Editing Valinor (section)

=== Atlantis, Babel ===

{{further|Tolkien and the classical world}}

Kelly and Livingston state that while Aman could be home to Elves as well as Valar, the same was not true of mortal Men. The "prideful"{{sfn|Kelly|Livingston|2009}} Men of Númenor, imagining they could acquire immortality by capturing the physical lands of Aman, were punished by the destruction of their own island, which is engulfed by the sea, and the permanent removal of Aman "from the circles of the world".{{sfn|Kelly|Livingston|2009}} Kelly and Livingston note the similarity to the [[ancient Greek myth]] of [[Atlantis]], the greatest human civilisation lost beneath the sea; and the resemblance to the biblical tale of the [[Tower of Babel]], the [[hubris]]tic and "[[Sacrilege|sacrilegious]]" attempt by mortal men to climb up into God's realm.{{sfn|Kelly|Livingston|2009}}

[[File:La navigation de St Brendan, Image du Monde.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Scholars<!--e.g. Garth--> have compared Tolkien's Valinor to the "Land of Promise" in Celtic ''[[Immram|imrama]]'' tales.{{sfn|Kocher|1974}} Here, [[Saint Brendan]] sails the seas looking for the Land of Promise. [[Gautier de Metz]], c. 1304]]