Atlantis

Plato created the legend of Atlantis. So why is it still popular more than
2,000 years later?

If the writing of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato had not contained so much truth about the human
condition, his name would have been forgotten centuries ago.

But one of his most famous stories—the cataclysmic destruction of the ancient civilization of Atlantis—is
almost certainly false. So why is this story still repeated more than 2,300 years after Plato's death?

"It's a story that captures the imagination," says James Romm, a professor of classics at Bard College in
Annandale, New York. "It's a great myth. It has a lot of elements that people love to fantasize about."

Plato told the story of Atlantis around 360 B.C. The founders of Atlantis, he said, were half god and half human.
They created a utopian civilization and became a great naval power. Their home was made up of concentric islands
separated by wide moats and linked by a canal that penetrated to the center. The lush islands contained gold, silver,
and other precious metals and supported an abundance of rare, exotic wildlife. There was a great capital city on the
central island.

There are many theories about where Atlantis was—in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Spain, even under
what is now Antarctica. "Pick a spot on the map, and someone has said that Atlantis was there," says Charles
Orser, curator of history at the New York State Museum in Albany. "Every place you can imagine."

Plato said Atlantis existed about 9,000 years before his own time, and that its story had been passed down by
poets, priests, and others. But Plato's writings about Atlantis are the only known records of its existence.

Possibly Based on Real Events?

Few, if any, scientists think Atlantis actually existed. Ocean explorer Robert Ballard, the National Geographic
explorer-in-residence who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, notes that "no Nobel laureates" have
said that what Plato wrote about Atlantis is true.

Still, Ballard says, the legend of Atlantis is a "logical" one since cataclysmic floods and volcanic explosions have
happened throughout history, including one event that had some similarities to the story of the destruction of
Atlantis. About 3,600 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption devastated the island of Santorini in the Aegean
Sea near Greece. At the time, a highly advanced society of Minoans lived on Santorini. The Minoan civilization
disappeared suddenly at about the same time as the volcanic eruption.

But Ballard doesn't think Santorini was Atlantis, because the time of the eruption on that island doesn't
coincide with when Plato said Atlantis was destroyed.

Romm believes Plato created the story of Atlantis to convey some of his philosophical theories. "He was
dealing with a number of issues, themes that run throughout his work," he says. "His ideas about divine versus
human nature, ideal societies, the gradual corruption of human society—these ideas are all found in many of
his works. Atlantis was a different vehicle to get at some of his favorite themes."

The legend of Atlantis is a story about a moral, spiritual people who lived in a highly advanced, utopian
civilization. But they became greedy, petty, and "morally bankrupt," and the gods "became angry because the
people had lost their way and turned to immoral pursuits," Orser says.

As punishment, he says, the gods sent "one terrible night of fire and earthquakes" that caused Atlantis to sink
into the sea.
 The Facts!

 The Egyptian priests referred to the “Declamation of Heavenly Bodies”, meaning meteorites, which cause devastation on the planet.                      —–
The Egyptian priests understood that from time-to-time there were serious natural catastrophes that involved fire and water (from which they had been
largely immune). They attributed these to the actions of the Gods

 A war once took place between the Athenians and the Atlanteans The Athenians apparently came from Athens.

 The Atlanteans apparently came from an island beyond the pillars of Hercules (Straights of Gibraltar)

 The war took place 9,000 years before the time of writing which was approximately 2,500 years before today – so in effect 11,500 years ago.

 Atlantis was allegedly an island greater in size than Libya and Asia combined.

 Atlantis was eventually destroyed by an earthquake.

 The Athenian Gods were at peace with each other.

 The story had been forgotten by the Athenians because of a great deluge whereby only the illiterate people of the mountains had survived.

 Solon inferred that the event took place before the time of Theseus.

 At the time the Athenians ruled a land from the Isthmus (of Corinth) to the heights of the Cithaeron (a mountain range in what is today central Greece)
and Parnes. Oropus was the boundary on the right and the river Asopus the boundary on the left.

 The Athenian land was fertile and able to support a great army.

 Many floods had taken place during the 9,000 years prior to the recording of the story.

 Many of the cliffs surrounding this (Athenian) land had been eroded and fallen into the sea. Many of the woods that once existed have disappeared.
The land was less eroded and less rainfall was swept into the sea.

 The climate was more temperate.

 The Acropolis was larger and surrounded by soil and not the outcrop of rock it is now.

 They had Gymnasia.

 There were once more springs that disappeared after an earthquake.

 The Athenians were healthy, beautiful people that were well prepared for war.

 Poseidon was patron and God of Atlantis. (God of the sea and earthquakes)

 Atlantis was an Island with a small mountain at its centre with fertile plains surrounding it.

 The central mountain had rings of water surrounding it.

 Water flowed from underground – some hot, some cold.

 Crops flourished in the fertile soil.

 Poseidon’s first child (born on Atlantis) was named Atlas and the ocean around the Island was named Atlantic.

 From beyond the Pillars of Hercules the lost city of Atlantis controlled islands and lands as far as Egypt.

 They had extensive trade with other countries.

 Orichalcum (an unknown red coloured metal or alloy possible a mixture of copper and gold) was common on the Island.

 The Island was well forested.

 There were a great number of elephants on the Island.

 The Island had chestnut trees.

 The City / island existed long enough for many rulers / kings to develop it.

 The lost city of Atlantis had a canal from the sea to an inner lagoon.

 Three kinds of stone, one red, one black and one white were quarried on the Island of Atlantis.

 They used brass to cover their dwellings and brass, tin and orichalcum to cover the outer walls of their cities.

 Poseidon’s temple at the centre had a barbaric appearance and the roof (interior) was made of Ivory.

 In the temple there was a statue of the god in a chariot.

 The lost city of Atlantis made use of private and public baths and then saved the water for use on their fields.

 The later docks had Triremes and many naval supplies.

 The Island had cliffs on most sides but was otherwise a plateau with a small mountain at its centre and mountains to the North.

 The North of the Island had high and beautiful mountains.

 The plain featured a circular ditch (canyon) of such size (a 100 ft in depth) that it could not have been manmade.

 The military had war chariots.

 They benefited from winter rains.

 Their shields were small.

 The land was divided into ten kingdoms each with its own city.

 No King was to ever make war on another Atlantean King.

 This rule lasted for a great time but in the end the Kings became victim to mortal desires and sins
 

Has the real lost

city of Atlantis finally been found
Over 11,000 years ago there existed an island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean populated by a noble and powerful race. The people of this land
possessed great wealth thanks to the natural resources found throughout their island. The island was a center for trade and commerce. The rulers of this land
held sway over the people and land of their own island and well into Europe and Africa.

This was the island of Atlantis.

Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the
middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.

Cleito gave birth to five sets of twin boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers with the eldest, Atlas, first King of
Atlantis, being given control over the central hill and surrounding areas.

At the top of the central hill, a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by winged horses. It was
here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay tribute to Poseidon..

To facilitate travel and trade, a water canal was cut through of the rings of land and water running south for 5.5 miles (~9 km) to the sea.

The city of Atlantis sat just outside the outer ring of water and spread across the plain covering a circle of 11 miles (1.7 km). This was a densely populated area
where the majority of the population lived.

Beyond the city lay a fertile plain 330 miles (530 km) long and 110 miles (190 km) wide surrounded by another canal used to collect water from the rivers and
streams of the mountains. The climate was such that two harvests were possible each year. One in the winter fed by the rains and one in the summer fed by
irrigation from the canal.

Surrounding the plain to the north were mountains which soared to the skies. Villages, lakes, rivers, and meadows dotted the mountains.

Besides the harvests, the island provided all kinds of herbs, fruits, and nuts. An abundance of animals, including elephants, roamed the island.

For generations the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the
immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered the other gods to determine a suitable punishment.

Soon, in one violent surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, its people, and its memory were swallowed by the sea.