Yes, the Sphinx has always been known to predate the pyramids and be at least 6000 years old, but I have heard before that the weathering pattern all over it is from heavy rain, which puts the date back to at least 7000 years. Then it was also assumed the Sphinx was originally carved as a lion and the face changed later which adds credibility to lining up with the constellation leo, this is gaining some momentum but 12,000 years is a very long time. I think 36,000 sounds a bit excessive.

Its also true that no-one in ancient times knew the purpose of the pyramids. Nor do we now. It is possible that the Egyptians inherited their culture from the death of an earlier civilisation.

On an interesting note the story of Atlantis says it is a continent larger than Asia and Libya. When America was first discovered it was thought by many that it was Atlantis. Actually, this makes a lot of sense. Since in previous times its coast was much further out to sea and all of this would have flooded at some point. But I respect your reasons for not talking about Atlantis, the original account is wonderful but it has been ruined by centuries of bad speculation.


Either way the account of Atlantis is the best we have attesting to the frequent mass extinctions of man. Second to this there is a wonderful account of the golden age of man, also in Plato (the Statesman I think, or maybe the Sophist, one with the Stranger from Elia). This account also tells of periodic extinctions of civilisation.

The jist of it is this; The Stranger from Elia starts by asking if everyone has heard the myth of how the gods made man out of earth and clay. Everyone has. But even then they thought this strange, he describes why it is so. He says that we are in the age of Zeus and that the Cosmos is spinning but is gradually becoming more Chaotic and losing its pattern. Every so often, thousands of years apart, the Father of Zeus 'Cronos' (Saturn), who is the creator and Pilot of the Cosmos, returns and seeing the Cosmos in a sorry state he takes control and spins it in the reverse direction. When this happens huge earthquakes and floods cover the earth (because it is stopping and spinning the other way, this would happen!) and EVERYTHING is killed, or almost everything. Only a few people and animals survive. While Cronos is in Charge the Cosmos is spinning the other way and TIME IS REVERSED! So in our age people die and decay into dust and earth, but in the golden age people spontaneously come to life, fully grown, made out of the earth! SO we have the legend of men born from earth and clay. After an epoch or so Cronos lets go of the Cosmos and lets it return to its usual pattern, until the time comes when it becomes chaotic again. The Earth born still alive at this re-reversal tell the story to the new generation of human born. ---Vaguely remembered from Plato.

I like this story because its just cool that they had sci-fi like time reversal stories 2500 years ago, and after this story the idea of men made of clay sounds a lot less stupid.