Plato’s Timaeus. Folio IIII.

...[the memory of great deeds] has vanished, annulled by the destruction and passing away of men. Among these deeds, there is one illustrious above all others, the commemoration of which shall now be made: so that through you, grace may be bestowed, and the veneration due to God—whose festival procession is held today—may be restored.

He related this, being great in age (for he was then approaching his ninetieth year), while I was then in my tenth year. It was during the public ceremonies on a celebrated day, and the occasion for the story arose from the singing of Solon’s verses. For it was a custom of our family on festive days to invite us boys to a memory competition with prizes proposed. Many poems by both old and new poets were recited from memory; among these, several of Solon’s were performed, as their novelty recommended them for favor. I remember someone—whether he truly judged it so, or wished to flatter Critias—plainly stated that Solon seemed to him not only the wisest in other praiseworthy matters, but also the most excellent in his poetry.

Then the old man (for I remember it vividly) rejoiced exceedingly and said: "O Aminander, if Solon had not pursued poetry merely as a pastime, but with dedicated effort, and had he completed the account which he began after returning from Egypt—from which he was indeed turned away † Or: ceased. by seditions and the other excesses of civil strife—I do not believe he would have been lesser than Hesiod or Homer."

SOLON: What was that account, O Critias, or what was its subject?

CRITIAS: It concerned the greatest and most famous title of extraordinary virtue which this city performed, the memory of which has been extinguished both by the death † Or: kinship. of those who performed it and by the vastness of time.

SOLON: Tell me, I pray, Critias: what was that work, how far did it go, and from whom did your Solon learn of it?

CRITIAS: There is (he said) a region of Egypt called the Delta, from the summit of which the streams of the Nile are divided; near it is a great city named Sais, which is governed by an ancient custom called the Saitic law. From this city came the Emperor Amasis. The foundress of the city is considered to be a goddess, called Neuht Neith in the Egyptian tongue, and in Greek she is called Athena. Furthermore, the people there are lovers of the Athenians and claim to be ennobled by a kinship † Or: surname. with this city.

Solon related that when he traveled there, he was honored with great hospitality. He discovered clearly that no man of our nation has even a slender knowledge concerning the memory of antiquity. Finally, when he was speaking in an assembly of the priests (who possess the chief memory of antiquity) and was eager to draw out what they knew, he spoke of the most ancient histories of Athens—of Phoroneus and Niobe, and after the flood of the world, of Pyrrha and Deucalion—and he proceeded to trace the lineage of the renewed human race down to the memory of parents, calculating the number of years.

He said he was then mocked by one of the priests, who said: "O Solon, you Greeks are always children; there is no such thing as an old man in Greece." When Solon asked why he said this, the priest replied: "Because you are always young in your memories, and there is no gray-haired knowledge among you. And not without reason. For many destructions of men have occurred, partly by conflagration and partly by devastating floods. Indeed, even that story which is known to you—that Phaethon, son of the Sun, once desiring his father’s office, ascended the light-bearing chariot, and because he did not keep to the traditional paths of driving, he burned the earth and was himself consumed by celestial flames—is thought to be a fable, but it is true. For after a long interval, there occurs a deviation in the revolution of the world, which is necessarily followed by a vastness of inflammation. Then those who live in dry and elevated places perish more than those near shores or rivers. To us, however, the Nile is not only a savior in many things, but by its flowing and perennial whirlpool, it wards off destruction against such dangers. Likewise, when the earth must be cleansed by water, the shepherds on the mountain heights escape the danger. But indeed, the cities situated in the plains are swept away to the sea with their people. From these perils, this region is least affected. For here, unlike in other regions, water does not fall from above onto the plains..."