Forty-plus years ago, the 'space gods' theories of writer ERICH VON DANIKEN were all the rage, grasping the public's imagination. Comicbook readers saw such themes played out in the four-colour pages of JACK KIRBY's The ETERNALS, and TV programmes mined the topic for its rich seam of interest and controversy. In the late '70s, I read at least one of Von Daniken's books and was unimpressed, and later, while discussing the subject with a friend, he lent me an abridged version of the book you see above.
It was written from a religious perspective, but that particular fact is by-the-by and needn't concern us now. What I found interesting was how it dealt with so-called 'evidence' that, on a superficial level at least, seems quite persuasive. For example, according to Von Daniken, there's an island in the Nile called Elephantinos, which has been so named for centuries, and is shaped, apparently, like an elephant. However, this shape can only be noticed from the air - so who, Von Daniken wonders, went up to find out - and how did they do it?
When one ponders the matter, it seems entirely reasonable, doesn't it? How could mere man, bereft of the later development of flight, know that the island on which he lived was shaped like an elephant, and was therefore why it was so christened? Surely that's not such a ridiculous question, is it? However, its shape has almost certainly changed over the centuries, and the Greek word 'elephantinos' doesn't translate as 'like an elephant' as Mr. Von Daniken claims, but simply means 'ivory'. Guess what though. The island was once the site of an ivory market, hence, unsurprisingly, the name. (And does the island above look anything like an elephant to you?)
Was Von Daniken (a convicted fraudster) ignoring the facts and loading the dice in his favour for the purpose of selling a few books, or was he serious in his speculations on the origins of mankind? Whichever it was, upon piercing the fragile surface of his so-called 'evidence', it would seem that it simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
