Seven legendary treasures

First, we're off to Atlantis, antiquity's most sumptuous and magnificent city. If only it hadn't sunk to the bottom of the sea some 11,000 years ago. Or so they say. For centuries, researchers and hobby divers have been searching for evidence of that grandiose place under the waves. After all, its existence wasn't just invented by some drunk sailor, but claimed by Greek philosopher Plato himself.

Next stop is Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, where one look at the reproduction of the Amber Room shows why many considered it to be the 8th Wonder of the World. During World War II, the original was packed into 28 boxes by the occupying German army and shipped to Königsberg Castle, only to go missing. Only a few sections resurfaced, while the rest was lost in the chaos of the war.

On to South America, and the Treasure of Lima. In 1820, with resistance against Spanish colonial rule growing, Peru's governor and the Church hurried to rescue their riches. That included a gold statue of the Virgin Mary, decorated with 1,700 jewels. It's said to be hidden on Cocos Island - a legend that Robert Louis Stevenson turned into his novel "Treasure Island," later a film by Orson Welles.

God Himself is said to have ordered the Israelites to craft the Ark of the Covenant out of acacia wood some 3,000 years ago. It was used to transport the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Experts think the ark disappeared around 2,600 years ago, and that it could be lying beneath Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In archaeological terms, its very existence has yet to be proven.

Back to Germany now, where hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered on the bottom of the Rhine River near the city of Worms - at least according to the epic 13th century poem, the Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs). Hagen von Tronje is said to have dumped 12 trucks full of jewels and gold into the river. Countless divers have searched for the legendary treasure - so far, without success.

People have been searching for the Holy Grail - the chalice Jesus is said to have used during the Last Supper - since the legendary time of King Arthur in the 12th century. When Christ was crucified, it's said one of his disciples caught some of his blood in the cup. Among those who searched for the grail were Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in the 1989 film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

This last legend tells of a man convinced there must be a treasure at the end of the rainbow. After a long, exhausting search, he becomes so unhappy that he gives up - only to find himself at the end of the rainbow. Only then does he understand that the treasure he was searching for was within him all along: happiness. And maybe that's something all those adventurers the world over have in common.