000			02217nam a2200229 a 4500
001			067329
005			20231009193437.0
008			130704s1998 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a97048432
020			_a9780679446026
050	0	0	_aGN751 _b.E55 1998
082	0	0	_a001.94 ELL
100	1		_aEllis, Richard _d, 1938-
245	1	0	_aImagining Atlantis _c/ Richard Ellis
250			_a1st ed.
260			_aNew York _b: Alfred A. Knopf _c, c1998.
300			_ax, 322 p. _b: ill. _c; 25 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 279-306) and index.
520			_aEver 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.
650		0	_aAtlantis
942			_cMO
999			_c271367 _d271367