Plato's description of Atlantis is outstanding in its attention to detail. It is these small details which give
credibility to the description as being of an actual place, rather than purely a fantasy tale for philosophical
purposes.
One of these interesting details is how the first ruler of Atlantis had five pairs of twin sons.
Pure fiction? Or do we have a basis in legend?
Well, in Bolivia we have the
Legend of the Desaguadero, a city punished by the gods and sunk beneath the
sea. We also have in the Andes, the legend of the origins of the Incas, said to have been composed of four pairs of brothers and sisters.
Another of these legends says that after a great flood, there were two male survivors who were brothers
and who associated with two women. Then one of the brothers fell into a lake and drowned. The surviving brother married one of the women
and took the other as a concubine having five sons from each of them who went on to found two
lineages. (Source: Sarmiento de Gamboa, History of the Incas"). So here in the Andes we have foundation myths with five pairs of twin sons.
Twins were also a popular theme in the Andes with many reresentations in pottery and metallurgy.
On the Altiplano, the Aymara kingdoms were also organised in pairs. The whole country itself was
organised into two divisions, "Urcusuyu" the kingdom of the mountains and "Umasuyu" the kingdom of water...
above, the Aymara Kingdoms by Herbert S. Klein
atlantisbolivia.org