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Legendary islands of the Atlantic; a study in medieval geography

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Autolocus
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« Reply #15 on: July 19, 2009, 02:46:44 am »

SIGNIFICANT PASSAGES 15

Termier quotes also from the "Timaeus" dialogue (Critias is
repeating the statement of the Egyptian priests) :

The records inform us of the destruction by Athens of a singularly
powerful army, an army which came from the Atlantic Ocean and which
had the effrontery to invade Europe and Asia; for this sea was then navi-
gable, and beyond the strait which you call the Pillars of Hercules there
was an island larger than Libya and even Asia. From this island one could
easily pass to other islands, and from them to the entire continent which
surrounds the interior sea ... In the Island Atlantis reigned kings of
amazing power. They had under their dominion the entire island, as
well as several other islands and some parts of the continent. , Besides, on
the hither side of the strait, they were still reigning over Libya as far as
Egypt and over Europe as far as the Tyrrhenian. All this power was once
upon a time united in order by a single blow to subjugate our country,
your own, and all the peoples living on the hither side of the strait. It
was then that the strength and courage of Athens blazed forth. By the
valor of her soldiers and their superiority in the military art, Athens was
supreme among the Hellenes; but, the latter having been forced to aban-
don her, alone she braved the frightful danger, stopped the invasion, piled
victory upon victory, preserved from slavery nations still free, and
restored to complete independence all those who, like ourselves, live on
this side of the Pillars of Hercules. Later, with great earthquakes and
inundations, in a single day and one fatal night, all who had been warriors
against you were swallowed up. The Island of Atlantis disappeared
beneath the sea. Since that time the sea in these quarters has become
unnavigable; vessels can not pass there because of the sands which extend
over the site of the buried isle. 6

We have said that all fiction has some root in reality. Even a
myth is commonly an attempted explanation of some mysterious
natural phenomenon or distorted narrative of obscure, nearly
forgotten happenings. Intentional fiction, try as it may, cannot
keep quite clear of facts. We turn, then, to those salient features
of the above excerpts which may in a measure stand for real past
events or puzzling conditions supposed to continue. Beside the
prehistoric grandeur and triumph of Athens, already dealt with,
these are to be noted: the Atlantean invasion of the Mediter-
ranean; the vastness of the outer island which sent forth these

Ibid., pp. 220-221.
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