“....in a single day and night of misfortune the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.”-Plato 360 B.C

“....in a single day and night of misfortune the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.”-Plato 360 B.C

               As I kept on reading Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, I came across another city I really liked,“Isaura”. I particularly liked this city because it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood movies, Atlantis, The Lost Empire . Isaura is a beautiful city that rises over a subterranean lake. The people of Isaura dig vertical tunnels in order to obtain their water. They also have two very different religious beliefs.While some believe that the Gods live in the depths of the lake, others believe that they live in the buckets that transportsthe water through the vertical tunnels of the city. I think that the buckets traveling through Isaura and the last phrase of Marco Polo’s  description: “A city that moves entirely upwards”, represent the dilemma of Isaura between being a city in which, day by day,  its people decide on either  progressing (following the Gods of the Buckets which go up), or staying as they are now (following the Gods in the depths of the lake).

               Atlantis  is a city under sea. “According to Plato, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules  that conquered many parts of  western Europe andAfrica 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune". (Wikepedia). In my favorite childhood movie Atlantis, The Lost Empire, Milo, the main character, discovers how to get to the lost city of Atlantis. Milo gets a millionaire, called Preston Whitmore, to finance his expedition. He assembles a crew to help him get to the city of Atlantis. Finally, when they reach Atlantis, Milo’s crew betrays him. They discover the city has a precious holy crystal which they plan to steal and  take up to the surface to sell it. However, Milo refuses to let them commit such an atrocity. With the help of the princess of Atlantis, Kida, Milo stops the bandits from stealing the crystal of Atlantis. In the end Milo stays living in Atlantis while the rest of his crew goes to the surface.

               Atlantis compares to Isaura in many ways. First, they are both on the water. Second, their people live isolated and under very special conditions. Last, but not least, Atlantis, Like Isaura, has only two options; staying as they are now, at the bottom of the ocean living isolated, or progressing and making contact with the surface.