Tea at Trianon: Atlantean Treasures?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Atlantean Treasures?

From Ancient Origins:

By now many of you will be tapping your fingers briskly, thinking to yourselves “so where are the artifacts from the lost continent of Atlantis?” This ancient advanced island-dwelling civilization was first mentioned in 355 BC by the Greek philosopher Plato in his book ‘ Timaeus,’ in which a character named Kritias gives an account of “Atlantis” existing more than “9,000 years before his time” and located beyond the Pillars of Hercules. This story, claimed Kritias, was told in his family for many generations since it was first received by his ancestor, Solon, from a priest during a visit to Egypt.

However, according to Atlantipedia, many archaeologists support The Minoan Hypothesis, including K.T. Frost, a professor of history at Queen's University in Belfast; archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, and seismologist A.G. Galanopoulos. Essentially, this theory points towards the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea as the inspiration for Atlantis, which around 1500 BC saw the collapse of the Minoan Empire , right at the same time this newly discovered settlement was fully functional.

The Minoan Hypothesis is not without its criticism, for example, how did Plato get the location and time so wrong - 10 times wrong? Scholar A.G. Galanopoulos suggested a translation mistake from Egyptian to Greek caused an extra zero to be added, meaning “900 years ago” became 9000 years ago. What’s more, the distance from Egypt to Atlantis became 250 miles (402.34 km) from Plato's 2,500 miles (4023.36 km). Therefore, if this theory stands up, the new discoveries made in Crete could be called “Atlantean.”

While not everyone accepts the Minoan Crete theory of the story of Atlantis, a convincing case is made by National Geographic in an article discussing the collapse of the Minoan civilization in the late 15th century BC. One popular theory is that the volcano on Thera (modern-day Santorini) exploded around the 16th century BC “killing thousands” and burying cities, leading to the collapse of Crete. (Read more.)