Serbonian Bog

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Serbonian Bog (Arabic: مستنقع سربون‎) relates to the lake of Serbonis (Sirbonis or Serbon) in Egypt. Because sand blew onto it, the Serbonian Bog had a deceptive appearance of being solid land, but was a bog. The term is applied to any situation in which one is entangled from which extrication is difficult.

The Serbonian Bog is identified as Sabkhat al [Bardawil], one of the string of Bitter Lakes to the east of the Nile's right branch. It was described in ancient times as a quagmire in which armies were fabled to be swallowed up and lost.

[edit] Uses

A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog . . .

Where armies whole have sunk.

- John Milton.

This place has been cited many times once Justice Cardozo used it in a dissenting opinion in Landress v. Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance, 291 U.S. 491, 499 (1934).

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopaedia.