The mythology of Atlantis places its origins in the stories Timaeus and Critias written by Plato almost twenty five-hundred years ago. Plato claimed that the details of Atlantis were first discovered by the Greek Poet, Solon, on a journey to Egypt over a hundred years earlier. There, Solon was said to have visited the temple of the Creation Goddess, Neith, in the ancient city of Zue where he received the story of Atlantis from translations of hieroglyphs carved into a pair of pillars. According to Plato, Solon retold the story of Atlantis to the grandfather of Critias, who passed the story down the family line.
Plato introduces the civilization of Atlantis in his first book on the matter, the Timaeus, which he wrote in 360BC. He described a vast island, larger than Libya and Asia combined beyond the Pillars of Heracles, which we know today as the Straights of Gibraltar. The Atlanteans, he said, were ruled by many kings in confederation with each other and that their society was the opposite of the high ideals of the Athenians of the time. Plato described Athens as a perfect society, similar to the concepts that he described in another of his writings known as the Republic. In contrast, there was Atlantis, although powerful, it was morally corrupt and imperfect culture.
The next time Plato wrote about Atlantis was in the dialogues of Critias, which was also the name of the main character. Here, Critias described the Atlanteans as the seed of the deities Poseidon and Cleito through their offspring of five pairs of twins, one of which was Atlas, who was given rule over the main island. The other twins ruled island territories around it. In the beginning, the people were law-abiding, gentle, virtuous and wise. And then, as their divine nature began to fade, they became corrupt, resented their gods and followed the lure of human nature. They spread their corruption to the lands they conquered, enslaving their people and plundering their resources for their own enrichment.
Critias went into considerable detail about the city of Atlantis, including the three alternating rings and canals that encircled the main island where the Temple of Poseidon dominated the summit of its highest elevation. He spoke about the legendary metal, Orichalcum, which covered the walls of the inner circle and was used extensively in the temple itself. The middle and outer rings were likewise covered with brass and tin, respectively, in an audacious display of wealth and power.
The tale comes to an end when corrupt Atlantis attacks virtuous Athens, only to be defeated, their navies sunk and their conquered lands liberated. Zues, displeased by the immoral behavior of the Atlanteans, caused an earthquake that broke the island causing it to sink beneath the waves in a final deluge within a single day and a single night. Critias placed this final, tragic event at around 10,000BC, nine-thousand years before his own time.
Interestingly, there was one earlier reference to Atlantis prior to Plato. It was a writing called Atlantis by the Greek historian Hellanicus of Lesbos from about one-hundred years earlier. It concerned the family history of one of the daughters of Atlas and although very little of it has been recovered from history, bore no relevance to what Plato described in his writings. It should be noted that in Ancient Greek, Atlantis translates as “of Atlas.”
Since the time of Plato, there have been many theories about the factual nature of Atlantis. From the visions of Edgar Casey to the postulations of Ancient Alien theorists, a rich, almost cult-like belief that Atlantis must have existed at one time, in some form, has found acceptance by the masses. Even if it was just wishful thinking, the world we live in today was constantly surprising us with discoveries that bend the established account of history to the extremes of imagination. The recent unearthing of a civilization in South America that pre-date the Olmec, the city structures off the coast of Cuba, and Gobekli Tepe in Turkey were just a few that leave leading archaeologist and historians confounded.
In the Worlds of Atlantis, where my novels are based, all of these views are taken into account and used as a foundation to build this vibrant world. A world dominated by the origin stories of mythology and legends passed down from generation to generation through oral traditions. It is surprising how stories change over the centuries and even more surprising how so many cultures share common lore. This is what one will find between the pages of these books. Ultimately, it is my hope that I can immerse the reader into the stories, entertain, and provoke further thought by bringing to life historically accurate and rich details of the culture that frames the narrative of the time period in which each novel was based.
The Worlds of Atlantis is the setting for my novels Red Wizard of Atlantis, The Fallen, and Saving Eridu with many more to come.
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