Antaeus is intended to be used by a single investigator working from individual data tables. It provides tools for looking at your data when you don't yet know what you're looking for, led by your intuition and knowledge about the emergent phenomena represented. Antaeus does not use and requires no knowledge of statistics. However, it is based on the functional use of fundamental mathematical principles.

The basic plot type used everywhere in Antaeus is the scatter plot, supplemented by its high-density counterpart, the sunflower plot. These plots are supported by quantile plots and histograms, which are used to see the data of a single variable. Scatter plots are used to look for the relationship between two variables, but as the number of variables increases, more and more scatter plots become necessary to visualize all the possible interrelationships.

To explore this diversity in a logical manner, something more than a "chart wizard" is needed. Antaeus uses a structure called the data cube, which is generated from a flat-file comma, tab, or semi-colon delimited data table. A data cube ("cube" for short) is entirely independent of the data table it was created from, and these cubes can be freely exchanged between users. The cube is represented in the interface by a virtual scatter plot matrix within which you navigate the universe of possible scatter plots. The "something more" consists of supporting SVs that enable you to modify the logical structure of the data cube to provide new ways of asking questions about your data.

All the plots generated by Antaeus are very highly finished and do not require any user interaction to achieve this level of quality. You can size the plots by dragging the edges of their windows, and you have extensive control over the palettes used to color them, but all their construction details are handled proactively. Most plots may be saved to clipboard or file (when too large for the clipboard) as a Windows Enhanced Metafile.