Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This comprehensive debunking of the idea that Atlantis is an actual historical location by classicist Kershaw (A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths) begins with Plato, the sole ancient source of the Atlantis story, and continues to the 21st century. Kershaw sets up his history of the tale thoroughly, devoting several chapters to other mythical and semimythical geography, Plato's historical context, and Plato's life before giving readers his own translations of Plato's relevant writings and sharing diagrams he's made based on Plato's intricate descriptions of the pseudoisland. He concludes that Atlantis only "existed in Plato's imagination." Between the introductory material and his conclusion, he examines key references to and theories about Atlantis: in a multivolume work in the late 1600s, Olof Rudbeck "discovered" that Atlantis was in Sweden; William Blake linked Atlantis with Albion or Britain. The theories of Jules Verne, Ignatius Donnelly, Madame Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce, Heinrich Himmler, and Erich von Daniken each get their mentions (and, in some cases, denouncements of their anti-intellectualism) before Kershaw gives more serious consideration to the idea that Crete or Santorini may have been the origin of the Atlantis story. This rigorous work won't dissuade true believers, but readers interested in the classics will find this satisfying. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Since the fourth century B.C.E., the fabulous island of Atlantis has invited avid curiosity and speculation.Kershaw (Classics/Oxford Univ.; A Brief History of the Roman Empire, 2013, etc.) ranges widely and deeply to create a comprehensive overview of the origins, meaning, and legacy of Atlantis, described by Plato in two dialogues. Besides translating and analyzing Plato's texts, Kershaw draws on geophysical, archaeological, and historical sources to investigate the tale and respond to still-unresolved questions: Was Atlantis a real place? What did Plato mean to convey by his story of the rich and powerful island that disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean? Those questions have spawned responses from historians and archaeologists as well as from many who "have taken the discussion, quite literally, to another world." Theosophy founder Madame Helena Blavatsky, for example, claimed that Atlantis arose about 850,000 years ago and was the home of the "Fourth Root Race," one of seven human Root Races corresponding to seven eras in world history. According to Blavatsky and other occultists, Atlantis "had the type of extraordinarily advanced scientific knowledge that has become a standard feature of Atlantological books." Mystic Edgar Cayce, who said that he connected with spirits of individuals who had once lived on Atlantis, similarly claimed that the island "had some astonishingly advanced technology, much of it driven by energy derived from the power of crystals." A 17th-century Swedish scholar argued that Atlantislocated in Swedenwas peopled by the descendants of one of Noah's sons. In addition to presenting assorted bizarre theories, Kershaw explores Greek and Egyptian mythology, Homeric works, and mid-fifth-century Athenian culture to conclude that Atlantis was "an amalgamation of a variety of places and events that Plato would have been aware of from his own upbringing, reading and life experiences." He believes Plato's message is "a timeless one about the pernicious effects of wealth on the ruling class," with lasting appeal because of the "brilliance of Plato's story-telling."A treasure trove of information for readers seduced by the drowned land. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
