Plato's Timaeus relates the true story of how one Solon (638-559 b.c.), a famous "Athenian traveler, poet, and lawgiver"³ was visiting the Temple of Neithe, in the district of Sais, near the Nile Delta in lower Egypt. He had gone there as a cultural ambassador to converse with the leaders of the Egyptians about Greek history and culture, seeking to impress them with the accomplishments of the Greeks, as well as to gain similar knowledge from them about the history of Egypt, and of the world.

⁴

An Egyptian priest. For more on ancient Egyptian priests and their beliefs, check out The Riddle of the Sphinx Part II: The Astronomical Religion of Ancient Egypt To the Egyptians, the Greeks were relative newcomers to the world stage, Greece in any form having been in existence for only a few centuries by the time Solon visited Egypt (around 600 b.c.). Moreover, the Greek confederation was fairly unstable and subject to sudden change, a situation not conducive to the growth of such luxuries as philosophy and learning. Egypt, on the other hand, had by that time been in existence as a coherent political entity for roughly 2,500 years (as reckoned from the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer, more commonly known as "King Scorpion," and had only experienced three significant political upheavals during that whole time — the ending of:

The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 b.c.),
The New Kingdom (1560-1087 b.c.).

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Moreover, none of these upheavals had disrupted the recordkeeping of the various priesthoods significantly, as they were rarely if ever directly involved in the fighting. The ever-reliable Nile also provided the Egyptians with an extremely stable economic environment that afforded them the sort of long-term prosperity and social stability necessary for the evolution of advanced scientific and philosophical disciplines. Thus, though the Egyptian priest was to admit later in his speech that the Athenians as a distinct race were actually 1,000 years older than the Egyptians, the Egyptians had retained their ancient knowledge much more faithfully than had the Greeks. As a result Solon — the would-be teacher of history — found himself reduced to the level of student as the priest continued his soliloquy:

There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes. There is a story, which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Phaeton ... having yoked the steeds in his father's chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals; at such times those who live upon the mountains and in dry and lofty places are more liable to destruction than those who dwell by rivers or on the seashore. And from this calamity the Nile, who is our never-failing saviour, delivers and preserves us.⁵

Phaeton in Apollo's sun chariot. From Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable - Phaeton Interestingly, the priest actually explained in plain terms that the Phaeton myth was meant to symbolize actual astronomical events that took place in Earth's ancient past. At some time in the common heritage of both peoples, Earth had endured a fiery disaster from heaven. More important to this story, however, as the priest was about to explain, there have been destructions not only by fire, but by water as well:

When, on the other hand, the gods purge the earth with a deluge of water, the survivors in your country are herdsmen and shepherds who dwell on the mountains, but those who, like you, live in cities are carried by the rivers into the sea. Whereas in this land, neither then nor at any other time, does the water come down from above on the fields, having always a tendency to come up from below; for which reason the traditions preserved here are the most ancient. The fact is, that wherever the extremity of winter frost or of summer does not prevent, mankind exists, sometimes in greater, sometimes in lesser numbers. And whatever happened either in your country or in ours, or in any other region of which we are informed — if there were any actions noble or great or in any other way remarkable, they have all been written down by us of old, and are preserved in our temples.⁶

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In either case, through fire or through water, when the destruction comes, the priests of Egypt were consistently saved by the ever-reliable Nile, keeping them stable when the rest of the world was in chaos. However, it was one deluge in particular that was an integral part of the story that was about to unfold, a destruction by water that was awesome in its scope and effect upon the ancient world.

Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves. As for those genealogies of yours which you just now recounted to us, Solon, they are no better than the tales of children. In the first place you remember a single deluge only, but there were many previous ones; in the next place, you do not know that there formerly dwelt in your land the fairest and noblest race of men which ever lived, and that you and your whole city are descended from a small seed or remnant of them which survived. And this was unknown to you, because, for many generations, the survivors of that destruction died, leaving no written word. For there was a time, Solon, before the great deluge of all, when the city which now is Athens was first in war and in every way the best governed of all cities, is said to have performed the noblest deeds and to have had the fairest constitution of any of which tradition tells, under the face of heaven. (emphasis added)⁷

"Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died." (Gen. 7:22, KJV) Unlike the lesser floods mentioned by the priest, which apparently came at regular, possibly predictable intervals, "the great deluge of all" destroyed most life on Earth. The story of the Great Flood, as it is commonly called, has been found in the literature of almost every major cultural tradition, and most minor ones. In the Bible, the Great Flood was said to have destroyed all land-based life on earth, save Noah and his family, and the animals that were saved on the ark:

¹⁷The flood continued forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸The waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. ¹⁹And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; ²⁰the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. ²¹And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man; ²²everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. ²⁴And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days. (Gen. 7:17-24, KJV)

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The story of the Great Flood is not just from the Bible (Gen 7 – 9) — variations of that ancient tradition can be found on every continent in one form or another. It was this Great Flood, which the priest referred to as "the great deluge", which accompanied — if not outright caused — the destruction of both Atlantis and the ancient Athenians. Interestingly, the priest actually said that this sort of thing happens at predictable intervals: "after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down." Earlier in the discourse, he had also pointed out that the myth of Phaeton was not just a story, but an explanation of actual astronomical events that had occurred in the past: "a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals." Apparently, there is something in the heavens that goes and returns at regular intervals, causing destruction upon Earth in the form of either fire or water in a regular, even predictable fashion.

at the Atlantic gate of the Mediterranean. The "pillars" are actually The Rock of Gibraltar in the north, and Jebel Musa in the south. The northernmost of the

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The southernmost of the pillars of Hercules, Jebel Musa, part of the Atlas mountain range, in Morocco, another interesting travel destination. For more information, check out Choosing Cruising and Travel Notes.

Hercules

Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in greatness and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful empire which had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and, furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country and yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence of her virtue and strength, among all mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand alone, after having undergone the very extremity of danger, she defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars. But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island.⁸

And that was the end of mighty Atlantis, defeated in war by the Athenians, and destroyed by unknown heavenly forces that had also brought about The Great Flood. Tune in next quarter for our second installment of The Legend of Atlantis, when we will study the myth (or is it history?) of Atlantis in detail.   

The Legend of Atlantis Part II: The Antediluvian World
Part III: Edgar Cayce's Atlantis | Part IV: Atlantis Rising

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¹ Plato, Timaeus: Page 2 (The Active Mind: http://www.activemind.com).
² Plato, Critias: Page 1 (The Active Mind: http://www.activemind.com).
³ Plato, Atlantis: Timaeus and Critias (The Active Mind: http://www.activemind.com).
⁴ Plato, Timaeus: Page 2.
⁵ Ibid..
⁶ Ibid..
⁷ Ibid..
⁸ Ibid..

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Plato: Timaeus & Critias
Atlantis - The Lost Continent Finally Found
Atlantis Discovered
Atlantis History: Descendants of the Legendary Lost Continent of Atlantis
The Skeptic's Dictionary: Atlantis
Atlantis in the Caribbean
Atlantis' Lost City and the Lost Continent Finally Found!
Atlantis: Vital Statistics
Atlantis, Lost City Found Off Cuba
Atlantis.....Thira?
Brian Taylor: Atlantis
Atlantis Rising: Forums
ATLANTIS: Ice Age Civilization
Atlantide Home
Atlantis Revealed

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Narmer
The Old Kingdom
The New Kingdom


Calvin College: Hercules
Bulfinch's Mythology: Hercules
Bulfinch's Mythology: Phaeton
Pantheon.org: Atlas


Atlantis Resort
BlueAegean.com: Atlantis
TourEgypt.net
The Rock of Gibraltar
Gibraltar Rock Tours
1 Gibraltar Plaza
Choosing Cruising: Morocco
Travel Notes: Morocco

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