Atlantis

:This article is about the mythical island. For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation).

Modern interest

With rare exceptions, such as Francis Bacon's book The New Atlantis, interest in Atlantis mostly languished, until, some 2,200 years after Plato, the 1882 publication of ' by Ignatius Donnelly. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known ancient civilizations were descended from its high-neolithic culture.

Related Topics:
Francis Bacon - The New Atlantis - 1882 - Ignatius Donnelly - Neolithic

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In middle and late 19th century, several serious Mesoamerican scholars, starting with Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, and including Edward Herbert Thompson and Augustus Le Plongeon proposed that Atlantis was somehow related to Mayan and Aztec culture; several of the researchers later recanted their controversial claims.

Related Topics:
19th century - Mesoamerica - Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg - Edward Herbert Thompson - Augustus Le Plongeon

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Around this same time, the mythical nature of Atlantis was combined with other lost continent myths such as Mu and Lemuria by popular figures in the occult and the growing new age phenomenon. Helena Blavatsky, the "Grandmother of the New Age movement" writes in The Secret Doctrine that the Atlanteans were cultural heroes (contrary to Plato who describes them mainly as a military threat), and are the fourth "Root Race", succeeded by the "Aryan race".

Related Topics:
Mu - Lemuria - Occult - New age - Helena Blavatsky - The Secret Doctrine - Root Race - Aryan race

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Famed psychic Edgar Cayce likewise proposed that Atlantis was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization which had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal. His work Toward the Light (1920) claims to describe Atlantis, including its exact geographical location.

Related Topics:
Edgar Cayce - Toward the Light - 1920

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The Austrian occultist Rudolf Steiner has also lectured and written about this topic in great detail. An close examination of his work will reveal specific and detailed outlines about this time period http://www.rsarchive.org/index1.php.

Related Topics:
Austria - Occultist - Rudolf Steiner

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Oddly enough, the concept of Atlantis also entered Nazi Mysticism through Theosophy and Anthroposophy. In 1938 Heinrich Himmler organized a search in Tibet to find a remnant of the white Atlanteans. According to Julius Evola (Revolt Against the Modern World, 1934), the Atlanteans were Hyperboreans -- Nordic supermen who originated on the North pole. Similarly, Alfred Rosenberg (The Myth of the Twentieth Century, 1930) spoke of a "nordic-atlantean" or "aryan-nordic" master race. Aleister Crowley has also written an esoteric history of Atlantis, although this may be intended more as metaphor than as fact.

Related Topics:
Nazi Mysticism - Theosophy - Anthroposophy - 1938 - Heinrich Himmler - Tibet - Julius Evola - Revolt Against the Modern World - 1934 - Hyperboreans - Supermen - North pole - Alfred Rosenberg - The Myth of the Twentieth Century - 1930 - Master race - Aleister Crowley - Metaphor

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As continental drift became better understood and accepted during the 1950's, most "Lost Continent" theories of Atlantis were proven conclusively false. In response, some recent theories propose that elements of Plato's story was derived from earlier myths including that of the (now mostly sunken) Sunda Plain, which is sometimes called Sundaland in Southeast Asia. Proponents of this idea include Bill Lauritzen, Steven Oppenheimer and Arysio Nunes dos Santos. There is stronger evidence, however that some of Plato's story elements were drawn from the natural disasters that have taken place in the Mediterranean, such as the volcanic eruptions around Santorini which may have destroyed the Minoan civilization. As yet there have been no conclusive results.

Related Topics:
Continental drift - Sundaland - Southeast Asia - Bill Lauritzen - Steven Oppenheimer - Arysio Nunes dos Santos - Santorini - Minoan

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