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the only source that points to Antarctica as the location of Atlantis. n 1665, the German Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher pub- lished Mundus Subterraneus, a massive book which includes a reproduction of an ancient Egyptian map of Atlantis. The map had been stolen from Egypt by the Romans, probably after the fall of Cleopatra. Now when the map in figure 7 came into Kircher's hands, he didn't possess an accurate globe with which he might compare it. Let's first look at the map as he saw it. The label in Latin translates to "Site of Atlantis, now beneath the sea, according to the beliefs of the Egyptians and the description of Plato". The Egyptians believed that south, not north, was at the top of the world. This made sense to them because that was the direction from which the Nile flowed. And since the Nile was so important to them, its source had to be at the top of the a == Libya and Asia together, and, from it, seafarers in those world. Kircher's map accepts the Egyptian concept that "south is times could make their way to the others (islands) and thence up", as can be seen by his compass which points downwards. To to the whole opposite continent which encircles the true outer re-establish our familiar "north is up" perspective, we have to turn ocean. (The waters within the channel just mentioned are the map upside down. Kircher believed that this ancient Egyptian map represented q Atlantis as an island in the North Atlantic Ocean between Spain and Africa on the right and America on the left (see figure 8). But what if Kircher got it wrong? What if the limited geographic knowledge that he had at his disposal caused him to locate Atlantis in the wrong place? Let's imagine that we have just exca- vated this ancient Egyptian map from beneath the paws of the Sphinx. It is our task to discover how it fits into our planet's geography. If we remove Kircher's labels and symbols we can see more clearly what he must have had at hand in 1665. Here's what Kircher must have been working with (see figure 9). Now, if we search the globe for a place that might fit this con- figuration, we find a near-perfect match in a place where south would naturally be "up". Here's Kircher's Egyptian map of Atlantis (see figure 10) com- pared to a modern geophysical globe showing south in the "up" position. The present shape of ice-free Kircher's perspective manifestly a basin with a narrow entrance; what lies beyond Antarctica as it is the real ocean, and it is land enclosing the ocean which depicted in this should rightly be called a continent.) modern view is Plato's account is not just a figment of his imagination; it is a based upon the fragment from a lost world. current ocean Now I've spent a lot of time on Plato because I don't believe his level, not that contribution to lost knowledge is fully appreciated, but he is not of 9,600 BC. Atlantis did not actually sink beneath — the waves: instead, as the old ice- caps melted, the ocean level rose, covering some of the continent's per- mutations. Further distor- tions in our modern map, compared to Kircher's, are a Libya and Asia together, and, from it, seafarers in those times could make their way to the others (islands) and thence to the whole opposite continent which encircles the true outer ocean. (The waters within the channel just mentioned are Fig. 8 manifestly a basin with a narrow entrance; what lies beyond it is the real ocean, and it is land enclosing the ocean which should rightly be called a continent.) Plato's account is not just a figment of his imagination; it is a fragment from a lost world. Now I've spent a lot of time on Plato because I don't believe his contribution to lost knowledge is fully appreciated, but he is not Fig. 9 APRIL - MAY 1998 NEXUS 45