Diodorus speaks of Uranus as the first king of Atlantis, confusing, either consciously or otherwise, the Continents; but as we have shown, Plato indirectly corrects the statement. The first astronomical teacher of men was Uranus, because he is one of the seven Dhyân Chohans of that Second Period or Race. Thus also in the second Manvantara, that of Svârochisha, among the seven sons of the Manu, the presiding Gods or Rishis of that race, we find Jyotis,[1789] the teacher of Astronomy (Jyotisha), one of the names of Brahmâ. And thus also the Chinese revere Tien (or the Sky, Ouranos), and name him as their first teacher of Astronomy. Uranus gave birth to the Titans of the Third Race, and it is they, personified by Saturn-Cronus, who mutilated him. For as it is the Titans who fell into generation, when “creation by will was superseded by physical procreation,” they needed Uranus no more.
And here a short digression must be permitted and pardoned. In consequence of the last scholarly production of Mr. Gladstone in the Nineteenth Century, “The Greater Gods of Olympos,” the ideas of the general public about Greek Mythology have been still further perverted and biassed. Homer is credited with an inner thought, which is regarded by Mr. Gladstone as, “the true key to the Homeric conception,” whereas this “key” is merely a “blind.”
[Poseidon] is indeed essentially of the earth earthy ... strong and self-asserting, sensual and intensely jealous and vindictive—
but this is because he symbolizes the Spirit of the Fourth Root-Race, the Ruler of the Seas, that Race which lives above the surface of the seas,[1790] which is composed of the giants, the children of Eurymedon, the race which is the father of Polyphemus, the Titan, and the one-eyed Cyclops. Though Zeus reign over the Fourth Race, it is Poseidon who rules, and who is the true key to the triad of the Cronid [pg 810] Brothers, and to our human races. Poseidon and Nereus are one; the former the Ruler or Spirit of Atlantis before the beginning of its submersion, the latter, after. Neptune is the titanic strength of the living Race, Nereus, its Spirit, reïncarnated in the subsequent Fifth or Âryan Race; and this is what the Greek scholar of England has not yet discovered, or even dimly perceived. And yet he makes many observations upon the “artfulness” of Homer, who never names Nereus, at whose designation we arrive only through the patronymic of the Nereids!
Thus the tendency of even the most erudite Hellenists is to confine their speculations to the exoteric images of Mythology and to lose sight of their inner meaning; and it is remarkably illustrated in the case of Mr. Gladstone, as we have shown. While almost the most conspicuous figure of our age as a statesman, he is at the same time one of the most cultured scholars to whom England has given birth. Grecian literature has been the beloved study of his life, and he has found time amid the bustle of public affairs to enrich contemporary literature with contributions to Greek scholarship, which will make his name famous through coming generations. At the same time, as his sincere admirer, the present writer cannot but feel a deep regret that posterity, while acknowledging his profound erudition and splendid culture, will yet, in the greater light which must then shine upon the whole question of Symbolism and Mythology, judge that he has failed to grasp the spirit of the religious system which he has often criticized from the dogmatic Christian standpoint. In that future day it will be perceived that the Esoteric key to the mysteries of the Christian as well as of the Grecian Theogonies and Sciences, is the Secret Doctrine of the pre-historic nations, which, along with others, he has denied. It is that doctrine alone which can trace the kinship of all human religious speculations, or even of so-called “revelations,” and it is this teaching which infuses the spirit of life into the lay figures on the Mounts of Meru, Olympus, Walhalla, or Sinai. If Mr. Gladstone were a younger man, his admirers might hope that his scholastic studies would be crowned by the discovery of this underlying truth. As it is, he but wastes the golden hours of his declining years in futile disputations with that giant free-thinker, Col. Ingersoll, each fighting with the weapons of exoteric temper, drawn from the arsenals of ignorant Literalism. These two great controversialists are equally blind to the true Esoteric meaning of the texts which they hurl at each other's [pg 811] heads like iron bullets, while the world alone suffers by such controversies; since the one helps to strengthen the ranks of Materialism, and the other those of blind Sectarianism of the dead-letter. And now we may return once more to our immediate subject.
Many a time Atlantis is spoken of under another name, one unknown to our commentators. The power of names is great, and has been known since the first men were instructed by the Divine Masters. And as Solon had studied it, he translated the “Atlantean” names into names devised by himself. In connection with the continent of Atlantis, it is desirable to bear in mind that the accounts which have come down to us from the old Greek writers contain a confusion of statements, some referring to the great Continent and others to the last small island of Poseidonis. It has become customary to take them all as referring to the latter only, but that this is incorrect is evident from the incompatibility of the various statements as to the size, etc., of “Atlantis.”
Thus, in the Critias, Plato says, that the plain surrounding the city was itself surrounded by mountain chains, and the plain was smooth and level, and of an oblong shape, lying north and south, three thousand stadia in one direction and two thousand in the other; they surrounded the plain by an enormous canal or dike, 101 feet deep, 606 feet broad, and 1,250 miles in length.[1791]
Now in other places the entire size of the island of Poseidonis is given as about the same as that assigned here to the “plain around the city” alone. Obviously, one set of statements refers to the great Continent, and the other to its last remnant—Plato's island.
And, again, the standing army of Atlantis is given as upwards of a million men; its navy as 1,200 ships and 240,000 men. Such statements are quite inapplicable to a small island state, of about the size of Ireland!
The Greek allegories give to Atlas, or Atlantis, seven daughters—seven sub-races—whose respective names are Maia, Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, Merope, Alcyone, and Celæno. This ethnologically—as they are credited with having married Gods and with having become the mothers of famous heroes, the founders of many nations and cities. Astronomically, the Atlantides have become the seven Pleiades (?). In Occult Science the two are connected with the destinies of nations, those destinies being shaped by the past events of their early lives according to Karmic Law.