Table of Contents
Seven islands sacred to Persephone and three enormous islands – a network of lands in the Atlantic
A configuration of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
Proclus, in his commentary on Plato’s Timaeus, cites Marcellus’ now-lost work Aethiopica (or Ethiopic History) to support the existence of Atlantis.
This fragment describes a configuration of islands in the Atlantic Ocean that aligns with Plato’s account in the Timaeus and Critias, portraying Atlantis as a dominant island beyond the Pillars of Heracles.
Supporting excerpt from Proclus’ commentary (as preserved and quoted in secondary sources):
"That an island of such nature and size once existed is evident from what is said by certain authors who investigated the things around the outer sea. For according to them, there were seven islands in that sea in their time, sacred to Persephone, and also three others of enormous size, one of which was sacred to Hades, another to Ammon, and another one between them to Poseidon, the extent of which was a thousand stadia; and the inhabitants of it—they add—preserved the remembrance from their ancestors of the immeasurably large island of Atlantis which had really existed there and which for many ages had reigned over all islands in the Atlantic sea and which itself had likewise been sacred to Poseidon. Now Marcellus has written on this in his Aethiopica."
I look at who Marcellus was, and how much weight his report can carry, on Ancient sources on Atlantis.
Summary
- Seven Islands Sacred to Persephone: These islands were dedicated to Persephone, daughter of Zeus, and held religious or cultural significance.
- Three Islands of Enormous Size: These three islands were described as “enormous,” implying significant landmass compared to the others.
- Atlantis – the Very Large Island: In addition to the other islands, there was a particularly large island named Atlantis, sacred to Poseidon. It was said to dominate all other islands within the Atlantic Ocean.
This interpretation aligns with Plato’s original narrative of Atlantis as a powerful island civilization located beyond the “Pillars of Heracles” (modern Strait of Gibraltar).
Ignatius Donnelly – Atlantis, the Antediluvian World
A scholia quoted from Proclus by Humboldt and Boeckh says: ‘The historians who speak of the islands of the exterior sea tell us that in their time there were seven islands consecrated, to Proserpine, and three others of immense extent, of which the first was consecrated to Pluto, the second to Ammon, and the third to Neptune. The inhabitants of the latter had preserved a recollection (transmitted to them by their ancestors) of the island of Atlantis, which was extremely large, and for a long time held sway over all the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantis was also consecrated to Neptune.”‘ (See Humboldt’s “Histoire de la Géographie du Nouveau Continent,” vol. i.)
Ignatius Donnelly
