One of the aspects of Atlantis lore I find most fascinating is the fact that nearly every culture across the globe has its own version of the doomed island. The Medieval Breton legend of Ker-Ys is my all-time favorite.
A holy bishop named Guénolé decided to travel to Ker-Ys, for he had heard of the city's wonders, and he sought to convert her people from their pagan ways. King Gradon was intrigued by Guénolé's words, and he promised to consider the missionary's proposition. After the audience, Guénolé encountered the king's daughter, Alvedro, whom he recognized as a powerful Druidess.
Alvedro, whose name means “tempest,” had taken vengeance on another king of Guénolé's acquaintance. Because he had murdered her mother and brother, Alvedro seduced the king, and then proceeded to drown and poison him. As if that wasn't punishment enough, the king's wife, who was furious that he had forsaken her and their sons for a witch, set fire to his magnificent castle at Vannes.
Guénolé warned Alvedro that all actions have consequences, but she laughed in his face. Not long after, she was tricked herself by a demon into handing over the keys to the city gates, which had up to then held back the sea from flooding Ker-Ys. As the waves rushed in, King Gradlon and Alvedro mounted the king's fastest horse, and together with Guénolé attempted to evacuate the city. Try as they might, it seemed the angry sea would overtake them and drown all of Ker-Ys' citizens.
“You must cast your wicked daughter to the sea,” warned Guénolé, “She's the one who's betrayed us! It's the only way to save your people.”
With a heavy heart, Gradlon threw his daughter into the waves. Just as holy abbot predicted, every one of the kings subjects escaped the submerging kingdom in the nick of time.
Where once stood a glorious city now lies the Baie des Trépassés, or the Bay of the Dead. Alvedro and her siren sisters still pull careless fisherman off the coasts of England and Brittany down to the dark depths to this very day...
You may wonder, if this novel is set in the ancient world, why should I incorporate Medieval tales? Isn't that a different time period?
Well, yes...and no.
Many legends and stories we associate with the Middle Ages are actually older oral accounts that were written down for the first time during this period. The goal of a storyteller wasn't always to tell a brand-spanking new story, but rather to embellish a tale with which most of his or her audience was already familiar, and in such a way as to top all previous versions. In other words, it's not so much about the destination as the journey (thank you, Jack Sparrow! Oh, pardon me, Captain Jack Sparrow.). That's why these stories have withstood the test of time. We all know how they end, and yet we keep reading them.
For further reading:
Ellis, Peter Berresford. Celtic Myths and Legends. Carroll & Graf Publishers: New York, 2002.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ys
http://atlantipedia.ie/samples/tag/ker-ys/
Painting: Flight of King Gradlon by Evariste Vital Luminais
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ys#mediaviewer/File:Evariste-Vital_Luminais_-_Fuite_de_Gradlon.jpg