Legendary, Mythical and Mysterious Places

Throughout the history of the humankind there were legends, myths and rumors about “lost lands”. During last couple of centuries brave explorers went out to confirm or bury the legends but, mostly returned with empty hands.

Overall, lost lands are continents, islands or other regions believed by some to have existed, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena or slowly rising sea levels since the end of the last Ice Age. Lost lands, where they ever existed, are generally thought to have subsided into the sea, leaving behind only a few traces or legends by which they may be known. The term can also be extended to mythological lands generally, to underground civilizations, or even to whole planets. I can also add here lost cities and even lost countries.

The classification of lost lands as continents, islands, or other regions is in some cases subjective. For example, mysterious Atlantis is variously described as either a “lost island” or a “lost continent”. Lost land theories may originate in mythology or philosophy, as with Atlantis, or in scholarly or scientific theories, such as catastrophic theories of geology, that may later be picked up by writers and individuals outside academia. Occult and New Age writers have made use of lost lands.

I am easy and will not argue about terminology. The most important thing to me is that these places might have existed in earlier times but their actual location is now lost. After all, there is often some scientific, historical or archaeological evidence, as well as myths and legends that indicate such places may have existed or are awaiting discovery, or, the way I put it, rediscovery. I will, probably, try to tell you about these lost lands (or “mythological places) in my future blog entries.