Ancient Greeks originally placed a mythical solar garden of Gesperid in Africa, but in due course its site was removed all further and further for limits of the known earths. Gesperids and Gorgady, Blissful — the place names borrowed from mythology and moving (in myths) from the east on the West as knowledge ancient about the world surrounding them extended, — all these names, at times scientific pases Canary Islands, it is possible with not to identify Happy islands and islands the smaller basis with any archipelago of east Atlantic from Azor to islands of cape Verde. Not without reason this area of Atlantic ocean sometimes names Makaroneziej, i.e. The country of happy islands or islands blissful.
For the first time the mention of a certain happy earth where live blissful, in the Ancient Greek literature meets at the Homere.
You for earth limits, on fields Elisejsky will be
It is sent by gods — there where there lives Radamant gold-haired
(Where run it is light sorrowless days of the person,
Where neither blizzards, nor downpours, хладов winters do not happen,
Where the flying blows the Zephyr, Ocean
With an easy cool there sent to people blissful)...
In the fragment resulted above from a song IV "Odysseus" the Homere speaks about Elizii, a kingdom of Radamanta. In compositions of Gesioda, the poet living in VIII—VII centuries BC, the happy earth is mentioned already under the Island name. Never-dying heroes, gods and demigods Here continue to live. The Ancient Greek poet-lyric poet Pindar creating in first half V centuries BC, speaks about one island Blissful, and on it can get not only the selected heroes, but also righteous persons. That stands up for the unusual earths of the Homere, Gesioda, apparently, never it will be possible to clear Pindara. Only we find for the first time their exact site in the composition of Plinija of the Senior — the Canary archipelago.