Hi BMP,
Okay, you've piqued my curiosity. You forced me to perform some very in-depth research—read "scanned Wikipedia"—and what I found is fairly interesting though I am having trouble with certain aspects, especially Plutarch's assertion that it was located five days off the coast of Britain, if that is indeed the accurate interpretation. That would almost coincide with Iceland. (Don't read this ciggy.
)
Hi Doug.
Iceland is not a lost continent as big as Libya and Asia combined so I think Iceland doesn't qualify whereas Antarctica does.
Homer and Herodotus both say the island is 10 days journey from the Pillars/Libya.
"An island, Ogygia, lies far off on the sea.
Atlas' daughter lives there, crafty fair-haired Calypso,
a dread goddess. No one mixes with her,
neither gods nor mortal men.
But a divine one led this wretched one, me, to her hearth
alone, after Zeus impeded and split my swift ship
with white lightning in the midst of the wine-dark sea.
All the rest of my good comrades perished there,
but in my arms I grabbed the double-curved ship's keel
and for nine days I was carried.
On the tenth dark night
the gods brought me to the island of Ogygia." -- Homer, Odyssey, Book VII, 244-254, 8th century B.C.
"'Nine days I was carried from there, and
on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island of Ogygia.'" -- Homer, Odyssey, Book XII, 447-448, 8th century B.C.
"
After this at a distance of ten days' journey there is another hill of salt and spring of water, and men dwell round it. Near this salt hill is a mountain named Atlas, which is small in circuit and rounded on every side; and so exceedingly lofty is it said to be, that it is not possible to see its summits, for clouds never leave them either in the summer or in the winter. This the natives say is the pillar of the heaven. After this mountain these men got their name, for
they are called Atlantians; and it is said that they neither eat anything that has life nor have any dreams." -- Herodotus, historian, History, Book IV, 440 B.C.
As for the claim of Plutarch, he is referring to the exact same Ogygia as Homer. Therefore ten days journey from Libya.
However, let us keep in mind that the Phaeacian ships returned Odysseus from Scheria to Ithaka in exactly one day so it depends on ones rate of travel.
Therefore Plutarch is not wrong when he says five days west of Britain, simply misleading.
So let us not get caught up on that detail.
We should however focus on everything else Plutarch says about Ogygia.
The great mainland, by which the great ocean is encircled, while not so far from the other islands, is about five thousand stades from Ogygia, the voyage being made by oar, for the main is slow to traverse and muddy as a result of the multitude of streams. The streams are discharged by the great land-mass and produce alluvial deposits, thus giving density and earthiness to the sea, which has been thought actually to be congealed. On the coast of the mainland Greeks dwell about a gulf which is not smaller than the Maeotis and the mouth of the Caspian sea. These people consider and call themselves continentals and the inhabitants of this land islanders because the sea flows around it on all sides; and they believe that with the peoples of Cronus there mingled at a later time those who arrived in the train of Heracles and were left behind by him and that these latter so to speak rekindled again to a strong, high flame the Hellenic spark there which was already being quenched and overcome by the tongue, the laws, and the manners of the barbarians. Therefore Heracles has the highest honours and Cronos the second. Now when at intervals of thirty years the star of Cronus, which we call 'Splendent' but they, our author said, call 'Night-watchman,' enters the sign of the Bull, they, having spent a long time in preparation for the sacrifice and the expedition, choose by lot and send forth a sufficient number of envoys in a correspondingly sufficient number of ships, putting aboard a large retinue and the provisions necessary for men who are going to cross so much sea by oar and live such a long time in a foreign land. Now when they have put to sea the several voyagers meet with various fortunes as one might expect; but those who survive the voyage first put in at the outlying islands, which are inhabited by Greeks, and see the sun pass out of sight for less than an hour over a period of thirty days, — and this is night, though it has a darkness that is slight and twilight glimmering from the west. There they spend ninety days regarded with honour and friendliness as holy men and so addressed, and then winds carry them across to their appointed goal. Nor do any others inhabit it but themselves and those who have been dispatched before them, for, while those who have served the god together for the stint of thirty years are allowed to sail off home, most of them usually choose to settle in the spot, some out of habit and others because without toil or trouble they have all things in abundance while they constantly employ their time in sacrifices and celebrations or with various discourse and philosophy, for the nature of the island is marvellous as is the softness of the circumambient air. Some when they intend to sail away are even hindered by the divinity which presents itself to them as to intimates and friends not in dreams only or by means of omens, but many also come upon the visions and the voices of spirits manifest. For Cronus himself sleeps confined in a deep cave of rock that shines like gold — the sleep that Zeus has contrived like a bond for him —, and birds flying in over the summit of the rock bring ambrosia to him, and all the island is suffused with fragrance scattered from the rock as from a fountain; and those spirits mentioned before tend and serve Cronus, having been his comrades what time he ruled as king over gods and men. Many things they do foretell of themselves, for they are oracular; but the prophecies that are greatest and of the greatest matters they come down and report as dreams of Cronus, for all that Zeus premeditates Cronus sees in his dreams and the titanic affections and motions of his soul make him rigidly tense until sleep restores his repose once more and the royal and divine element is all by itself, pure and unalloyed. Here then the stranger was conveyed, as he said, and while he served the god became at his leisure acquainted with astronomy, in which he made as much progress as one can by practising geometry, and with the rest of philosophy by dealing with so much of it as is possible for the natural philosopher. Since he had a strange desire and longing to observe the Great Island (for so, it seems, they call our part of the world...
Anyway, should you get the chance, I think it would be great if you could start a new topic on this subject. It definitely shares some aspects related to Atlantis. If you do start the topic, please post a reply here with a link.
Thanks,
Doug
What should the topic be?
