Editing Atlantis (section)

====Ignatius Donnelly====
The 1882 publication of ''[[Atlantis: the Antediluvian World]]'' by [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]] stimulated much popular interest in Atlantis. He was greatly inspired by early works in [[Mayanism]], and like them, attempted to establish that all known [[ancient civilizations]] were descended from Atlantis, which he saw as a technologically sophisticated, more advanced [[culture]]. Donnelly drew parallels between creation stories in the Old and New Worlds, attributing the connections to Atlantis, where he believed the Biblical [[Garden of Eden]] existed.<ref>Donnelly 1941: 192–203</ref> As implied by the title of his book, he also believed that Atlantis was destroyed by the [[Great Flood]] mentioned in the Bible.

Donnelly is credited as the "father of the nineteenth century Atlantis revival" and is the reason the [[myth]] endures today.<ref>{{cite book |author=Williams, Stephen |year=1991 |title=Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory |url=https://archive.org/details/fantasticarchaeo00will |url-access=registration |location=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-8238-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fantasticarchaeo00will/page/137 137–138] }}</ref> He unintentionally promoted an alternative method of inquiry to history and science, and the idea that myths contain hidden information that opens them to "ingenious" interpretation by people who believe they have new or special insight.<ref>Jordan, Paul (2006). "Esoteric Egypt". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 23–46. {{ISBN|978-0-415-30593-8}}</ref>