Imagining Atlantis
Jan 2012 · Sold by Vintage
3.0star
3 reviews
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336
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About this ebook
Ever since Plato created the legend of the lost island of Atlantis, it has maintained a uniquely strong grip on the human imagination. For two and a half millennia, the story of the city and its catastrophic downfall has inspired people--from Francis Bacon to Jules Verne to Jacques Cousteau--to speculate on the island's origins, nature, and location, and sometimes even to search for its physical remains. It has endured as a part of the mythology of many different cultures, yet there is no indisputable evidence, let alone proof, that Atlantis ever existed. What, then, accounts for its seemingly inexhaustible appeal?
Richard Ellis plunges into this rich topic, investigating the roots of the legend and following its various manifestations into the present. He begins with the story's origins. Did it arise from a common prehistorical myth? Was it a historical remnant of a lost city of pre-Columbians or ancient Egyptians? Was Atlantis an extraterrestrial colony? Ellis sifts through the "scientific" evidence marshaled to "prove" these theories, and describes the mystical and spiritual significance that has accrued to them over the centuries. He goes on to explore the possibility that the fable of Atlantis was inspired by a conflation of the high culture of Minoan Crete with the destruction wrought on the Aegean world by the cataclysmic eruption, around 1500 b.c., of the volcanic island of Thera (or Santorini).
A fascinating historical and archaeological detective story, Imagining Atlantis is a valuable addition to the literature on this essential aspect of our mythohistory.
Richard Ellis plunges into this rich topic, investigating the roots of the legend and following its various manifestations into the present. He begins with the story's origins. Did it arise from a common prehistorical myth? Was it a historical remnant of a lost city of pre-Columbians or ancient Egyptians? Was Atlantis an extraterrestrial colony? Ellis sifts through the "scientific" evidence marshaled to "prove" these theories, and describes the mystical and spiritual significance that has accrued to them over the centuries. He goes on to explore the possibility that the fable of Atlantis was inspired by a conflation of the high culture of Minoan Crete with the destruction wrought on the Aegean world by the cataclysmic eruption, around 1500 b.c., of the volcanic island of Thera (or Santorini).
A fascinating historical and archaeological detective story, Imagining Atlantis is a valuable addition to the literature on this essential aspect of our mythohistory.
Ratings and reviews
3.0
3 reviews
JF SABASTIAN
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August 14, 2023
It is very clear that the author clearly consider Atlantis as Plato's mind invention without any substantial evidence in the real world. It is also clear that Atlantis has few elements of a myth, for the author Atlantis is a fictional construction from Plato. The main author thesis is that Plato combined multiple different situations from his time like the submerge of Helike and the Persian invasion; also, some information from previous times like Herodoto's Iliad, Thera explosion and the demise of the Minoan. The reader can skip the whole book chapters and focus the read only in the conclusions to know the author fundation of his thesis. To substantiate his thesis, the author copy and paste large sections of books and other authors publications, then the author make his own comments, that makes this book a tedious read. All the time looks like the author criticize others who defend Atlantis thesis, and uses as support those quotes from authors who dismiss Atlantis. Good bibliography.
About the author
Richard Ellis is the author of seven previous books, including The Book of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Monsters of the Sea, and Deep Atlantic. He is also a celebrated marine artist whose paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, and has written and illustrated articles for numerous magazines, including Audubon, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, and Scientific American. He lives in New York City.
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