The Legend of Atlantis - Mysterious World modified by Father Sergio.pdf

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The
Legend of
ATLAnTis
Mysterious World modified by Father Sergio
02.08.2009
PArT i: ATLAnTis in hisTory
“O
Solon, Solon, you
Hellenes
are never
anything but children, and there is not an old
man among you." Thus began the speech by
an unnamed Egyptian priest in the
Timeaus
1
, one of only
two known dialogues of Plato that mention Atlantis.
Together, along with the
Criteas
2
, these works comprise the
only records of Atlantis handed down to us from antiquity.
In his ensuing speech on Atlantis and
ancient Athens,
the
priest was to rebuke Solon, and all of the Greeks, for
having forgotten their own history, particularly the epic
story of how valiant Athens had once defeated mighty
Atlantis in ancient times and saved the world from slavery.
Plato,
the greatest of Greek
philosophers, 427-347 BC
In the
Timeaus,
Solon was to learn how little he truly knew,
not only of the history of his own people, but of the history
of Egypt, and of the world.
Atlantis in Greek History
Plato's
Timaeus
relates the true story of how one
Solon
(638-
559 BC), 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
An Egyptian priest.
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.
I
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
BC). 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:
1
2
Plato,
Timaeus
Plato,
Critias
3
Plato,
Atlantis: Timaeus and Critias
2
•
•
•
The Old Kingdom
(2700-2200 BC),
The Middle Kingdom
(2050-1786 BC), and
The New Kingdom
(1560-1087 BC).
Moreover, none of these upheavals had disrupted the
recordkeeping of the various priesthoods significantly,
as they were rarely if ever directly involved in the
Phaeton in Apollo's sun chariot. From
fighting. The ever-reliable Nile also provided the
Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable -
Egyptians with an extremely stable economic
Phaeton
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
II
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.
III
The Great Flood
n 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.
IV
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
"Everything
on the dry land in whose
nostrils was the breath of life died."
most minor ones. In the Bible, the Great Flood was said to
(Gen.
7:22, KJV)
have destroyed all land-based life on earth, save Noah and his
family, and the animals that were saved on the ark. (Gen.
7:17-24, KJV)
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
I
3
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.
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
The priest then revealed the nature of the heroic
deed that the Athenian Greeks had accomplished so
many thousands of years ago, before their race was
nearly wiped out by The Great Flood. There was,
9,000 years before the time even of Solon (600
BC), a great continent situated in the great sea west
of the "Pillars of
A classical portrayal of the island of Atlantis,
based upon Plato's dialogues. From Mundus
Subterraneus by Athanasius Kircher. (1665)
Hercules." This great continent was
as large as Libya and Asia Minor
combined and was known as
"Atlantis," from which the Atlantic Ocean
took its name. The inhabitants of this great
continent, the Atlanteans, had become
arrogant with power, and sought to
subjugate all of Europe and Asia and
assimilate it into their domain. And they
would
have
succeeded, were it
The
pillars of Hercules
at the Atlantic gate
not for the heroic
of the Mediterranean. The "pillars" are
deeds
of
the
actually The Rock of Gibraltar in the
ancient Athenians,
north, and Jebel Musa in the south.
whom the priest
described as "pre-eminent in courage and military
skill," winning against all odds and driving the
Atlanteans back into the sea.
V
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.
Hercules
The northernmost of the
pillars of Hercules
is
the rock of Gibraltar
located on the southern
tip of Spain which has been held by the British
for centuries. It is an interesting tourist
destination with a rich history. Take a tour
with
Gibraltar Rock Tours,
or shop at
1
Gibraltar Plaza.
4
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.
5

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