A: Aalu to Aztlan 51
Atlantis, the Lost Continent
A 1961 feature film by George Pal based less on Plato than the wildest state-
ments of Edgar Cayce. Its bromidic screenplay, vapid dialogue, wooden acting,
and bargain-basement “special effects” have made Atlantis, the Lost Continent
into something of a cult classic for Atlantologists with a sense of humor.Atlantis, the Lost Empire
Presented in a flat, dimensionless animation characteristic of the Disney
Studio since the death of its founder, this 2001 production has far less in common
with Plato than even George Pal’s unintentionally comic version. A sequel to
Atlantis, the Lost Empire, released two years later, was even more miserable, but
demonstrated that popular interest in the subject is still strong 24 centuries after
Plato’s account appeared for the first time.Atlantology
The study of all aspects related to the civilization of Atlantis; also refers to a
large body of literature (an estimated 2,500 books and published papers) describing
Atlantis. It calls upon many related disciplines, including archaeology, archaeo-
astronomy, comparative mythology, genetics, anthropology, geology, volcanology,
oceanography, linguistics, nautical construction, navigation, and more.Atlas
The central figure in the story of Atlantis, he was the chief monarch of the
Atlantean Empire, ruling from its island capital. Atlas was the founder of astrology-
astronomy (there being made no original distinction between the two disciplines),
depicted as a bearded Titan or giant supporting the sphere of the heavens on his
shoulders, as he crouches on one knee. He thus became a symbol and national
emblem for the Atlanteans and their devotion to the celestial sciences. In Sanskrit,
atl means “to support or uphold.”
Parallel mythic descriptions of Atlas are revealing. His father, in the non-
Platonic version, was Iapatus, also a Titan, who was regarded as the father of
mankind. After his defeat by the Olympians, Iapatus was buried under a mountain-
ous island to prevent his escape, suggesting the sunken island and punishment
meted out to Atlantis by the gods, as described in Plato’s account. Clymene was
the mother of Atlas. She was a sea-nymph who personified Asia Minor. Interestingly,
“Atlas” is the name of a mountain in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) near Catal-
Huyuk, which, at 9,000 years old, is among the most ancient cities on earth. Thus,
in Atlas’s parentage are represented the Far West of the Atlantic islands (Iapatus)
and the eastern extent of Atlantean influence (Anatolia) in Clymene. Her parents
were Tythys, “the Lovely Queen of the Sea,” and Oceanus, the oldest Titan, known
as the “Outer Sea,” or the Atlantic Ocean itself—all of which underscore Atlas’s