It was only to be
reached from Egypt by crossing the water, and it was associated with the
ark, the emblem of Atlantis in all lands.
The soul of the dead man was supposed to journey to the under-world by
"a water progress" (Ibid., p. 18), his destination was the Elysian
Fields, where mighty corn grew, and where he was expected to cultivate
the earth; "this task was of supreme importance." (Ibid., p. 19.) The
Elysian Fields were the "Elysion" of the Greeks, the abode of the
blessed, which we have seen was an island in the remote west. The
Egyptian belief referred to a real country; they described its cities,
mountains, and rivers; one of the latter was called Uranes, a name which
reminds us of the Atlantean god Uranos. In connection with all this we
must not forget that Plato described Atlantis as "that sacred island
lying beneath the sun." Everywhere in the ancient world we find the
minds of men looking to the west for the land of the dead. Poole says,
"How then can we account for this strong conviction? Surely it must be a
survival of an ancient belief which flowed in the very veins of the
race." (Contemporary Review, 1881, p.
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