BORISTHENES, (anc. geog.), the largest river
of Sarmatia Europea, thus described by Mela, who
copies verbatim from Herodotus: "It runs through
a cognominal people, is the most pleasant of all the
rivers of Scythia, and calmer than all of them in its
course, and very agreeable to drink: it feeds very rich
pastures, and produces large fish of the best flavour,
and without bones: it comes a great way, rising from
springs unknown; its course is a distance of 40 days,
and so far it is navigable." It is now called the Drie-
per or Nieper.