The myth of a flat Earth surrounded by an Ocean into which the sun sets is also found in the Iliad, the famous epic poem written by Homer and dated to c. 900 BC. The story of creation in the Hebrew Bible, in Genesis 1:10, (dated c. 900–550 BC) is also considered by scholars to be describing a flat Earth surrounded by a sea. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus (484–425 BC) also gave an account of the eastern "end of the Earth," in his descriptions of India. He reported that in India the sun's heat is extremely intense in the morning, instead of noon being the hottest time of day. It has been argued that he based this on his belief that since India is located at the extreme east of a flat Earth, it would only be logical if the morning were unbearably hot due to the sun's proximity. Alexander's travels The Quran and the Alexander romance both have it that Dhul-Qarnayn (or Alexander) travelled a great deal. In the Quran's story of Dhul-Qarnayn, "God gave him unto every thing a road" (or more literally, "We gave him the means of everything" 18:84) He travels as far as the ends of the Earth, to the place on the Earth where the Sun sets (the west) and the place on the Earth where the Sun rises (the east). The Quran portrays him travelling to the "setting of the sun." Muslim interpretations of these verses are varied, but classical Muslim scholars seemed to have been of the opinion that Dhul-Qarnayn's journey was real, not allegorical, and that Dhul-Qarnayn's wall is also a real, physical wall somewhere on Earth. In the Christian legends, Alexander travels to the places of the setting and rising of the Sun and this is meant to say that he travelled to the ends of the flat Earth and thus he had traversed the entire world. This legendary account served to convey the theme of Alexander's exploits as a great conqueror. Alexander was indeed a great conqueror, having ruled the largest empire in ancient history by the time he was 25 years old. However, the true historical extent of Alexander's travels are known to be greatly exaggerated in legends. For example, legend has it that upon reaching India, ... said Alexander 'Truly, then, all the inhabited world is mine. West, north, east, south, there is nothing more for