Atlantis: The Search for the Lost City of the Ancients: Difference between revisions

From StargateWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (place in Ancients category)
(up to 10.10/3.10)
Line 98: Line 98:


Daniel wanted to go, but Jack didn't allow it. Jack wanted Daniel to stay with him at the SGC because he insisted that Daniel was needed there. Jack didn't want to risk losing Daniel because of the possibility that the trip was going to be one-way for quite some time and of Daniel's value in the war against the Goa'uld.  
Daniel wanted to go, but Jack didn't allow it. Jack wanted Daniel to stay with him at the SGC because he insisted that Daniel was needed there. Jack didn't want to risk losing Daniel because of the possibility that the trip was going to be one-way for quite some time and of Daniel's value in the war against the Goa'uld.  
Even though it was a discovery of a lifetime, Daniel would not get to see the results of his quest for the Lost City of the Ancients—the quest he had started in "Full Circle."


==Atlantis: Lost City of the Ancients==
==Atlantis: Lost City of the Ancients==
===History of Atlantis===
===History of Atlantis===
Daniel attempted to get to Atlantis twice after Dr. Weir's team left Earth through the Stargate (8.12 "Prometheus Unbound", 9.01 "Avalon Part 1"). He didn't get to see the wonders of the city for the first time after 10,000 years of abandonment. Dr. Weir's team discovered that the legend concerning the city being submerged was actually true — it had just happened on a planet in another galaxy rather than on Earth (''Stargate Atlantis'').
Daniel attempted to get to Atlantis twice after Dr. Weir's team left Earth through the Stargate (8.12 "Prometheus Unbound", 9.01 "Avalon Part 1"). He didn't get to see the wonders of the city for the first time after 10,000 years of abandonment. Dr. Weir's team discovered that the legend concerning the city being submerged was actually true — it had just happened on a planet in another galaxy rather than on Earth (''Stargate Atlantis'': 1.01 "Rising Part 1").
 
One of the first things that the team discovered was a holographic recording left behind by the Ancients who had to flee when a powerful enemy, the Wraith, besieged the city. Being fewer in number, the Ancients couldn't hold off the Wraith's relentless attacks. The Wraith need to feed from humans to survive (by draining their life force similar to a vampire), and they discovered that Atlantis had the only Stargate in the Pegasus Galaxy which could take them to new feeding grounds. Instead of destroying the city, the Ancients submerged it, hoping that one day they'd be able to return. They programmed the city's Stargate to only lower its energy defense shield and permit travelers dialing from Earth to reenter. (''Stargate Atlantis'': 1.01 "Rising Part 1")
 
The city was working on very little power upon their arrival. It was the detection of Weir's team that alerted the city's computers of the need to bring the city back to life. When power levels reached a critical low, the city's failsafes kicked in and Atlantis rose from the depths of the ocean. Even though the city could operate on some of the team's naquadah generators, what they really needed was the immense power only available from a ZPM — actually, three ZPMs were needed to power the city fully. Luckily, about a year after their arrival, a fully-charged ZPM was discovered in an Ancient Egyptian tomb and sent to the city via Earth's newest Deep Space Carrier, the ''Daedalus''. The powerful defense shields that the city needed to protect itself from enemies, such as the Wraith who have awakened from a centuries-long slumber, were available once more, but because they only had the one ZPM, the shields were not operated all the time. This single ZPM, which had also been used to form regular outgoing wormholes back to Earth, was drained of all of its power after an experiment to draw energy from alternate realities failed. One of the mandates of Stargate teams from Atlantis is to find working ZPMs, but most of the ones they've discovered were used by the human civilizations for their own protection against the Wraith. (8.20 "Moebius Part 2"; ''Stargate Atlantis'': 1.02 "Rising Part 2", 3.08 "McKay and Mrs. Miller")
 
Trips from Earth to Atlantis take about three weeks on one of Earth's Daedalus-class ships, so alternate forms of travel have been developed. The creation of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge, designed by Carter and McKay, was started at the beginning of the Expedition's third year. This Bridge is formed using 34 Stargates, half of which are from the Pegasus system, and the other half from the Milky Way's. They meet in the middle at the Midway Station. The Intergalactic Gate Bridge is situated in the vast void between the two galaxies, and a one-way trip takes about 30 minutes to complete. The first human to use the Bridge was Lt. Col. John Sheppard, who made the distance in a puddle jumper (small Ancient spacecraft which is designed to fit through the Stargate) because the Midway Station was incomplete and had no life support. Sheppard flew the puddle jumper into the SGC and used the silo to take the ship to its new bay on an upper level of the base. (''Stargate Atlantis'': 10.10 "The Return Part 1")


One of the first things that the team discovered was a holographic recording left behind by the Ancients who had to flee when a powerful enemy, the Wraith, besieged the city. Being fewer in number, the Ancients couldn't hold off the Wraith's relentless attacks. The Wraith need to feed from humans to survive (by draining their life force similar to a vampire), and they discovered that Atlantis had the only Stargate in the Pegasus Galaxy which could take them to new feeding grounds. Instead of destroying the city, the Ancients submerged it, hoping that one day they'd be able to return. They programmed the city's Stargate to only lower its energy defense shield and permit travelers dialing from Earth to reenter. (''Stargate Atlantis'')
It was during the testing of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge that the Expedition discovered an Ancient ship traveling the great distance between the two galaxies at sub-light speed. The ship was manned by Lantian Ancients who reclaimed Atlantis and sent the Atlantis Expedition back to Earth. The Lantians permitted Maj. Gen. Jack O'Neill and International Oversight Advisory member Richard Woolsey to stay in the city to represent Earth's interests. Not long after the Expedition left Atlantis, the city was attacked by the Asurans, the Replicators of the Pegasus Galaxy. (''Stargate Atlantis'': 3.10 "The Return Part 1")


The city was working on very little power upon their arrival. It was the detection of Weir's team that alerted the city's computers of the need to bring the city back to life. When power levels reached a critical low, the city's failsafes kicked in and Atlantis rose from the depths of the ocean. Even though the city could operate on some of the team's naquadah generators, what they really needed was the immense power only available from a ZPM — actually, three ZPMs were needed to power the city fully. Luckily, about a year after their arrival, a fully-charged ZPM was discovered in an Ancient Egyptian tomb and sent to the city via Earth's newest Deep Space Carrier, the ''Daedalus''. The powerful defense shields that the city needs to protect itself from enemies, such as the Wraith who have awakened from a centuries-long slumber, are available once more, but because they only have the one ZPM, they are not operated all the time. One of the mandates of Stargate teams from Atlantis is to find working ZPMs, but most of the ones they have discovered are used by the human civilizations for their own protection against the Wraith. (8.20 "Moebius Part 2"; ''Stargate Atlantis'')
===Daniel Finally Goes to Atlantis===
{| align="left"
|valign="top"|[[Image:100301.jpg|thumb|170px|none|Daniel and Carter look on Atlantis from ''Odyssey'']]
|}
The Milky Way Galaxy was under threat from the Ascended Beings known as the Ori, and Daniel led in the search for a weapon which was developed by a formerly Ascended Lantian Ancient who had become known in Arthurian legends as Merlin. When he left Atlantis 10,000 years ago, Merlin was known as Moros, the last High Councilor of Atlantis. Daniel found various clues about the weapon, known as the Sangreal, which led him to search the database in Atlantis. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
Daniel's time in Atlantis was brief, but he did discover that Morgan Le Fay, Merlin's greatest rival, was also an Ascended Being who had been sent by The Others to watch Merlin's activities. Both Merlin and Morgan had been with the group who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago and had subsequently ascended. Moros retook his advanced human form, keeping all of his Ancient knowledge and powers, and started developing his weapon. Morgan, known by the Ancients as Ganos Lal, apparently stopped his using the weapon by stealing it from him, thus starting King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Merlin's most trusted men, on their quest. What happened to Merlin still remains a mystery. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
Daniel met Morgan Le Fay in Atlantis, but she said that she had known him when he was ascended. She feared helping Daniel any further in his search because of what had happened to him — his interference and use of his ascended powers was stopped by The Others and he was returned to human form without his memories. The Others use different punishments against those of their own who break the rules of non-interference, and Morgan feared she would not fare much better than Daniel. After Daniel gave a most empassioned plea for more help, Morgan was pulled away by The Others before she could complete her reply. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
Daniel's first visit to Atlantis was a bittersweet one. Ever since he had discovered it, he had wanted to spend time there, perhaps the rest of his life, exploring the city and its archives. His personal desires had to be put aside as he continued in the search for Merlin's weapon. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
===Gallery of Marvels===


Atlantis is a technological marvel. Its size is comparable to that of Manhattan, making its full exploration difficult and time-consuming. Even so, Weir's people have discovered various labs and technology left behind by the Ancients, one of the most prized of these discoveries being the Ancient Database. Researchers have only begun to retrieve useful and understandable information from it. Whenever information is discovered, it is packaged for use by the SGC. Information as to the physiology of Ancient humans was one such package sent, as well as the layout of the city-ship itself, and the manifest of those who left the city 10,000 years ago. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.09 "Prototype"; ''Stargate Atlantis'')
Atlantis is a technological marvel. Its size is comparable to that of Manhattan, making its full exploration difficult and time-consuming. Even so, Weir's people have discovered various labs and technology left behind by the Ancients, one of the most prized of these discoveries being the Ancient Database. Researchers have only begun to retrieve useful and understandable information from it. Whenever information is discovered, it is packaged for use by the SGC. Information as to the physiology of Ancient humans was one such package sent, as well as the layout of the city-ship itself, and the manifest of those who left the city 10,000 years ago. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.09 "Prototype"; ''Stargate Atlantis'')


===Gallery of Marvels===
Up to the time that Daniel made his first trip to Atlantis, just over half of the city had been explored. The Expedition has city schematics, so they have a fairly good idea of what's where, but there still remains entire sections of the city and whole systems that they don't even pretend to understand. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
{|
{|
|valign="top"|[[Image:terra-atlantis.jpg|thumb|170px|left|Terra Atlantis: Atlantis in Antarctica several million years ago]]
|valign="top"|[[Image:terra-atlantis.jpg|thumb|170px|left|Terra Atlantis: Atlantis in Antarctica several million years ago]]
Line 131: Line 147:
==Legacy of the Atlantian Ancients==
==Legacy of the Atlantian Ancients==


Connections between Earth and Atlantis are still felt to this day. Daniel discovered that one of the Ancients who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago became the man known as Merlin in Arthurian legends. Not only was Merlin, also known as Myrddin, an Ancient, but he was also a formerly Ascended Ancient who retook human form to develop a weapon which could neutralize an Ascended Being. This weapon is the Sangreal, also known as the Blood Stone and the Holy Grail. It is a red orb worn as a pendant which cancels out the energy of an Ascended Being. Merlin developed this weapon because of the threat posed by a group of Ascended Beings known as the Ori. These Ori were once humans who were part of the same society as the Ancients in a distant galaxy. The Ancients were known as the Altera those millions of years ago. When both groups were on the evolutionary path to ascension, a rift was formed between the two groups, largely based on their philosophies concerning ascension and their role, if any, with the lower planes of existence (corporeal plane). The Ori sought to wipe out the Altera, but the Altera fled instead of engaging in a war. They found refuge after thousands of years of space travel in the Milky Way Galaxy, where, after a time, they became known as the Ancients. The Ori's attention has been drawn to the Milky Way, where they intend to convert humanity into worshippers to give them more power on the ascended planes. After gaining enough power, the Ori intend to destroy the Ascended Ancients. Ironically, it was through the use of Merlin's abandoned technology discovered in the Glastonbury Tor in England (Avalon) which alerted the Ori that there were billions of potential human worshippers in the Milky Way Galaxy. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.02 "Avalon Part 2", 9.03 "Origin Part 3", 9.11 "The Fourth Horseman Part 2", 9.18 "Arthur's Mantle", 9.20 "Camelot Part 2")
Connections between Earth and Atlantis are still felt to this day and have been recorded in history books.  
 
===Moros/Myrddin/Merlin===
 
Daniel discovered that one of the Ancients who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago became the man known as Merlin in Arthurian legends. Not only was Merlin, also known as Myrddin (Ancient name: Moros), but he was also a formerly Ascended Ancient who retook human form to develop a weapon which could neutralize an Ascended Being. This weapon is the Sangreal, also known as the Blood Stone and the Holy Grail. It is a red orb worn as a pendant which cancels out the energy of an Ascended Being. Merlin developed this weapon because of the threat posed by a group of Ascended Beings known as the Ori. These Ori were once humans who were part of the same society as the Ancients in a distant galaxy. The Ancients were known as the Altera those millions of years ago. When both groups were on the evolutionary path to ascension, a rift was formed between the two groups, largely based on their philosophies concerning ascension and their role, if any, with the lower planes of existence (corporeal plane). The Ori sought to wipe out the Altera, but the Altera fled instead of engaging in a war. They found refuge after thousands of years of space travel in the Milky Way Galaxy, where, after a time, they became known as the Ancients. The Ori's attention has been drawn to the Milky Way, where they intend to convert humanity into worshippers to give them more power on the ascended planes. After gaining enough power, the Ori intend to destroy the Ascended Ancients. Ironically, it was through the use of Merlin's abandoned technology discovered in the Glastonbury Tor in England (Avalon) which alerted the Ori that there were billions of potential human worshippers in the Milky Way Galaxy. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.02 "Avalon Part 2", 9.03 "Origin Part 3", 9.11 "The Fourth Horseman Part 2", 9.18 "Arthur's Mantle", 9.20 "Camelot Part 2")
 
Daniel's search for Merlin's weapon was what sent him on his first visit to Atlantis. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
===Ganos Lal/Morgan Le Fay===
 
Ganos Lal was also one of the Lantians who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago and subsequently ascended. When her fellow Lantian Moros decided to retake human form to develop his weapon, Ganos was sent by The Others to watch his activities and stop him if necessary. Moros had come to be known as the wizard Merlin because he had great knowledge and powers. When Ganos began interfering with the development and use of the weapon, she came to be known as Morgan Le Fay in Arthurian legends — Merlin's greatest rival. Ganos was successful in obtaining and hiding the weapon all those centuries ago, but after the Ori invaded the Milky Way, she realized she needed to help Daniel in his search. She told him that she knew him when he was ascended and that she feared that The Others would punish her just as he was punished for breaking the rules. Just as she feared, when she tried to offer more information, she was pulled away by The Others, leaving Daniel with the conclusion that he'd never see her again and that the Ascended Ancients would abide by their rules of non-interference even when their very existence was threatened. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")
 
===Asurans/Replicators===
 
When the war with the Wraith was going strong 10,000 years ago, the Ancients began experimenting in nanotechnology as a weapon. They designed nanites which would attack beings from within, but were programmed not to harm Ancients. The Atlantis Expedition found broken containers of these nanites after the city was hit by a powerful storm. The only way that these nanites could be stopped was with the electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) emitted by the explosion of a naquadah generator. (''Stargate Atlantis'': 1.13 "Hot Zone")
 
It was later discovered that when the nanites were originally created, they developed sentience and replicated themselves into the image of their creators. Their colony on Asura became highly developed, but the Ancients feared them and attempted to destroy them all. A few of the nanites survived and rebuilt the Asuran society at the same time that Atlantis was abandoned. When the Atlantis Expedition team found the thriving Asuran civilization, the Asurans realized that Atlantis was not destroyed in the war against the Wraith and sought revenge by destroying it themselves. Their first attempt at destroying the city was thwarted by some reprogramming done by McKay who realized that these Asurans were closely related to the Replicators from the Milky Way Galaxy. It has been theorized that one of the Ancients who had worked on the original nanite project in Atlantis had resumed his work in the Milky Way and that this research resulted in Reese and the creation of the Replicators. (5.19 "Menace"; ''Stargate Atlantis'': 3.05 "Progeny")
 
The Asurans have returned for another attack on the city just as the Expedition was sent back home by the Lantian Ancients who had survived the evacuation of the city 10,000 years ago in their warship. Sheppard regrouped his team to save Atlantis, taking with him an arsenal which included the "Anti-Replicator Gun", a personal defense weapon designed by Carter based on O'Neill's Replicator Disruptor Technology. (''Stargate Atlantis'': 3.10 "The Return Part 1")
 
===Others===


Only a few of the Ancients who left Atlantis and returned to Earth 10,000 years ago have been identified, but some, such as Merlin, have obviously left their mark in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Ancient who built the time traveling "puddle jumper" discovered on Harry Maybourne's planet was most likely Janus who had built one in the Pegasus Galaxy as well. Others of this group probably merged into Earth's societies and introduced the Ancient gene into humanity's genome. These same Ancients were mostly likely responsible for the story of the sunken city of Atlantis. (8.13 "It's Good To Be King"; ''Stargate Atlantis'')
Only a few of the Ancients who left Atlantis and returned to Earth 10,000 years ago have been identified, but some, such as Merlin and Morgan, have obviously left their mark in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Ancient who built the time traveling "puddle jumper" discovered on Harry Maybourne's planet was most likely Janus who had built one in the Pegasus Galaxy as well. Others of this group probably merged into Earth's societies and introduced the Ancient gene into humanity's genome. These same Ancients were most likely responsible for the story of the sunken city of Atlantis. (8.13 "It's Good To Be King"; ''Stargate Atlantis'')


==The Legend of Atlantis and ''Stargate''==
==The Legend of Atlantis and ''Stargate''==
Line 188: Line 224:
* [[9.18 "Arthur's Mantle" Episode Guide|9.18 "Arthur's Mantle"]]
* [[9.18 "Arthur's Mantle" Episode Guide|9.18 "Arthur's Mantle"]]
* [[9.20 "Camelot Part 2" Episode Guide|9.20 "Camelot Part 2"]]
* [[9.20 "Camelot Part 2" Episode Guide|9.20 "Camelot Part 2"]]
* [[10.03 "The Pegasus Project" Episode Guide|10.03 "The Pegasus Project"]]
* [[Stargate Atlantis]]
* [[Stargate Atlantis]]


Line 205: Line 242:
* [[Sarah Gardner]]
* [[Sarah Gardner]]
* [[Janus]]
* [[Janus]]
* [[Morgan Le Fay]]
* [[Rodney McKay|Dr. Rodney McKay]]
* [[Rodney McKay|Dr. Rodney McKay]]
* [[Merlin]]
* [[Merlin]]
Line 210: Line 248:
* [[Osiris]]
* [[Osiris]]
* [[Ra]]
* [[Ra]]
* [[Reese]]
* [[Shifu]]
* [[Shifu]]
* [[Thor]]
* [[Thor]]
* [[Elizabeth Weir|Dr. Elizabeth Weir]]
* [[Elizabeth Weir|Dr. Elizabeth Weir]]
* [[Richard Woolsey]]


==Related Articles==
==Related Articles==
Line 224: Line 264:
* [[Ascended Beings]]
* [[Ascended Beings]]
* [[Asgard]]
* [[Asgard]]
* [[Asurans]]
* [[Avalon]]
* [[Avalon]]
* [[Eye of Ra]]
* [[Eye of Ra]]
Line 231: Line 272:
* [[Hala]]
* [[Hala]]
* [[Harry Maybourne's Planet]]
* [[Harry Maybourne's Planet]]
* [[Intergalactic Gate Bridge]]
* [[International Oversight Advisory (IOA)]]
* [[Kelowna]]
* [[Kelowna]]
* [[Kull Warrior]]
* [[Kull Warrior]]
Line 236: Line 279:
* [[Memory Recall Device]]
* [[Memory Recall Device]]
* [[Naquadria]]
* [[Naquadria]]
* [[Odyssey]]
* [[Ori]]
* [[Ori]]
* [[P3R-272]]
* [[P3R-272]]

Revision as of 13:53, 29 October 2006

Atlantis: Lost City of the Ancients

Summary

The search for the Lost City of the Ancients was one of the main story arcs of Stargate SG-1 from the end of Season Six to the beginning of Season Eight. It is also a major story arc for the members of SG-1, especially for Jack and Daniel. An interesting twist to the tale of the search of the Lost City of the Ancients is that Jack and Daniel were not able to discover its location from within the Stargate SG-1 episodes, but from within the program premier of the spin-off Stargate Atlantis, in the episode called "Rising."

The Search for the Lost City

The Tablet

Ancient Tablet found on Abydos

In the episode, 6.22 "Full Circle," Anubis attacked Abydos in his search for the Eye of Ra, one of several components needed to amplify the power of a weapon he was building on his mothership. Daniel, as an Ascended Being, visited Jack in the SGC's elevator to tell him of Anubis' attack and asked that Jack help the Abydonians fight. Jack asked Daniel to help them once they were under fire on Abydos and Daniel complied. He led Carter and Jonas to an area of the temple where he believed that the Eye was stored. After they located a storage room in the temple, they looked for the Eye among all of the treasures Ra had gathered there. Daniel's attention was drawn to a broken tablet on the table in the middle of the room.

Daniel was versed in the various dialects of the Ancients and could read the tablet with great ease. He discovered that the Ancients, those who built the Stargates, became two groups when the plague swept the galaxy (4.06 "Window of Opportunity" and 6.04 "Frozen"): those that died of the plague and those that learned to ascend to a higher plane of existence. Much to Daniel's surprise and amazement, the group of Ascended Beings known as The Others were actually the ascended Ancients.

Daniel continued to read the tablet and found that the Ancients had left behind a great city, called the Lost City, which had powerful weaponry which, if Anubis were to find, would mean Anubis' total supremacy in the galaxy with very little hope of ever overcoming him. The information on that tablet was so extremely important that Daniel insisted that SG-1 save the tablet and themselves and get off of Abydos with it as soon as possible. The Eye of Ra was not even a major consideration in the type of weaponry available in the Lost City, so SG-1 traded it for their free passage to the Stargate. Daniel told Jack that he'd help them find the Lost City once they got the tablet off of Abydos.

Daniel bought time for his friends to get through the Stargate by confronting Anubis, but Oma Desala pulled him out of actually wiping Anubis from existence at the last moment (8.18 "Threads"). After Daniel was taken from the confrontation against his will, Anubis destroyed Abydos with his new superweapon powered by the Eye of Ra and other Eyes he had collected along the way. Oma Desala, however, knowing that Daniel was trying to protect the Abydonians by confronting Anubis, ascended the entire population of Abydos in order that they not be completely destroyed.

Vis Uban

Daniel returns to human form

Jonas took it upon himself to translate the tablet after Daniel was presumed dead. He used many of Daniel's notes left from his translations of various Ancient writings, but since the tablet was written in one of the oldest dialects, his translations could not be validated. One day while working on the translation, Jonas got a sudden flash of insight. He ran through the halls of the SGC to tell General Hammond what he had discovered: the translation was not "Lost City" but "City of the Lost." He said that he could never quite understand why the Ancients would call it the "Lost City" anyway. His logic led him to believe that this city was supposed to be the grandest that the Ancients were to build, but they did not complete it because the plague killed them off. His conclusion was that when Jack input the addresses of Ancient Stargates into the SGC computer from the Ancient download he had several years ago (2.16 "The Fifth Race"), he had placed them in order of their existence and thus, the last location on the list was the location of the incomplete "City of the Lost."

The SGC sent out a probe to the planet P4T-3G6 and finally, SG-1, SG-3, and SG-5 went to the planet to take a look at the ruins. They encountered the nomads who were living among the ruins of the Ancient city. These nomads were aware of the Stargate and what it was used for, saying that they were travelers the same as those from the SGC. The nomads mentioned that they had been on the planet for some time, however. SG-1 assured them that all that they were interested in was to take a look at the ruins.

While establishing a perimeter around the Stargate on the planet, SG-3 encountered a nomad who looked shockingly familiar. Daniel Jackson was living among the nomads, having been discovered in the clearing of the forest by a few of them on their water run. Daniel had retaken human form, falling from the sky in a bright light and landing on the planet completely naked and amnesiac. The nomads took him in and gave him food, clothing, shelter, and a name, Arrom, which means naked one. Jack and Carter convinced Arrom to return to Earth with them to learn about himself.

After returning to the SGC, Daniel regained only some of his lost memories, but he seemed to regain completely the ability to read the Ancient language and the tablet. He attended a briefing which Jonas was giving on the results of surveying and translating some of the ruins on the planet, since called "Vis Uban" which means "place of great power." Daniel began to read the tablet and Jonas' translations and with great confidence stated that they were looking in the wrong place. Jonas' translation, based off of Daniel's erroneous notes of old, was not correct. The name of the city was indeed "Lost City," not "City of the Lost." Daniel was strong in his conviction that he knew what the tablet said, even though he didn't know how it was that he was able to translate it.

Daniel explained that the Ancients purposefully hid the city and made it lost to others, possibly through camouflage. He strongly believed that the city still existed and that the weapons that they were searching for were located there (7.01 "Fallen Part 1").

Anubis Learns of the Lost City

Anubis captures Jonas

Jonas devised a plan to entrap Anubis using a false version of the tablet. This fake tablet, created by Daniel and Jonas, would be placed by the Tok'ra for Anubis to find and he would go to Vis Uban in search of the weapons said to be buried there. At Vis Uban, the SGC would have an F-302 available to destroy the superweapon created by the Eye of Ra and, hopefully, the combined force of the other System Lords would finish off Anubis. Based on information obtained by a Tok'ra operative in Anubis' ranks, Anubis encoded the computers on his ship with an Ancient dialect which none of the Tok'ra could translate. Jonas and Daniel were given radioactive isotopes which prevented Anubis from discovering their presence on his ship while Daniel translated the computer codes to get the information needed for Jack and Carter to target the ventilation shaft of the superweapon. Daniel and Jonas found the information and Jack and Carter were successful at destroying the shaft while flying in the F-302, and thus, the superweapon overheated and was destroyed when Anubis tried to use it.

While they were on the ship, however, Daniel and Jonas were discovered and Jonas was captured as Daniel made it to safety among the inner workings of the ship. Anubis used the mind probe he had developed on Jonas. This was the same type of mind probe which left Thor of the Asgard in a coma after Anubis and Osiris used it on him to gain knowledge of Asgard technology (5.22 "Revelations"). Jonas' physiology, however, enabled him to overcome the harmful physical effects of the probe, but he couldn't prevent Anubis from finding out everything he knew, which included the text of the real tablet and the existence of the Lost City, the existence of naquadria on his homeworld Kelowna, the identity of his accomplice Daniel Jackson, and the location of all the Stargates that Jonas knew as well as that of the SGC's Alpha Site (7.16 "Death Knell"). Anubis quickly went to Kelowna to get his hands on naquadria and build another superweapon for his ship. While over the skies of Kelowna, Daniel and Jonas escaped when the testing of the naquadria-powered weapon failed, and Anubis' ship was destroyed by the other System Lords. Anubis, however, escaped (7.02 "Homecoming Part 2").

The Race Begins

Osiris probes Daniel's subconscious
Jack takes Ancient download

The race was on, with the SGC seemingly only one step ahead of Anubis. Both groups were searching fervently for the Lost City, but Anubis was also preoccupied with rebuilding his power after his mothership was destroyed over Kelowna. He used his knowledge of Ancient technology to build an army of Kull Warriors, genetically-engineered drones with brainwashed symbiotes. With his Kull Warriors, Anubis began to systematically eliminate minor System Lords and absorb their domains (7.11 "Evolution Part 1" and 7.12 "Evolution Part 2").

Osiris was in league with Anubis (5.15 "Summit Part 1," 5.16 "Last Stand Part 2," and 5.22 "Revelations") and, based on his host's past relationship with Daniel, he decided to manipulate Daniel's dreams and search for the memories Daniel may have had buried deep into his subconscious of the time he was ascended. Daniel had theorized that Oma had buried his memories deep into his subconscious just as she had with Shifu's Goa'uld genetic memories (4.17 "Absolute Power"). Anubis and Osiris must have theorized the same, possibly based on information obtained through their probing of Jonas' mind, and Osiris used a set of modified memory recall devices to plant false images in Daniel's subconscious, thus simulating dreams. Osiris introduced a tablet, similar to the tablet discovered on Abydos, in these false dreams for Daniel to translate, but Daniel wasn't able to translate the tablet because he was not in control. Osiris thought that Daniel knew where the Lost City was located while he was ascended, but Daniel, after realizing what Osiris was doing to him, told the Sarah Gardner of his "dreams" that he never knew the location. Osiris attempted to kill him with the ribbon device after this revelation, but the rest of SG-1 stopped him and separated the symbiote from Sarah (7.15 "Chimera").

Anubis was most likely using Jonas' knowledge of Stargate locations for planets formerly of the Ancients because he had reconnaissance drones sent to the same locations that the SGC sent teams. One close encounter happened on the planet P3X-666. The SGC was just starting to study the Ancient ruins on the planet when Anubis' flying drone sent him a report that the SGC was there. A battle ensued and Dr. Janet Fraiser was killed while trying to stabilize one of the wounded members of SG-13 (7.17 "Heroes Part 1" and 7.18 "Heroes Part 2").

Another of Anubis' probes was sighted when SG-2 and SG-3 were on the planet P3X-439 while SG-2 were surveying a colonnade with Ancient writings on them (7.21 "Lost City Part 1"). When Daniel translated the writings, he concluded that the location had in it another Repository of Knowledge just as SG-1 had discovered on the planet P3R-272 (2.16 "The Fifth Race"). SG-1, SG-3, and SG-5 were sent back to P3X-439 to attempt to locate and remove the repository before Anubis attacked. Daniel unlocked the repository, but he and Carter couldn't remove it from its location. Anubis attacked and in a last moment of desperation, Daniel attempted to take the download, but Jack prevented him and took the download himself. They destroyed the repository before Anubis could get to it and return home with their own copy—in Jack's brain. Upon discovering that the repository was destroyed, Anubis had the remaining Jaffa he had sent to attack the SG teams executed by a pair of his Kull Warriors because they had failed. Anubis realized that the SGC now had a tremendous advantage in the race to find the Lost City.

The Race Ends

Praclarush Taonas map shows Terra Atlantis
Jack in stasis in Antarctica

Anubis was on his way and would be attacking Earth within three days, so the race was quickly approaching its final lap.

Jack was right to take the download himself, because soon, he was only able to communicate using the Ancient's language—a language that only Daniel could translate. Because Jack was not aware of what he was doing or saying, Daniel had to intepret his actions and translate his words. From past experience, they knew that Jack could utilize the knowledge to reach a goal, even though he was not aware of it himself. Daniel never left Jack's side while Jack commenced his search for the Lost City of the Ancients.

Daniel learned from Jack that the Stargate symbols were not only representative of constellations, but also "letters" of sorts. Each symbol had a sound associated with it and Jack had written down the words "Praclarush Taonas" (translated into "lost in fire") in a crossword puzzle. Daniel put these two pieces together and came up with a Stargate address. Everyone hoped that this was the location of the Lost City of the Ancients. Carter input the coordinates that Daniel wrote into the SGC computer and found out that they had tried to dial it two years ago, but could not make a lock. Daniel said that the Stargate was most likely buried, but felt strongly that they should go there based on what Jack was doing. Teal'c and Bra'tac acquired a cargo ship and they all set off for Praclarush Taonas.

Onboard the cargo ship, Jack enhanced the engines to make the ship travel faster and soon they reached their destination. Praclarush Taonas was indeed buried in molten lava and had been so, according to Carter's calculations, for over a million years. They found a bubble in the surface which appeared to have been shaped by lava which had cooled down over a dome or forcefield. When they entered the bubble, they found that they were in an outpost of some kind. Daniel, by observing the architecture of the structure, confirmed that the design was Ancient. Jack found a chair and brought up environmental controls in the outpost to make it safe for them to take off their hazmat suits. He then brought up a map of the Ancient's domain and zeroed in on Earth and declared "Terra Atlantis" when he pointed out Antarctica. The configuration of the continents on the map indicated that the map was 30 million years old, before Antarctica had drifted to the southern pole and frozen over.

Why had Jack taken them out so far to Praclarush Taonas if the Lost City, now identified as Atlantis, was located in Antarctica on Earth? Jack soon answered their question by retrieving a power supply from the base of the computer chair. Upon returning to Earth, they went to Antarctica where Jack knew the outpost to be located and gained entry. Jack replaced the depleted power supply in the Antarctic outpost chair's base, identical to that of Praclarush Taonas, and activated an extremely powerful weapon which destroyed Anubis' fleet of over 30 vessels in Earth's orbit.

Jack was soon on the verge of death with all of the energy he had expended to activate the powerful weapon and harbor the Ancient knowledge. He had pointed out a stasis chamber when they entered the outpost and Daniel instructed Carter and Teal'c to place Jack in that chamber to save his life. They felt that they could locate the Asgard who could save Jack as they had before when he had taken the first Ancient download.

After making sure Jack was safely placed in stasis, Daniel realized that the Antarctic outpost was too small to meet the description of the Lost City. They had not found the Lost City of the Ancients, but had found the weapons they needed to prevent Anubis from destroying Earth. The Lost City and its powerful weapons were still "out there" somewhere and they still needed to find them (7.22 "Lost City Part 2").

The Discovery of Atlantis

Carter and Teal'c go to Hala
Jack in Thor's care
Daniel discovers 8th symbol
Atlantis floating in Pegasus Galaxy

Daniel returned to the SGC in order to pack up reference materials so that he could go back to Antarctica and help translate the records there, hoping to find some way to revive Jack and unload the knowledge. Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the civilian who replaced General Hammond as leader of the SGC since the new Presidential administration, told him he could not go because the various nations involved in the Antarctic Treaty were not in agreement of how the outpost should be administered and by whom. The Treaty specifically states that no military outposts could be placed there by any of the countries because Antarctica was to be treated as a place for scientific research only. Carter and Teal'c, however, persuaded Dr. Weir to allow them to take the cargo ship they had used to get to Praclarush Taonas to track down the Asgard near the planet Hala where they had trapped the Replicators in a time-dilation bubble (6.12 "Unnatural Selection"). Carter theorized that the Asgard were keeping a close watch on Hala because the Human Form Replicator named Fifth was very close to the device when it was activated and that soon he would be able to deactivate it. While Daniel was stuck at the SGC base awaiting the results of the negotiations for the supervision of the outpost, Carter and Teal'c headed off for Hala (8.01 "New Order Part 1").

Carter's theory about the Asgard's monitoring of Hala was correct. They arrived in the area of space where the planet should have been, but were pulled into the gravitational effects of a black hole. The Asgard had destroyed the sun of Hala in hopes that the Replicators would be destroyed along with it, but the Replicators broke free and were on their way to the Asgard's new homeworld. In order to find a way to defeat the Replicators once and for all, Thor retrieved Daniel and Jack from Earth. Jack was still in stasis and Thor asked that he be allowed to connect Jack's consciousness to his ship's computer and request that Jack use the knowledge of the Ancients to devise a weapon against the Replicators. Jack retrieved the information from the Ancient download and designed a disruptor gun which eliminated the link the Replicators' blocks needed to function. The Asgard finally had a weapon to defeat the Replicators, but some of the Replicators escaped before the weapon was used against them on the Asgard's new homeworld (8.02 "New Order Part 2").

Thor removed the knowledge from Jack and successfully revived him. They would never know if Jack ever knew the location of the Lost City of the Ancients from the download because they didn't have a chance to ask him. The team returned to Earth and Jack was given a promotion to Brigadier General, as well as the command of the SGC. Carter was promoted to Lt. Colonel and given command of SG-1. Daniel was allowed to go to Antarctica and study the Ancient outpost after Dr. Weir was successful at organizing a group of international scientists to study the outpost as well (8.02 "New Order Part 2" and Stargate Atlantis: "Rising Part 1").

Daniel uncovered records of what happened to the Ancients in Antarctica. They had left some five to ten million years ago inside a great city-ship. Daniel had a few theories about why the Ancients took the city-ship away from Earth, the foremost being that they did so in order to escape the plague. He also thought that maybe they just wished to explore and start anew some place else since they had built an entire network of Stargates in the Milky Way Galaxy. The records he had found did not give the actual reason. (Viewers of the episode "Rising Part 1" will see that the Ancients left behind a woman at the outpost when they left Antarctica in their city-ship. It was implied that this woman was Ayiana, the Ancient discovered in the ice in the episode, 6.04 "Frozen." Ayiana was a carrier of the plague that killed many of the Ancients.)

Daniel concluded that the city-ship was actually "Atlantis."

Daniel also discovered the Stargate address of where they took Atlantis—it was an eight-symbol address because the destination was in the Pegasus Galaxy. Jack and Daniel were familiar with the eight-symbol address because Jack had used one to get to the Asgard's galaxy when he had taken the Ancient download the first time. Jack pointed out that in order to connect with that address, they would need a great deal of power and they didn't have it. Dr. Weir proposed that they use the power supply from the outpost itself. This power supply had been named the "Zero Point Module" by Dr. Rodney McKay, the scientist who had been considered the world's foremost authority on the Stargate after Carter.

Dr. Weir and Daniel argued that the risks of going to the Pegasus Galaxy were far outweighed by the potential of the discovery of knowledge and technology left behind by the Ancients. They were even hopeful that somehow some of the Ancients had survived and they could meet them. Jack was hesitant, but after considering the potential of the mission, he permitted Dr. Weir to gather her team and attempt to dial the address. They formed a stable wormhole and Dr. Weir's team stepped through the Stargate and into Atlantis.

Daniel wanted to go, but Jack didn't allow it. Jack wanted Daniel to stay with him at the SGC because he insisted that Daniel was needed there. Jack didn't want to risk losing Daniel because of the possibility that the trip was going to be one-way for quite some time and of Daniel's value in the war against the Goa'uld.

Atlantis: Lost City of the Ancients

History of Atlantis

Daniel attempted to get to Atlantis twice after Dr. Weir's team left Earth through the Stargate (8.12 "Prometheus Unbound", 9.01 "Avalon Part 1"). He didn't get to see the wonders of the city for the first time after 10,000 years of abandonment. Dr. Weir's team discovered that the legend concerning the city being submerged was actually true — it had just happened on a planet in another galaxy rather than on Earth (Stargate Atlantis: 1.01 "Rising Part 1").

One of the first things that the team discovered was a holographic recording left behind by the Ancients who had to flee when a powerful enemy, the Wraith, besieged the city. Being fewer in number, the Ancients couldn't hold off the Wraith's relentless attacks. The Wraith need to feed from humans to survive (by draining their life force similar to a vampire), and they discovered that Atlantis had the only Stargate in the Pegasus Galaxy which could take them to new feeding grounds. Instead of destroying the city, the Ancients submerged it, hoping that one day they'd be able to return. They programmed the city's Stargate to only lower its energy defense shield and permit travelers dialing from Earth to reenter. (Stargate Atlantis: 1.01 "Rising Part 1")

The city was working on very little power upon their arrival. It was the detection of Weir's team that alerted the city's computers of the need to bring the city back to life. When power levels reached a critical low, the city's failsafes kicked in and Atlantis rose from the depths of the ocean. Even though the city could operate on some of the team's naquadah generators, what they really needed was the immense power only available from a ZPM — actually, three ZPMs were needed to power the city fully. Luckily, about a year after their arrival, a fully-charged ZPM was discovered in an Ancient Egyptian tomb and sent to the city via Earth's newest Deep Space Carrier, the Daedalus. The powerful defense shields that the city needed to protect itself from enemies, such as the Wraith who have awakened from a centuries-long slumber, were available once more, but because they only had the one ZPM, the shields were not operated all the time. This single ZPM, which had also been used to form regular outgoing wormholes back to Earth, was drained of all of its power after an experiment to draw energy from alternate realities failed. One of the mandates of Stargate teams from Atlantis is to find working ZPMs, but most of the ones they've discovered were used by the human civilizations for their own protection against the Wraith. (8.20 "Moebius Part 2"; Stargate Atlantis: 1.02 "Rising Part 2", 3.08 "McKay and Mrs. Miller")

Trips from Earth to Atlantis take about three weeks on one of Earth's Daedalus-class ships, so alternate forms of travel have been developed. The creation of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge, designed by Carter and McKay, was started at the beginning of the Expedition's third year. This Bridge is formed using 34 Stargates, half of which are from the Pegasus system, and the other half from the Milky Way's. They meet in the middle at the Midway Station. The Intergalactic Gate Bridge is situated in the vast void between the two galaxies, and a one-way trip takes about 30 minutes to complete. The first human to use the Bridge was Lt. Col. John Sheppard, who made the distance in a puddle jumper (small Ancient spacecraft which is designed to fit through the Stargate) because the Midway Station was incomplete and had no life support. Sheppard flew the puddle jumper into the SGC and used the silo to take the ship to its new bay on an upper level of the base. (Stargate Atlantis: 10.10 "The Return Part 1")

It was during the testing of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge that the Expedition discovered an Ancient ship traveling the great distance between the two galaxies at sub-light speed. The ship was manned by Lantian Ancients who reclaimed Atlantis and sent the Atlantis Expedition back to Earth. The Lantians permitted Maj. Gen. Jack O'Neill and International Oversight Advisory member Richard Woolsey to stay in the city to represent Earth's interests. Not long after the Expedition left Atlantis, the city was attacked by the Asurans, the Replicators of the Pegasus Galaxy. (Stargate Atlantis: 3.10 "The Return Part 1")

Daniel Finally Goes to Atlantis

Daniel and Carter look on Atlantis from Odyssey

The Milky Way Galaxy was under threat from the Ascended Beings known as the Ori, and Daniel led in the search for a weapon which was developed by a formerly Ascended Lantian Ancient who had become known in Arthurian legends as Merlin. When he left Atlantis 10,000 years ago, Merlin was known as Moros, the last High Councilor of Atlantis. Daniel found various clues about the weapon, known as the Sangreal, which led him to search the database in Atlantis. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Daniel's time in Atlantis was brief, but he did discover that Morgan Le Fay, Merlin's greatest rival, was also an Ascended Being who had been sent by The Others to watch Merlin's activities. Both Merlin and Morgan had been with the group who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago and had subsequently ascended. Moros retook his advanced human form, keeping all of his Ancient knowledge and powers, and started developing his weapon. Morgan, known by the Ancients as Ganos Lal, apparently stopped his using the weapon by stealing it from him, thus starting King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Merlin's most trusted men, on their quest. What happened to Merlin still remains a mystery. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Daniel met Morgan Le Fay in Atlantis, but she said that she had known him when he was ascended. She feared helping Daniel any further in his search because of what had happened to him — his interference and use of his ascended powers was stopped by The Others and he was returned to human form without his memories. The Others use different punishments against those of their own who break the rules of non-interference, and Morgan feared she would not fare much better than Daniel. After Daniel gave a most empassioned plea for more help, Morgan was pulled away by The Others before she could complete her reply. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Daniel's first visit to Atlantis was a bittersweet one. Ever since he had discovered it, he had wanted to spend time there, perhaps the rest of his life, exploring the city and its archives. His personal desires had to be put aside as he continued in the search for Merlin's weapon. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Gallery of Marvels

Atlantis is a technological marvel. Its size is comparable to that of Manhattan, making its full exploration difficult and time-consuming. Even so, Weir's people have discovered various labs and technology left behind by the Ancients, one of the most prized of these discoveries being the Ancient Database. Researchers have only begun to retrieve useful and understandable information from it. Whenever information is discovered, it is packaged for use by the SGC. Information as to the physiology of Ancient humans was one such package sent, as well as the layout of the city-ship itself, and the manifest of those who left the city 10,000 years ago. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.09 "Prototype"; Stargate Atlantis)

Up to the time that Daniel made his first trip to Atlantis, just over half of the city had been explored. The Expedition has city schematics, so they have a fairly good idea of what's where, but there still remains entire sections of the city and whole systems that they don't even pretend to understand. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Terra Atlantis: Atlantis in Antarctica several million years ago
Hologram tells story of the Atlantian Ancients
Atlantis Stargate has 36 symbols instead of 39
Atlantis Dialing Computer
Staircase from Stargate to Control Center illuminated with Ancient writings
Puddle Jumpers are designed to travel through the Stargate
Some Stargates are on planets
DHD
Some Stargates are in planetary orbit
ZPM found in Egypt provides protection
Drone activating defense chair
Ancient Database

Legacy of the Atlantian Ancients

Connections between Earth and Atlantis are still felt to this day and have been recorded in history books.

Moros/Myrddin/Merlin

Daniel discovered that one of the Ancients who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago became the man known as Merlin in Arthurian legends. Not only was Merlin, also known as Myrddin (Ancient name: Moros), but he was also a formerly Ascended Ancient who retook human form to develop a weapon which could neutralize an Ascended Being. This weapon is the Sangreal, also known as the Blood Stone and the Holy Grail. It is a red orb worn as a pendant which cancels out the energy of an Ascended Being. Merlin developed this weapon because of the threat posed by a group of Ascended Beings known as the Ori. These Ori were once humans who were part of the same society as the Ancients in a distant galaxy. The Ancients were known as the Altera those millions of years ago. When both groups were on the evolutionary path to ascension, a rift was formed between the two groups, largely based on their philosophies concerning ascension and their role, if any, with the lower planes of existence (corporeal plane). The Ori sought to wipe out the Altera, but the Altera fled instead of engaging in a war. They found refuge after thousands of years of space travel in the Milky Way Galaxy, where, after a time, they became known as the Ancients. The Ori's attention has been drawn to the Milky Way, where they intend to convert humanity into worshippers to give them more power on the ascended planes. After gaining enough power, the Ori intend to destroy the Ascended Ancients. Ironically, it was through the use of Merlin's abandoned technology discovered in the Glastonbury Tor in England (Avalon) which alerted the Ori that there were billions of potential human worshippers in the Milky Way Galaxy. (9.01 "Avalon Part 1", 9.02 "Avalon Part 2", 9.03 "Origin Part 3", 9.11 "The Fourth Horseman Part 2", 9.18 "Arthur's Mantle", 9.20 "Camelot Part 2")

Daniel's search for Merlin's weapon was what sent him on his first visit to Atlantis. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Ganos Lal/Morgan Le Fay

Ganos Lal was also one of the Lantians who left Atlantis 10,000 years ago and subsequently ascended. When her fellow Lantian Moros decided to retake human form to develop his weapon, Ganos was sent by The Others to watch his activities and stop him if necessary. Moros had come to be known as the wizard Merlin because he had great knowledge and powers. When Ganos began interfering with the development and use of the weapon, she came to be known as Morgan Le Fay in Arthurian legends — Merlin's greatest rival. Ganos was successful in obtaining and hiding the weapon all those centuries ago, but after the Ori invaded the Milky Way, she realized she needed to help Daniel in his search. She told him that she knew him when he was ascended and that she feared that The Others would punish her just as he was punished for breaking the rules. Just as she feared, when she tried to offer more information, she was pulled away by The Others, leaving Daniel with the conclusion that he'd never see her again and that the Ascended Ancients would abide by their rules of non-interference even when their very existence was threatened. (10.03 "The Pegasus Project")

Asurans/Replicators

When the war with the Wraith was going strong 10,000 years ago, the Ancients began experimenting in nanotechnology as a weapon. They designed nanites which would attack beings from within, but were programmed not to harm Ancients. The Atlantis Expedition found broken containers of these nanites after the city was hit by a powerful storm. The only way that these nanites could be stopped was with the electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) emitted by the explosion of a naquadah generator. (Stargate Atlantis: 1.13 "Hot Zone")

It was later discovered that when the nanites were originally created, they developed sentience and replicated themselves into the image of their creators. Their colony on Asura became highly developed, but the Ancients feared them and attempted to destroy them all. A few of the nanites survived and rebuilt the Asuran society at the same time that Atlantis was abandoned. When the Atlantis Expedition team found the thriving Asuran civilization, the Asurans realized that Atlantis was not destroyed in the war against the Wraith and sought revenge by destroying it themselves. Their first attempt at destroying the city was thwarted by some reprogramming done by McKay who realized that these Asurans were closely related to the Replicators from the Milky Way Galaxy. It has been theorized that one of the Ancients who had worked on the original nanite project in Atlantis had resumed his work in the Milky Way and that this research resulted in Reese and the creation of the Replicators. (5.19 "Menace"; Stargate Atlantis: 3.05 "Progeny")

The Asurans have returned for another attack on the city just as the Expedition was sent back home by the Lantian Ancients who had survived the evacuation of the city 10,000 years ago in their warship. Sheppard regrouped his team to save Atlantis, taking with him an arsenal which included the "Anti-Replicator Gun", a personal defense weapon designed by Carter based on O'Neill's Replicator Disruptor Technology. (Stargate Atlantis: 3.10 "The Return Part 1")

Others

Only a few of the Ancients who left Atlantis and returned to Earth 10,000 years ago have been identified, but some, such as Merlin and Morgan, have obviously left their mark in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Ancient who built the time traveling "puddle jumper" discovered on Harry Maybourne's planet was most likely Janus who had built one in the Pegasus Galaxy as well. Others of this group probably merged into Earth's societies and introduced the Ancient gene into humanity's genome. These same Ancients were most likely responsible for the story of the sunken city of Atlantis. (8.13 "It's Good To Be King"; Stargate Atlantis)

The Legend of Atlantis and Stargate

Plato, the Greek philosopher who lived from about 428-347 BC, is the only source for the legend of Altantis. In his two dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, said to be written about 360 BC, Plato describes the size of Atlantis, its location, its history, and its downfall. Many believe that his writings were purely myth and others are currently searching fervently the world over for this lost continent.

The Stargate creators have taken the legend of Atlantis and crafted a story arc which has spawned its own television series, Stargate Atlantis. According to Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of the new series, in the special Sci-Fi Channel presentation Lowdown: From Stargate to Atlantis, they had to rewrite the story arc to accommodate the concurrent running of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Originally, Stargate Atlantis was to pick up the Stargate saga after Stargate SG-1 ended its run, but Stargate SG-1 was renewed year-by-year since the end of Season Five.

One of the dilemmas the creators had to deal with in having the two television series existing during the same time period was that there could not be two Stargate programs running simulateously from Earth, something which was heavily covered in the episode, 4.07 "Watergate." So, they had to move Atlantis out into another galaxy, utilizing a separate network of Stargates and never meeting SG teams or their primary enemy, the Goa'uld.

The legend of Atlantis has that the civilization was technologically advanced and had a mighty military presence. These two aspects of Atlantis were translated into the Stargate universe as the Lost City of the Ancients with a great store of highly-advanced and powerful weapons the SGC could use in their fight against the Goa'uld. Daniel recognized that if Anubis or any other Goa'uld found these weapons before the SGC did, then the galaxy would be lost and most likely never recovered. In the episode, 6.22 "Full Circle", Daniel said of the tablet describing the Lost City, "If Anubis gets his hands on it and finds the Lost City before you do, it's all over."

The timing for the existence of Atlantis and the Lost City of the Ancients do not coincide. With Atlantis, the civilization has been identified to have been in existence on Earth approximately 11,000 years ago (approximately, 9000 BC). In Stargate, this civilization existed over 10 million years ago and was located on Earth as late as five million years ago.

Atlantis Expedition Team Patch shows Pegasus, the winged horse

While one interpretation of the legend of Atlantis has it that it existed as an island in the Western Ocean (the ocean to the west of the known world), near the Pillars of Hercules, the Stargate interpretation has it that Atlantis was not an island but a city-ship which took off for the Pegasus Galaxy. The Pegasus constellation is situated southeast of Andromeda and southwest of Hercules. Pegasus was the winged horse of Greek mythology and the constellation representing it only presents its head, neck, and the front half in its stars (Pegasus' partial form is depicted in the Atlantis Expedition Team's patch).

Atlantis was the the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon saw that his people had become corrupted by greed and power, having once lived simple, virtuous lives, he is said to have gathered the other gods to determine what should be done with them. The punishment was swift and lethal, with one surge of the waters, the island of Atlantis and its people and history were swallowed up by the sea. The Stargate version of this is presented in Stargate Atlantis: "Rising Part 1." Here, the people of Atlantis left Earth five to ten millions years ago for the Pegasus Galaxy and encountered an enemy so powerful that the city was besieged for several years. The Ancients sent many of their people back to Earth through the Stargate after they submerged the abandoned city into the ocean of the planet, hoping that their people would one day return. Those Ancients who returned to Earth did so 10,000 years ago (Stargate Atlantis: 1.15 "Before I Sleep"). It was hypothesized that those who returned to Earth were the ones who told the ancient Greeks of their great civilization and started the myth of the city which sank in the ocean. The submerging of the city-ship also ties in with Daniel's theory of the city being lost to others through camouflage.

Also attached to the legend of Atlantis was a volcanic eruption which destroyed Thera and possibly ended the Minoan civilization sometime around 1500 BC. Some believe that this event was what inspired Plato's writings about a lost utopia. It is possible that the volcanic cataclysm could be translated in the Stargate story as the destruction of Praclarush Taonas, the Ancient outpost covered by the lava of a planet destroyed by its sun a million years ago. Daniel thought that Praclarush Taonas was the Lost City because its name translated into "lost in fire," but this conclusion was made before Jack identified the location of the Lost City as "Terra Atlantis" in the Antarctic on Earth.

Episodes

Related Characters

Related Articles

Keywords

Other

Further Reading


--DeeKayP 14:03, 29 Aug 2004 (PDT)