The Hollow Earth Theory has two main theories. One of these theories is John Cleves Symmes, Jr's. who released a statement to the public detailing his take on the Hollow Earth Theory about Symmes' holes (Suess, 3). The other theory is the underground kingdom of Agartha, an underground civilization below earth's surface (Kristine, 2). Delve into the evidence supporting these theories and find the truth about what's under our earth's surface.
Symmes’ hole theory was a stretch. John Cleves Symmes, Jr. released a statement detailing his take on the Hollow Earth theory (Suess, 3). In it he stated, “I declare the earth is hollow, and habitable within; containing a number of solid concentrick spheres, one within the other, and that it is open at the poles 12 or 16 degrees” (3). He was so confident in his beliefs that he went on to swear on his life (3). John Cleves Symmes, Jr. an officer in the American Army, released his bold statement about the Hollow Earth Theory, and told the world of his goal to explore the interior of the earth (3). He asked for one hundred “brave companions” to start from Siberia in the fall (3). He hoped to find “Warm and rich land, stocked with thrifty vegetables and animals if not men, on reaching one degree northward of latitude 82” (3). He planned on returning in the spring (3). Symmes’ take on the Hollow Earth Theory captured even the attention and funding of the president, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president (3). His theory doesn't have much scientific evidence backing it up, and provides lackluster theories for something he pledged his life for (3). This theory seems unrealistic, as if we were able to enter Hollow Earth by simply going to one of the poles it would've been done ages ago (3).
Character Analysis
John Cleves Symmes Jr. was an ambitious and intelligent man. He had very ambitious plans to explore the innards of our planet, stating he’d take one hundred men with him to accomplish his goal (Suess, 3). This was quite a bold goal, as he would’ve been the first to discover something never seen before, with very little information other than his theory (3). Despite his theory being disproven through modern day knowledge, it proved he was quite intelligent for his time (3). He had limited information to go off of while crafting his theory, but he still managed to come up with something that made sense for the time. During his childhood he would often read books, which led to him creating his theory (Clabes, 1).
A theory that sounds more a bit more realistic than John Cleves Symmes, Jr’s. is the kingdom of Agartha. Agartha is a popular belief among many different cultures (Kristine, 2). Many cultures have passed down the belief of Agartha as a mythological place, inhabited by gods, humans, and other seemingly otherworldly races (2). Agartha is an amazing example of how older generations, and their stories can still influence our current society on a deep level (2). In one case, it even went as far as deluding people into thinking they can speak the ancient language of Agartha, “He learned not only Sanskrit but also an unknown language called Vittanian, apparently spoken by Agarthians. He also learned that Agarthians had two tongues and could speak more than one language at the same time“ (2). It seems unrealistic that someone learned a new ancient language that was lost to time overnight, and still doesn’t support the theory as nobody can confirm if what he’s saying has any meaning, besides the Agarthians themselves (2). Though many cultures believe in Agartha, there is very little to no evidence to prove it ever existed besides word of mouth and speculation (2).
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The Hollow Earth Theory of Agartha sounds much more realistic than John Cleves Symmes, Jr’s. as it makes it sound much more difficult to enter than going to one of the poles (Suess, 3). Though John Cleves Symmes, Jr. at least provided some evidence for his theory. Agartha is a much more unreachable place as it’s never gone into detail how to reach it (Kristine, 2). But, in the end neither of these conspiracy theories are realistic anymore according to modern science. We’ve come far as a society and our knowledge of our planet has expanded and after a lot of research, we concluded that our earth was not in fact hollow. Instead, it’s a solid sphere orbiting a big star floating in space. Though both theories have had an impact on our society, whether that be John Cleves, Jr’s. theory sparking a new curiosity for what was happening under our earth’s surfaces (3). Or the ancient civilization of Agartha inspiring people to believe in something bigger than them, or think about the people that came before them and the knowledge that may have been left behind in the ruins (2).
While these theories sound fun, and might hold religious value, it’s hard to believe that they’re real if you have a basic understanding of our planet earth. Science has proven many times that the earth is in fact not hollow. John Cleves Symmes, Jr. lacked scientific evidence to back up his claim, causing his theory to be marked off (Suess, 3). The kingdom of Agartha is just a myth that spread through word of mouth (Kristine, 2). It’s been disproven by science, and holds more religious value than actual weight for the Hollow Earth Theory (2). The Hollow Earth Theory has encouraged many new conspiracy theorists to branch off into more conspiracies, and many more to question how our world works.