this Poseidon-worship, which once prevailed along all the coasts of
Europe; they continued until the conversion of the people to
Christianity, and were then suppressed by the Church with great
difficulty.

We find in Plato's narrative the names of some of the Phoenician deities
among the kings of Atlantis. Where did the Greek, Plato, get these names
if the story is a fable?

Does Plato, in speaking of "the fruits having a hard rind, affording
drinks and meats and ointments," refer to the cocoa nut?

Again: Plato tells us that Atlantis abounded in both cold and hot
springs. How did he come to hit upon the hot springs if he was drawing a
picture from his imagination? It is a singular confirmation of his story
that hot springs abound in the Azores, which are the surviving fragments
of Atlantis; and an experience wider than that possessed by Plato has
taught scientific men that hot springs are a common feature of regions
subject to volcanic convulsions.

Plato tells us, "The whole country was very lofty and precipitous on the
side of the sea, but the country immediately about and surrounding the
city was a level plain, itself surrounded by mountains which descended
toward the sea." One has but to look at the profile of the "Dolphin's
Ridge," as revealed by the deep-sea soundings of the Challenger, given
as the frontispiece to this volume, to see that this is a faithful
description of that precipitous elevation. "The surrounding mountains,"
which sheltered the plain from the north, are represented in the present
towering peaks of the Azores.