 When Plato described Atlantis beyond the pillars of Hercules, we should remember the fact that this region was vastly unexplored and such a thing called the edge of the world still existed. According to Greek mythology adopted by the Etruscans and Romans, when Hercules had to perform 12 laborers, one of them was to fetch the cattle of Graeon of the far west and bring them to Eurythrius. This marked the westward extent of his travels. A lost passage of Pindar was the earliest traceable reference in this context. The pillars, which Pindar calls the Gates of Gaddus, when he asserts that they are the farthest most limits reached by Heracles. Since there has been a one-to-one association between Heracles and Malkart since Herodotus, the pillars of Malkart in the temple near Gadiria have sometimes been considered to be the true pillars of Hercules. According to Plato's account, the lost realm of Atlantis was situated beyond the pillars of Hercules, in effect placing it in the realm of the unknown. Beyond Gaddus, several important Mauritania colonies in modern-day Morocco were founded by the Phoenicians. As the Phoenician merchant navy pushed through the pillars of Hercules and began constructing a series of bases along the Atlantic coast, starting with Lexus in the north, then Chalea, and finally Magador. Mauritania is the Latin name for an area in the ancient Magrib. It stretched from central present-day Algeria, westward to the Atlantic, covering northern Morocco and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, semi-nomadic pastoralists of Berber ancestral stock, were known to the Romans as the Mari. Beginning in 27 BC, the kings of Mauritania became Roman vassals until about 44 AD when the area was annexed to Rome and divided into two provinces. This area is, of course, where the Eye of the Sahara is located, which fits Plato's description of Atlantis. Is that just a coincidence you have to wonder? Search for Atlantis is human obsession. There is a little-known expedition in ancient times to find this land, which was in this unknown realm, and the explorer who went in search goes by the name of Hanno, the Navigator. Wait, do you hear this? In around 500 BC, a major journey was undertaken by the Carthaginian explorer and navigator Hanno. The epic voyage took him through the Strait of Trebralter and down the Atlantic coast of Africa. This was a voyage into the unknown and the idea at the time was to find the fabled mighty empire of Atlantis and set up trading routes. We know of this journey through a complete set of inscribed tablets describing Hanno's effort to seek out the riches which were on display at the Temple of Baal. The expedition became even in antiquity, one of the most celebrated voyages of discovery ever undertaken. It was an epic effort. The first-hand account of Hanno's voyage survived through antiquity and into the modern age via a single medieval manuscript. Itself a copy of a Greek translation made from the Punic original which was carved on a dedicatory stela 400 BC. Scholars consider there to be at least two missing parts of the surviving text, including the conclusion. The work titled simply The Periplis or Coastal Voyage is short, but such is the posity of Punic literature which survives. It is inevitable far beyond its subject matter of seafaring and exploration. The original surviving manuscript is part of the codex Palantines-Goracus 398 and resides in the University of Heidelberg Library. Hanno is referred to in the text by the Greek term Basilis, which is almost certainly a translation of the Punic Sufit. The highest administrative role in the Carthaginian government, often translated as Magistrate. His name is a common one in the powerful Carthaginian clan, the Magnids, and would suggest he was a member of it. Beyond this, we have no other information about the leader of the expedition. The Roman historian Justin mentions in passing that Hanno fought a war with the Mauritanian natives in the mid 5th century BC. Given that Hanno's expedition established colonies in this area, Morocco, and would probably have caused competition with local tribes, this may well be the same person. Other ancient sources which refer to the expedition include Herodotus in the 5th century BC, Paleophantus in the 4th century BC, and various later Roman writers such as Pliny the Elder and Arian who likely consulted a 1st century work by Juba II of Mauritania titled The Wandering of Hanno. The precise state of the voyage is not stated, but was probably undertaken sometime between the late 6th century BC. The Carthaginian ships were made from wood and had a single sail with the possibility of ore power if necessary. They did not have the compass and so relied on the stars, especially Ursa Minor for navigation. The following is a brief piece of the text of Hanno's epic voyage. This is the story of the long voyage of Hanno king of the Carthaginians into Libyan lands beyond the pillars of Hercules, which he dedicated on a tablet in the temple of Cronus. The Carthaginians decided that Hanno should sail beyond the pillars of Hercules and found cities of Livy Phoenicians. He set sail with 60 Pentecounters and about 30,000 men and women and provisions and other necessaries. After sailing beyond the pillars for two days we found the first city which we called Thymaterian, Tangier. Sailing thence westward we came to Sullaes, a Libyan promontory covered with trees. There we found that a temple to Poseidon. Journeying eastward for half a day we reached a lake not far from the sea, covered with a great growth of tall reeds. Where elephants and many other wild animals fed, a day's journey beyond this lake we found cities on the coast. Passing on from there we came to a large river, Lexos, the draw in Morocco, flowing from Libya. Beside which nomads called Lexotai pastured their flocks. We stayed some time with them and became friends. Inland from there dwelt inhospitable Ethiopians in a land ridden with wild beasts and hemmed in by great mountains. They say the Lexos flows down from there and that among these mountains troglodytes of strange appearance dwell, who according to the Lexotai can run more swiftly than horses. Taking interpreters from the Lexotai we sailed south along the desert Sahara shore for two days and then for one day eastward and found a small island five status in circumference at the farther end of a gulf. Made a settlement there and called it Cerna. We judged from our journey that it was directly opposite Carthage for the voyage from Carthage to the Pillars and from there to Cerna seemed alike. We sailed on for five days along the coast until we came to a great bay which our interpreters called the Horn of the West. In it was a large island and in the island a saltwater lake within which was another island where we disembarked. By day we could see nothing but a forest but by night we saw many fires burning and we heard the sound of flutes and a beating of cymbals and drums and a great den of voices. Fear came upon us and the soothsayers made us leave the island. The Greek translation of Hanno's text has taken some liberties with names and there are geographical inaccuracies. The historian S. Moscati plausibly suggests that they may have been deliberately included to prevent unwanted competitors muscling in on Carthaginian trade relations. The final part of the journey is debated amongst historians. Some suggest Hanno reached only Sierra Leone, others that he went as far south as the Cameroons or Gavin. Even the shorter journey which some prefer because Hanno would have struggled in the time to reach further south would still have involved an outbound leg of almost 3,000 miles. The fact that Carthaginians sailed down the west coast of Africa is cooperated by Herodotus and by the fact that the whole expedition was to found colonies strongly suggesting that the Carthaginians had visited the coast previously in order to ascertain it was worthwhile sending Hanno's large fleet. Other Carthaginians travelers soon followed and exploited the newfound sources of gold the bartering for which is described by Herodotus. Another famous traveler, the Greek Polybius, followed in the wake of Hanno and sailed down the same Atlantic coastline in the 2nd century BC. For whatever reason though, significant further exploration of the African coast and interior would have to wait another thousand years. It is a curious story and we would love to know what you guys think of this account. Comments below and as always thank you for watching.