways that bare facts might not have. Herodotus offered more than a record of past events; he provided a lens through which to view the values, fears, and wonders of his age. His Histories stand as both a pioneering work of history and a masterpiece of storytelling, where fact and fable intertwine to shape the understanding of the ancient world.
