Interesting speculation the fabled Atlantis may have been centered in ancient Hibernia, ie Ireland, the great Emerald Isle. .................................................. “According to Plato’s Critias, in ancient times, the Earth was divided among the gods of Atlantis by allotment, and the gods guided the rest of mankind not by force, but “by the rudder of persuasion”:[8] In the days of old, the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by allotment. There was no quarrelling; [the gods guided the human race] . . .as shepherds tend their flocks, excepting only that they did not use blows or bodily force, as shepherds do, but governed us like pilots from the stern of the vessel . . . holding our souls by the rudder of persuasion . . . thus did they guide all mortal creatures. Plato goes on to describe the origins of Atlantis. Plato said that Atlantis was allotted to Poseidon, who fell in love with a mortal girl named Clito. She bore him a number of children, the first of whom was Atlas, who inherited the kingdom and passed it onto his firstborn for many generations. Critias then goes into a great deal of detail in describing the island of Atlantis and then reiterates the remarkable virtue of the Atlanteans, saying:[9] For many generations, as long as the divine nature lasted in them, they were obedient to the laws, and well-affectioned towards the god, whose seed they were; for they possessed true and in every way great spirits, uniting gentleness with wisdom in the various chances of life, and in their intercourse with one another. They despised everything but virtue, caring little for their present state of life, and thinking lightly of the possession of gold and other property, which seemed only a burden to them; neither were they intoxicated by luxury; nor did wealth deprive them of their self-control; but they were sober, and saw clearly that all these goods are increased by virtue and friendship with one another, whereas by too great regard and respect for them, they are lost and friendship with them. However, according to Plato, the Atlanteans became corrupt:[10] “…when the divine portion began to fade away, and became diluted too often and too much with the mortal admixture, and the human nature got the upper hand, they then, being unable to bear their fortune, behaved unseemly, and to him who had an eye to see grew visibly debased, for they were losing the fairest of their precious gifts; but to those who had no eye to see the true happiness, they appeared glorious and blessed at the very time when they were full of avarice and unrighteous power. Plato’s Critias then says that Zeus–the god of gods–was determined to punish the Atlanteans because of their corruption: Zeus, the god of gods, who rules according to law, and is able to see into such things, perceiving that an honourable race was in a woeful plight, and wanting to inflict punishment on them, that they might be chastened and improve, collected all the gods into their most holy habitation, which, being placed in the centre of the world, beholds all created things. And when he had called them together, he spake as follows . . . . (Full article in comment thread).
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 13:40:50 +0000
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