Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations Paperback - 2010

From the rear cover

ANCIENT MYSTERIES / NEW AGE "Scholarly, meticulously researched, and superbly presented. Joscelyn Godwin has produced a wonderful book that will delight and impress all those who seek 'Atlantis, ' be it a myth or reality. I urge you to read it!" --Robert Bauval, author of The Orion Mystery and Egypt Code "As absorbing as it is erudite, both comprehensive and profound, essential as a reference work, and quintessential to grasp the depth and breadth of a grievously misunderstood, perennially fascinating, and perhaps critical subject, Atlantis and the Cycles of Time is a unique work: the 'compleat' Atlantis." --John Anthony West, author of Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of Atlantis--about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate demise, and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or the downfall of modern society. Beginning with a review of the rationalist writings on Atlantis--those that use geographic and geologic data to validate their theories--renowned scholar Joscelyn Godwin then analyzes and compares writings on Atlantis from many of the great occultists and esotericists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fabre d'Olivet, G. I. Gurdjieff, Guido von List, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Dion Fortune, and Rene Guenon, whose writings often stem from deeper, metaphysical sources, such as sacred texts, prophecy, or paranormal communication. Seeking to unravel and explain the histories and interpretations of Atlantis and its kindred myths of Lemuria and Mu, the author shows how these different views go hand-in-hand with the concept of cyclical history, such as the Vedic system of the four Yugas, the Mayan calendar with its 2012 end-date, the theosophical system of root races, and the precession of the equinoxes. Venturing broader and deeper than any other book on Atlantis, this study also covers reincarnation, human evolution or devolution, the origins of race, and catastrophe theory. Educated at Cambridge and Cornell, JOSCELYN GODWIN, Ph.D., is a professor of music at Colgate University and the author, editor, and translator of more than 30 books, including Athanasius Kircher's Theatre of the World. Known for his translations of the works of Fabre d'Olivet and Julius Evola as well as Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, he lives in Hamilton, New York.

Media reviews

Citations

• Choice, 08/01/2011, Page 0
• Library Journal, 02/01/2011, Page 77