Antilia

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Antilia (also Antillia , Ilha das Sete Cidades , Sept Citez , Island of the Seven Cities ) is a legendary island that is said to have been in the Atlantic . It is a so-called phantom island .

History and legend

In the 15th century was Europe a legend about a small island called Antilia, which should be inhabited by a Christian community, widespread. This probably went back to an older Portuguese tradition from the time of the Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula . It reports on six bishops under the leadership of the Archbishop of Porto , who fled the Moors from Portugal in 714 or 734 by ship to colonize an island in the west. They founded seven cities there, one for each of the bishops.

For the first time, as far as is known, the island of Antilia appears on the Pizzigano map from 1424. It is also clearly recognizable on the world map by the Dutchman Johannes Ruysch from 1508 west of the Azores and east of the American coast (southeast of Newfoundland), i.e. at the location of the Bermuda Islands.

Localizations and attempts to explain

Map of the Piri Reis

On the map of Piri Reis from 1513 an island is marked with “antilia” in Arabic script, the location behind it is assumed to be the island of Cuba . The position of Antilias is said to have been at about the 31st parallel . According to one version of the origin of the name of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, it is said to be a derivative of the name Antilia.

Assumptions about a real existence of Antilia connect this with Bermuda, since the Azores and the eastern Antilles islands including Hispaniola are shown on the Ruysch world map as early as 1508. Other interpretations assume that there have actually been islands in the Atlantic that have perished in the course of the earth's history. The following are examples of evidence:

  • Mountain peaks of submarine mountains that actually reach just below the surface of the sea.
  • Fresh water sources on the sea floor, which are used, for example, by fishermen from the Azores using ingenious buckets.
  • Finds of volcanic layers at depths of up to 3,600 meters, which can only have been formed above water.
  • The mid-Atlantic ridge is one of the most tectonically active zones in the world.
  • Also islands that were supposedly sighted in historical times, which could not be found later. For example, in 1762 a group of islands was discovered by the ship Aurora. Various sailors reported about the Aurora Islands until 1892. After that, however, they were never spotted again.

  • Antilia (red, below) on Zuane Pizzigano's map of 1424

  • Antilia on a map by Albino de Canepa from 1489

More islands

Other mythical or fictional islands of the Atlantic include: Atlantis , Brasil , the Brendan Islands , Isla Granda , the Satanazes , the Thompson Islands and the Chimney Islands .

Secret society

In the 16th century there was a secret society in England called "Antilia", which was dedicated to reforming education and society in order to prepare for the return of Christ . You also belonged to the "Great Intelligencer of Europe" Samuel Hartlib .

literature

Web links

Commons : Antillia  - collection of images, videos and audio files