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It is a curious mystery [...] that the exact same notions…

“It is a curious mystery [...] that the exact same notions of the Seven Sages as the bringers of civilization in the remotest antiquity, and of the preservation and repromulgation of “writings on stones from before the flood,” turn up in the supposedly completely distinct and unrelated culture of…” quote by Graham Hancock
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““It is a curious mystery [...] that the exact same notions of the Seven Sages as the bringers of civilization in the remotest antiquity, and of the preservation and repromulgation of “writings on stones from before the flood,” turn up in the supposedly completely distinct and unrelated culture of Ancient Egypt. Of the greatest interest, at any rate, is the [Temple of Horus]’s idea of itself expressed in the acres of enigmatic inscriptions that cover its walls. These inscriptions, the so-called Edfu Building Texts, take us back to a very remote period called the “Early Primeval Age of the Gods”--and these gods, it transpired, were not originally Egyptian, but lived on a sacred island, the “Homeland of the Primeval Ones,” in the midst of a great ocean. Then, at some unspecified time in the past, a terrible disaster--a true cataclysm of flood and fire [...]-- overtook this island, where “the earliest mansions of the gods” had been founded, destroying it utterly, inundating all its holy places and killing most of its divine inhabitants. Some survived, however, and we are told that this remnant set sail in their ships (for the texts leave us in no doubt that these gods of the early primeval age were navigators) to “wander” the world. [...] Of particular interest is a passage at Edfu in which we read of a circular, water-filled “channel” surrounding the original sacred domain that lay at the heart of the island of the Primeval Ones--a ring of water that was intended to fortify and protect that domain. In this there is, of course, a direct parallel to Atlantis, where the sacred domain on which stood the temple and palace of the god, whom Plato names as “Poseidon,” was likewise surrounded by a ring of water, itself placed in the midst of further such concentric rings separated by rings of land, again with the purpose of fortification and protection. Intriguingly, Plato also hints at the immediate cause of the earthquakes and floods that destroyed Atlantis. In the Timaeus , as a prelude to his account of the lost civilization and its demise, he reports that the Egyptian priests from whom Solon received the story began by speaking of a celestial cataclysm: “There have been and will be many different calamities to destroy mankind, the greatest of them being by fire and water, lesser ones by countless other means. Your own [i.e. the Greeks’] story of how Phaeton, child of the sun, harnessed his father’s chariot, but was unable to guide it along his father’s course and so burned up things on earth and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt, is a mythical version of the truth that there is at long intervals a variation in the course of the heavenly bodies and a consequent widespread destruction by fire of things on earth.””

Graham Hancock

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage suggests that ancient Egyptian myths about a primeval island and a protective water ring echo earlier Sumerian stories of the Seven Sages and the Atlantis legend, implying a shared, ancient cultural memory of a cataclysmic flood and a lost civilization.

In simple terms: Ancient myths from Egypt and Sumer share flood and lost‑civilization themes, hinting at a common origin.

Key Takeaway

Explore cross‑cultural mythic parallels to uncover shared ancient history.

Themes

mythology ancient history cross‑cultural analysis cataclysmic events lost civilizations

Mood

intrigued speculative reflective

Type

historical analytical inspirational

When to use this quote

  • archaeology research
  • comparative literature studies
  • museum exhibit design
  • educational curriculum on ancient myths
  • creative writing inspired by myth

Key Concepts

cultural diffusion collective memory mythic archetypes symbolic geography

Questions to Reflect On

  • What evidence would confirm a shared origin for these myths?
  • How do modern interpretations shape our view of ancient narratives?
A Different Perspective

Some scholars argue similarities arise from universal human concerns rather than direct transmission.

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