A study of the Nile had been made by many scholars before Eratosthenes and they had attempted to explain the rather strange behaviour of the river, but most like Thales were quite wrong in their explanations.
Ang isang pag-aaral ng Nile ay ginawa sa pamamagitan ng maraming mga iskolar bago Eratosthenes at sila ay nag-aambag sa halip na ipaliwanag ang kakaibang ugali ng ilog, ngunit pinaka-like Thales ay lubos na mali sa kanilang mga paliwanag.