Thalarion

Thalarion is a fictional location appearing in several unrelated works.

H. P. Lovecraft

Thalarion is a fictional location in H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. The name refers to one of the largest cities in the Dreamlands, known as the "City of a Thousand Wonders", where all the mysteries that man has striven in vain to fathom reside. Its walls are grim and grey, with a great carven gate called Akariel, and the spires of its temples reach to the sky so that none might behold their peaks. The dream traveler Basil Elton described the city as "fascinating yet repellent". It is implied that any human who enters dies or is transformed somehow, and in the city are said to "walk only daemons and mad things that are no longer men". The city is ruled by an entity known as the eidolon Lathi. Thalarion is mentioned in The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath and The White Ship.

DC Comics

Thalarion
Aerial view of Thalarion
Type	City-state
Race(s)	Olympians
Notable characters	Gargareans Achilles Warkiller
First appearance	Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #28 (January 2009)
Publisher	DC Comics

Thalarion is also a fictional island centered in the DC Comics book Wonder Woman.

Fictional history

Thalarion was created by the Olympian god Zeus to home his newly created race of male warriors, the Gargareans. Deemed the site of the second rebirth of the Olympians, it was created 300 nautical miles (560 km) from the island of Themyscira. On the island Zeus created a kingdom city, with the central part made of clear crystal so that there would be no secrets from its occupants.

A river of molten gold flowed through the city so that each Olympian could share in its wealth and there would never be a need for jealousy. Zeus also provided the island with winged lions and winged horses so that the Gargareans could travel by air.

In contrast to Themyscira, only men were allowed to set foot on Thalarion, and only those who had the permission of the Olympians. All others were killed on sight. By Zeus' decree, Athena the goddess of wisdom was the only woman permitted to visit Thalarion.

One of the more renowned residents of Thalarion was Jason, the fame Argonaut who sailed with Heracles upon the Argo centuries ago. Jason was the leader of the Olympian army.

References

• Lovecraft, Howard P. (1985) [1926]. "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". In S.T. Joshi (ed.). At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels (7th corrected printing ed.). Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-038-6. Definitive version from original manuscripts.