Giving a name or title to something can either have you thinking about what it means or cloud one’s judgement. Doesn’t really matter as long as it makes sense to the person who named it. Regardless, I want to explain the title of my blog and what it means to me. I got the idea from Virginia at Poeta Officium in a comment she made in relation to her post.
The first part of the title Eternal is the name of the trilogy I am writing. It’s a pivotal construct in my story and relates to the enduring order of humanity and how they perceive the relationship between the divine and morality. The second word Atlantis not only reflects the myth but also how it is an enigma, and perennial at that. You can talk to anyone, anywhere and they would have heard something about the legend.
The myth of Atlantis is one of the central themes in my trilogy. I first read about it in Charles Berlitz’s book Atlantis: the eighth continent when fifteen and loved the whole concept of such an advanced civilisation that once existed only to be later obliterated. The legend stuck. From there my love for Greek mythology grew and ancient history in general. Later, as an adult, I read Plato’s Critias (500 BC). Then used it to steer my story.
So why does it resonate for me? Firstly, I believe such a place existed, not necessarily with that name, but identifiable as the Minoans and the island of Santorini. There is a map of the island of Santorini found at the site of Akrotiri illustrating what the island looked like before the volcanic eruption circa 1300 BC. From Plato’s amazing description, he could have been looking at the map, except Akrotiri was buried under 100 metres of volcanic rubble and earth at the time he wrote the commentary. Check out The Thera foundation website gallery.
Secondly, I love the mystery that encompasses this legend and want to learn more about. Besides, the Minoans were an amazing race, who achieved great things that was lost until Sir Arthur Evans re-discovered Knossos and uncovered her secrets.
Its time to learn what they did.
Luciana Cavallaro 