Home › On the Translation of Myths Between the Old And › On the Translation of Myths Between the Old And: Midas

On the Translation of Myths Between the Old And: Midas

OLD AND NEW WORLD MYTHS. his great-grandfather Dropidas, who had heard it from Solon, who had it from the Egyptian priests of Sais.* Ælian, again, contains an extract from Theophrastus, who wrote in the time of Alexander the Great, which can hardly imply anything else than an acquaintance with America. It is in the form of a dialogue between Midas the Phrygian and Silenus.

The latter informs Midas that Europe, Asia, and Africa were but islands surrounded on all sides by sea, but that there was a continent situated beyond these which was of immense dimensions, even without limits, and that it was so luxuriant as to produce animals of prodigious magnitude. That there men grew to double the size of themselves, and that they lived to a far greater age, that they had many cities, and their usages and laws were different from their own; that in one city there was more than a million of inhabitants, and that gold and silver were there in vast quantities.

Diodorus Siculus gives an account of what could only have been the mainland of America, or one of the West Indian islands; it is as follows. "After cursorily mentioning the islands within the Pillars of Hercules, let us treat of those further ones in the open ocean, for towards Africa there is a very large island in the great ocean sea, situated many days' sail from Libya towards the west. "Its soil is fruitful, a great part rising in mountains, but still with no scarcity of level expanse, which excels in pleasantness, for navigable rivers flow through and irrigate it. Gardens abound, stored with various trees and numerous orchards, intersected by pleasant streams. "The towns are adorned with sumptuous edifices, and * It is given in great detail by Mr. Donelly; want of space forbids my including it. drinking taverns, beautifully situated in gardens, are everywhere met with; as the convenient situation of these largely invites to pleasure, they are frequented during the summer season. "The mountain region possesses numerous and large forests, and various kinds of fruitful trees. It everywhere presents deep valleys and springs suitable for mountain recreations. "Indeed the whole of this island is watered with springs of sweet water, which gives rise not merely to the pleasure of its inhabitants, but also to an accession of their health and strength. "Hunting furnishes all kinds of game, the abundance of which in their banquets leaves nothing to be desired. "Moreover, the sea which washes against this island abounds with fish, since the ocean, from its nature everywhere, affords a variety of fish. "Finally, the temperature is very genial, from which it results that the trees bear fruit throughout the greater part of the year. "Lastly, it excels so much in felicity as to resemble the habitations of the gods rather than of men. "Formerly it was unknown, on account of the remoteness of its situation from the rest of the world, but accident disclosed its position. The Phoenicians have been in the habit of making frequent passages, for the sake of commerce, from the very oldest dates, from whence it resulted that they were the founders of many of the African colonies, and of not a few of those European ones situated to the west; and when they had yielded to the idea which had entered their minds, of enriching themselves greatly, they passed out beyond the Pillars of Hercules into the sea which is called the Ocean, and they first founded a city called Gades, on the European peninsula, and near the straits of the Pillars [of Hercules] in which, when others had flocked to it, they instituted a OLD AND NEW WORLD MYTHS. sumptuous temple to Hercules. This temple has been held in the utmost veneration both in ancient times and during later periods up to the present day; therefore many Romans of illustrious nobility and reputation pronounce their vows to that god, and happily discharge their obligations. "The Phoenicians for this reason continued their exploration beyond the Pillars, and when they were sailing along the African coast, being carried off by a tempest to a distant part of the ocean, were driven by the violence of the storm, after a period of many days, to the island of which I have spoken, and having first acquainted themselves with its nature and pleasing characters, introduced it to the notice of others. On that account, the Tyrrhenians, also obtaining the empire of the sea, determined on a colony there, but the Carthaginians prevented them, both because they feared lest many of their citizens, being allured by the advantages of the island, might migrate there, and because they wished to have a refuge prepared for themselves against a sudden stroke of fortune, if by chance the Carthaginian Republic should receive any deadly blow, for they contemplated that they would be able, while yet powerful at sea, to transport themselves and their families to the island unknown to the victors."* Among the many proofs which may be cited of community of origin between the Asiatics and certainly a large proportion of the American population is the practice of scalping enemies, quoted by Herodotus as prevalent amongst the Scythians, and universally existing amongst all tribes of North American Indians; the discovery of jade ornaments amongst Mexican remains, and the general esteem in which that material is held by the Chinese; the use of the Quipos among the Peruvians, and the assertion in the I-king, or Book * I use the text of the edition of Diodorus Siculus of L. Rhodomanus, Amsterdam, 1746. of Change, one of the oldest of the Chinese Classics, that "The ancients knotted cords to express their meaning, but in the next age the sages renounced the custom and adopted a system of written characters; "* the discovery of the meander pattern among Peruvian relics, and the common use of this ornamentation on Chinese vases and tripods, at dates long preceding the Trojan era, in which it is commonly supposed to have originated; the similarity of the features of Chinese, and other Mongols, with those of various Indian tribes; the resemblance of masks and various other remains to Chinese patterns discovered recently by Desirée de Charnay in Central America; and the reserve and stolid demeanour of both races. A good illustration of this is afforded by the story told of the celebrated statesman Sieh Ngan (A.D. 320- 385), in Mayer's Chinese Reader's Manual; it could be imagined to apply to any Indian sachem.