In the earliest times, when the gods were dividing the Earth among themselves, Poseidon, great god of the sea, chose a beautiful continent and the islands that surrounded it to have as his own. Never had anyone seen a fairer place. Everything about the continent was splendid. It seemed that Poseidon, in his choice, had been blessed beyond all other gods.
In the years that followed, Poseidon fathered five sets of twin sons. Poseidon and Cleito's firstborn twin was named Atlas, and in honor of his son, Poseidon named his continent Atlantis. He named the ocean that surrounded the land for his son, too, and this ocean became known as the Atlantic.
To honor his 10 sons, Poseidon divided Atlantis into 10 parts. Atlas was made king over the vast territory, and he was granted the largest part. Atlas' brothers ruled as princes over the remaining nine provinces. Everyone was happy with his lot, for everyone's land was marvelously rich.
Atlantis abounded in bountiful plains, in gleaming lakes and flowing rivers, in forests of timber and mountains that rose majestically above the sea. The land was rich with plants of every kind and animals of every imaginable shape and size. Veins of gold, silver and other precious elements coursed through the earth itself.
At the far southern end of Atlantis, the kings built a city that was so magnificent that nothing could compare. The city also was called Atlantis. Built of waterways ringed by land, the city outshone all others. In its center, on a high hill, the Atlanteans raised a great temple to Poseidon, to honor the god who had created this world. The statue of the god rode in a golden chariot pulled by winged steeds, and dolphins surrounded him. The city beyond the temple brimmed with cold and hot springs; shining copper roadways laced the land; magnificent race courses and palatial homes dotted the landscape. Huge vessels bobbed in deep-water harbors.
For many years the 10 kings ruled with righteousness and justice, fairness and kindness, wisdom and goodness. Atlantis was a heavenly place.
Every five years, King Atlantis and his nine brothers gathered in the temple of Poseidon. There they met beneath a ceiling carved of ivory and passed judgments and inscribed their laws on a golden tablet. All the people lived by these laws. The people knew the kings ruled justly and wisely, and they never thought to question the kings' judgment. The Atlanteans were, in every way, a noble people, and like their kings, they combined gentleness with wisdom and strength.
Alas, as time passed, the Atlanteans began to forget their past. As their worldly power grew, they desired still more power. Ambition overcame kindness. Greed overcame wisdom. All the luxury of the people's lives had pampered them, turning them soft and selfish. The Atlanteans no longer valued goodness over wealth, wisdom over luxury. The reverence for the gods grew weaker and weaker within them, until the people had lost all their virtue. They built armies designed to conquer Athens and the other nations to the east. Instead of loving and protecting their neighbors, now they longed to own them and to rule over them.
From above, from the land of the gods on Mount Olympus, Zeus watched this transformation. The people's greed and ambition infuriated Zeus. At last he decided he must teach them a terrible lesson. He decided to deliver a lesson, a devastating blow.
So one night, Zeus threw thunderbolt after thunderbolt down to Atlantis, splitting the the mid-Atlantic range and sparking volcanic eruptions. The sea began rising faster and faster, and soon after that, water began to pour into the paradise that once was Atlantis. Steaming water flooded the land. People tried to stop the flood, but there was no stopping it. As the flood spread, an earthquake trembled and exploded, casting buildings, people, animals, fields and temples into the air. The world the Atlanteans knew began to crumble and fall. Their civilization sank beneath the boiling waves.
In a single night, as the clouds gathered and Zeus watched from above, Atlantis vanished beneath the sea.
"That is the lesson!" Zeus roared, though no Atlanteans remained to learn the lesson.
Ever since that time, people have remembered Atlantis. Many have searched for its remains. In Mayan texts, in Plato's writings, in rock carvings and spiral structures, in the similarities in languages and in the pyramids of Egypt and those of Mexico, scientists, artists, philosophers, dreamers, scholars, psychics and clerics have attempted to recapture the once beautiful land of Atlantis, to bring back to the world the noble spirit that once ruled the world.
In the years that followed, Poseidon fathered five sets of twin sons. Poseidon and Cleito's firstborn twin was named Atlas, and in honor of his son, Poseidon named his continent Atlantis. He named the ocean that surrounded the land for his son, too, and this ocean became known as the Atlantic.
To honor his 10 sons, Poseidon divided Atlantis into 10 parts. Atlas was made king over the vast territory, and he was granted the largest part. Atlas' brothers ruled as princes over the remaining nine provinces. Everyone was happy with his lot, for everyone's land was marvelously rich.
Atlantis abounded in bountiful plains, in gleaming lakes and flowing rivers, in forests of timber and mountains that rose majestically above the sea. The land was rich with plants of every kind and animals of every imaginable shape and size. Veins of gold, silver and other precious elements coursed through the earth itself.
At the far southern end of Atlantis, the kings built a city that was so magnificent that nothing could compare. The city also was called Atlantis. Built of waterways ringed by land, the city outshone all others. In its center, on a high hill, the Atlanteans raised a great temple to Poseidon, to honor the god who had created this world. The statue of the god rode in a golden chariot pulled by winged steeds, and dolphins surrounded him. The city beyond the temple brimmed with cold and hot springs; shining copper roadways laced the land; magnificent race courses and palatial homes dotted the landscape. Huge vessels bobbed in deep-water harbors.
For many years the 10 kings ruled with righteousness and justice, fairness and kindness, wisdom and goodness. Atlantis was a heavenly place.
Every five years, King Atlantis and his nine brothers gathered in the temple of Poseidon. There they met beneath a ceiling carved of ivory and passed judgments and inscribed their laws on a golden tablet. All the people lived by these laws. The people knew the kings ruled justly and wisely, and they never thought to question the kings' judgment. The Atlanteans were, in every way, a noble people, and like their kings, they combined gentleness with wisdom and strength.
Alas, as time passed, the Atlanteans began to forget their past. As their worldly power grew, they desired still more power. Ambition overcame kindness. Greed overcame wisdom. All the luxury of the people's lives had pampered them, turning them soft and selfish. The Atlanteans no longer valued goodness over wealth, wisdom over luxury. The reverence for the gods grew weaker and weaker within them, until the people had lost all their virtue. They built armies designed to conquer Athens and the other nations to the east. Instead of loving and protecting their neighbors, now they longed to own them and to rule over them.
From above, from the land of the gods on Mount Olympus, Zeus watched this transformation. The people's greed and ambition infuriated Zeus. At last he decided he must teach them a terrible lesson. He decided to deliver a lesson, a devastating blow.
So one night, Zeus threw thunderbolt after thunderbolt down to Atlantis, splitting the the mid-Atlantic range and sparking volcanic eruptions. The sea began rising faster and faster, and soon after that, water began to pour into the paradise that once was Atlantis. Steaming water flooded the land. People tried to stop the flood, but there was no stopping it. As the flood spread, an earthquake trembled and exploded, casting buildings, people, animals, fields and temples into the air. The world the Atlanteans knew began to crumble and fall. Their civilization sank beneath the boiling waves.
In a single night, as the clouds gathered and Zeus watched from above, Atlantis vanished beneath the sea.
"That is the lesson!" Zeus roared, though no Atlanteans remained to learn the lesson.
Ever since that time, people have remembered Atlantis. Many have searched for its remains. In Mayan texts, in Plato's writings, in rock carvings and spiral structures, in the similarities in languages and in the pyramids of Egypt and those of Mexico, scientists, artists, philosophers, dreamers, scholars, psychics and clerics have attempted to recapture the once beautiful land of Atlantis, to bring back to the world the noble spirit that once ruled the world.
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