Atlantis

A simulation of Atlantis

Atlantis was an ancient and advanced Isu city, the remains of which were situated at the bottom of the Aegean Sea, beneath the island of Thera, Greece. Prior to its final destruction, the city was ruled by Poseidon, and it was one of the Sister Realms, which it formed together with the Underworld and Elysium. They appeared to defer to the authority of Mount Olympos.

Description

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras compared Atlantis' function to that of a library, containing all of the knowledge of the Isu; including their physiology, scientific advancements, historical knowledge, culture, and beliefs. ^{[citation needed]}

History

Isu Era

During the Isu Era, Atlantis was created to be an indestructible repository of Isu knowledge where both members of the First Civilization and humanity could co-exist. The city was originally ruled by the Isu Atlas but he was supplanted by his power-hungry father, the Trident King Poseidon, who gave Atlas and his nine brothers the subordinate position of Archon to manage the city's affairs.

Poseidon, as the Dikastes Basileus, the Grand Adjudicator, implemented a cycle system for Atlantis wherein the city would be destroyed and reconstituted afresh every seven years if it was judged to be imperfect, a process which could wipe individuals from existence. Record of the cycles was not kept initially, and at least one was rumored to have not been seen through to completion. According to an Atlantean myth, a matter which led Poseidon's loathed brother Zeus to visit the city and reprimand Poseidon in-person enraged the Trident King so much that he destroyed the very cycle in which the meeting had occurred.

Poseidon eventually outlawed the use of experimentation on the city's human residents and looked to enforce the ban from Atlantis' eleventh recorded cycle. To "lighten the weight of judgment," and with Atlas deemed not yet ready for the responsibility of ruling, Poseidon established the role of Dikastes, which was second only to himself and was meant to ensure that matters concerning the city's Isu and human populace were treated impartially. The Isu Aletheia became one such Dikastes.

Aletheia's simulation

Around the year 422 BCE, the Spartan misthios Kassandra visited the Gateway to the Lost City, which connected Atlantis to the surface world. There, she discovered her biological father, Pythagoras, along with the Staff of Hermes, which had kept him alive for over fifty years after his disappearance. Together, they used the Atlantis artifacts to seal the entrance to the city.

To help her master the Staff, Kassandra later visited a simulated version of the city, a composite of Isu memories including those of former Dikastes Aletheia and perceived by Kassandra with Ancient Greek imagery culturally familiar to her. After completing her trials, Kassandra and Poseidon sank the city by using the Staff in conjunction with the Prize of Cerberos and the Prize of the Hekatonchires.

Behind the scenes

The exact nature of Atlantis' cycle system is unclear. More recent entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise have typically distanced their world-building from the idea that the Isu were capable of time travel or reviving the dead, possibilities hinted at in earlier works. However, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla has indicated that they had the technology to simulate and inhabit alternate futures rather than just predict.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
  • The Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis (simulation only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd edition)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)

An image gallery is available for Atlantis