Message #179418

[Qoais]

Diodorus Siculus Book III 56: 1-4

In the above noted writings, Siculus goes on to tell of the genesis of the gods of Atlantis.  

He says Uranus was their first god, who had 45 sons from a number of wives and of these, eighteen were by Titaea, each of them bearing a distinct name, but all of them as a group were called after their mother, Titans.  Uranus also had daughters.  The eldest Basileia far excelled the others in both prudence and understanding, reared all her brothers, showing them collectively a mother's kindness (their mother had died).  She united in marriage with her favorite brother Hyperion and they had two children Helius and Selene.  Her other brothers, the Titans, fearing that Hyperion would divert the royal power to himself , they killed him and cast Helius into the Eridanus river.  (a footnote marks that the Eridanus river is the Po river - the Po river being in Italy)  The sister Selene who loved her brother, threw herself off the roof, but their mother Basileia while searching for her son's body along the banks of the river, fell into a swoon in which she had a vision in which her son Helius stood over her and told her not to mourn as the Titans would get what was coming to them for their crime.  He said that he and his sister by some divine providence, would be transformed into immortal natures, since that which had formerly been called the "holy fire" in the heavens would be called by men Helius ("the sun") and that addressed as "mene" would be called Selene ("the moon").  When she was aroused from the swoon, and after telling the crown what had happened to her and her children, she became frenzied, and seizing such of her daughter's playthings as could make a noise, she began to wander over the land, with her hair hanging free, inspired by the noise of the kettledrums and cymbals, so that those who saw her were struck with astonishment.  And all men were filled with pity at her misfortune and some were clinging to her body, when there came a mighty storm and continuous crashes of thunder and lightning: and in the midst of this Basileia passed from sight, whereupon the corwds of people, amazed at this reversal of fortune, transferred the names and the honours of Helius and Selene to the stars of the sky, and as for their mother, they considered her to be a goddess and erected altars to her, and imitating the the incidents of her life by the poinding of the kettledrums and the clash of the cymbals they rendered unto her in this way sacrifices and all other honours.  

60.  After the death of Hyperion, the myth relates, the kingdom was divided among the sons of Uranus, the most renowned of whom were Atlas and Cronus.  Of these sons Atlas received as his part the regions on the coast of the ocean, and he not only gave the name of Atlantians to his peoples but likewise called the greatest mountain in the land Atlas.  They also say that he perfected the science of astrology and was the first to publish to mankind the doctrine of the sphere, and it was for this reason that the idea was held that the entire heavens were supported upon the shoulders of Atlas, the myth darkly hinting in this way at his discovery and description of the sphere.  

So in the above, we see that the "gods" already lived in Italy (so would have power there) and that the sons spread out from there, splitting the further lands amongst themselves, but it was only the children of Atlas that were called Atlantians.  Where we start to see a little problem is that I think people think that his brother's descendants (brother Eumelous who was given the land "facing" the pillars of Hercules) were also Atlantians.  I don't think so (although I could be wrong of course).  We also have a major bone of contention with the word "facing" in the translations.  It can also mean "beside", "in front of", and I can't remember what else.  Perhaps Nikas can help us with that.