[Set design for Atalanta, c. 1950]
Perhaps the grandest and most colorful mystery
of all is that of the lost continent of Atlantis. The
name 'Atlantis' conjures up visions of something
wonderful, a shining land of beauty and plenty,
where peace and justice reigned; a country lying
far off in golden splendour in the midst of the wide
blue sea; a land, alas, now gone for ever beneath
the ocean waves.
L. Sprague and Catherine C. de Camp Citadels of Mystery
What is it about Atlantis, an Atlantic continent said to have disappeared 11,600 years ago, that evokes such endless fascination in human minds and hearts? For many the allure is simply that of a riddle or romance or genuinely sensational detective story. For others, however, it goes deeper. Atlantis is not merely a land swallowed up by the sea. It is not merely a theme for geographic debate, or volcanic or seismic speculation. Its spell is inherent, compelling, appealing to the deepest of human yearnings and anguish for a better, happier world... a world to which we can trace our own human being.
What follows, then, is less an effort to resolve the question of whether Atlantis existed and, if so, where it was and what it was like... as it is an attempt to portray, in words and images, the way in which this vanished land has deeply captured so many aspects of our human soul and psyche.