Edgar Cayce's Atlantis. John Van Auken

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ focal point of the Center City of Atlantis—would have been similar in appearance to Poseidon’s Temple at Paestum, Greece. The Paestum temple, much smaller than that described by Plato, lies in partial ruins today, but this reconstruction is believed to be accurate. Source—Wonders of the Past (1923).

      On the two bands of land formed by the three canals, buildings were interspersed with plantations of trees and water reservoirs. Numerous other temples were erected in these areas for the other gods along with gardens, dwellings for important people, and barracks for soldiers and guards. A horse track was made around the entire circumference of the inner band of land and many people lived inside the far outer wall of the city in modest dwellings.

      Plato’s descriptions of the Center City are so detailed and grand that it’s difficult to conceive what it actually would have looked like. The amount of gold, silver, and the mysterious metal orichalcum utilized in the various constructions is staggering. Many researchers have sought to find this incredible lost city. But the search is truly similar to looking for a needle in a very large haystack. Despite all the grandeur and splendor recorded in Plato’s meticulous description of the city, one point needs to be stressed. The center city, the part of Atlantis that most people identify as Atlantis, was a mere two miles in diameter and it was located on an island that extended 340 by 225 miles.

       Plato’s Description of the Island and Its People

      According to Plato the remainder of the large island was inhabited by “villages of country folk,” streams and lakes, abundant timber, and animals of all kinds including many elephants. Timber was transported from the mountains to the city via the vast complex of canals. There were two growing seasons on the tropical island and farms grew a vast array of fruits and vegetables as well as providing rich pastures for animal herds. Metals of various kinds were extracted in many mines on the island.

      The military of Atlantis was apparently composed of at least 100,000 horse-drawn chariots, about 600,000 men, and 1200 ships. Shields, spears, archers, and slingers (stone-throwing weapons) are all described as part of the military.

       Religion and Government

      * * *

       Each of the ten kings ruled over the men and most of the laws in his own particular portion and throughout his own city, punishing and putting to death whomsoever he willed. But their authority over one another and their mutual relations were governed by the precepts of Poseidon, as handed down to them by the law and by the records inscribed by the first princes on a pillar of orichalcum, which was placed within the temple of Poseidon in the center of the island.

       (Critias 119 C-D)

      According to Plato, the rules pertaining to temple sacrifices and governing practices were written on the sacred pillar and it was there that the ten kings assembled periodically to council about public affairs. The meetings were alternatively held every fifth and sixth year. The ten kings began with a prayer and then hunted for a sacrificial bull outside the city with only staves and nooses. After capturing the bull, it was brought to the temple where its throat was cut on the orichalcum pillar. Wine was mixed with the blood and after swearing to obey the laws and punish transgressors, each king drank with the remainder of the liquid poured into a sacred fire. They then conferred through the night settling disagreements and rendering judgments, writing their decisions on a golden tablet. Plato cited their most important laws as these: They would not take up arms against each other; all kings would aid any other king who was in danger; no king could put another to death without consent of more than half of the ten; and the royal branch of Atlas was the acknowledged leader of the empire.

      While many writers have described Plato’s Atlantis as a sacrificial bull cult, it is important to understand that in any eleven-year period, only two bulls would be sacrificed.

       The War Against the Mediterranean and the Demise of Atlantis

      Plato asserted that Atlantis existed for a vast time period covering many generations. The people of Atlantis were noble and gentle, and maintained a link to their divine nature almost until the end:

      * * *

       … the inherited nature of God remained strong in them, they were submissive to the laws and kindly disposed to their divine kindred. For the intents of their hearts were true and in all ways noble, and they showed gentleness joined with wisdom in dealing with the changes and chances of life and in their dealings with one another.

       (Critias, 120 D)

      Plato doesn’t specify precisely how the Atlanteans fell from their noble and gentle ways, but greed and the desire for more possessions and power were involved. Over time, as their wealth and power grew, “the portion of divinity within them was now becoming faint and weak …” As they gradually expanded their influence, the Atlanteans eventually began a war to take over the entire Mediterranean. Plato is silent on when this war began or on other details of it. But he related that the Greeks played a key role in resisting the Atlantean war machine. Plato ended his tale of Atlantis by saying that Zeus decided to punish the Atlanteans for this unforgivable transgression and their fall from divinity. But Plato never finished Critias, and the tale is ended immediately after Zeus gathered the other gods to tell them of his decision. The final three words of Critias, ending his tale of Atlantis, are: “he spake thus: …”

      The actual destruction of Atlantis is detailed by Plato in Timaeus. As mentioned previously, Plato hinted that an object from the heavens was involved in the destruction. That idea fits the statement that Zeus had decided to punish Atlantis for its “evil plight.” There is no detail in the story hinting if the destruction came immediately after the war, sometime later, or might have served as a final blow to end the war. But in 9600 B.C., some time after the defeat of Atlantis by the Greeks,

      * * *

       … there occurred portentous earthquakes and floods, and on one grievous day and night befell them, when the whole body of your warriors was swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner was swallowed up by the sea and vanished; wherefore also the ocean at that spot has now become impassible and unsearchable, being blocked by the shoal mud which the island created as it settled down.

       (Timaeus 25 D)

      2

      From Plato to the Americas–Atlantis Discovered?

      Brasseur de Bourbourg held that Atlantis was an extension of America, which stretched from Central America and Mexico, far into the Atlantic, the Canaries, Madeiras and Azores being the only remnants, which were not submerged.

      Lewis Spence (1920) The Encyclopedia of the Occult

      Speculations and debate on Plato’s Atlantis commenced the moment he first related the tale. As others retold the intriguing story, again and again, virtually everyone who was educated in ancient Greece became aware of it. The story was especially controversial because the Greeks’ knowledge of world history and geography was very limited and mostly inaccurate. This fact led to two distinct positions on the authenticity of the story—a situation that persists to this day.

      Aristotle, Plato’s influential student, believed that the Atlantis story was fictional, but Aristotle also stated that Troy was completely fictional. Crantor, the first commentator on Plato, visited Sais around 280 B.C. and confirmed that the story was completely accurate. The Greek biographer Plutarch also wrote that СКАЧАТЬ