3. Localization of  A T L A N T I S

The island of Atlantis was reported to lie in the Atlantic Sea in front of the narrows called Pillars of Heracles by the Greeks. In the Greek mythology, Pillars of Heracles were erected by Heracles after he had to perform twelve difficult tasks for Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae. During his work on the tenth task, Heracles got from Egypt across northern Africa as far as to Mauretania, and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to reach the Spanish coast near the present town of Cadiz. At its foundation around 1100 B.C., Cadiz was named Gaddir by the Phoenicians. It was called Gadeira by the Greeks and Gades by the Romans.53) Here, on the other side, Heracles erected pillars with a sign to announce that it was impossible to sail to the west from Gadeira.54) In the original sense of the word, the Pillars of Heracles marked the westernmost point of then known Greek world on the Iberian (Spanish) coast, from which no sailing to the west was possible on the mythological Ocean. Greek poet Pindaros (518-434 B.C.) wrote that the Pillars of Heracles were considered ...the most distant end [of the Greek world]... What lies beyond cannot be entered by neither the wise nor the unwise. 55) Only a later tradition reported the Pillars of Heracles to be erected in the Strait of Gibraltar. The term "Atlantic Ocean" was understood by ancient Greeks as the outer Ocean surrounding the whole then known world. It was defined by Aristotle as the whole sum of water completely surrounding the island world: "The sea, which lies outside our inhabited land and washes our land all around, is called "the Atlantic" as well as "the Ocean".57) The same definition was used for the relation between the Atlantic Sea and the World Ocean also by the Greek mathematician, geographer and philosopher Eratosthenes of Cyrene who lived in the 3rd century B.C. Eratosthenes was a follower of Dikaiarchos living in the 4th century B.C. (for the map of Eratosthenes see p. 49 A)). The Aristotle's and Eratosthenes' idea of the Atlantic Ocean washing the land on all sides was also shared by the vision of the world presented on the map of Strabo. The whole then known world was described as an island surrounded by sea, called Atlantic, Great or the Ocean, still by M. Tullius Cicero in his philosophic article "The dream of Scipio". According to the Egyptian priest, the island of Atlantis was located beyond the limits of Heracles, at some place in the Atlantic or World Ocean surrounding the whole world known at that time. As suggested by the remarks in the Timaeus dialogue, but also by other historical sources, Egyptians were of the opinion that Egypt was also located within the limits of Heracles. The term "Pillars of Heracles" was probably used by the Egyptian priest as a parable to emphasize to the Greek Solon that he meant the westerly-most located point known to the Egyptians, from which you may sail onto the mythological Ocean identical with the Atlantic Sea. This point can be identified only with the strait of Bab al Mandab, through which one may sail from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean or, as believed by the Greeks, to the Atlantic Ocean. Starting from the 5th dynasty, under the rule of Sahure, Egyptians were making expeditions to the mysterious land of Punt. Under the rule of Necho II, monarch of the 26th dynasty, Phoenicians in his services sailed around Africa, according to the report of Herodotus. This journey allegedly lasted three years, leading from the Red Sea to the west 15) through Bab al Mandab to the Arabian Sea. In their philosophic and religious concepts, Egyptians understood the world as their valley, as a land developing vertically from south to north. 65) The essential N-S orientation was identified with the flow of the River Nile in the views of the Egyptians. The south was understood as the beginning or the direction forward, while the north was understood as the end or the direction backward.66) In a view from the Nile delta to the headwaters of the River Nile, the west was considered the right side (right bank of the River Nile) and the east was considered the left side (left bank of the River Nile). Sailing towards the west across the Red Sea, the ancient Egyptians were actually heading southeast, towards the present Indian Ocean. Entering the Indian Sea from the Gulf of Aden factually opened to the east, they pointed to the right, i.e., to Madagascar first and only then could they sail further west. At the point where the Red Sea is connected with the Gulf of Aden, a narrow constriction of the sea occurs in the strait of Bab al Mandab, exactly as described by Plato: "for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance".T) The mountain range on the eastern side of the strait near the town of Ta´izz reaches the elevation of 3006 m a.s.l. The other mountain range, lying on the western side of the strait of Bab al Mandab near Musa Ali, reaches the elevation of 2063 m a.s.l. According to the geographical ideas of the Greeks and Egyptians of that time, a giant island was lying in the Indian Ocean opposite to the mouth of the Red Sea, as also figured in the Pomponius Mela's World Map of ca. 40 B.C. (see Pomponius Mela's Map No. 3 on p. 53 A)). Based on different Ancient sources, the large island drawn in maps opposite to the mouth of the Red Sea was the fictional continent "Antichtrones" (see the Pomponius Mela's map) or a part of the present India and Sri Lanka (Taprobane) (see the map of Ptolemy No. 4 on p. 54 A) and maps of the world derived from the Ptolemy's map). In his dialogues, Plato mentioned the Atlantic Sea and an another, closely unspecified sea, which was called "This Sea" by the Egyptian priests. Greek originals, which were used for translations into English, refer to the term "This Our Sea". According to the Egyptian priest, "This Our Sea" was lying within the narrows with the Atlantic Sea or Okeános, and had the character of a bay with a rather narrow entrance. In the times of the Solon's visit to Egypt, the "This Our Sea" was considered to be identical with the Red Sea by the Egyptians. The Red Sea was bearing no unified name, unlike the Mediterranean Sea governed by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthage. It was only the Egyptians who founded the port Wadi Gasus in the Red Sea and dug the canal connecting the Pelusiac arm of the Nile with the Red Sea via Wadi Tumilat and the Bitter Lakes, restored in times of the Sais renaissance under Necho II. The strait of Bab al Mandab and the Red Sea fit all the characteristics implying from the Plato's text for the Egyptian designation "This Our Sea". In such case, Atlantis would have been located opposite to the mouth of the Gulf of Aden into the Arabian Sea at some place in the Pacific or Indian oceans. In the Critias dialogue, Plato described elephants living in Atlantis. Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) still lives in India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, on the island of Sri Lanka, Sumatra and in Malaysia. Other subspecies, still living in Mesopotamia, Persia, China and on Java in Ancient and Medieval times, were driven to extinction.71) African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is distributed from the Atlas Mountains to the southern Africa. Elephants also lived in northern Africa in Ancient times, being represented by the so-called "Atlas elephant" known from antique reports only. In Critias, Plato also described the plants in Atlantis.: "the fruits having a hard rind, affording drinks and meats and ointments". C) This suggests coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) from the family of palms (Palmae). Plato further stated that the island was giving "the fruit which admits of cultivation, both the dry sort, which is given us for nourishment". C) In connection with the description "and are fruits which spoil with keeping" C), it may be speculated that this plant was banana (Musa). The presently grafted bananas cannot exist without man who grows them. The island was also considerably fertile.: "Twice in the year they gathered the fruits of the earth - in winter having the benefit of the rains of heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by introducing streams from the canals." C) Plato very successfully described typical farming in monsoon regions, permitting to reach two crops of agricultural plants by inundation from rivers or canals and by using regular monsoon precipitations. Monsoons are a typical feature of tropical regions of equatorial Africa and America, northern Indian Ocean, India, southern Asia, Far East and China. Summing up the information provided above, Atlantis could have been located only in the Ocean (the present Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans) in monsoon regions with living elephants and growing palms, as shown in Map No. 5. Localization of Atlantis on p. 59 A). To avoid possible errors, the map also indicates the presumed maximum world distribution of individual attributes around 3000 B.C. The limits suggested for the distribution of palms and bananas denote the distribution of palms in general, not only the distribution of coconut palms and bananas. Still, the range of possible locations of the island of Atlantis was considerably constrained based on the indices provided by Plato. The areas of the presumed existence of Atlantis suggested by the data of Plato given in Table 9 (see p. 57 A)) and shown in the Map No. 5 (see p. 59 A)) were definitely reduced by North and South America, Antarctica, Australia, Europe including the Mediterranean, major portion of the Atlantic Ocean and, of course, also by the Pacific region.