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France’s Atlantis: The Tale of the Mythical Sunken City of Ys
A submerged king, a demonic daughter, and a flight from death
Humanity has long been fascinated by the idea of sunken cities. Places that once stood in grandeur but eventually fell into the sea and disappeared. Most people are familiar with the tale of Atlantis, the most famous of the sunken cities. But there are others, including one that, legend says, existed off the coast of Brittany in France.
This city, known as Ys (pronounced EESS), was built upon a small island or land reclaimed from the sea. The tales put the city in the region of Baie de Douarnenez. The city is depicted as a place of culture and commerce, and ruled over by the good king Gradlon, who reigns from a palace of gold, silver, and cedar. In order to keep the city afloat, a series of dikes and levees were built to keep the seawater at bay, lending the story a sense of realism. This is not a completely mystical city. It requires engineering to keep it from falling into the surrounding ocean.
Such tidal castles and cities are not unheard of in this region.
As the story goes, King Gradlon had a daughter by the name of Dahut. Dahut was at best a troubled daughter and at worst a sorceress or demon who had infiltrated the city. Gradlon and Dahut had a strained…
