Atlantis: The Antedeluvian WorldDonnelly, Ignatius
History
Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World
Donnelly, Ignatius
Atlantis (Legendary place); Deluge; Ethnology
At Megara, in Greece, it was the eponym of the city, Megaros, son of
Zeus and one of the nymphs, Sithnides, who, warned by the cry of cranes
of the imminence of the danger of the coming flood, took refuge on Mount
Geranien. Again, there was the Thessalian Cerambos, who was said to have
escaped the flood by rising into the air on wings given him by the
nymphs; and it was Perirrhoos, son of Eolus, that Zeus Naios had
preserved at Dodona. For the inhabitants of the Isle of Cos the hero of
the Deluge was Merops, son of Hyas, who there assembled under his rule
the remnant of humanity preserved with him. The traditions of Rhodes
only supposed the Telchines, those of Crete Sasion, to have escaped the
cataclysm. In Samothracia the same character was attributed to Saon,
said to be the son of Zeus or of Hermes.
It will be observed that in all these legends the name of Zeus, King of
Atlantis, reappears. It would appear probable that many parties had
escaped from the catastrophe, and had landed at the different points
named in the traditions; or else that colonies had already been
established by the Atlanteans at those places. It would appear
impossible that a maritime people could be totally destroyed; doubtless
many were on shipboard in the harbors, and others going and coming on
distant voyages.
"The invasion of the East," says Baldwin ('Prehistoric Nations,' p.
396), "to which the story of Atlantis refers, seems to have given rise
to the Panathenæ, the oldest, greatest, and most splendid festivals in
honor of Athena celebrated in Attica. These festivals are said to have
been established by Erichthonis in the most ancient times remembered by
the historical traditions of Athens. Boeckh says of them, in his
'Commentary on Plato:'
"'In the greater Panathenæ there was carried in procession a peplum of
Minerva, representing the war with the giants and the victory of the
gods of Olympus. In the lesser Panathenæ they carried another peplum
(covered with symbolic devices), which showed how the Athenians,
supported by Minerva, had the advantage in the war with the Atlantes.' A
scholia quoted from Proclus by Humboldt and Boeckh says: 'The historians
who speak of the islands of the exterior sea tell us that in their time
there were seven islands consecrated to Proserpine, and three others of
immense extent, of which the first was consecrated to Pluto, the second
to Ammon, and the third to Neptune. The inhabitants of the latter had
preserved a recollection (transmitted to them by their ancestors) of the
island of Atlantis, which was extremely large, and for a long time held
sway over all the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantis was also
consecrated to Neptune."' (See Humboldt's "Histoire de la Géographie du
Nouveau Continent," vol. i.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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