Poseidonis is the fictional last remnant of the lost continent of
Atlantis, mentioned by
Algernon Blackwood in his short story "Sand" (published in 1912) in his collection ''Four Weird Tales'' and also detailed in a series of
short stories by
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
. Smith based Poseidonis on
Theosophical scriptures about Atlantis
[William Scott Elliot, ''The Story of Atlantis'', Theosophical Publishing Society, 1896, p.18] (such as ''
Secret Doctrine
''The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy'', is a pseudo-scientific esoteric book originally published as two volumes in 1888 written by Helena Blavatsky. The first volume is named ''Cosmogenesis'', the second ''An ...
'' by
Helena Blavatsky), and his concept of "the last isle of foundering Atlantis" is echoed by the isle of
Númenor in
J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.
Stories in Smith's Poseidonis cycle
*"The Muse of Atlantis" (prose poem)
*"The Last Incantation"
*"The Death of Malygris"
*"Tolometh" (poem)
*"The Double Shadow"
*"A Voyage to Sfanomoë"
*"A Vintage from Atlantis"
*"Atlantis: a poem" (poem)
Other writers
In the
Pusadian series of short stories by
L. Sprague de Camp, "Poseidonis" refers to the fictional lost island continent of Pusad, whose name was later corrupted to Poseidonis by the Greeks and whose fate was supposedly one basis for the Atlantis legend.
The 1929 Malay-language novel ''
Drama dari Krakatau
''Drama dari Krakatau'' (; ''Drama of Krakatoa'') is a 1929 vernacular Malay novel written by Kwee Tek Hoay. Inspired by Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 novel ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' and the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, the sixteen-chapter book ...
'', about the Krakatoa eruption, depicts the origins of the
Malay archipelago
The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...
from
rising sea levels caused by the sinking of Poseidonis.
See also
*
Averoigne
*
Hyperborean cycle
*
Zothique
*
Clark Ashton Smith bibliography
References
External links
The Eldritch Dark - Short Story Index"'Poseidonis' - Editors Note"
by Lin Carter, from ''Poseidonis'' (Tales of Atlantis). Ballantine Books 1973.
{{Works of Clark Ashton Smith
Fictional islands
Clark Ashton Smith
Atlantis in fiction