pirates

"The ancient inhabitants of Atlantis used the Jewel but refused to pay its price and met their doom."
―Shansa[src]

Atlantis (in Greek, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "island of Atlas") was a legendary island located in the Atlantic Ocean. According to Plato's work, written about 360 BC, Atlantis was described as a naval empire and Poseidon's domain. After falling out of favor with the deities, the island of Atlantis "in a single day and night of misfortune" disappeared into the depths of the sea.

History

By the Age of Piracy, Atlantis had become a place of myth and legend. It was rumored that the Sword of Triton had been forged by the legendary sea deity Triton himself in the lost city of Atlantis,[1][2] with one of three sapphires of Triton giving the sword its power to rule everything associated with the winds of the ocean, including the ships at sea as well as a ship's rigging,[4] eventually falling into the possession of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and Hector Barbossa.[1][5] The Jewel of Atlantis was a mythical treasure that was believed to have led towards the destruction of the ancient city, only to be found in Shansa's cave.[3]

Behind the scenes

Miles Teves's conceptual renderings of the Sword of Triton. The first (above) was immediately chosen as the final sword, while another (below) was a design Teves believed to be more fitting to the backstory of a sword that had survived from the days of Atlantis.
"Did You Know? Blackbeard's sword is called the Sword of Triton because...
It's rumored to have been forged by the legendary sea deity Triton himself in the lost city of Atlantis. The Sword of Triton has passed from one ancient mariner to another, until most recently falling into Blackbeard's possession."
―Pirates of the Caribbean Online Grog Blog[src]

Atlantis was first mentioned in 2011 through behind the scenes information about the Sword of Triton in the visual guide for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,[2] as well as the Grog Blogs at Pirates of the Caribbean Online.[1]

Illustrator Miles Teves did several concept drawings for On Stranger Tides, including the Sword of Triton. According to Teves, the script called for Blackbeard to wield "a massive sword of Atlantean origin that possessed magical powers. [...] it was to be shattered at the blade's edge in an unknown battle somewhere in the shadows of the mythical past."[6] Teves' first design sketched out was immediately chosen as the final sword, though he thought it was a pity because of the backstory was that it was "a vestige of ancient Atlantis that had been broken yet somehow survived the mellenia" and felt that it should have been more unique and exotic.[7] Another early concept of the sword was his attempt at creating a realistic design more fitting to the Atlantis backstory.[8][9] Despite the appearance of the Sword of Triton in the film itself,[5] the backstory of Atlantis and the sea deity Triton was only mentioned in promotional materials.[2][1]

While unconfirmed, some of the concept artwork for the Fountain of Youth in On Stranger Tides looks similar to the city layout of Atlantis as seen in 2001 Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire.[10][11]

In A. C. Crispin's novel The Price of Freedom, when Jack Sparrow and Christophe-Julien de Rapièr were discussing treasures of myth and legend, Jack mentions "the island that sank beneath the waves because the streets were paved with gold." Christophe also added that the island "sank beneath the waves because it was cursed."[12] Whether they were talking about Atlantis or some other location is unknown.

While unconfirmed in the Pirates universe, in real-world mythology, Atlantis (in Greek, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "island of Atlas") is a legendary island mentioned in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. According to Critias, the Hellenic deities of old divided the land so that each deity might have their own lot; Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world, making it the literary counter-image of the Achaemenid Empire. After an ill-fated attempt to conquer "Ancient Athens," Atlantis falls out of favor with the deities and "in a single day and night of misfortune" submerges into the Atlantic Ocean. Since Plato describes Athens as resembling his ideal state in the Republic, the Atlantis story is meant to bear witness to the superiority of his concept of a state.[13]

Appearances

Sources

External links

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Did You Know? ...On Stranger Tides edition: Grog Blog - Archived
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, pp. 28-29: "Blackbeard"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
  4. ↑ Terry Rossio on Blackbeard's Sword of Triton
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  6. ↑ Концепт-арт. «Пираты Карибского моря: На странных берегах». - 66sean99 - LiveJournal
  7. ↑ Sword of Blackbeard-side - Miles Teves - Archived: "This design was the first that I sketched out and was immediately chosen as the final sword. This was a pity as the back story on the sword was that it was a vestige of ancient Atlantis that had been broken yet somehow survived the mellenia. As such I felt that it should have been more unique and exotic."
  8. ↑ Sword of Blackbeard-early concept - Miles Teves - Archived: "Though not as wild and whacky as a concept from any video game, this was my attempt at creating a realistic design more fitting to a sword that had survived from the days of Atlantis. I got in trouble for drawing this version of the sword. God knows why."
  9. ↑ Instagram-Logo Miles Teves (@milesteves) on Instagram (post on January 19, 2020): "Another little series from Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. The script required Blackbeard to wield a huge sword of Atlantean origin which possessed magical powers. Titled the 'Sword of Triton', it was to have the point of it's blade shattered in an unknown battle somewhere in the shadows of it's mythical past. I had ambitions to make this sword something really unique, however fate had other plans. A sword I had quickly drawn in the hand of the Javier Bardemesque Blackbeard drawing, which was really just a placeholder, was chosen as the final design. That sword, although a bit fancy and ornate, was nothing special. Pretty standard 18th century pirate stuff. Nonetheless, I drew out a blueprint of the design for the prop master to have forged by a master armorer in Burbank. A missed opportunity. #potc4 #piratesofthecaribbean #piratesofthecaribbeanonstrangertides #pirate #pirates #blackbeard #blackbeardsword #piratesword #conceptillustration #conceptartist #conceptdesign #conceptart #swordoftriton # #characterconcept #milesteves #cutlass"
  10. ↑ The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, pp. 134-147: "The Fountain of Youth"
  11. ↑ Disney Second Screen: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  12. ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter One: Fair Winds and Black Ships
  13. ↑ WP favicon Atlantis on Wikipedia