What do you think?
Rate this book
From Atlantis to the Sphinx
In this compelling book, Colin Wilson argues that thousands of years before ancient Egypt and Greece held sway, there was a great civilization whose ships traveled the world from China to Antarctica. Their advanced knowledge of science, mathematics, and astronomy was passed on to descendants who escaped to Egypt and South America.
From Atlantis to the Sphinx bases this assertion on a true that archaeologists and geologists are at odds over the age of the Sphinx. Archaeologists claim that the Sphinx dates to classical dynastic Egypt, around 2,400 b.c. But some geologists claim that it could have been built as early as 7,000 to 10,500 b.c. The geologists' claim is based on the curious fact that the erosion of the Sphinx is more characteristic of water erosion than that of wind and sand.
Starting from the assumption that there was an advanced civilization in existence much earlier than previously thought, Wilson goes on to claim that it could very well be Atlantisnot a literal island that sank, but more of a great civilization that either declined naturally or experienced a great catastrophe, passing on only a fraction of its knowledge to other peoples. From Atlantis to the Sphinx delves into what might have been a completely different knowledge system from that of modern manone as alien to us as that of the Martians.
The book sets out to reconstruct that ancient knowledge in a fascinating exploration of the remote depths of history, a groundbreaking attempt to understand how these longforgotten peoples thought, felt, and communicated with the universe.
From Atlantis to the Sphinx bases this assertion on a true that archaeologists and geologists are at odds over the age of the Sphinx. Archaeologists claim that the Sphinx dates to classical dynastic Egypt, around 2,400 b.c. But some geologists claim that it could have been built as early as 7,000 to 10,500 b.c. The geologists' claim is based on the curious fact that the erosion of the Sphinx is more characteristic of water erosion than that of wind and sand.
Starting from the assumption that there was an advanced civilization in existence much earlier than previously thought, Wilson goes on to claim that it could very well be Atlantisnot a literal island that sank, but more of a great civilization that either declined naturally or experienced a great catastrophe, passing on only a fraction of its knowledge to other peoples. From Atlantis to the Sphinx delves into what might have been a completely different knowledge system from that of modern manone as alien to us as that of the Martians.
The book sets out to reconstruct that ancient knowledge in a fascinating exploration of the remote depths of history, a groundbreaking attempt to understand how these longforgotten peoples thought, felt, and communicated with the universe.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
48 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Colin Wilson
515 books1,277 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 2, 2019
Reading Wilson's account of the ancient mysteries is like listening to a fascinating drunk - he's so well read and passionate on the subject you can't help be drawn along. But at the same time if you take him too seriously you will be pulling your hair out with frustration. The book is scattershot - starting with Egypt and the ancient world but digressing into clairvoyance, the evolution of man and even astrology. It's a wonderful way to explore some of the greatest mysteries of history, like the weathering on the sphinx, the Piri Reis map and the seashells on the shores of Lake Titicaca 13,000 feet above sea level, but sometimes it's a struggle to understand what Wilson is trying to say.
He does, however, have this wonderful theory that we, as humans, have forgotten a way of thinking. We sometimes touch on this state of heightened consciousness, what some people call "the zone", but Wilson is of the opinion that we once were able to think like this all the time. It's only that left-brain thinking has taken over and we have lost out as a result. He tries to use this theory to focus the ideas that are firing haphazardly throughout the book, but in the end it results in more wild side-tracking. It also results in some serious confirmation bias as Wilson details some of the flimsiest evidence to support his theory.
Wilson is no scientist. He's no Richard Dawkins and anyone coming to this expecting that level of scientific rigour will be extremely disappointed. Wilson is, however, quite brilliant, and possibly also an eccentric. I imagine him writing this book hermited away in a room filled with thousands of books, quoting from them liberally, but never actually going to the places he writes about. This makes him less grounded than other writers in this field, like Graham Hancock, and also gives him less perspective. He ends up sounding like von Daniken, which I know he would hate to hear, but postulating scientific grounds for astrology is, for me, out there on the fringe with aliens building the pyramids.
It's fascinating reading, but more an inspiration for writing Dan Brownesque fiction than learning the sciences.
He does, however, have this wonderful theory that we, as humans, have forgotten a way of thinking. We sometimes touch on this state of heightened consciousness, what some people call "the zone", but Wilson is of the opinion that we once were able to think like this all the time. It's only that left-brain thinking has taken over and we have lost out as a result. He tries to use this theory to focus the ideas that are firing haphazardly throughout the book, but in the end it results in more wild side-tracking. It also results in some serious confirmation bias as Wilson details some of the flimsiest evidence to support his theory.
Wilson is no scientist. He's no Richard Dawkins and anyone coming to this expecting that level of scientific rigour will be extremely disappointed. Wilson is, however, quite brilliant, and possibly also an eccentric. I imagine him writing this book hermited away in a room filled with thousands of books, quoting from them liberally, but never actually going to the places he writes about. This makes him less grounded than other writers in this field, like Graham Hancock, and also gives him less perspective. He ends up sounding like von Daniken, which I know he would hate to hear, but postulating scientific grounds for astrology is, for me, out there on the fringe with aliens building the pyramids.
It's fascinating reading, but more an inspiration for writing Dan Brownesque fiction than learning the sciences.
March 10, 2015
RILETTURA.
La prima volta che lessi questo libro ne sapevo molto meno di adesso. Dopo esser stata ricoperta di nozioni al liceo e ora pure all'uni riesco a riconoscerne ancora di più il valore. Non fatevi fregare per favore, perché questo libro non intende fregarvi affatto. Non è roba da allucinati che vogliono convincervi che la piramide di Giza è atterrata con un atterraggio perfetto mollata lì da un marziano annoiato. Partendo da dubbi quanto mai ragionevoli e scoperte magari accantonate partono riflessioni sulla civiltà umana e le sue conoscenze. Se perdonate a Wilson qualche riga dove smostra fin troppo per farvi vedere quante ne sa lui e il suo (un po' giustificato comunque) mettere le mani avanti per dirvi che no, non è allucinato, questa lettura sarà veramente proficua.
PRIMA LETTURA.
Un ottimo libro anche per i non appassionati di pseudo archeologia. Sì, perchè non si tratta solo di questo ma anche di archeologia (quella accettata ovunque), storia, geologia.
Un libro illuminante per certi versi, che potrebbe spingervi a volerne sapere di più, senza chiuderlo e dire "le solite stronzate sugli alieni che fanno piramidi".
La prima volta che lessi questo libro ne sapevo molto meno di adesso. Dopo esser stata ricoperta di nozioni al liceo e ora pure all'uni riesco a riconoscerne ancora di più il valore. Non fatevi fregare per favore, perché questo libro non intende fregarvi affatto. Non è roba da allucinati che vogliono convincervi che la piramide di Giza è atterrata con un atterraggio perfetto mollata lì da un marziano annoiato. Partendo da dubbi quanto mai ragionevoli e scoperte magari accantonate partono riflessioni sulla civiltà umana e le sue conoscenze. Se perdonate a Wilson qualche riga dove smostra fin troppo per farvi vedere quante ne sa lui e il suo (un po' giustificato comunque) mettere le mani avanti per dirvi che no, non è allucinato, questa lettura sarà veramente proficua.
PRIMA LETTURA.
Un ottimo libro anche per i non appassionati di pseudo archeologia. Sì, perchè non si tratta solo di questo ma anche di archeologia (quella accettata ovunque), storia, geologia.
Un libro illuminante per certi versi, che potrebbe spingervi a volerne sapere di più, senza chiuderlo e dire "le solite stronzate sugli alieni che fanno piramidi".
January 21, 2011
Very interesting and engaging book about theories of an antediluvian civilzation and their possible influence on history. Great source of information about societies, psychology, geology, astronomy, and other sciences.
November 29, 2022
⭐⭐⭐⭐, 5
Avvincente. Esplicativo, dimostrativo
Avvincente. Esplicativo, dimostrativo
January 27, 2014
The author has a fresh view into understanding the builders of the monuments of the Giza plateau. His central point is that the ancient Egyptians utilized a much different cognitive process than we are currently accustomed to. We take for granted that everything needs to be critically analyzed, dissected, and categorized. Wilson discusses the fact that the human brain's two hemispheres are actually two brains in the same head. The left brain, as we know, is calculating and the right is more creative and intuitive. He makes a great case for the heightened power of intuitive processing, thus little need of written language. The symbology inherent in the hieroglyphs now takes on a much richer meaning with mufti-faceted inferences.
His descriptions of the Great Pyramid and the Giza plateau are some of the most detailed I have read. He has referenced many of the key researchers on the subject of mysteries of ancient Egypt to the point that a serious student of this topic will want to use his credible sources to broaden his understanding.
Overall, this was a very good book, but I felt that the final chapters were weak and that although Wilson made a good case for the change in the human psyche over the ages, he did not complete his theory by tying together further physical evidence. He is a prolific author on many subjects. Perhaps he lost interest in this one. Too bad, most of the book is quite compelling.
His descriptions of the Great Pyramid and the Giza plateau are some of the most detailed I have read. He has referenced many of the key researchers on the subject of mysteries of ancient Egypt to the point that a serious student of this topic will want to use his credible sources to broaden his understanding.
Overall, this was a very good book, but I felt that the final chapters were weak and that although Wilson made a good case for the change in the human psyche over the ages, he did not complete his theory by tying together further physical evidence. He is a prolific author on many subjects. Perhaps he lost interest in this one. Too bad, most of the book is quite compelling.
June 5, 2015
I really liked this book even though I gleaned hardly any new information. I liked it partly because of the way Wilson pulled things together. Also, it seemed to click with some of the things I've been thinking about lately.
April 16, 2024
El título puede despistar un poco al inducir a pensar en que se centra únicamente en la Gran Esfinge de Gizeh cuando, en realidad, el autor utiliza a ésta como palanca para desarrollar la interesante teoría basada en que la civilización humana tendría una antigüedad que podría superar en miles de años a la que le atribuyen los historiadores.
Además de, por supuesto, analizar los orígenes de los antiguos egipcios, incluye reseñas de otros importantes enclaves arqueólogicos como Tiahuanaco, Teotihuacán o las Líneas de Nazca.
También desarrolla diversas líneas de pensamiento como la evolución humana o la filosofía del I Ching.
En definitiva, es un libro inspirador y de lectura entretenida y amena.
Además de, por supuesto, analizar los orígenes de los antiguos egipcios, incluye reseñas de otros importantes enclaves arqueólogicos como Tiahuanaco, Teotihuacán o las Líneas de Nazca.
También desarrolla diversas líneas de pensamiento como la evolución humana o la filosofía del I Ching.
En definitiva, es un libro inspirador y de lectura entretenida y amena.
June 18, 2015
I will criticize this book in this way:
BOOs:
- Sometimes I feel like the author is giving out unnecessary information.
- When it comes to astronomical/geographical or planetary terms (equinoxes, precessions, strata layers) he barely explains them. As someone who likes and interested in these subjects, I found it occasionally hard to understand what is Mr. Wilson talking about, or where is he getting at. He makes you forget what was the argument in the first place.
- Do I smell sexism? Did he really suggest that female body got less hairy and more squishy because the males who came back from the hunt wanted a 'good reward'? Did he really mention about a 16 year old non-virgin girl as a 'damaged good'? Am I just exaggerating it?
WOOs:
- I liked the findings of ancient maps, suggesting a pre ice age Antarctica.
- Didn't know that there were 3 million old handmade tools. A good information indeed, which prepares a base for some old civilizations.
- I liked it when he stated that even Darwin wasn't sure about his natural selection theory. Some Neo-Darwinians talk about him like he was so sure of himself and his findings.
- Overall an entertaining book for people who likes science and occult side by side.
BOOs:
- Sometimes I feel like the author is giving out unnecessary information.
- When it comes to astronomical/geographical or planetary terms (equinoxes, precessions, strata layers) he barely explains them. As someone who likes and interested in these subjects, I found it occasionally hard to understand what is Mr. Wilson talking about, or where is he getting at. He makes you forget what was the argument in the first place.
- Do I smell sexism? Did he really suggest that female body got less hairy and more squishy because the males who came back from the hunt wanted a 'good reward'? Did he really mention about a 16 year old non-virgin girl as a 'damaged good'? Am I just exaggerating it?
WOOs:
- I liked the findings of ancient maps, suggesting a pre ice age Antarctica.
- Didn't know that there were 3 million old handmade tools. A good information indeed, which prepares a base for some old civilizations.
- I liked it when he stated that even Darwin wasn't sure about his natural selection theory. Some Neo-Darwinians talk about him like he was so sure of himself and his findings.
- Overall an entertaining book for people who likes science and occult side by side.
February 2, 2009
After reading 'The Atlantis Blueprint', 'Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings', 'When the Sky Fell' and 'The Giza Power Plant', I was really (and I mean really) disappointed by this book. It starts out by giving an adequate summary of the data presented by others so far, and then goes into overdrive by throwing a fit of uncontrolled imagination. Going from here to there in gigantic leaps (of faith) and misrepresenting basic knowledge of physics and biology (I mean the author really doesn't understand evolution at all - and he would do very good to read the wonderful 'The Ancestors Tale' by Richard Dawkins). It was a frustrating read, leaving me to wonder wether I should contact the author and tell him that he has formally "gone over the edge" and in my opinion is an official part of the "lunatic fringe". But on the other hand..., why bother... Do yourself a favor, don't buy this book...
June 3, 2012
This is more high weirdness from Kilgore Tr...er, Colin Wilson, now mostly about the evidences for an antediluvian civilization. The material Wilson adduces is derivative. Nothing original here, but he is good at summarization, drawing connections between various sources and hypotheses. Basically, the key evidence is that the Sphinx shows weathering at its base that many geologists say can only have occurred from water. There hasn't been enough water in Egypt for tens of thousands of years. Consequently, there must have been a pre-dynastic civilization, perhaps the Atlantis Plato mentioned...
November 23, 2012
Interesting discussion on Egypt and religion but the last few chapters leave reader with unanswered questions and no tie back to the premise of the book.
June 20, 2017
Very interesting and I am reading more on the subjects. Already read another book by Colin Wilson on Atlantis.
September 23, 2023
Wilson creates a valuable collection of landmark authors, ideas, and works related to Atlantis and ancient man, so read it for that. I simply found that the end didn’t live up to the beginning. Click below for full review.
https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...
https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...
June 1, 2025
The book is filled with ”other” views on our history than mainstream by scholars. Many interesting angles on different sunjects and topics. I recommend it on that basis but it is also lenghty in many parts where the descriptions are filled with more words than necessary. Several times I had the feeling ”yes, I get it, can we move on?”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 28, 2020Slavoj Zizek's favourite Colin Wilson book
See
The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology
The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity
For other favourite Wilson books see my reviews of
The Outsider
The Mind Parasites
See
The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology
The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity
For other favourite Wilson books see my reviews of
The Outsider
The Mind Parasites
March 19, 2020
Interessante, ma rovinato da questa edizione in cui la traduzione italiana fa pena: mancano i segni di punteggiatura, e quando ci sono, sono messi nel posto sbagliato. Uno si chiede: che italiano è? Peccato perché ha rovinato tutto il libro. Meglio leggerlo in inglese!!!
October 5, 2022
interesting read.
Always fascinating to read Colin Wilson. Though this particular one seems to meander at times with some questionable conclusions, overall a most interesting book.
Always fascinating to read Colin Wilson. Though this particular one seems to meander at times with some questionable conclusions, overall a most interesting book.
August 30, 2024
Brilliant, although fair warning in 2024 as much of this material you may well know.
Colin Wilson's writing is always engaging. This book is really interesting overall, even though it seems to meander at times and has some dubious conclusions.
Colin Wilson's writing is always engaging. This book is really interesting overall, even though it seems to meander at times and has some dubious conclusions.
December 23, 2018
An interesting, thought-provoking read.
February 12, 2019
very interesting and made me want to visit Egypt
February 18, 2019
Nothing new
April 22, 2020
I am a big fan of Wilson’s work. A well respected author in other genres not associated with his occult/paranormal/alternative knowledge output, this really shines through in the readability factor, particularly on this title. A romp through a smorgasbord of alternative knowledge subjects and interesting speculations on the 'usual suspects' such as ancient Egypt, civilisations of pre-history, Atlantis etc. A good book for those new to the genre due to its fairly wide scope and readability. The kind of book that will give you a taster for a a few different subjects that you might want to more fully explore elsewhere.
September 18, 2021
Colin Wilson on evidence for an ancient unknown civilisation and technological knowledge in Ancient Egypt.
As with all Colin Wilson's book an interesting and intriguing read.
As with all Colin Wilson's book an interesting and intriguing read.
August 7, 2025
Misterioso. Suggestivo. Discreto.
February 12, 2019
I'm a big Wilson fan, but, though much of this is interesting, much also seems rather speculative, and selecting evidence to fit theories. Some may be right, some wrong, but here, as usual, Wilson's writing is often absorbing and thought-provoking.
August 4, 2022
The book manages to steer it's idiosyncratic course for about 100 pages in a more or less cogent fashion, then gradually it begins to veer off into South American archaeology, in a loose trawl for Atlantis. In fact the chapters on the Americas appear to be just another pseudohistory rehash of the unexplained from Tiahuanaco, the Nazca lines, through to the Olmecs, the Maya, Teotihuacan and the Aztecs, as if a claim for the authenticity of the alternative history of these places should rub off favourably on the earlier Sphynx thesis.
Symptomatic of the woolly thinking of the author is the lumping together of the modern country of Mexico, Teotihuacan and the Aztecs with "South America," when they are of course in North America! The Maya, one of the great American civilizations of Central America, whereas the Olmecs spanned Central America and North America. For this reason archaeologists have developed a more embracing term which fits with much archaeological evidence but is probably beyond the pale for pseudohistory and that is Mesoamerica.
It is quite amusing to hear Erich von Daniken being knocked while the author is actually pretty much in the same category, just not so extreme. The slightly fawning attitude to those sources like Bauval and West, whose evidence is accepted unquestioningly, begins to grate. Like so much fringe writing on history the widely embracing thesis for the much more ancient history of civilization does the author little credit, he would be better off staking a stronger claim on the Egyptology, but then perhaps that does not hold up either.
You might say at the end of all this, there is no smoke without fire. There must be something to the arguments of the fringe historians/ archaeologists. Well perhaps there is but it is not where these authors think. It is in the imaginal realm. It can be accessed by shamanic journeying and other similar techniques. Authors like Wilson have picked up on fragments of "channeled" history on Atlantis and have tried very hard to square this with the physical evidence (and the classic problem you end up with is forcing star constellation patterns onto patterns of temple locations).
I do think that stories exist in the collective unconsciousness about past civilizations which will never get backed up by physical evidence. Wilson and other writers will always be tempted to square up these stories with the evidence. It will never be satisfactory. Curiously though, this does not mean that these stories from the imaginal realm are bunkum, though sadly they end up getting discredited through the work of writers like Colin Wilson.
Symptomatic of the woolly thinking of the author is the lumping together of the modern country of Mexico, Teotihuacan and the Aztecs with "South America," when they are of course in North America! The Maya, one of the great American civilizations of Central America, whereas the Olmecs spanned Central America and North America. For this reason archaeologists have developed a more embracing term which fits with much archaeological evidence but is probably beyond the pale for pseudohistory and that is Mesoamerica.
It is quite amusing to hear Erich von Daniken being knocked while the author is actually pretty much in the same category, just not so extreme. The slightly fawning attitude to those sources like Bauval and West, whose evidence is accepted unquestioningly, begins to grate. Like so much fringe writing on history the widely embracing thesis for the much more ancient history of civilization does the author little credit, he would be better off staking a stronger claim on the Egyptology, but then perhaps that does not hold up either.
You might say at the end of all this, there is no smoke without fire. There must be something to the arguments of the fringe historians/ archaeologists. Well perhaps there is but it is not where these authors think. It is in the imaginal realm. It can be accessed by shamanic journeying and other similar techniques. Authors like Wilson have picked up on fragments of "channeled" history on Atlantis and have tried very hard to square this with the physical evidence (and the classic problem you end up with is forcing star constellation patterns onto patterns of temple locations).
I do think that stories exist in the collective unconsciousness about past civilizations which will never get backed up by physical evidence. Wilson and other writers will always be tempted to square up these stories with the evidence. It will never be satisfactory. Curiously though, this does not mean that these stories from the imaginal realm are bunkum, though sadly they end up getting discredited through the work of writers like Colin Wilson.
August 18, 2019
It's kind of all over the place, but a good look at some fringe and/or paranormal and/or conspiracy Egyptology and Atlantean theories.
July 28, 2017
The Third Force
Ok, so we're on another book from Colin Wilson. First published in 1996, some years after the first Upuaut, designed by Gantenbrink and used to uncover the mysteries of the shafts in the Great Pyramid King's Chamber, this book mentions Bauval, Hancock, Hapgood, Velikovsky and many others. But where the others point out to an extinct civilization (i.e., Atlantis), Colin Wilson with his usual style points out to the hypothesis that humans existed a good amount of time before the academic history is inclined to admit, and those humans where as intelligent as the paleolitic man and as civilization-capable as the latter, but they just kept to do the same thing for a long time before the Gurdjieff's Third Force came into action triggering the brain explosion and the subsequent civilization (one can read the same background ideas as in "The occult" from the same author). Although, facing the knowledge of 20 years later, some of the ideas and theories here written are obsolete/inaccurate. We start with a 90s flavor with the water erosion on the back of the Sphynx, going through the mysteries of the Great Pyramid, with the usual question of who moved titanic granite blocks (and how). A lot has been written about the Giza Complex (and a lot has been disproved). Like the theory about Howard-Vyse forging hieroglyphs in red pigment to prove his theories, pointing out some of these were upside down and referring to a "Khufu" and a "Khnem Khuf", and another mispelled "Raufu" (instead of "Khufu", a blasphemy to the name of Ra). Maybe something were forged, but here there's no mention of those written in tight spaces, like those between blocks (thus being written before placing the stones). Measuring the G.P. it's clear whoever designed it, had notion of what golden ration and pi was. And they wrote them in stone. But every great civilization had their mathematicians who could use these "secrets" in sacred buildings, let's just think about the Parthenon or the Pantheon. In any case, what's flawed in this book, is the usual evidence (every author writing about Atlantis is going to quote one another, and everything must sum up with what Cayce said about Atlantis) about the portolans (such as Piri Re'is map and others), Hapgood and Velikosky theories, and what Temple says about the Dogon. First of all, the shifting crust theory has been disproved a lot of time before Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods" (and it's its cornerstone), and then Hapgood ignores the simple fact the Piri Re'is portolan is just a copy of other maps made at the same age of the Turk captain (and Hancock just quotes this notion). In fact no one seem to notice the discrepancy between the assertion the Piri Re'is' map is an exact mapping of Antarctica and the fact that if it really is so, then from Brazil to Antarctica there are 2500 miles of coasts missing. Clearly the map is a collage of many others, and what should be Antarctica is in fact Tierra del Fuego, deformed due to the particular shape of the parchment (which is, by the way, clearly torn in half). Bauval's theory about a mirror image of "heavens" on Earth, is flawed as well, in particular the charts of the stars can be overlapped on aerial photos only when it's the author doing it, it seems. Then there are inaccuracies about the Cro Magnon and Neanderthal, based on the old theory about the Cro Magnon that allegedly destroyed the Neanderthal. Yes the two human species coexisted, sharing the same Europe of the ice age, but we should consider that Neanderthal was adapted to that climate, so he had the upper hand. And besides, Europeans have a small percentage of Neanderthal genes, so the more logical conclusion is there has been crossbreeding. Maybe, there could have been occasional fights. But at a certain point the Neanderthal disappeared leaving a genetic heritage slowly diluted over the millennias. The most reliable theory, is a climate change. The ice melted and Europe became rainier and hotter than used to be, destroying the natural habitat of the Neanderthal and therefore making it more difficult for him to find food. To sum up, there are a lot of inaccuracies and evidence of a former past in which humans used to know the world, civilized and capable of megalitic structure-building, is inconclusive. But as always, Colin Wilson gives a lot of food for thought, such as the third force, the I Ching built on triplets paired to form 64 exagrams as the RNA does, and so on and so forth.
Ok, so we're on another book from Colin Wilson. First published in 1996, some years after the first Upuaut, designed by Gantenbrink and used to uncover the mysteries of the shafts in the Great Pyramid King's Chamber, this book mentions Bauval, Hancock, Hapgood, Velikovsky and many others. But where the others point out to an extinct civilization (i.e., Atlantis), Colin Wilson with his usual style points out to the hypothesis that humans existed a good amount of time before the academic history is inclined to admit, and those humans where as intelligent as the paleolitic man and as civilization-capable as the latter, but they just kept to do the same thing for a long time before the Gurdjieff's Third Force came into action triggering the brain explosion and the subsequent civilization (one can read the same background ideas as in "The occult" from the same author). Although, facing the knowledge of 20 years later, some of the ideas and theories here written are obsolete/inaccurate. We start with a 90s flavor with the water erosion on the back of the Sphynx, going through the mysteries of the Great Pyramid, with the usual question of who moved titanic granite blocks (and how). A lot has been written about the Giza Complex (and a lot has been disproved). Like the theory about Howard-Vyse forging hieroglyphs in red pigment to prove his theories, pointing out some of these were upside down and referring to a "Khufu" and a "Khnem Khuf", and another mispelled "Raufu" (instead of "Khufu", a blasphemy to the name of Ra). Maybe something were forged, but here there's no mention of those written in tight spaces, like those between blocks (thus being written before placing the stones). Measuring the G.P. it's clear whoever designed it, had notion of what golden ration and pi was. And they wrote them in stone. But every great civilization had their mathematicians who could use these "secrets" in sacred buildings, let's just think about the Parthenon or the Pantheon. In any case, what's flawed in this book, is the usual evidence (every author writing about Atlantis is going to quote one another, and everything must sum up with what Cayce said about Atlantis) about the portolans (such as Piri Re'is map and others), Hapgood and Velikosky theories, and what Temple says about the Dogon. First of all, the shifting crust theory has been disproved a lot of time before Hancock's "Fingerprints of the Gods" (and it's its cornerstone), and then Hapgood ignores the simple fact the Piri Re'is portolan is just a copy of other maps made at the same age of the Turk captain (and Hancock just quotes this notion). In fact no one seem to notice the discrepancy between the assertion the Piri Re'is' map is an exact mapping of Antarctica and the fact that if it really is so, then from Brazil to Antarctica there are 2500 miles of coasts missing. Clearly the map is a collage of many others, and what should be Antarctica is in fact Tierra del Fuego, deformed due to the particular shape of the parchment (which is, by the way, clearly torn in half). Bauval's theory about a mirror image of "heavens" on Earth, is flawed as well, in particular the charts of the stars can be overlapped on aerial photos only when it's the author doing it, it seems. Then there are inaccuracies about the Cro Magnon and Neanderthal, based on the old theory about the Cro Magnon that allegedly destroyed the Neanderthal. Yes the two human species coexisted, sharing the same Europe of the ice age, but we should consider that Neanderthal was adapted to that climate, so he had the upper hand. And besides, Europeans have a small percentage of Neanderthal genes, so the more logical conclusion is there has been crossbreeding. Maybe, there could have been occasional fights. But at a certain point the Neanderthal disappeared leaving a genetic heritage slowly diluted over the millennias. The most reliable theory, is a climate change. The ice melted and Europe became rainier and hotter than used to be, destroying the natural habitat of the Neanderthal and therefore making it more difficult for him to find food. To sum up, there are a lot of inaccuracies and evidence of a former past in which humans used to know the world, civilized and capable of megalitic structure-building, is inconclusive. But as always, Colin Wilson gives a lot of food for thought, such as the third force, the I Ching built on triplets paired to form 64 exagrams as the RNA does, and so on and so forth.
Read
September 2, 2017(found read date in diary)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews