Atlantis is one of these legendary places I would give anything to visit, how would it feel to be in the place that sparked all the legends and myths that have lasted for several centuries? A map tells of the exact location of the Atlantis, right here, in the Atlantic Ocean:
But no one has ever found it, despite considerable efforts; was Atlantis a fairy tale, just like the old gods?; or was it lost to the waves of time? I started my search for the truth and it led me to…
The origins of the lost city
The very first mention of the city of Atlantis can be traced to two texts: Timaeus and Critias, both written by Plato, a greek philosopher. A small segment of Timaeus mentions Atlantis:
For it is related in our records how once upon a time your State stayed the course of a mighty host, which, starting from a distant point in the Atlantic ocean, was insolently advancing to attack the whole of Europe, and Asia to boot. For the ocean there was at that time navigable; for in front of the mouth which you Greeks call, as you say, 'the pillars of Heracles,' there lay an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together; and it was possible for the travelers of that time to cross from it to the other islands, and from the islands to the whole of the continent over against them which encompasses that veritable ocean. For all that we have here, lying within the mouth of which we speak, is evidently a haven having a narrow entrance; but that yonder is a real ocean, and the land surrounding it may most rightly be called, in the fullest and truest sense, a continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent.
Source: Timaeus, R. G. Bury translation (Loeb Classical Library).
By the looks of it, Atlantis was very big, I thought it would be a little smaller than Australia, but it seems like it was a great nation, with a veritable navy force. They attacked Athens but they were defeated, meaning that the people of Atlantis weren’t the pacifists I thought they were, moreover, they had a confederation of kings with great and marvelous power, controlling the island and parts of the continent.
This is, of course, incorrect, while several countries in the world had monarchs, America lived in tribes, as it was discovered in 1492; so no kings could had possession of lands in America in that era, and, of course, not a single person from Atlantis went to the Americas when the Atlantis sunk.
Critias is more of a fantastic text about the deities of yore, in the book they mention the genealogical tree of Atlas, the king of atlantis and how Athens had repelled the atlantean assault and how Atlantis sank afterwards as punishment by the gods for their transgressions.
The lost city´s culture
If we´re talking of visiting a legend, we would need to know what places to visit and what to do in these places, stuff like their festivals and customs, right? Like the old adage: “When in Rome behave like a roman”.
Much to my dismay, not much is known about the atlantean except their warlike behavior. Old texts suggest they share roots with the Maya, and that they were very tall and burly people, almost like giants. Their island was more of a fortress, or perhaps a prison would be a better description?
Supposedly the island was a big mountain peak, and Poseidon carved the mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular moats of increasing width. Yes, that’s right, Atlantis was a mountain peak and after Poseidon fell in love with Cleito, an atlantean, he changed the island into something more suitable for his desires. I suppose that atlanteans would have enjoyed building, otherwise they wouldn’t have built the golden statue of Poseidon, a statue so big that the clouds drifted through the spiral stairs of the temple housing it. In other records the atlantean are regarded as capable farmers possessing elaborated irrigation techniques and at times associating them with extraterrestrial entities or supernatural powers.
Modern representations of Atlantis
Atlantis is a city shrouded in mistery, a lost city that we can no longer see, it’s treasures lost to the sea of time. Many artists have used Atlantis as a metaphor, signifying that which is no longer attainable. An American poet, Edith Willis, said that “The Lost Atlantis” stands for idealization of the past; the present moment can only be treasured once that is realized.
Modern technology has proven that Atlantis never existed and that Plato made it up to teach philosophy. Maybe it was for the best that such a place never existed in the first place, the fact that Atlantis is a lost city has led many of us in search of the unexplored and has helped us to see the value of those things long gone and appreciate them. Adventurers, scientists, explorers, sailors, divers, painters, musicians, actors and actresses, and many more have sought the secrets behind the lost city. Many have found the city to be a good conduit for their desires, giving them release from the past, but what about us? Are we capable of letting go of the mysteries of the past and focus on creating the legends of the future?
Final words
This post is my second entry to the writing contest hosted by nuoctuong here. The theme of the contest was a dream place to travel, and while I can think of many luxury hotels I’d like to visit, I thought of getting out of the box and post three entries with themes: “present”, “past” and “future”.
Today our mother earth has been explored almost completely, the secrets of the past are long gone, and we will need to wait quite a few years before traveling through space, so I decided that “present” would represent the possibilities we have of creating our own worlds through virtual reality.
“Past” was a harder theme than I first expected, there are many incredible cultures in our history, however the “past” is no longer attainable, so I had to search for a legend of the past that had a close representation to that fact, Atlantis was a good fit, but information was scarce; this is only logical since it was created by a philosopher for teaching purposes, and he never gave much thought to some inconsistencies in his creation.
As far as “future” goes, I plan to write about a faraway galaxy that we have observed and that could harbor life. I had my doubts choosing something faraway instead of Jupiter or Mars, but it’s also a good opportunity to learn of the universe and what lies beyond our borders.
Don’t forget to vote, comment and resteem if you enjoyed it, I enjoy talking with other people and listening to their ideas and opinion, so don’t be strangers and say hi.
Kind regards
Eilder Jorge
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