UNDERSTANDING THE DISTORTION
There may have been many motivations for the creation of our myths. It may be possible that some myths were primitive attempts to relate a story that was poorly understood. The most obvious method for such misunderstanding is a lack of vocabulary. One culture may not understand the traditions and rituals of their neighbors. More than that, what if the breach in understanding went far deeper than ritual behavior? What if the primitives' neighbors had a heritage that included technology and social structures that the primitives could not possibly hope to understand?

Naturally, there are obvious dangers in such interpretation, but the approach may yield some helpful boundaries to keep us from going too far astray. For instance, a god may represent a kingdom or empire. Both have the trait of conscious thought, and self-determination. This might be a safer interpretation than saying the god is a passive mountain, though a mountain may later be associated with the god. What we would look for are plausible realities for which the symbols in myth could represent. Let us see how this might work.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
One of the more famous gods of myth is Poseidon (in the Greek pantheon; "Neptune" in the Roman). Poseidon was said to be the god of the sea, but also one of earthquakes and horses. If Poseidon was a "fatherland" with some power over the sea, or location across the sea, but also familiarity with earthquakes and horses, a number of possible pictures emerge. Also, certain questions become unavoidable. For instance, does Poseidon live across the sea, or underneath it?

For the writing of this novel, both images of place were adopted. Early in the history of Atlan, that nation was a patriarchy founded by Pos across the sea. Much later, that land disappeared underneath the sea taking with it everything that had been created by Pos. The method of its destruction had been by earthquake, so the link there is obvious. And horses may refer to a powerful military and its domesticated riding stock.

The later myth of the centaurs as wise teachers might merely refer to the descendants of Atlani cavalrymen. The ancient Greek hero, Jason was one who had received training from a centaur named Chiron. The famous centaur's other students included Ajax, Theseus, Achilles, and Heracles — a veritable who's who of Greek mythology.

INTERSECTION OF MEANING
It might seem that there would be a near infinite number of possible interpretations. The details of each myth, though, tend to constrain the scope of possibilities. Also, there are some interpretations that lack a strong foundation. For instance, relating Poseidon to the small marine fish of the genus Hippocampus is too restrictive. It adds nothing to our understanding of Poseidon's relationship to earthquakes, and does nothing to expand our understanding of the myths of other gods. Oh, and by the way, the genus refers to the creature commonly known in modern times as the "sea horse." Such a reference comes across as nothing more than a bad pun.

There may have been some myth events that happened concurrently with others, or at least within a few years. Other myth events might have occurred thousands of years later. Imagine drawing lines from the details of a myth back to their possible interpretations. Some interpretations may receive more lines. They may contain more intersections. This by itself is far from proof, but it makes those interpretations warm candidates.

Statue of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and of war to protect the homeland.

Another myth from the Greek pantheon may also point to Atlantis. This is the story of Athena's birth. Metis was a female titan, the wisest individual of all time, and consort to Zeus. The story mentions that Zeus swallowed Metis whole. He was jealous of their unborn children. Though no sea is mentioned, the image of a man swallowing a woman whole is too strange to be likely. That Zeus was the king of the gods, might make him a symbol for nature, or for the world-at-large (including the sea). Metis might symbolically represent the matriarchal (gynecratic) empire that ruled the last days of Atlan. Her wisdom may represent the technology Atlan wielded. Athena (Etruscan-Roman Minerva) could then represent the refugees who fled Atlan before its final destruction. In myth, Athena was born full grown from her father's head. The refugees perhaps fled the chief, or "head," city — a city named for their patriarchal founder, Pos (Poseidon).

Athena's attributes further reinforce this interpretation. The fact that she was born full grown, mirrors the effect of refugees of a technological society taking with them the mature ideas of government, social structure, and many of the skills to rebuild their empire. Besides wisdom, Athena had the skills and tools of a warrior — not for aggression, but for homeland security. She is also known for many domestic activities, including weaving, metal-working, making furniture, and building ships. These are many of the things refugees would need in re-establishing civilization.

Painting of Vulcan (Hephaestus) by Rubens.

The astute reader of this novel may recognize in the tortured little man, Argaeyu, the mythical character Hephaestus (god of fire and metallurgy; compare Roman, Vulcan). Greek myth has Hephaestus become the husband of Aphrodite (goddess of beauty and love; Roman, Venus). Her name is commonly said to derive from Greek meaning "foam risen," because she is supposed to have been born from the sea. Many famous paintings show Venus or Aphrodite standing in a sea shell near the shoreline. Could this represent another female leader from Atlan — borne from that land's watery demise?

As has been stated, there are many possible interpretations for each myth (event, person, or attribute). However, there are far fewer intersections. The story of Atlantis is thus a warm candidate for our world behind many of the more famous myths.