Babylonia *

Babylonia was one of the great nations of ancient Mesopotamia in what is now Iraq. Its capital, Babylon, was founded towards the end of the third millennium BC^(a). For many, it is best known for its frequent mention in the Bible. The region has also produced what is arguably the earliest epic narrative in the form of The Epic of Gilgamesh, who was a semi-mythical king. In it, we have a flood myth, which is accepted by some as an earlier version of Noah’s Deluge account^(b).

Babylonian astronomy can be traced back to the fourth millennium BC^(c), although some argue that their interest was in astrology rather than what we would call scientific astronomy^(d). The idea that the Babylonians had knowledge of precession has also been challenged by Gary David Thompson^(h). A similar debate concerns the claim that the Babylonians had used trigonometry more than a thousand years before Hipparchus^(e).

Another claim that has produced additional controversy relates to what has been claimed as ‘the oldest map of the world’. This relates to a clay tablet discovered in 1899 and now housed in the British Museum. The claim to be a world map stems from what appears to be a depiction of the ‘ocean’ that at the time was thought to surround the known world. This is similar to the later Greek understanding of the world. According to one interpretation of the tablet, the Babylonians saw themselves at the centre of a world that we would consider now to be regional in extent^(j). 

Stephen Kershaw, an Atlantis sceptic, noted that “Herodotus’ History includes a memorable description of the city of Babylon, which may have had a considerable influence on Plato’s description of Atlantis in the Critias.” ⁽ⁱ⁾.

Dieter Bremer has identified references to Atlantis in various ancient Mesopotamian traditions^(g) that, for him, justify his claim that Atlantis was a space station! This daft idea of an Akkadian connection he supports by quotations from the Bible and Homer and also some modern writers. All his ravings are in German only, but MSEdge will translate them automatically.

Any suggested connection between the Babylonians and Atlantis is lacking any real foundation. Thorwald C. Franke summed it up as follows:

Babylon = Atlantis?

 The city of Babylon has a many-fold symbolic meaning for the history of humankind: First, as the best-known Mesopotamian city, it is a symbol of the development of urban civilization in the course of the history of humankind. Secondly, from the biblical records, Babylon became a symbol of decadence and arrogance which lead to decay. Because of this symbolism, some identified Babylon with Atlantis.

 But similar symbolism should not seduce to an identification. Babylon is not on an island, it is a quadratic, not a circular-shaped city, and the biblical myth of the Tower of Babel has no correspondence with Plato’s Atlantis account. Indeed, Babylon is old enough for Atlantis but the Bible especially refers to the neo-Babylonian empire 626-539 BC.

For adherents of the invention hypothesis, Babylon is considered to be one of the models after which Plato allegedly invented the Atlantis account. But even under this perspective, the similarities are much too vague in order to make reliable statements on the question.”

More recently (2018), an ‘off-the-wall’ Dutch commentator, Leon Elshout, has also written extensively, in Dutch and English, linking Atlantis and Babylon^(k) with details in the Book of Revelation.

^(a) Babylon – World History Encyclopedia (archive.org)

^(b) https://www.gotquestions.org/Gilgamesh-flood.html

^(c)  https://www.livius.org/articles/person/kidinnu-the-chaldaeans-and-babylonian-astronomy/

^(d) https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/02/babylonians-scientists/462150/

^(e) https://atlantipedia.ie/samples/tsikritsis-minas/

^(f) https://www.atlantis-scout.de/atlantis_bible.htm

^(g) Mesopotamian traditions | Atlantis Mythology (archive.org) 

^(h) Archive 6896 | (atlantipedia.ie) *

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://open.conted.ox.ac.uk/resources/images/babylon-and-atlantis

^(j) https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/babylonian-map-world-sheds-light-ancient-perspectives-002135

^(k) https://roodgoudvanparvaim.nl/atlantis-as-a-theological-model-of-tzaphon-and-end-times-babylon-rev-17-18-and-the-storylines-of-atlantis-and-hens/