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Greek Mythology & Atlantis

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Helios
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« on: January 02, 2008, 12:36:07 am »

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Greek Mythology & Atlantis
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After Plato relates his story, various scholars begin to study the possible connection between Atlantis and Greek mythology. The first analogy can be drawn when the Greeks discuss the great war between the Titans and the Gods "which bulks so largely in Greek mythi-history and art"(Spence 103). The story of Titanomachia, or divine war with Titans, relates that Uranus, the first ruler of the world, casts his sons (the Titans) into Tartarus (the Greek version of hell) along with one eyed Cyclopes. His wife Gaea, however, does not like his decision and urges the Titans to rise against their father and defeat him. They are successful in this endeavor and raise Cronus to the throne. It turns out to be a fatal mistake, for Cronus turns against the Cylops and throws them back into the Tartarus. Afterward, Cronus marries his sister Rhea, but fearing Uranus's and Gaea's prediction that he would be disposed by his own children, he swallows them as they are born. Only one child, Zeus, escapes Cronus. Later Zeus turns against his father, and together with other children (whom Cronus was forced to spit out) overthrows him.

Based on this account, a historian named Diodorus Siculus "applies the story and personnel of the war of the Gods and Titans to the history of Atlantis" (Spence 103). He does so on the grounds of an existing tradition of a great war in the Atlantic Ocean. It is Greek belief that their gods have their origin in the West, and therefore he speculates that a great war might have taken place there. The Titans and the Cyclops are also associated with the West. Another historian, Pomponius Mela, indicates that there was a distinct race of Titans connected with the Atlantic where Atlas was the ruler.
(Spence 103-104)


(Panada "Poseidon") However, the story of Atlantis and the gods does not end here. It continues with Critias' narrative related to us by Plato. According to Plato, after Zeus comes to the throne, he and his siblings divide the earth "into portions, both great and small, and to Poseidon or Neptune, god of the sea, had been awarded the isle of Atlantis, where he begat children by a mortal woman" (Spence 17). Poseidon later shapes the island to his liking, setting up two currents, one hot (presumably the Gulf stream) and one cold, around the island to assist its fertilization. There he has five pairs of twins to whom he gives control of Atlantis (Spence 17).

(Panada "Atlas") Atlas, the oldest child of Poseidon, becomes the ruler of the most precious part of the island, the house on the hill where his mother, Cleito, bore him and all of his siblings. From there he rules the whole island (or continent according to Plato) while his brothers are assigned to govern portions of Atlantis. Atlas himself has many children, including his seven daughters, Pleiades. However, the succession of the throne always passes to the eldest son. Atlas is considered a great ruler, and during his reign Atlantis experiences unprecedented prosperity. To this day the Atlantic Ocean bears his name (Spence 17).


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Alexei Samoilov
Erin Simpson
April 7, 2000 http://www.auburn.edu/~downejm/sp/epsaas/epsaasGreek.html



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"This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together..."

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Helios
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« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2008, 12:36:50 am »

Poseidon

He was the son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of Zeus and Pluto, one of the 12 gods of Olympus. At the share of the universal power after Cronus was dethroned, he got the kingdom of the sea. This god had many palaces. One was built by Hephaestus placed on the top of the holly mountain Olympus as well as the other Olympians'. A second one made of stunning gold waited for him in the depth of the sea, where he spent his days and nights with Amphitrite. This palace was placed according to Homer near Aeges, without telling us in which corner of the Aegean Sea he imagines this city. A third one was in the island of Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean where Cleito was his company. This palace was luxurious and Plato describes it in amazing details. There are many myths about his birth and raise. In Arcadia it was said that Rhea delivered Poseidon, hid him in a rack among animals and presented to Cronus a newborn horse as their child. So Cronus swallowed the horse and Poseidon was saved from his father. In Rhodes it was said that Rhea gave the newborn to the Telchines to protect it. They were the first citizens of Rhodes and along with Caphira, daughter of the Ocean raised the sea "god". Another version refers to Herodotus' Theogony. Cronus who swallowed his children swallowed newborn Poseidon. Later Zeus who was the only one who got away beating his father made him puke his children. So Poseidon and his other brothers were released.
The name of Poseidon seems to be etymologically related with the words potos (feast), pontos (open sea) and potamos (river). The adjectives attributed to him were "cyanochetis" (bluemoped) from the color of the sea, "gaeiochus" (surrounding earth) because seawater surrounds earth, "evricrion" that is powerful. Moreover: "anax" (king), "enalios" (marine), "thalassios" (marine), "evrithalassos" (of wide sea). He was the master of all sea deities. He caused all sea phenomena. He caused storms and brought back peace. He was also named "enosigeos", "enosixthon" (earthquake) and "kinaktor geas" (shaking earth), because he caused earthquakes and destroyed rocks with his trident. So in Thessaly for example when Peneus flooded the country the god hit Tempi with his trident and opened a canyon to pour water into the sea. That is why the Thessalians called him "Petreus". His anger was dashing and impetuous, like the element he ruled, to those who expressed disrespect to him. So made Odysseus, since he blinded his son Cyclop Polyphemus, wander in the sea and removed him from his country, until Zeus during the absence of his brother and the other gods helped the miserable hero return home. He hated Troy since when king Laomedotus refused to pay him as he had promised when he built with Apollo the walls of the city. This is why he sent a sea monster against the city and during the siege he supported the Greeks in every way.

Being the "god" of the sea Poseidon could travel by his gold chariot on the waves that open happily as he passes by. At the same time dolphins emerge from the bottom of the sea jumping around their god's chariot. The "god" had given to his son giant Orion the grace to walk on the sea without sinking. A present of his was the fact that the boats of the Faeaks flew above the waves as quickly as the mind of man can think.

The ancient Pelasgians considered Poseidon not only the god of the sea but also generally god of all water on the surface or depths of earth, that is lakes, sources and rivers. He was also called "Ippios" (horsy) because it was said that he created the horse and taught riding. That is why he was considered to be the protector of horse races.

Poseidon and Cleito gave birth to Atlas and other nine sons who made kings dividing the kingdom of the islands of the sea.

The legal wife of Poseidon was the daughter of Oceanus Amphitrite. A dolphin helped him take her by storm. When Poseidon approached her full of desire she got afraid of him and run away to disappear in the sea kingdom of Atlas. Then Poseidon sent many friends of his look for her and one of them was a dolphin who found her in the islands of Atlas, assured her of Poseidon's serious intentions and persuaded her to follow it to meet the sea god. That is why people said Poseidon honored the dolphin since then making it a holly animal and named after it the constellation of Dolphin. He had three children with Amphitrite; Triton with the scaly body and fish tail, Rode who married Sun and gave birth to Phaeton, and Venthesikime. In ancient documents a group of other children has been recorded, whom he had with other goddesses, nymphs and even mortal women who became leaders, warriors, sailors, builders and heroes. We mention some of these children who are relevant to our subject:

He and mortal Tyro had Nileus, king of Pilos and Peleus, king of Iolkos. He and Amimone gave birth to Nauplius, founder of Nauplia, which he surrounded with cyclopean walls. Palaestinus, king of Thrace. He and Oceanid Melivia, who went to Thessaly where he built and named a city after her, gave birth to Pelasgus, founder of the Pelasgians (one of the tribes of the Pregreeks), He and "goddess" Aphrodite gave birth to Rhodes, leader of Rhodes, who survived the cataclysm. ****s, the first builder of Chios. Lelex, leader of the race of Lelegon (one of the tribes of the Pregreeks). He and amazon Evriale gave birth to Orion, hunter of the Pleiades. He is usually mentioned as the father of savages and tough men or monsters (Adeus, Polyphemus, Swan, Vousiridus, Amicus, Coercion and others) or even horses. For example he and mermaid Medusa gave birth to Pegasus, the winged horse and Chrisaorus, father of the three-bodied giant Geryon with the famous oxen whom Hercules killed. The worship of Poseidon was spread all over Greece, south Italy and the ionic islands. To his name they sacrificed white and black bulls, wild boars and rams. They also organized horse races in the Isthmus of Corinth. In south Italy the Romans identified him with the sea god Neptunus.

Historic analysis and comments

About this god as well we find in many things his relation not only with many ancient Greek cities and islands and also with an island in the Atlantic Ocean. From the three mythic versions about his birth and breeding most probable seem to be the two last ones. The one that exists among Rhodesians and the one that Hesiod says: a) Poseidon was born by Cronus and Rhea who lived in the Atlantic Ocean b) the newborn child was either imprisoned in a dark prison by his father (Cronus swallowed him, Hesiod says in the myth), or his mother managed to take him to Rhodes to save him from her husband's anger who "swallowed" her children. Telchines, the first citizens, protected him there and Caphire, who came from the ocean, fed him. So Rhea did not leave him on his own. The same thing happened with Zeus in Crete. When Poseidon grew up, he helped Zeus and the other "gods", who were later named "Olympians", to overthrow the power of the Cronus' and Iapetus' Titans with a ten-year war Titanomachy. When the new "gods" took power and shared the world again by lot Poseidon came into power of sea and water. He became the new king of Atlantis after the previous ones were punished (Atlas, Prometheus and the other sons of Iapetus) and divided it into ten geographical zones for his ten sons he had with Cleito to reign. The Atlantians during the time of Poseidon and his first born son Atlas developed skipping (According to mythology Poseidon traveled by his gold chariot on the waves that opened happily…and his son Orion could walk on the sea without sinking. This proves that the Atlantians built boats). Plato and the Egyptian clergy say that they had 1200 ships whereas Homer mentions automobile ships. Many myths say that Poseidon was the father of strange monsters like for example the winged horse Pegasus. An explanation of this is given if we assume that the Atlantians were the constructors of flying devices (or was it the emblem of Poseidon like the trident or dolphin?). The generation and offspring of Poseidon recorded in ancient documents are a whole group of ancient heroes, leaders, builders, clergy sailors, nymphs and even "gods". But we know that there really was Atlantis, Poseidon was her king. No more than twenty from the so many heroes mentioned, as his children could be his immediate and real offspring. The rest seemed to be deputies of the Atlantians in their colonies. When Atlantis was sank the place from where they took their power deified Poseidon and ruled by right as his offspring so as to continue to rule without any problems. The clergy, that they organized themselves, registered them as sons, daughters or grandchildren of Poseidon.
http://www.atlantida.gr/Eng/enposeidon.htm

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"This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together..."
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