One idea not strictly related to Atlantis that the book touches upon is the Greek idea of a continent surrounding the encircling ocean. The sixth century monk Kosmas placed Paradise in the eastern part of this far continent. As stated in the book, it's pretty common for cultures, upon exploring previously unknown territory and finding that it ISN'T inhabited by satyrs, Gorgons, or cherubim with flaming swords guarding mystical gardens, to simply transfer these things outward to still-unexplored lands. So, even though Genesis specifically mentions the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (which Kosmas did work into his map, albeit in a somewhat convoluted way) in conjunction with Eden, people in later eras placed it in areas other than the Middle East. Actually, although the Bible does say Eden is "in the East," it also says that the Land of Nod is "east of Eden," so the writers obviously didn't think it was as far east as it was possible to go. I once looked up where people thought Eden was supposed to have been located, and came up with everything from Jerusalem to Africa, with some asserting that it would have been submerged in Noah's flood (which I guess makes sense from the standpoint of a Biblical literalist, and most non-literalists probably don't think the Garden of Paradise actually existed anyway).
Way down below the ocean, where I wanna be, she may be
One idea not strictly related to Atlantis that the book touches upon is the Greek idea of a continent surrounding the encircling ocean. The sixth century monk Kosmas placed Paradise in the eastern part of this far continent. As stated in the book, it's pretty common for cultures, upon exploring previously unknown territory and finding that it ISN'T inhabited by satyrs, Gorgons, or cherubim with flaming swords guarding mystical gardens, to simply transfer these things outward to still-unexplored lands. So, even though Genesis specifically mentions the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (which Kosmas did work into his map, albeit in a somewhat convoluted way) in conjunction with Eden, people in later eras placed it in areas other than the Middle East. Actually, although the Bible does say Eden is "in the East," it also says that the Land of Nod is "east of Eden," so the writers obviously didn't think it was as far east as it was possible to go. I once looked up where people thought Eden was supposed to have been located, and came up with everything from Jerusalem to Africa, with some asserting that it would have been submerged in Noah's flood (which I guess makes sense from the standpoint of a Biblical literalist, and most non-literalists probably don't think the Garden of Paradise actually existed anyway).
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