T.J. Laverne
author of supernatural historical fiction
The Lost City of Atlantis
The myth of Atlantis has always been one that has fascinated me. Plato first described it around 360 B.C., and most scholars agree that he made it up. But those are the kinds of stories I like to run with. What if he was right and Atlantis really did exist?
According to the myth, Atlantis was an advanced civilization of great wealth and power which existed sometime around 10,000 B.C. Their reign stretched far, and they had the slaves to prove it. Like so many civilizations in the Puddle Jumper Trilogy, they liked to conquer lands that were not their own and take what was not theirs. For their greed they were punished by the gods, who sent a massive wave which plunged the whole civilization underwater.
In Plato’s account, he described Atlantis as a technologically advanced society who worshipped bulls, with a massive palace of epic proportions and grandeur.
Some believe that the myth of Atlantis is based upon the ancient Minoan civilization, which lived on the islands of Crete and Thera (modern-day Santorini). Like Plato’s description, the Minoans possessed a palace of epic proportions in the city of Knossos on Crete. Also, like Plato’s description, the ancient Minoans worshipped and venerated bulls, as seen in their ritual bull-leaping ceremony, in which they leapt over the backs of bulls and performed acrobatic stunts.
Much of the island of Thera was destroyed by a volcanic eruption around 1600 B.C., and the island of Crete may have been devastated by a tsunami caused by the same event at the same time. It is this event which some scholars link to the annihilation of Atlantis.
Because of these similarities, whether or not the Minoan civilization was truly the basis of Atlantis, I modeled much of my Atlantis after ancient Minoan culture. Other scholars believe Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Ocean beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. I chose to give Atlantis more of a tropical climate, in a nondescript location.
Most fictional representations of Atlantis like to take Plato’s description of Atlantis as a technologically advanced society to another level, and so did I, for one very important reason: Basil, the inventor. One could say that most inventions throughout the history of mankind were the result of Basil’s genius.
I was also very intrigued by the idea in Atlantis: the Antediluvian Word, that Atlantis was the basis for all ancient civilizations around the world. Before the island was destroyed, it is said that some people were able to escape and scattered to the different continents, thus bringing Atlantean culture to all corners of the world.
I liked this idea, so I ran with it. If Atlantis serves as the beginning of all civilizations, then so Atlantis serves as the beginning of the endless cycle of death and rebirth for Vincent and Leena’s friends. They must spend the rest of history trying to right many of the wrongs begun in Atlantis. But can fate be changed once it is set in motion?
