The ancient tradition that Critias recounts shifts the setting to the Egyptian city of Sais, which Solon visited. There, an elderly priest told Solon, "Greeks are always children."

That is not simply a statement that belittles the intelligence of Greeks. It was an observation that, due to repeated interruptions to records and education caused by disasters such as fire and water, civilizations have been rebuilt without knowing the past. From the perspective of Egypt, which preserved old records in temples, a forgotten image of ancient Athens emerges.

Dialogue Text

Critias (Continued): "In the delta region of Egypt, there is a place where the Nile River divides near its source. This area is called the Saite nome, and the largest city in that nome is Sais. King Amasis also came from there. In that city, there is a goddess who is considered the founder of the city. In Egyptian, she is called Neith; according to their account, in Greek, her name is Athena. They have great affection for Athenians and claim that they are somehow related."

Critias (Continued): "When Solon went there, he was highly respected among them. He repeatedly asked the priests who were most knowledgeable about ancient matters. However, he realized that both he and other Greeks knew almost nothing about such things. Therefore, in an attempt to lead them into a discussion of ancient history, he began telling stories considered the oldest on this land. He recounted myths about Phthonos and Niobe, and how Deucalion and Pyrrha survived after the great flood, tracing the lineage of people who descended from them. And as he tried to recall the number of years that had passed since those events, he attempted to count them from memory."

Critias (Continued) At that time, a priest, who was very old, said the following.

"Solon, Solon, the Greeks are always children; there is no old Greek among them."

Solon asked for clarification again.

"What does that mean?"

The priest answered.

"You are all young souls. Among you, there is nothing of old perspectives based on ancient traditions, nor the scholarship that has turned white with the passage of many years."

Critias (Continued) The reason is as follows: The extinction of humanity has occurred, and will continue to occur, many times in the past due to various causes. Those caused by fire and water are the greatest, while other countless causes result in smaller-scale extinctions.

Critias (Continued): "As is also said in your accounts, once Phaeton, the son of Helios, harnessed horses to his father's chariot, but he could not follow his father's path and burned everything on earth, perishing himself by being struck by lightning. This story is told in the form of a myth, but the truth is that something orbiting above the Earth deviates from its course, and over long years, the surface of the Earth will be destroyed by a great fire."

Critias (Continued). At that time, the people living in mountains and high places, and on dry land, will perish more than those who live near rivers or the sea. For us, the Nile is a salvation in other ways as well, but even from this disaster, its flow will save us. Conversely, when the gods cleanse the earth with water and cause floods, the people living in the mountains can survive as shepherds, but the people living in your city will be carried by the river to the sea. In this land, there has never been a time, nor will there ever be, when water flows from above down into cultivated fields. Rather, everything here returns from below upwards; that is the nature of this land.

Critias (continued): "Therefore, and for these reasons, it is said that the things preserved in this land are the oldest. In reality, everywhere, regardless of whether they are protected from extreme cold or heat, human races have always existed, increasing or decreasing in number."

Critias (Continued) Whether it is your land, or this land, or any other land, everything that we know through hearsay, anything beautiful, large, or otherwise remarkable that has arisen in any place, has been recorded and preserved here from ancient times within the temple. However, whatever is newly built in your land or in other lands, along with the letters and all things necessary for a city, after a certain period of time, a kind of disease-like flow comes down from heaven, leaving only those who do not know letters and do not understand literature behind you. Therefore, you are left knowing nothing of what existed here or in your land in ancient times, and you become like children from the very beginning.

Critias (Continued) The genealogy of your land, which you have now spoken of, is not much different from the story told by Solon, and only slightly more than the children's tales. You remember only one flood out of many that occurred in the past. Furthermore, you are unaware that a race of people existed on your land who were the most beautiful and best among all peoples. The current you and the entire city originated from a small remnant of that race, but this is hidden from you because those who survived for generations have died without leaving any records in writing.

Critias (Continued). Before the greatest destruction by water, this city, which is now the city of the Athenians, was the most excellent in war and in all respects, especially in its laws. It is said that among all the countries we have heard about under the sun, the most beautiful actions and the most beautiful institutions arose there.