“M.  Oppert read an essay at the Brussels Congress to show, from the astronomical observations of the Egyptians and Assyrians, that 11,542 years before our era man existed on the earth at such a stage of civilization as to be able to take note of astronomical phenomena, and to calculate with considerable accuracy the length of the year.  The Egyptians, says he, calculated by cycles of 1460 years—­zodiacal cycles, as they were called.  Their year consisted of 365 days, which caused them to lose one day in every four solar years, and, consequently, they would attain their original starting-point again only after 1460 years (365 x 4).  Therefore, the zodiacal cycle ending in the year 139 of our era commenced in the year 1322 B.C.  On the other hand, the Assyrian cycle was 1805 years, or 22,325 lunations.  An Assyrian cycle began 712 B.C.  The Chaldeans state that between the Deluge and their first historic dynasty there was a period of 39,180 years.  Now, what means, this number?  It stands for 12 Egyptian zodiacal cycles plus 12 Assyrian lunar cycles.

+--------------------+----------+
| 12 X 1460 = 17,520 |          |
+--------------------+----------+
|                    | = 39,180 |
+--------------------+----------+
| 12 X 1805 = 21,660 |          |
+--------------------+----------+

“These two modes of calculating time are in agreement with each other, and were known simultaneously to one people, the Chaldeans.  Let us now build up the series of both cycles, starting from our era, and the result will be as follows: 

+-----------------+--------------+
| Zodiacal Cycle. | Lunar Cycle. |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 1,460           | 1,805        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 1,822           | 712          |
+-----------------+--------------+
| _____           | _____        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 2,782           | 2,517        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 4,242           | 4,322        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 5,702           | 6,127        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 7,162           | 7,932        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 8,622           | 9,737        |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 110,082         | 11,542       |
+-----------------+--------------+
| 11,542          |              |
+-----------------+--------------+

“At the year 11,542 B.C. the two cycles came together, and consequently they had on that year their common origin in one and the same astronomical observation.”

That observation was probably made in Atlantis.

The wide divergence of languages which is found to exist among the Atlanteans at the beginning of the Historical Period implies a vast lapse of time.  The fact that the nations of the Old World remembered so little of Atlantis, except the colossal fact of its sudden and overwhelming destruction, would also seem to remove that event into a remote past.

Herodotus tells us that he learned from the Egyptians that Hercules was one of their most ancient deities, and that he was one of the twelve produced from the eight gods, 17,000 years before the reign of Amasis.