Creative authors adopt and adapt existing ideas.
"'Long ago was a city of men on an island in midocean...'" (p. 38)
That sounds like Atlantis.
Continuing:
"'Great it was, and gorged with riches.'" (ibid.)
That also sounds like our idea of Atlantis.
"'Its god was a kraken.'" (ibid.)
Poul Anderson is now telling his own story. The island-city turns out to have been called Averorn. Its inhabitants lowered treasure, which their god did not want, and animals, which he ate. When they stopped sacrificing to him, he rose and pulled down Averorn. Again, Anderson's story parallels that of Atlantis.
Is there any significance to place-names ending in "-orn"?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
But it's not plausible to think an animal, a kraken, can be so large it could destroy an island. But these are myths or legends used by Anderson. More prosaically Averorn was probably destroyed by an earthquake.
Ad astra! Sean
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