I have been pondering recently the central mystery of LOST: what exactly is the nature of that stinking island, anyway and what’s so important about it?
I think the connection to Ancient Egypt might be one of the most important clues. The island obviously had contact with Egypt at some point, as borne out by the presence of hieroglyphs. Also, the four-toed statue is clearly Egyptian and appears to depict one of the ancient Egyptian deities, possibly Anubis. There are also some other allusions to Egyptian mythology on the show, though not necessarily directly related to the island itself. I also find it highly likely that the island, being movable, could be the source of many Lost Continent legends like Atlantis.
Our best guess so far has the island somewhere in the South Pacific. That, of course, is nowhere near Egypt; but there’s nothing that says the island can’t have been located near Egypt in the distant past. In fact, the disappearance of the island from the vicinity of Egypt could have been remembered in their mythology, which could have been passed along to the Greek philosopher Plato, who wrote the legend of Atlantis. I’m not sure if that will ever come up in the show, but it makes for a good theory anyway. I’d hazard a guess that any reference to the Atlantis theory would be left as ambiguous as possible, since the whole Atlantis thing has been done to death in fiction, and there’s really nothing about the legend that has much bearing on the show.
The Others might have some connection to Egypt as well — perhaps the Egyptians were the original inhabitants, or discoverers, of the island. Richard Alpert in particular is an interesting case. He doesn’t seem to age at all, so there’s no telling exactly how old he might be. Perhaps he goes back to ancient times. Richard Alpert — R. A. — Ra? Could Richard have been the inspiration for Egyptian mythology? Could the four-toed statue be Ra?
The island does seem to carry a significant theme of death and rebirth, and clearly has raised people from the dead at least once (with Locke). It can heal people, whether they’re all dead (like Locke) or just mostly dead (like Ben). In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was murdered and brought back to life. So could the island have been the source of that myth?
The big question, though, is why the island is so important. Clearly, someone thinks it is. Ben has said on several occasions that protecting the island is critically important, so much so that he’s willing to go to any lengths, even genocide, to make sure it stays safe. I would say this is what Richard was talking about when he told Sawyer and Kate that if he healed Ben, Ben would lose his innocence and be one of the Others from then on. My theory is that Ben gains the knowledge of what the island is and why it’s important, and with that knowledge comes the responsibility of keeping it safe. Ben, and Widmore, and Eloise, and any other former Others who are off the island, all know this, and they all have to work to preserve it even though they seem to hate each other. That would be why Widmore and Ben sometimes seem to be working for the same goals: they hate each other, but they still have to make sure the island stays protected even when they’re at each other’s throats. I don’t really have any idea what’s so important about the island, nor have I seen any really good theories about it — but what’s obvious is that it IS important.