Mu is the name of a Lost Land, or hypothetical vanished continent, located in the Pacific Ocean but now, like Atlantis and Lemuria, believed to have sunk beneath the waters.

Current knowledge of the mechanisms of plate tectonics rules out the possibility of a major continent having existed in the Pacific. Continental masses are composed of the lighter SiAl (silicon/aluminium) type rocks which literally float on the heavier SiMg (silicon/magnesium) rocks which constitute ocean bottoms. The Pacific basin is noticeably lacking in SiAl rock.

History of the concept

Augustus Le Plongeon

The idea of Mu first appeared in the works of the antiquarian Augustus Le Plongeon (1825–1908), a 19th century traveler and writer who conducted his own investigations of the Maya ruins in Yucatán. He announced that he had translated the ancient Mayan writings, which supposedly showed that the Maya of Yucatán were older than the later civilizations of Atlantis and Egypt, and additionally told the story of an

James Churchward

This lost continent was later popularised by James Churchward (1852–1936) in a series of books, beginning with The Children of Mu (1931), The Lost Continent Mu (1933), and The Sacred Symbols of Mu (1935). The books still have devotees, but they are not considered serious archaeology, and nowadays are found in bookshops classed under 'New Age' or 'Religion and Spirituality'.

Other authors

Mu is identified with Lemuria in the Illuminatus! trilogy of Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, and Martin Gardner did the same in his book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.

Recently there have been claims of "pyramids" found underwater near Japan, which have been conjectured to be part of some "lost continent" like Mu.

Mu in politics

In the late 1930s, Turkey's Independence War leader Ataturk promoted research on Mu and other lost continents, in the hope of establishing connections betwen the Turkish civilization and other ancient cultures, such as the Uyghur, India, Maya, and Aztec .

Mu in the arts and entertainment

Books and comics

• H.P. Lovecraft
  
  
  
  (1890–1937) included Mu in his Cthulhu mythos.
• V. T. Hamlin's Alley Oop comic strips (1932). "Moo" and "Lem" (after Lemuria?) are rival prehistoric nations.
• Henri Vernes's albums:
  • Les tours de cristal (1961). Hero Bob Morane time-travels to a high-tech Mu.
  • Les géants de Mu (1975).
• Hugo Pratt's comics album Mu (1988-1989). A Corto Maltese adventure.
• Oscar Loyo's comics magazine Karmatron (1986–1991). Mu is a base city for some of the characters.
• W. Murphy and R. Sapir's book Coin of the Realm (1971–). Features Mu. "James Churchward" used as a pseudonym.
• M. Kurumada's manga Knights of the Zodiac. Mu is said to be the birthplace of a character caled Mu.
• S. Komatsuzaki's illustrated story The Undersea Kingdom. Mu goes to war with the modern world.
• Margit Sandemo book series The Warlock and The Legend of the Realm of Light. Mu and Lemuria are advanced civilizations.

Movies, TV serials, and animations

• Atragon (1963) and Super Atragon (1996), based on S. Oshikawa's novel The Undersea Battleship and Komatsuzaki's short story above.
• Brave Raideen (1975–1976). The title character is a giant robot created to protect Mu.
• The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982). Character Tao is a descendant of the Empire of Mu.
• Rahxephon (2002). The Mulians are an alien race, who look like humans but have blue blood.
• Transformers: Cybertron (2005-2006). Mu was actually an ancient alien spacecraft.
• Space Sheriff Shaider (1984). The Fuuma Empire, the alien empire fought by Shaider, played by Hiroshi Tsuburaya, came originally from Mu.

Video games

• Webzen's MMORPG Mu Online. The play is set in Mu.
• Nintendo's games DuckTales 2 (1993), 'Illusion of Gaia (1994), Terranigma (1995), and Star Ocean: Fantastic Space Odyssey (1996).
• Game Boy Advance's game Astro Boy: Omega Factor (2004). Mu is an Aztec-like land.
• City of Heroes (2004). All humans with magical abilities are said to be descended from the people of Mu. The villain group known as the Circle of Thorns is made up primarily of the ghosts of their ancient enemies, the Orabegans.

Music

• The Thirteen Cryptical Prophesies of Mu, song from the album The Power Cosmic by Bal-Sagoth.
• The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (later known as The KLF), a British techno band very fond of Mu.
• Mu Empire, a punk rock band.
• Planet Mu, an electronic music label.
• Lemuria, song from the double album Lemuria / sirius B by symphonic opera metal band, Therion.

See also

• Lost city
• Lost Lands
• Phantom island Mu (Kontinent)

Mu Mu Lémurie ムー大陸 Mu 姆大陆