As the world's first true city, Atlantis, is an incredibly complex community. The city itself is divided into three separate parts by the canal system. Three broad canals encircle the city's center creating the Inner City, the Middle City and the Outer City. The inner city contains the Temple of Atlantis, and the city's administrative buildings at the very center. There are halls and administrative offices for the ruling caste and separate buildings for the sacred and scholar caste offices. The buildings of the Central Court are the largest and most impressive of all the city's structures. The Inner City is situated on a large hill and has a ziggurat at the summit. The ziggurat is surrounded by a large open courtyard and by the administrative buildings. This is the courtyard where the people congregate to observe the high feasts. Surrounding the Central Court are the residences of the ruling caste. Bridges from the Middle City allow pedestrians and horse drawn chariots and carts access to the Inner City. Likewise, bridges span the central canal allowing movement between the Outer City and Middle City. Each bridge has gates at both ends which are heavily guarded. Slaves and workers that do not have business in the Middle City are denied access. Similarly, access to the Inner City is further restricted to both the lower and middle castes. The three canals are connected by tunnels running under the Outer City and Middle City which are also heavily guarded. Large merchant ships and war galleys must take down their masts in order to navigate these tunnels.
The Outer City is the abode of the lower castes, their homes and shops, temples and taverns. City slaves are housed in large barracks and perform the most menial tasks for twelve to fourteen hours a day. Workers fare a little better, living in mud brick huts and going to their jobs for ten to twelve hours a day. Crews of miners, for instance, head to the quarries each day, returning with good stone for the city's better buildings. Other workers, such as farmers and herdsmen, live primarily outside of the city. They bring their goods to the city to sell in the public market. On the interior side of the Outer City the craftsmen and artisan have their shops and residences. The best of shops face the central canal, beckoning the middle and upper castes to sample their wares. A vast array of products and services can be obtained in this area, known as the central wharf, day and night. The liveliest taverns and courtesan houses may be found in this region.
The Middle City contains the residences of the warrior, scholar and sacred castes in addition to many training facilities, schools, temples and inns. Most warriors live in barracks or apartments, depending on rank. The various fighting divisions of the Atlantean military are headquartered along the central canal. There are separate training facilities for infantrymen, horsemen, charioteers, and sailors. Ships of the Atlantean navy often crowd the central canal, along with the better merchant vessels. The academies and many temples are located along the inner canal, along with numerous inns and better taverns. Teachers of the scholar caste generally live in apartments (on campus) provided by the academies, while students live in barracks very similar to those of the military trainees. Priests and priestesses are also assigned apartments by their temples. Higher ranking clerics receive more luxurious apartments, many with a view of the Inner City. Students of the sacred arts generally live in simple, or even austere, quarters.
The Inner City contains the private residences of the members of the ruling caste. Each member is allotted a walled estate, large enough to hold a luxurious palace and grounds. This part of the city has both hot springs and cold wells. An elaborate plumbing system allocates hot and cold water to all of the estates and allocates some of the hot water to the rest of the city as well. The central court contains the finest architecture and stonework in the city. There are several buildings, including the great amphitheater, where the ruling class meets. The best temples and the high academy are also located in the central court area. Rising above it all at the very center is the world's largest ziggurat, the burial place of those who have served on the high council, and the site of many ritual observances.
Food, Clothing and Shelter
Atlanteans are generally well fed, as their agricultural systems are designed to produce an abundance of foods under good conditions. Grains, such as corn and wheat, are stored against the possibility of famine brought on by drought, flood or pestilence. Fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available when in season. Dried fruits are available well beyond the time of harvest. Meats are available in limited quantities and are harvested only in the proper seasons by authorized hunters. Hunters are usually members of the warrior caste who excel in tracking and stalking wild game. Domesticated animals, such as sheep and goats, are used primarily for their wool and milk, and are only harvested for food after their productive lifetime has come to an end. The meat from such creatures is often tough and tasteless and is consumed primarily by the lower castes. Wild boar, water buffalo and assorted types of deer are the most common prey of the hunters. Wild fowl and seafood are gathered by specialized hunters in due season as well. The quality of the fare available is directly related to the caste of the consumer, of course.
Atlanteans of all castes wear the same basic types of clothing. The quality and complexity of clothing materials vary according to caste. Slaves and workers use the roughest woolen materials and animal hides, the middles castes wear the better woolens, tanned leather and goat-hair garments, and the upper castes have access to the finest goat or horse hair garments, soft leathers and even silk apparel. Regardless of materials, almost all Atlanteans wear the same basic garments. A thong or breech cloth is worn over the genitals by both male and female. Over this is a robe that may be rather short or may extend to just above the knee. The robe can be slung from one or both shoulders and is often cinched at the waist with a cloth belt. In warm weather much of the chest and shoulders are left exposed. In cooler weather, a cloak is placed over the robe. Woolen shirts with sleeves and woolen leggings may be worn in colder climates. Sandals are worn by most of the population. Headgear ranges from the basic wrap of the workers to the exotic and elaborate creations worn by the upper caste. Members of the sacred and scholar castes have their own distinctive headgear which indicate their status. There are also special garments used only during the high feast rituals.
Most Atlanteans live in stone or mud-brick dwellings. The worker caste build and live within mostly small mud-brick huts. These huts are roughly cubical in shape and are roofed with palm fronds. There are a few large stone buildings in the Outer City which hold many of the city slaves. The Middle City has mostly stone buildings. Ordinary granite, in various shades of gray is the material most commonly used here. Many of the buildings are large complexes for military training and housing. Others are academies for either scholarly or sacred studies. Almost all of the housing within the Middle City consists apartments and barracks assigned on the basis of rank or station. There are temples in the Middle City and a few other buildings built of better stone. Atlantis is famous for its stone quarries that produce marble of three distinct varieties. Black marble and red marble are readily available near the city. Quarries that produce white marble lie further off, making this material the most expensive. The Inner City is built entirely of the better stone. The private residences of the ruling caste are ornate and elegant architectural wonders, no two the same. The administrative buildings are predominantly red for the ruling caste, black for the scholars and white for the sacred caste. The ziggurat itself is finished in the finest, pure white marble. Nomads and travelling adventurers construct tents of animal hide when away from the city. There are also many villages, consisting of a dozen or more of the mud-brick huts, scattered about the surrounding farmlands.
Language and Names
All of the civilized areas that began as colonies of Atlantis (Mayan, Minoan and Egyptian) speak similar dialects of the same basic language known as Atalsamp. In addition, all of the cities that conduct trade with Atlantis contain tradesmen that have learned to speak Atalsamp. The written language is pictographic and very similar to the later Sumerian (which derived from it). Atalsamp is the only written language and is used for commerce throughout the civilized world. Atalsamp is composed of simple, common sounds, usually consonant-vowel-consonant or simple vowel-consonant combinations, such as "tor", "ar", and "dun". Most of the base sounds are also used for naming common objects such as "tree", "rock", and "home". The more complex words are formed by combining two, three or four of the base sounds. These compound words typically indicate more specific objects and actions. Pictograms represent each of the base sounds and there are thousands of them. Names are usually comprised of two compound words (more for some in the higher castes), a common name and a surname. People are usually called by their one or two syllable nicknames in informal situations. Male common names always end with a consonant, while female common names end in a vowel sound. For convenience and simplicity we will use common names and surnames that sound much like those found in the romantic languages. Surnames indicate parentage, while the common names are selected according to perceived or anticipated personality traits.
Other languages that are widely used are spoken only and have no written form. These include Teohuan dialects, spoken by tribal peoples in North America; Hyborean, spoken by Nordic peoples; ancient Celtic, spoken by tribal peoples of the British Isles and western Europe; ancient Greek, spoken by the people of the Greek peninsula and archipelago; Sheban, a difficult language of clicks and groans - spoken exclusively by the people of Sheba; Delhian, an antecedent of Hindu and eastern tongues; Muan, a language unknown to western civilizations; and a plethora of barbarian tongues.
NOTE: Per GURPS guidelines, Literacy is an advantage in this world. Those without the advantage are illiterate.
For Atlantean names I have tried to identify names that are not too common, and sound southern European in origin. I have eliminated most names with a British, German, Polish, Russian, or Hebrew origin. Spanish, French and Italian roots can be used for both common names and surnames, and can be modified as necessary for correct gender. People's names in the Atlantean culture should be lyrical, memorable, and not cliché.
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