Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the “gift of the Nile.”

The Gift of the Nile...

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the “gift of the Nile.” Indeed, the country's rich agricultural productivity is one of the region's major food producers, has long supported a large rural population devoted to working the land. Present-day Egypt, however, is largely urban. The capital city, Cairo, is one of the world's largest urban agglomerations, and manufacturing and trade have increasingly outstripped agriculture as the largest sectors of the national economy.

Possibly more important is this example from the same era in which Herodotus, the "father of history," mentions Atlantis by name in referring to the body of water into which it sank. Below is the Greek text of a portion of Clio (History, Bk I, 202) in which the waters beyond the Straits of Gibraltar is said to be known as the Atlantis Sea.

Greek text from Herodotus' History mentioning the Atlantis Sea

"But one of the mouths of the Araxes flows with clarity into the Caspian Sea. Now the Caspian Sea is by itself, not connected to the other sea; but the sea navigated by all the Greeks and the one outside the Pillars called the Atlantis Sea and Erythaean are one and the same." (Translated by R. Cedric Leonard)

From the above quote we can see that the body of water beyond the Pillars was known both as the Atlantis Sea and as the Erythaean Sea—the latter is NOT the Persian Gulf! A word of clarification: the well-known mythologist, Prof. H. J. Rose (1969; 111), reminds us that the Greeks knew of an island in the Far West named Erythaea, the name of this island deriving from the color of the setting sun. The erudite L. Sprague de Camp mentions "the Pillars of Herakles, Tartessos, Gades, and the island of Erytheia where Geryon kept his kine." (1970; p. 222) The body of water surrounding the island of Erythaea would quite naturally be called the Erythaean Sea.

I know of at least three bodies of water all called Erythaean in ancient times (the Greek root ery simply means "red"), one of which, according to a number of authorities on Greek mythology (Bulfinch, 1885; Rose, 1969; Stapleton, 1978, et al.), was immediately west of Gibraltar. In the above quote Herodotus is noting that the Atlantis Sea and the Erythaean are two Greek names for the body of water located "outside the Pillars". Like it or not, the context of the above quote includes waters to the west "outside the Pillars"—not bodies of water half way around the world!

But most importantly, Herodotus tells us that this body of water was also called the Atlantis Sea. Some translators are guilty of "fudging" their translations (cf. George Rawlinson's translation), and translate the word in the text as "Atlantic"; but as is clearly demonstrated in the above text, the word actually used by Herodotus is "Atlantis". The accuracy of the Greek text shown here—as well as my translation of it—can be verified at any university dealing with classical Greek texts.

Herodotus could have chosen the adjectival inflection, atlantikos ("Atlantic"), meaning "of Atlas," in which case could be construed to refer to Mt. Atlas in Morocco; however he did not do so. Furthermore, I know of no major body of water named after a mountain. The "Atlantic Ocean" article (Enc. Brit., 1961 edition) states: "The term is supposedly derived from Atlantis, presumed to be a submerged continent below the present ocean." Needless to say, The Britannica definition has become more "guarded" in later editions.

The point here is that Atlantis was known before Plato—well enough known that even in Herodotus' time the sea outside Gibraltar was on occasion called the Atlantis Sea. It had acquired that name because some believed that Atlantis had once occupied that area. We carry the same tradition down when we refer to that body of water as the Atlantic Ocean. However, further research demonstrates that the Atlantic Ocean also had a geographically descriptive name in ancient times.

Ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, Greek, and even Latin sources (e.g., Pliny the Elder), occasionally referred to the Atlantic Ocean as the "Western Ocean"—important if one is looking for ancient records of Atlantis. Hesiod, in his Works and Days, refers to the Isles of the Blessed (makarôn nêsoi) as lying in the "Western Ocean"—Pindar does likewise. Given this clue, even older records concerning Atlantis can be identified.

The eminent Greek historian, Prof. Walter Burkert of the University of Zurich, notes that Achilles is transported to the White Island which may refer to Tenerife Island in the Canaries. Burkert notes that the island of Tenerife was sometimes referred to as the "White Isle" by explorers. (Burkert, 1985) Was this White Island one of the Isles of the Blessed spoken of by the ancient Greek Hesiod, and could there somehow be an Atlantis connection? We will learn more about a White Island called "Atala" shortly.

As we encounter these writings, it should be noted that Atlantis itself is sometimes represented by various spellings (Philo Judaeus spelled it "Atalantes"); but it should also be noted that when the context is properly considered, there is no doubt about the identity of the island being referenced. And, as will be demonstrated, there is no doubt that the "Western Ocean" mentioned is indeed our present-day Atlantic Ocean.

According to Critias, Solon was given the story by the Egyptian priests at Saïs which they had obtained from engraved columns within the temple precincts. Manetho, whose writings form the basis of our knowledge of ancient Egyptian history, obtained his famous King-Lists from similar sources. So what about this source?