The term ‘Antilia’ is the embodiment of greatness. There are many legendary connotations to the term, which have found a reference in almost all great voyages that happened in the age of exploration. But there is no common ground to truly understand or reason the term, aside from accepting the term and its many versions and intonations as symbolic of something rather majestic.
Suggested to be derived from the Portuguese term ‘Ante-Ilha’ meaning ‘Island of the Other’ or Fore-Island, Antilia is said to refer to a legendary island that lay to the far west off the cost of Portugal and Spain. More famously referred to as the ‘Isle of Seven Cities’, the name was a part of many celebrated voyages that surfaced the Atlantic during the 15th century, i.e., the age of exploration. What the island referred to or its exact geographical location continues to be debated. However, the many versions are derived from the basic understanding that the Antilia is reference to an island in the Atlantic.
Utopian tales of legendary islands have been a part and parcel of almost all tales related to the sea. The legend of ‘Antilia’ is an Iberian tale, originating in the Iberian peninsula in southwestern Europe, which speaks of seven Christian bishops who set sail westwards, in an effort to free from Muslim conquerors, into the Atlantic Ocean, eventually landing on an island where they founded seven settlements. This island was termed Antilha or Antilia.
Literary authority Encyclopedia Britannica is of the view that Antilia refers to a large island or a continent in the Atlantic and following the discovery of the West Indies by Columbus, the Spanish term 'Antilles' was assigned to the group of new lands of West Indies and 'Sea of the Antilles' alias Caribbean Sea came into being. However, Donald Johnson, an intrepid sailor, in his book ‘Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were’ wrote that reference to the legendary island of ‘Antilia’ was made prior to the discovery made by Columbus. The references from 13th, 14th and15th century voyage logs recount a rectangular island in a recurring location west of Europe.
Generally accepted understanding states that the name refers to an island of seven cities, known to represent many things including ‘statues on the shores of Atulli’; a place beyond which no sailor could pass, the ‘Island across another’ or the group of islands from West Indies. More recently, the name has been accorded another title as the name of the residence of renowned industrialist Mukesh Ambani, who aptly assigned the name to his regal house located in the city of Mumbai – a city formed by seven islands. Antilia, however, continues to represent something that stands for ceremonial, mystical and something of a legend.
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