- Have you ever wondered
if there's more to this world than meets the eye?
Perhaps there are places that have yet to be discovered,
places that are less than conventional.
Well, as it turns out, your suspicion might just be right,
as there are several places that are considered mythical
that might in fact actually exist.
The question is with the documented cases
I'm about to present to you,
who will be the first to discover them?
Here are 10 mythical places that might be real.
Number 10 is Atlantis.
The lost city of Atlantis is one of the most
enduring myths of all time.
The first mention of Atlantis can be found
in Plato's writings in about 330 B.C.
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher
who wrote of Atlantis being the most wealthy,
militarily powerful, and technologically advanced
civilization at the time
but was eventually destroyed by a cataclysmic flood
which sank the entire subcontinent.
Historians have debated for centuries
as to whether Atlantis was a real place or not.
Those who believe Atlantis existed
continue to search for it deep beneath the waves.
Some believe that Atlantis was so so advanced
that they possessed technology
which would rival or even eclipse our own.
Tantalizing clues remain that several sunken land masses
around the world may hide these secrets
and the truth behind the legend.
Number nine is the River Styx.
Another famous mythical place
from the ancient Greek civilization is the River Styx.
The Styx was considered by people
at the time to be the central river
which led deep underneath Earth to Hell.
The Styx has an ominous history
and was also known as the river of hatred.
It was said that the river was so poisonous
that its waters would dissolve ships
and that to drink from it would cause an agonizing death.
Some researchers now believe that the Styx River is real,
that it's now a stream known as the Black Water in Greece.
Interestingly, the famous leader Alexander the Great
died a mysterious death in 323 B.C.
The descriptions of that death are eerily similar
to those from the Styx in legend.
Some now argue that not only is the Styx real,
but that Alexander the Great was poisoned
with a vial of its putrid water.
Number eight is Shambhala.
Shambhala is a mythical kingdom
found both in Hinduism and Buddhism.
It's said that at the heart of this kingdom
is the palace of the king who rules the entire region
from a city called Kalapa.
Shambhala is the embodiment of purity,
a place where true spirituality resides.
A prophecy states that the king of Shambhala
will one day come down from the mountain kingdom
and take his true place as the new Buddha,
leading a world bathed in darkness towards the light.
Academics debate the true existence of Shambhala,
but many believe it to be real,
with expeditions having been mounted to find it.
By its very nature, Shambhala is hidden,
with some believing that it could be found
inside a mountain.
Others argue that Shambhala was a real kingdom
but was abandoned long ago and is waiting to be recovered.
Number seven is Zerzuza.
Zerzuza is a rumored city in either Egypt or Libya,
which has tantalized archeologists, explorers,
and adventurers since the 13th century.
The city of Zerzuza was mentioned
in the mysterious medieval Arabic manuscript
known as The Book of Hidden Pearls.
In it, the unknown author describes Zerzuza
as being hidden in the Sahara Desert,
where a sleeping king and queen
can be found alongside a treasury
filled with priceless gems and gold.
Through painstaking research,
some academics have found even earlier clues
about the city's existence including a description
of a legendary city in the same region,
recorded by the father of history, Herodotus.
However, more recently,
European explorers have set out to find the city,
which they believe is slowly being consumed
by treacherous desert sandstorms.
Number six is Scholomance.
Scholomance is one of the most dangerous
mythical places ever described.
It's a dark and foreboding school of black magic.
The legend states that Scholomance
can be found in the heart of Transylvania,
where many of Europe's most long-lasting
stories of undead originate.
It's also said that the devil himself runs it.
The students there become powerful, evil sorcerers,
who then spread their twisted magic
to the four corners of the earth.
Descriptions of Scholomance influenced Bram Stoker
when he wrote Dracula,
with it often being referred to as the School of the Dragon.
Some believe that Scholomance was very real
and was an actual haven
for those practicing the dark arts of occultism.
Rumors persist that it still stands today,
hidden in the mountains from the modern world
but still making its presence known.
Number five is Norumbega.
It's said that Norumbega once existed
somewhere in the northeast of the American continent.
While whispers and conjecture surround its existence,
the settlement remains of interest to historians
because it was so well documented in the past.
It was said to have buildings with pillars made of gold
and its citizens wore jewel-encrusted headdresses
adorned with pearls and quartz.
As recently as the 1500s,
Norumbega even appeared on maps of the time.
Many believe that the settlement existed in New England,
with the town of Bangor, Maine,
where Stephen King lives,
often claiming to be built on top of it.
Norumbega seems strikingly similar
to Norse settlements in Europe.
For this reason some archeologists
are searching for the missing Viking place
beneath New England's modern facade.
Number four is Dinas Affaraon.
Wales is a country steeped in myth and legend.
Its woodlands and sweeping green landscapes
are filled with mythical places,
but one in particular may actually be real.
Throughout medieval Welsh literature
there's mention of Dinas Affaraon,
which roughly translated means fortress of pharaoh.
In ancient legend, King Keith of Britain
trapped two dragons in Dinas Affaraon,
which were ravaging the surrounding lands.
In one version of the myth,
a tower was built over where both dragons were buried
but continually collapsed upon itself.
It wasn't until the king oversaw the building
of the perfect tower that the activity ceased.
Some believe that Dinas Affaraon
and its now ruined tower or fortress
will one day be found underneath the tangled roots
and earth of Wales' incredible landscape.
Number three is El Dorado.
El Dorado is the most famous mythical city of all time.
It's also fascinated keen explorers for centuries,
with many expeditions still searching
for this infamous place.
El Dorado means the golden one in Spanish,
but it is not a Spanish city.
It's the name that Spanish conquerors
gave to a rumored native city made of gold
deep in the Colombian rainforests.
What makes El Dorado so compelling
is the mystery surrounding its reported existence.
Some claim that the original translation
from native languages is wrong,
and that the city describes a person covered in gold,
or perhaps even a priceless golden statue.
Others insist that it's an entire city made of gold,
which is now submerged in a lake deep in the forest.
Whatever the truth is,
the promise of unimaginable wealth
fuels the continued search for this fabled city.
Number two is Avalon.
Of all the hero myths,
it's King Arthur's which has captured the imaginations
of countless generations the most,
the mythic tale of a poor boy
who pulled the sword Excalibur from a stone
and then took his place as an honorable king.
But the question is was Arthur a real person?
Was he mortally wounded by Mordred
while protecting his people?
In the legend, King Arthur's dying body
is carried to the island of Avalon,
a place where he will sleep until Britain needs him
to protect her shores once again.
The first mention of Avalon can be found
in the 10th century,
but experts looking at the evolution of the word
believe that it describes an isle
which had apple trees on it.
Several candidates for its real location have been offered,
including the former island of Glastonbury Tor,
which may protect the remains
of the legendary king to this day.
And number one is the Garden of Eden.
Whether you're religious or not,
it's hard to disagree that the Garden of Eden
is one of the most famous ancient places in myth.
It's described in the Old Testament
as the Garden of God,
a place of unparalleled, unspoiled beauty,
which provided the first two humans, Adam and Eve,
with all the food and shelter that they required.
These first humans were cast out from the garden
when they ate the forbidden fruit of knowledge
after being tricked by a serpent
who some believe was the devil himself.
But could the Garden of Eden have been a real place?
Some people believe so.
There is a group of scholars who claim
that there was a land of bounty
somewhere in Africa or the Middle East.
More fascinating still are the ancient Sumerian texts,
which talk of a paradise land where,
and I quote, "sickness and death were unknown."
(eerie music)