Fresh Batch #72: Did Aelian Describe America in the 2nd Century AD?
By Dylan Saccoccio
In the 2nd century A.D., Aelian, an alleged Roman author who wrote in Greek, gave accounts worthy of notice such as, “τὴν μὲν Εὐρώπην καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ τὴν Λιβύην νήσους εἶναι, ἃς περιρρεῖν κύκλῳ τὸν Ὠκεανόν, ἤπειρον δὲ εἶναι μόνην ἐκείνην τὴν ἔξω τούτου τοῦ κόσμου,” which claims Europe, Asia, and Libya are islands but the other continent, which may be an allusion to America, is beyond that known world at the time, loosely translated as, “Europe and Asia and Libya are the islands that circle the ocean, but the continent is only that outside of this world.”
Again, “τρέφειν δὲ τὰ ἄλλα ζῷα μεγάλα, καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δὲ τῶν ἐνταυθοῖ διπλασίονας τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ χρόνον ζῆν αὐτοὺς οὐχ ὅσον ἡμεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκεῖνον διπλοῦν,” loosely translated as, “But they feed the other large animals, and the humans of the inner ones are twice the size, and they live not as long as us, but they also double that.”
Again, “καὶ πολλὰς μὲν εἶναι καὶ μεγάλας πόλεις καὶ βίων ἰδιότητας, καὶ νόμους αὐτοῖς τετάχθαι ἐναντίως κειμένους τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν νομιζομένοις. δύο δὲ εἶναι πόλεις ἔλεγε μεγέθει μεγίστας, οὐδὲν δὲ ἀλλήλαις ἐοικέναι: καὶ τὴν μὲν ὀνομάζεσθαι Μάχιμον, τὴν δὲ Εὐσεβῆ,” loosely translated as, “And there are many of them, both of great cities and of peculiar lives, and laws against these are set against those which are thought of by us. And two are cities, said to be of large size, but none of them are close to each other: and the first is called Machimon (whose root looks like Μάχι, which is similar to Machu as well as Mexi, or Mesi, in Mexico) and the second is called Eusevi (Εὐσεβῆ looks like Eusebius).”
Is he describing Machu Picchu or one of the great cities of Mexico?
He then described the fact that they had no beasts of burden, which is exactly what was found by the Spaniards some thirteen centuries later, “τοὺς μὲν οὖν Εὐσεβεῖς ἐν εἰρήνῃ τε διάγειν καὶ πλούτῳ βαθεῖ, καὶ λαμβάνειν τοὺς καρποὺς ἐκ τῆς γῆς χωρὶς ἀρότρων καὶ βοῶν, γεωργεῖν δὲ καὶ σπείρειν οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἔργον εἶναι. καὶ διατελοῦσιν ῾ἦ δ᾽ ὃσ᾽ ὑγιεῖς καὶ ἄνοσοι, καὶ καταστρέφουσι τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον γελῶντες εὖ μάλα καὶ ἡδόμενοι,” loosely translated as, “Let them, then, be God-fearing in peace and riches, and they receive the fruits of the earth without plows and oxen, but they plow and sow, it is no work for them. and they pretend to be healthy and immune, and they destroy their own lives by laughing and giving up.”
The next portion of what he wrote might be a reference to the Olmecs or Mayans, the three prominent cities circa 200 AD being Teotihuacán (near Mexico City), Monte Albán (Oaxaca), and the Mayan civilization in the Yucatán, “οὕτω δὲ ἀναμφιλόγως εἰσὶ δίκαιοι, ὡς μηδὲ τοὺς θεοὺς πολλάκις ἀπαξιοῦν ἐπιφοιτᾶν αὐτοῖς. οἱ δὲ τῆς Μαχίμου πόλεως μαχιμώτατοί τέ εἰσι καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ γίνονται μεθ᾽ ὅπλων, καὶ ἀεὶ πολεμοῦσι, καὶ καταστρέφονται τοὺς ὁμόρους, καὶ παμπόλλων ἐθνῶν μία πόλις κρατεῖ αὕτη,” loosely translated as, “And so you are unquestionably righteous, as many discredit the gods, and they study them. But the people of the city of Machimus are defeated, and they are armed with weapons, and they are fighting, and the neighbors are destroyed, and one city keeps it from all the nations.”
Before you scoff at this, keep in mind that we see the same thing with the Olmecs that we see in China: buried pyramid-like structures.
Everything about the Olmecs looks Asian and Buddhic. I don’t even think the status quo disputes the Asiatic influence in America. The question is whether or not they came from Asia, or if it’s possible the Asians came from America.
The Mayan architecture looks similar to that which can be found in Southeast Asia.
While this post explores diffusion between Asia and the Americas, you’ll definitely want to learn about the diffusion between the Americas and the Mediterranean in Spirit Whirled: The Holy Sailors (click the image).
Become a member to access the rest of this article. If you’ve never been a member and want a comped month to see if my work is a good fit for you, follow these simple instructions:
2. Message me ‘Dylan Substack’ only (this lets me know where you got the offer)
3. Then, in a separate message, send me your email only
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Dylan Saccoccio Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.