Difference between revisions of "Atlantis" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Atlantis''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος}}, "Island of Atlas") is a mythical [[island]] [[nation-state|nation]] first mentioned and described by the [[Ancient Greece|classical Greek]] [[philosophy|philosopher]] [[Plato]] in the dialogues ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]''. Alleged to be an imperial power in the ancient world, the existence of Atlantis has been debated since Plato first spoke of it. The notion of Atlantis represents different ideas to everyone: for some, it is the ultimate [[archaeology|archaeological]] site waiting to be discovered, a lost source of supernatural knowledge and power, or perhaps it is nothing more than a philosophical treatise on the dangers of a [[civilization]] at the pinnacle of its power. Whether Atlantis did exist or is merely the creation of Plato may never be known. Nonetheless, the very idea of its existence continues to inspire and intrigue many, echoing our desire to achieve or return to an age of prosperity.  
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'''Atlantis''' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος}}, "Island of Atlas") is a mythical [[island]] nation first mentioned and described by the [[Ancient Greece|classical Greek]] [[philosopher]] [[Plato]] in the dialogues ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]''. Alledged to be an imperical power in the ancient world before its downfall, the existence of Atlantis has been debated since Plato first spoke of it. The notion of Atlantis represents different ideas to everyone: for some, it is the ultimate archaeological site waiting to be discovered, a lost source of supernatural knowledge and power or perhaps nothing more than a philosophical treatise on the dangers of a civilization at the pinnacle of its power. Whether Atlantis did exist or is the creation of Plato may never be known, but until then the very idea of its existence will continue to inspire.
 
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[[Image:Athanasius Kircher's.gif|thumb|right|250px|[[Athanasius Kircher|Athanasius Kircher's]] map of Atlantis, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. From ''Mundus Subterraneus'' 1669. The map is oriented with south at the top.]]
 
  
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==Origin==
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[[Plato]]'s account of Atlantis, believed to be the first, is found in the [[Socratic dialogues|dialogues]] ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', written in the year 360 B.C.E. In the Socratic dialogue style, Plato conveys his story through a conversation among politicians [[Critias]] and [[Hermocrates]] as well as the philosophers [[Socrates]] and [[Timaeus of Locri|Timaeus]]. It is Critias who speaks of Atlantis, first in the ''Timaeus'', describing briefly the vast empire "beyond the pillars of Hercules" that was defeated by Athenians after it attempted to conquer [[Europe]] and [[Asia Minor]]. In ''Timaeus'' Critias goes into more detail as he describes the civilization of Atlantis. Critias claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] by the Athenian lawgiver [[Solon]] in the sixth century B.C.E. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of [[Sais, Egypt|Sais]], who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on [[papyrus|papyri]] in Egyptian [[hieroglyph]]s, into [[Greek language|Greek]].
  
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==Origin==
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According to Critias, the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic]] gods of old divided the land so that each god owned a share. [[Poseidon]] was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than [[Libya]] and [[Asia Minor]] combined, but it later sank due to an [[earthquake]] and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean.
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[[Image:Sanzio 01 Plato Aristotle.jpg|thumb|Detail of The School of Athens by [[Raphael]], 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle.]]
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[[Image:Strait of gibraltar.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space]]
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Plato's account of Atlantis, believed to be the first, is found in the [[Socratic dialogues|dialogues]] ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', written in the year 360B.C.E. In the socractic dialouge style, Plato conveys his story through a conversation among politicians [[Critias]] and [[Hermocrates]] as well as the philosophers [[Socrates]] and [[Timaeus of Locri|Timaeus]]. It is Critias who speaks of Atlantis, first in the ''Timaeus'', describing briefly the vast empire "beyond the pillars of Hercules" that was defeated by Atheans after it attempted to conquer Europe and Asia Minor. In ''Timaeus'' Critias goes into more detail as he describes the civilization of Atlantis. Critias claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] by the Athenian lawgiver [[Solon]] in the sixth century B.C.E. In [[Egypt]], Solon met a priest of [[Sais, Egypt|Sais]], who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on papyri in Egyptian hieroglyphs, into [[Greek language|Greek]].  
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The [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] described Atlantis as an island approximately 700 kilometers (435 miles) across, comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south. Fifty ''stadia'' (about 600 kilometers; 375 miles) inland from the coast was a mountain, where a native woman lived, with whom Poseidon fell in love and who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (called the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in honor of Atlas), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his [[fiefdom]]. Atlas's twin [[Gades|Gadeirus]] or [[Eumelus]] in Greek, was given the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles. The other four pairs of twins—[[Ampheres]] and [[Evaemon]], [[Mneseus]] and [[Autochthon]], [[Elasippus]] and [[Mestor]], and [[Azaes]] and [[Diaprepes]]—were likewise given positions of power on the island.
  
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According to Critias, the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic]] gods of old divided the land so that each god might own a lot; [[Poseidon]] was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than [[Ancient Libya|Libya]] and [[Asia Minor]] combined, but it afterwards was sunk by an earthquake and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean. The Egyptians described Atlantis as an island approximately 700 kilometres (435 [[Mile|mi]]) across, comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south. Fifty ''[[Ancient Greek weights and measures|stadia]]'' [about 600 km; 375 mi] inland from the coast was a mountain, where a native woman lived, with whom Poseidon fell in love and who bore him five pairs of male [[twins]]. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (called the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in honor of Atlas), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his [[fiefdom]]. Atlas's twin [[Gades|Gadeirus]] or [[Eumelus]] in Greek, was given the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles. The other four pairs of twins — [[Ampheres]] and [[Evaemon]], [[Mneseus]] and [[Autochthon]], [[Elasippus]] and [[Mestor]], and [[Azaes]] and [[Diaprepes]] were likewise given positions of power on the island. Poseidon carved the inland mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular [[moat]]s of increasing width, varying from one to three stadia and separated by rings of land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings. The society of Atlantis lived peacefully at first, but as the society advanced, the desires of the islanders forced them to reach beyond the island's boundaries.
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Poseidon carved the inland mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular [[moat]]s of increasing width, varying from one to three ''stadia'' and separated by rings of land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings.  
  
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According to Critias, 9,000 years before his lifetime a war took place between those outside the [[Pillars of Hercules]] (generally thought to be the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]) and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt and the European continent as far as [[Tyrrhenia]], and subjected its people to slavery. The Athenians led an alliance of resistors against the Atlantean empire and as the alliance disintegrated, prevailed alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands. "But later there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea."
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The society of Atlantis lived peacefully at first, but as the society advanced, the desires of the islanders forced them to reach beyond the island's boundaries. According to Critias, nine thousand years before his lifetime, a [[war]] took place between those outside the "Pillars of Hercules" (generally thought to be the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]) and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the parts of Libya within the pillars of Heracles as far as Egypt and the European continent as far as [[Tyrrhenia]], and subjected its people to [[slavery]]. The Athenians led an alliance of resistors against the Atlanteans’ empire, but the alliance disintegrated, leaving Athens alone to prevail alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands. After the Atlanteans were forced back to their own island, a tremendous earthquake destroyed the civilization and the island sank into the ocean, thus ending the once mighty society.
  
 
==Fact or Fiction==
 
==Fact or Fiction==
  
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The question of Atlantis' existence is one that as of late has been regulated to the category of [[New Age]] beliefs, yet it was not always like this. Admiration of Greek literaure and culture has been prevalent for centuries in Europe. While Atlantis was kept in circulation throughout the western world, along with the rest of Greek myth, but real interest in finding Atlantis did not become arosed until the 19th century. With [[Heinrich Schliemann]]'s 1872 discovery of the lost city of [[Troy]] using.Some stories that started as myth have been proven to contain elements of truth, such as the story of [[Troy]] depicted by [[Homer]] in [[''The Illiad'']] and [[''The Odessy'']] which was considered legend until scholar  discovered the actual city of Troy in Turkey. In the nineteenth century, many people, such as Ignatius Donnelly, began to do scholarly work on the idea of Atlantis as a not yet archaeological discovery. Along with scholarly works, more outlandish ideas attributing supernatural aspects to Atlantis became popular, such as those put forward by the [[theosophy]] movement. <ref>Carroll, Robert Todd (2005) [[http://skepdic.com/atlantis.html"Atlantis"]] Retrieved April 18, 2007 </ref> On a side note, a new hypothesis states that this amount of time may have been "misinterpreted" by Solon.  The Egyptians used a lunar calender based on months, and the Greeks a solar one based on years.  It is therefore possible that the measure of time interpreted as 9,000 years may actually have been 9,000 months.  This would place the destrucion of Atlantis within approximately 700 years beforehand, as there are 13 lunar months in a year. <ref> Hawk, Alex (1998) [[http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=ancienthistory&cdn=education&tm=10&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.angelfire.com/hi/alhawk/atlanthira.html "Atlantis.....Thira?"]] Retrieved April 11, 2007 </ref>
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Many ancient [[philosophy|philosophers]] viewed Atlantis as fiction, including (according to [[Strabo]]), [[Aristotle]]. However, in antiquity there were also philosophers, [[geography|geographers]], and historians who took Plato's story as [[truth]]. One such was the philosopher [[Crantor]], a student of Plato's student [[Xenocrates]], who tried to find proof of the existence of Atlantis. His work, a commentary on Plato's ''Timaeus'', is lost, but another ancient historian, [[Proclus]], reports that Crantor traveled to Egypt and actually found columns with the history of Atlantis written in Egyptian [[hieroglyph]]ic characters.<ref>H. G. Nesselrath, "Where the Lord of the Sea Grants Passage to Sailors through the Deep-blue Mere no More: The Greeks and the Western Seas," ''Greece & Rome'' 52 (2005): 153-171. </ref> As with all works of antiquity, it is difficult to evaluate ambiguous proclamations since no hard proof other than writings survives.
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[[Image:Atlantis map 1882.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis from [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]]'s ''Atlantis: the Antediluvian World'' (1882)]]
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The debate over Atlantis remained relatively quiet until the late nineteenth century. With [[Heinrich Schliemann]]'s 1872 discovery of the lost city of [[Troy]] using [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]'' as guides, it became clear that classical sources once regulated to [[mythology]] may actually contain some lost truths. The scholar [[Ignatius Donnelly]] published ''Atlantis: the Antediluvian World'' in 1882, helping to stimulate popular interest in Atlantis. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known ancient [[civilization]]s were descended from its high [[Neolithic]] culture. Others proposed more outlandish ideas attributing supernatural aspects to Atlantis and combining it with stories of other [[Lost Lands|lost continent]]s such as [[Mu (lost continent)|Mu]] and [[Lemuria (continent)|Lemuria]] by popular figures in the [[Theosophy]] movement, [[occult]], and the growing [[New Age]] phenomenon.<ref>Robert Todd Carroll, (2005) [http://skepdic.com/atlantis.html "Atlantis"] Retrieved April 18, 2007.</ref>  
  
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===Symbolism===
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Most scholars dismiss belief in Atlantis as a New Age idea, and regard the most plausible explanation as that Atlantis was a [[parable]] of Plato's, or was based on a known civilization, such as the [[Minoan civilization|Minoans]]. The fact that Plato often told didactic stories disguised as fictitious tales is cited in support of this view. ''The Cave'' is perhaps the most famous example, in which Plato illustrates the nature of reality by telling a story. Such scholars warn that to take Plato's story literally is to misinterpret him. It is more likely that Plato was sending a warning to his fellow Greeks about the dangers of imperial expansion, political ambition, as well as promoting nobility and the acquisition of knowledge not for personal gain.<ref>Julia Annas, ''Plato: A Very Short Introduction'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).</ref>
  
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Plato scholar Dr [[Julia Annas]]<ref> http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jannas/, or for curriculum vitae: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jannas/CVJAcurrent.htm </ref> ([[Regents Professor]] of [[Philosophy]], [[University of Arizona]]) has had this to say on the matter:
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The truth of Plato’s intentions remains known only to Plato, but no one can doubt the symbolic longevity of his story. Atlantis may not be a physical place, but it certainly has been established as a location in humanity's shared imagination.
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:The continuing industry of discovering Atlantis illustrates the dangers of reading Plato. For he is clearly using what has become a standard device of fiction — stressing the historicity of an event (and the discovery of hitherto unknown authorities) as an indication that what follows is fiction. ''The idea is that we should use the story to examine our ideas of government and power''. We have missed the point if instead of thinking about these issues we go off exploring the sea bed. The continuing misunderstanding of Plato as historian here enables us to see why his distrust of imaginative writing is sometimes justified.<ref> J.Annas, ''Plato: A Very Short Introduction'' (OUP 2003), p.42 ''(emphasis not in the original)''</ref>
 
  
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[[Francis Bacon (philosopher)|Francis Bacon's]] 1627 novel ''[[The New Atlantis]]'' describes a utopian society, called Bensalem, located off the western coast of America. A character in the novel gives a history of Atlantis that is similar to Plato's, and places Atlantis in America. It is not clear whether Bacon means North or South America.
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==Location hypotheses==
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{{readout|There have been dozens&mdash;perhaps hundreds&mdash;of locations proposed for Atlantis|left}}, to the point where the name has become a generic term rather than referring to one specific (possibly even genuine) location. This is reflected in the fact that many proposed sites are not within the [[Atlantic Ocean]] at all. Some are scholarly or [[archaeology|archaeological]] hypotheses, while others have been made by [[psychic]] or [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] means. Many of the proposed sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story (water, catastrophic end, relevant time period), but none has been proven conclusively to be a true historical Atlantis. Below is a list of the more popular (and plausible) locations that have been suggested.
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Many ancient philosophers viewed Atlantis as fiction, including (according to [[Strabo]]), [[Aristotle]]. However, in antiquity, there were also philosophers, geographers, and historians who believed that Atlantis was real.<ref>Nesselrath (2005), pp. 161-171.</ref> For instance, the philosopher [[Crantor]], a student of Plato's student [[Xenocrates]], tried to find proof of Atlantis' existence. His work, a commentary on Plato's ''Timaeus'', is lost, but another ancient historian, [[Proclus]], reports that Crantor traveled to Egypt and actually found columns with the history of Atlantis written in [[Egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyphic]] characters.<ref>Proclus, In Tim. 1,76,1–2 (= [[Fragmente der griechischen Historiker|FGrHist]] 665, F 31)</ref> However, Plato did not write that Solon saw the Atlantis story on a column but on a source that can be "taken to hand".<ref>Timaios 24a: {{Polytonic|τὰ γράμματα λαβόντες}}.</ref> Proclus' proof appears implausible.
 
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[[Image:Atlantis map 1882.jpg|thumb|left|300px|A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis. From [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]]'s ''Atlantis: the Antediluvian World'', 1882.]]
 
  
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==Location hypotheses==
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===Inside the Mediterranean===
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[[Image:Location_hypothesis_of_Atlantis_in_Med.jpg|thumb|380px|right|Hypothesized locations of Atlantis in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]]]
  
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The 1882 publication of ''[[Atlantis: the Antediluvian World]]'' by [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]] stimulated much popular interest in Atlantis. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known [[ancient civilization]]s were descended from its high [[Neolithic]] culture. During the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, ideas about the legendary nature of Atlantis were combined with stories of other [[Lost Lands|lost continent]]s such as [[Mu (lost continent)|Mu]] and [[Lemuria (continent)|Lemuria]] by popular figures in the [[occult]] and the growing [[new age]] phenomenon. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Helena Blavatsky]], the "Grandmother of the New Age movement," writes in ''[[The Secret Doctrine]]'' that the Atlanteans were cultural heroes (contrary to Plato who describes them mainly as a military threat), and are the fourth "[[Root Race]]", succeeded by the "[[Aryan race]]". [[Rudolf Steiner]] wrote of the cultural evolution of Mu or Atlantis. Famed psychic [[Edgar Cayce]] first mentioned Atlantis in a life reading given in 1923,<ref>Robinson, Lytle, 1972, ''Edgar Cayce’s Story of the Origin and Destiny of Man'', Berkeley Books, New York, pg 51.</ref> and later gave its geographical location as the [[Caribbean]], and proposed that [[Edgar Cayce#Major themes|Atlantis]] was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization which had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal. He also predicted that parts of Atlantis would rise in 1968 or 1969. The [[Bimini Road]], found by Dr.J Manson Valentine, was a submarine geological formation just off [[Bimini|North Bimini Island]], discovered in 1968, has been claimed by some to be evidence of the lost civilization (among many other things) and is still being explored [http://www.mysterious-america.net/biminibeachrock.html today].
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Most of the historically proposed locations are in or near the [[Mediterranean Sea]], either islands such as [[Sardinia]], [[Crete]], [[Santorini]], [[Cyprus]], or [[Malta]].  
  
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[[Image:Santorini Landsat.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite image of the islands of [[Santorini]]. This location is one of many sites purported to have been the location of Atlantis.]]
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The [[volcano|volcanic]] eruption on [[Thera]], dated either to the seventeenth or the fifteenth century B.C.E., caused a massive [[tsunami]] that experts hypothesize devastated the [[Minoan civilization]] on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the story. Supporters of this idea cite that the fact that the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] used a lunar [[calendar]] based on months, and the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] a solar one based on years. It is therefore possible that the measure of time interpreted as nine thousand years may actually have been nine thousand months, placing the destruction of Atlantis within approximately seven hundred years, there being 13 lunar months in a solar year.<ref>Alex Hawk (1998), "Atlantis.....Thira?".</ref>
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[[Image:Santorini Landsat.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of the islands of [[Santorini]], one of many sites purported to have been the location of Atlantis]]
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The volcanic eruptions on the Mediterranean island of Santorini during Minoan times were likely powerful enough to cause the cataclysm that befell Atlantis. The main criticism of this hypothesis is that the ancient Greeks were well aware of [[volcano]]es, and if there was a volcanic eruption it seems likely that they would have mentioned it. Additionally, Pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]] commanded an emissary to visit the cities surrounding Crete and found the towns occupied shortly after the time Santorini was speculated to have completely destroyed the area.
  
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===Inside the Mediterranean===
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Another hypothesis is based on a re-creation of the geography of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] at the time of Atlantis' supposed existence. Plato states that Atlantis was located beyond the "Pillars of Hercules," the name given to the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] linking the Mediterranean to the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Eleven thousand years ago, the sea level in the area was some 130 meters lower, exposing a number of islands in the strait. One of these, [[Spartel]], could have been Atlantis, though there are a number of inconsistencies with Plato's account.
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Since Donnelly's day, there have been dozens – perhaps hundreds – of locations proposed for Atlantis, to the point where the name has become a [[generic term]] rather than referring to one specific (possibly even genuine) location. This is reflected in the fact that many proposed sites are not within the [[Atlantic]] at all. Some are scholarly or archaeological hypotheses, while others have been made by [[psychic]] or other [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] means. Many of the proposed sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story (water, catastrophic end, relevant time period), but none has been proven conclusively to be a true historical Atlantis. Most of the historically proposed locations are in or near the [[Mediterranean Sea]], either islands such as [[Sardinia]], [[Crete]] and [[Santorini]], [[Cyprus]], [[Malta]], and [[Ponza]] or as land-based cities or states such as [[Troy]], [[Tartessos]] or Tantalus (in the province of [[Manisa]]), [[Turkey]], and the new theory of [[Israel]]-[[Sinai peninsula|Sinai]] or [[Canaan]] as possible locations.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The massive [[Thera eruption]], dated either to the [[17th century B.C.E.|17th]] or the [[15th century B.C.E.|15th]] century B.C.E., caused a massive [[tsunami]] that experts hypothesise devastated the [[Minoan civilization]] on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the story.
 
  
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[[A. G. Galanopoulos]] argued that the time scale has been distorted by an error in translation, probably from Egyptian into Greek, which produced "thousands" instead of "hundreds"; this same error would rescale Plato's Kingdom of Atlantis to the size of Crete, while leaving the city the size of the crater on Thera. 900 years before Solon would be the 15th century B.C.E.. <ref> Galanopoulos, Angelos Geōrgiou, and Edward Bacon, "Atlantis; the truth behind the legend". Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill; 1969</ref>
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In 2002 Italian journalist [[Sergio Frau]] published a book, ''Le colonne d'Ercole'' ("Pillars of Hercules"), in which he stated that before [[Eratosthenes]] all the ancient Greek writers located the Pillars of Hercules on the [[Strait of Sicily]], while only [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of the east obliged Eratosthenes to move the pillars to Gibraltar in his description of the world.<ref>Sergio Frau, ''Le colonne d'Ercole'' (Rome: Nur Neon, 2002, ISBN 8890074000).</ref> According to his thesis, the Atlantis described by Plato could be identified with [[Sardinia]]. In fact, a [[tsunami]] caused catastrophic damage to Sardinia, destroying the enigmatic [[Nuragic civilization]]. The few survivors migrated to the nearby [[Italy|Italian]] peninsula, founding the [[Etruscan civilization]], the basis for the later [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] civilization, while other survivors were part of those [[Sea Peoples]] that attacked [[Egypt]].
  
 
===Outside the Mediterranean===  
 
===Outside the Mediterranean===  
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Locations as wide-ranging as [[Andalusia]], [[Antarctica]], [[Indonesia]], underneath the [[Bermuda Triangle]], and the [[Caribbean]] have been proposed as the true site of Atlantis.  In the area of the [[Black Sea]] at least three locations have been proposed: [[Bosporus]], [[Sinop]] and [[Ancomah]] (a legendary place near [[Trabzon]]). The nearby [[Sea of Azov]] was proposed as another site in 2003.<ref> http://establishment.com.ua/articles/2005/10/25/543/ </ref> In Northern [[Europe]], [[Sweden]] (by [[Olof Rudbeck]] in "Atland", 1672-1702), [[Ireland]], and the [[North Sea]] have been proposed (the Swedish geographer Ulf Erlingsson combines the North Sea and Ireland in a comprehensive hypothesis).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Areas in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean]] have also been proposed including Indonesia, [[Malaysia]] or both (i.e. [[Sundaland]]) and stories of a lost continent off [[India]] named "[[Kumari Kandam]]" have drawn parallels to Atlantis.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Even [[Cuba]] and the [[Bahamas]] have been suggested. Some believe that Atlantis stretched from the tip of Spain to [[Central America]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} According to [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]] in his book ''[[Atlantis: The Antediluvian World]]'', there is a connection between Atlantis and [[Aztlan]] (the ancestral home of the Aztecs).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} He claims that the Aztecs pointed east to the Caribbean as the former location of Aztlan. Some have considered the [[Philippines]] to be the possible site of Atlantis, and proposed that the islands were remnants of Atlantis's mountains.
 
  
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The [[Canary Islands]] have also been identified as a possible location, West of the Straits of Gibraltar but in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Various islands or island groups in the Atlantic were also identified as possible locations, notably the [[Azores]] (Mid-Atlantic islands which are a territory of [[Portugal]]), and even several [[Caribbean]] islands.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The submerged island of [[Spartel]] near the Strait of Gibraltar would coincide with some elements of Plato's account, matching both the location and the date of submersion given in the ''Critias''. Popular culture increasingly places Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean and perpetuates the original Platonic ideal.
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Beyond the [[Mediterranean Sea]], locations all over the world have been cited as the location for Atlantis. From [[Ireland]], [[Sweden]], to [[Indonesia]] and [[Japan]], many of these theories rely on little hard evidence. Two of the most talked about areas, however, are the [[Caribbean]] and [[Antarctica]].  
  
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Often connected to the mysterious events alleged to have transpired in the [[Bermuda Triangle]], the Caribbean has received attention for underwater structures, often called "The Bimini Road." Discovered by pilots in the 1960s, the Bimini Road consists of large rocks that are laid in two parallel formations in shallow water, running a couple miles away from the [[Bimini Islands]].<ref>Ellie Crystal (2007), [http://www.crystalinks.com/biminiroad.html"Bimini Road."] Retrieved June 15, 2007.</ref> Numerous expeditions have set out for the Bimini Islands to attempt to prove or disprove that the formation is man-made and somehow connected to Atlantis. Most scientists, particularly [[geology|geologists]], find the evidence inconclusive or have concluded that the phenomenon is a natural occurrence. Believers, however, strongly argue that the rock formation is too symmetrical and deliberate to be an act of nature. In either case, no other remains have been found that suggest the Bimini Road leads to Atlantis.
  
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==In/Near the Mediterranean Sea==
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[[Image:Location_hypothesis_of_Atlantis_-_Worldwide.jpg|thumb|400px|Hypothesized locations of Atlantis worldwide]]
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[[Image:Location_hypothesis_of_Atlantis_in_Med.jpg|thumb|380px|left|Hypothesized locations of Atlantis in the [[Mediterranean]].]]
 
  
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Many theories of Atlantis center around the [[Mediterranean]].  In part because of the [[Greek mythology|Ancient Greek myth]] which is the first written record of Atlantis, but it was also a ''superhighway'' of transport in ancient times, allowing for [[trade]] and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The roots of [[Western civilization]] began in the [[Mesopotamia]] in nearby modern day [[Iraq]]. Some of the more popular theories include the [[Minoan civilization]] on [[Crete]], the island of [[Sardinia]] as well as some other river valley civilizations.
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The theory that [[Antarctica]] was at one point Atlantis was particularly fashionable during the 1960s and 1970s, spurred on by the isolation of the continent, [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s novella ''At the Mountains of Madness'', and also the [[Piri Reis map]], which purportedly shows Antarctica as it would be ice free, suggesting human knowledge of that period. [[Charles Berlitz]], [[Erich Von Daniken]], and [[Peter Kolosimo]] have been amongst those popular authors who made this proposal. However, the theory of [[continental drift]] contradicts this idea, because Antarctica was in its current location in Plato's lifetime and has retained its inhospitable climate. Still, the romance of Antartica's relatively unexplored regions continues to lead many to superimpose ideas, such as Atlantis, onto it.
  
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===Crete and Santorini===
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==Pop Culture==
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Among those who believe in an historical Atlantis, a common hypothesis holds that Plato's story of the destruction of Atlantis was inspired by massive [[volcanic eruption]]s on the Mediterranean island of [[Santorini]] during Minoan times. [[Scientific skepticism|Skeptic]]s of an [[Atlantic Ocean]] location usually promote this theory. Some consider this to be the likeliest hypothesis, though investigators (such as Frank Joseph) discount this theory as misleading. A main criticism of this hypothesis is that the ancient Greeks were well aware of volcanoes, and if there was a volcanic eruption, it would seem likely that it would be mentioned. Additionally, Pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]] commanded an emissary to visit the cities surrounding [[Crete]] and found the towns occupied shortly after the time Santorini was speculated to have completely destroyed the area.
+
Exploration and discovery of long lost cities and civilizations is a theme that is not bound by space or time in the popular imagination. Atlantis has become the ultimate mythical city, its name becoming iconic for all other lost cities. Atlantis appears in all types of literature, from [[Renaissance]] works to modern day [[science fiction]]/fantasy, [[archaeology|archaeological]] and scientific works, to New Age books. [[Television]] and[[ movie]]s have also capitalized on the allure of Atlantis. The myth is so alluring that one of the largest hotel in the [[Bahamas]] is the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, a lost city themed resort.
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Part of this hypothesis proposes, because Solon received his information from Egypt, that we assume that the [[Ancient Egyptian]] symbol for "hundred" was mistakenly read as "thousand". If this was possible, the translation would reduce the age and size of Atlantis by a factor of ten. This alteration would make Atlantis fit Minoan Crete well in size and age. Though, a translation error is believed by some to be unlikely because there is highly destinguishable variations in the visual appearance of [[Egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyphic]] symbols of [[Egyptian numerals|Egyptian numeric values]].
 
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===Near Cape Spartel===
 
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Another recent hypothesis is based on a recreation of the geography of the [[Mediterranean]] at the time of Atlantis' supposed existence. Plato states that Atlantis was located beyond the [[Pillars of Hercules]], the name given to the [[Straits of Gibraltar|Strait of Gibraltar]] linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.  11,000 years ago the sea level in the area was some 130 metres lower, exposing a number of islands in the strait.  One of these, [[Spartel]], could have been Atlantis, though there are a number of inconsistencies with Plato's account.
 
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−
===Sardinia===
 
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In 2002 the Italian journalist [[:it:Sergio Frau|Sergio Frau]] published a book, ''Le colonne d'Ercole'' ("[[Pillars of Hercules]]"), in which he states that before [[Eratosthenes]], all the ancient Greek writers located the Pillars of Hercules on the [[Strait of Sicily]], while only [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of the east obliged Eratosthenes to move the pillars at Gibraltar in his description of the world.<ref>Frau, Sergio, ''Le colonne d'Ercole'', NurNeon, ISBN 88-900740-0-0</ref>
 
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According to his thesis, the Atlantis described by Plato could be identified with [[Sardinia]]. In fact, a [[tsunami]] eradicated Sardinia which destroyed the enigmatic [[Nuraghe|Nuragic civilization]]. The few survivors migrated to the nearby [[Italian peninsula]], founding the [[Etruscan civilization]], the basis for the later [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] civilization, while other survivors were part of those [[Sea Peoples]] that attacked [[Egypt]].
 
  
−
[[Image:Location_hypothesis_of_Atlantis_-_Worldwide.jpg|thumb|400px|Hypothesized location of Atlantis in worldwide, click image for greater detail]]
+
Within the New Age movement there are those that believe Atlanteans were [[technology|technologically]] advanced, that they self-destructed due to their rapid advancement, or that they used (and perhaps were themselves) [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] technology. Similar ideas have been attributed to many other ancient societies, such as the [[ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], as many new age beliefs intend to unify different mysteries under one idea. In the end, Atlantis' continued discussion and study is a testament to humankind's endless curiosity and desire not to leave our current charting of the world where it is, but to continue to look for mysteries to explore, and lost worlds from our past to discover.
−
 
 
−
=== Antarctica ===
 
−
The theory that [[Antarctica]] was Atlantis was particularly fashionable during the 1960s and 1970s, spurred on partly both by the isolation of the continent, [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s novella ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'', and also the [[Piri Reis map]], which purportedly shows Antarctica as it would be ice free, suggesting human knowledge of that period. [[Charles Berlitz]], [[Erich Von Daniken]] and [[Peter Kolosimo]] have been amongst those popular authors who made this proposal.
 
−
 
 
−
==Atlantis in art, literature and popular culture==
 
−
The legend of Atlantis is featured in many books, movies, television series, games, songs, and other creative works. Recent examples of Atlantis on-screen include the television series ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' and the Disney animated movie ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]''.
 
−
 
 
−
==Pop Culture==
 
  
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==
 
<References/>
 
<References/>
  
−
==Ancient sources==
+
==References==
−
*[[Plato]]. 360 B.C.E. ''[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html Timaeus]'', translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.  
+
===Ancient sources===
−
*[[Plato]]. 360 B.C.E. ''[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html Critias]'', translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.  
+
*Plato. 360 B.C.E. ''[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html Timaeus]'', translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.  
 +
*Plato. 360 B.C.E. ''[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html Critias]'', translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.  
  
 
===Modern sources===
 
===Modern sources===
−
* Bichler, R (1986). 'Athen besiegt Atlantis. Eine Studie über den Ursprung der Staatsutopie', ''Canopus'', vol. 20, no. 51, pp. 71-88.
+
* Bichler, R. (1986). “Athens besiegt Atlantis. Eine Studie über den Ursprung der Staatsutopie.” ''Canopus'' 20 (51): 71-88.
−
*[[L. Sprague de Camp|De Camp, LS]] (1954). ''[[Lost Continents|Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature]]'', New York: Gnome Press.
+
*De Camp, L. S. (1954). ''Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature''. New York: Gnome Press.
−
*[[Ignatius L. Donnelly|Donnelly, I]] (1882). ''[[Atlantis: The Antediluvian World]]'', New York: Harper & Bros. Retrieved November 6, 2001, from [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4032 Project Gutenberg].
+
*Donnelly, I. (1882). ''Atlantis: The Antediluvian World''. New York: Harper & Bros. Available online from [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4032 Project Gutenberg.] Retrieved June 15, 2007.
−
*Ellis, R (1998). ''Imaging Atlantis'', New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-679-44602-8
+
*Ellis, R. (1998). ''Imaging Atlantis''. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0679446028
−
*Erlingsson, U (2004). ''Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land'', Miami: Lindorm. ISBN 0-9755946-0-5
+
*Erlingsson, U. (2004). ''Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land''. Miami, FL: Lindorm. ISBN 0975594605
−
*Flem-Ath, R & Wilson, C (2000). ''The Atlantis Blueprint'', London: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-85313-5
+
*Flem-Ath, R. & Wilson, C. (2000). ''The Atlantis Blueprint''. London: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316853135
−
*Frau, S (2002). ''Le Colonne d'Ercole: Un'inchiesta'', Rome: Nur neon. ISBN 88-900740-0-0
+
*Frau, S. (2002). ''Le Colonne d'Ercole: Un'inchiesta''. Rome: Nur Neon. ISBN 8890074000
−
*Gill, C (1976). 'The origin of the Atlantis myth', ''Trivium'', vol. 11, pp. 8-9.
+
*Gill, C. (1976). “The origin of the Atlantis myth.” ''Trivium'' 11: 8-9.
−
*Görgemanns, H (2000). 'Wahrheit und Fiktion in Platons Atlantis-Erzählung', ''Hermes'', vol. 128, pp. 405-420.
+
*Görgemanns, H. (2000). “Wahrheit und Fiktion in Platons Atlantis-Erzählung.” ''Hermes'' 128: 405-420.
−
*Griffiths, JP (1985). 'Atlantis and Egypt', ''Historia'', vol. 34, pp. 35f.
+
*Griffiths, J. P. (1985). “Atlantis and Egypt.” ''Historia'' 34: 35 ff.
−
*Heidel, WA (1933). 'A suggestion concerning Platon's Atlantis', ''Daedalus'', vol. 68, pp. 189-228.
+
*Heidel, W. A. (1933). “A suggestion concerning Platon's Atlantis.” ''Daedalus'' 68: 189-228.
−
*Jordan, P (1994). ''The Atlantis Syndrome'', Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3518-9
+
*Jordan, P. (1994). ''The Atlantis Syndrome''. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750935189
−
*Martin, TH [1841] (1981). 'Dissertation sur l'Atlantide', in TH Martin, ''Études sur le Timée de Platon'', Paris: Librairie philosophique J. Vrin, pp. 257-332.
+
*Martin, T. H. [1841] (1981). “Dissertation sur l'Atlantide,” in T. H. Martin, ''Études sur le Timée de Platon''. Paris: Librairie philosophique J. Vrin. pp. 257-332.
−
*Morgan, KA (1998). 'Designer history: Plato's Atlantis story and fourth-century ideology', ''Journal of Hellenic Studies'', vol. 118, pp. 101-118.
+
*Morgan, K. A. (1998). "Designer history: Plato's Atlantis story and fourth-century ideology." ''Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 118: 101-118.
−
*Nesselrath, HG (1998). 'Theopomps Meropis und Platon: Nachahmung und Parodie', ''Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft'', vol. 1, pp. 1-8.
+
*Nesselrath, H. G. (1998). "Theopomps Meropis und Platon: Nachahmung und Parodie." ''Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft'' 1: 1-8.
−
*Nesselrath, HG (2001a). 'Atlantes und Atlantioi: Von Platon zu Dionysios Skytobrachion', ''Philologus'', vol. 145, pp. 34-38.
+
*Nesselrath, H. G. (2001a). "Atlantes und Atlantioi: Von Platon zu Dionysios Skytobrachion." ''Philologus'' 145: 34-38.
−
*Nesselrath, HG (2001b). 'Atlantis auf ägyptischen Stelen? Der Philosoph Krantor als Epigraphiker', ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 135, pp. 33-35.
+
*Nesselrath, H. G. (2001b). "Atlantis auf ägyptischen Stelen? Der Philosoph Krantor als Epigraphiker." ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' 135: 33-35.
−
*Nesselrath, HG (2002). ''Platon und die Erfindung von Atlantis'', München/Leipzig: KG Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-77560-1
+
*Nesselrath, H. G. (2002). ''Platon und die Erfindung von Atlantis'', München/Leipzig: KG Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-77560-1
−
*Nesselrath, HG (2005). 'Where the Lord of the Sea Grants Passage to Sailors through the Deep-blue Mere no More: The Greeks and the Western Seas', ''Greece & Rome'', vol. 52, pp. 153-171.
+
*Nesselrath, H. G. (2005). "Where the Lord of the Sea Grants Passage to Sailors through the Deep-blue Mere no More: The Greeks and the Western Seas." ''Greece & Rome'' 52: 153-171.
−
*Phillips, ED (1968). 'Historical Elements in the Myth of Atlantis', ''Euphrosyne'', vol. 2, pp. 3-38.
+
*Phillips, E. D. (1968). "Historical Elements in the Myth of Atlantis." ''Euphrosyne'' 2: 3-38.
−
*Ramage, ES (1978). ''Atlantis: Fact or Fiction?'', Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-10482-3
+
*Ramage, E. S. (1978). ''Atlantis: Fact or Fiction?''. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253104823
−
*[[Mary Settegast|Settegast, M.]] (1987). ''Plato Prehistorian: 10,000 to 5000 B.C.E. in Myth and Archaeology,'' Cambridge, MA, Rotenberg Press.  
+
*Settegast, M. (1987). ''Plato Prehistorian: 10,000 to 5000 B.C.E. in Myth and Archaeology''. Cambridge, MA: Rotenberg Press.  
−
*[[Lewis Spence|Spence, L]] [1926] (2003). ''The History of Atlantis'', Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-42710-2
+
*Spence, L. [1926] (2003). ''The History of Atlantis''. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0486427102
−
*Szlezák, TA (1993). 'Atlantis und Troia, Platon und Homer: Bemerkungen zum Wahrheitsanspruch des Atlantis-Mythos', ''Studia Troica'', vol. 3, pp. 233-237.
+
*Szlezák, T. A. (1993). "Atlantis und Troia, Platon und Homer: Bemerkungen zum Wahrheitsanspruch des Atlantis-Mythos." ''Studia Troica'' 3: 233-237.
−
*[[Pierre Vidal-Naquet|Vidal-Naquet, P]] (1986). 'Athens and Atlantis: Structure and Meaning of a Platonic Myth', in P Vidal-Naquet, ''The Black Hunter'', Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,  pp. 263-284. ISBN 0-8018-3251-9
+
*Vidal-Naquet, P. (1986). "Athens and Atlantis: Structure and Meaning of a Platonic Myth," in P. Vidal-Naquet, ''The Black Hunter''. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 263-284. ISBN 0801832519
−
*Wilson, C (1997). ''From Atlantis to the Sphinx'', London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-88064-176-2
+
*Wilson, C. (1997). ''From Atlantis to the Sphinx''. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0880641762
−
*Zangger, E (1993). ''The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis legend'', New York: William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-688-11350-8
+
*Zangger, E. (1993). ''The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis Legend''. New York: William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0688113508
  
 
==Further reading==
 
==Further reading==
−
*[[Gene Matlock]], ''The last Atlantis book you’ll ever have to read: the Atlantis-Mexico-India connection''. Tempe, AZ: Dandelion Books, 2001.
 
−
* Joseph, Frank, "''The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization''". Bear & Company, 2002. ISBN 1-879181-85-1
 
−
* Zangger, Eberhard, "''''The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis legend''". Sidgwick & Jackson, 1992, ISBN 0-688-11350-8.
 
−
* Mifsud, Anton, Simon Mifsud, Chris Agius Sultana, and Charles Savona Ventura, "''Echoes of Plato's Island''". (2nd edition) Malta, 2001. ISBN 99932-15-01-5
 
−
* [[Geoffrey Ashe|Ashe, Geoffrey]], "''Atlantis : lost lands, ancient wisdom / Geoffrey Ashe''". New York, N.Y., Thames and Hudson; 1992. ISBN 0-500-81039-7
 
−
* Zeilinga de Boer, Jelle, et. al., "''Volcanoes in human history : the far-reaching effects of major eruptions''". ''The Bronze Age eruption of Thera : destroyer of Atlantis and Minoan Crete?''. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press; 2002.
 
−
* Ley, Willy, ''"Another look at Atlantis, and fifteen other essays''".  Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday; 1969. LCCN 69011988
 
−
* Galanopoulos, Angelos Geōrgiou,  and Edward Bacon, "''Atlantis; the truth behind the legend''". Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill; 1969. LCCN 71080738 //r892 
 
−
* [[Ignatius L. Donnelly|Donnelly, Ignatius L.]], "''[[Atlantis: The Antediluvian World]]''". New York, Harper, 1882. LCCN 06001749
 
−
* Erlingsson, Ulf, "''[http://atlantisinireland.com/ Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land]''". Lindorm Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-9755946-0-5
 
−
* Flem-Ath, Rand & Wilson, Colin, ''The Atlantis Blueprint'', 2000.
 
−
* Flem-Ath, Rand & Flem-Ath, Rose, ''When The Sky Fell''.
 
−
* Shirley Andrews, ''Atlantis''. Llewellyn Publications, 2002.  ISBN 1-56718-023-X
 
−
* Charles Berlitz, ''The Bermuda Triangle''
 
−
*''Atlantis of the West: The Case For Britain's Drowned Megalithic Civilization'', ISBN 0-7867-1145-0 , [[Paul Dunbavin]]
 
−
 
  
 +
*Andrews, Shirley. ''Atlantis''. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 156718023X
 +
*Ashe, Geoffrey. 1992. ''Atlantis: Lost Lands, Ancient Wisdom''. New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500810397
 +
*Dunbavin, Paul. ''Atlantis of the West: The Case for Britain's Drowned Megalithic Civilization''. ISBN 0786711450
 +
*Erlingsson, Ulf. 2004. ''[http://atlantisinireland.com/ Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land.]'' Lindorm Publishing. ISBN 0975594605 Retrieved May 24, 2007.
 +
*Joseph, Frank. 2002. ''The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization''. Bear & Company. ISBN 1879181851
 +
*Matlock, Gene. 2002. ''The Last Atlantis Book You’ll Ever Have to Read: The Atlantis-Mexico-India Connection''. Tempe, AZ: Dandelion Books. ISBN 978-1893302204
 +
*Mifsud, Anton, Simon Mifsud, Chris Agius Sultana, and Charles Savona Ventura. 2001. ''Echoes of Plato's Island''. 2nd edition. Malta. ISBN 9993215015
 +
*Zangger, Eberhard. 1992. ''The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis Legend''. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0688113508
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved August 21, 2023.
  
 +
*[http://unxplained-factor.com/atlantis.htm ''Atlantis: Myth or Memory?''] from UnXplained-Factor.
 +
*[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/atlantis.html ''Atlantis: the Myth''] from Encyclopedia Mythica.
 +
*BBC News. 2001. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1554000/1554594.stm "Atlantis 'obviously near Gibraltar.'"]
 +
*BBC News. 2004. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4011545.stm "Have scientists really found the lost city of Atlantis?"]
 +
*BBC News. 2004. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3766863.stm "Satellite images 'show Atlantis' in Spain."]
 +
*BBC News. 2005. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4153008.stm "Tsunami clue to 'Atlantis' found."]
 +
*[http://skepdic.com/atlantis.html Atlantis] The Skeptics Dictionary.
  
−
*[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/atlantis.html ''Atlantis: the Myth''] from [[Encyclopedia Mythica]]
+
{{Continents_of_the_world}}
  
−
===General information ===
+
{{Credits|Atlantis|114845167|Location_hypotheses_of_Atlantis|115004034}}
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* [http://www.atlantisarchives.org The Atlantis Archives]
 
−
* [http://www.atlantischannel.com/page_1166822843562.html Atlantis Channel]
 
−
* [http://www.lost-civilizations.net/atlantis.html lost-civilizations.net]
 
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* [http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa090301a.htm about.com]
 
−
* [http://milos.conferences.gr/?Atlantis2005 International Conference '' '''Atlantis 2005''' '', Milos/Greece]
 
−
* [http://www.atlantis-scout.de/charter.htm Atlantis Research Charter about methods of Atlantis research
 
−
* [http://unxplained-factor.com/atlantis.htm  ''Atlantis: Myth or Memory ?''] from [[UnXplained-Factor]]
 
  
−
===Support a specific location===
+
[[Category:Mythical lands]]
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* [http://www.expedition-atlantis.com/ Real Expedition Nov. 2006]
+
[[Category:Geography]]
−
* [http://www.blavatsky.net/science/atlantis/atlantis.htm Atlantis in the Atlantic] based on writings of [[Helena Blavatsky]]
 
−
* [http://www.flem-ath.com/del1.htm Antarctica was Atlantis]
 
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* [http://www.black-sea-atlantis.com Atlantis was in the Black Sea]
 
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* [http://www.discoveryofatlantis.com Atlantis was near Cyprus]
 
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* [http://www.geocities.com/webatlantis/ Bolivia was Atlantis]
 
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* [http://www.atlan.org/ Indonesia/Sundaland was Atlantis]
 
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* [http://atlantisinireland.com Atlantis was inspired by Silver Pit / Dogger Bank / Ireland / West Europe]  
 
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* [http://www.Antiquos.com/ Atlantis Iberian-Mauretanian; the Acropolis before Gibraltar]  
 
−
* [http://www.laatlantida.cl/ Israel was Atlantis] (In Spanish)
 
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* [http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/kuhne Tartessos was Atlantis]
 
−
* [http://atlantis-today.com/ Sea of Azov was Atlantis site]
 
−
<!--Don't know where this one goes quite yet
 
−
* [http://www.atlantia.de/atlantis_english/atlantis.htm ATLANTIS - The Cradle of Mankind]
 
−
—>
 
−
 
 
−
===Support invention hypothesis===
 
−
* [http://www.csicop.org/sb/2001-09/atlantis.html Atlantis: No way, No how, No where]''" &mdash; [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]]
 
−
*[http://skepdic.com/atlantis.html Skeptics dictionary]
 
−
 
 
−
===News===
 
−
*[[PRWeb News]], "''[http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb413455.htm  Atlantis and Tartessus—Norway Scientific Institutions Recognize Spanish Paleographical Hypothesis]''". July 20, 2006.
 
−
*[[PRWeb News]], "''[http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb413458.htm  The Arab Authors Located to the Atlantis Island and the Amazonian Island in Andalusia]''". July 20, 2006.
 
−
*[[BBC News]], "''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4153008.stm  Tsunami clue to 'Atlantis' found]''". August 15, 2005.
 
−
*BBC News, "''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3766863.stm Satellite images 'show Atlantis' in Spain]''". June 6, 2004.
 
−
*BBC News, "''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4011545.stm  Have scientists really found the lost city of Atlantis?]''". November 15, 2004.
 
−
*BBC News, "''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1554000/1554594.stm Atlantis 'obviously near Gibraltar']''", September 20, 2001.
 
−
*Radford, Tim, [[The Guardian]], "''[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,368211,00.html Evidence found of Noah's ark flood victims]''", September 14, 2000.
 
−
 
 
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{{Credits|Atlantis|114845167|Location_hypotheses_of_Atlantis|115004034}}
 

Latest revision as of 06:23, 21 August 2023

Atlantis (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, "Island of Atlas") is a mythical island nation first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias. Alleged to be an imperial power in the ancient world, the existence of Atlantis has been debated since Plato first spoke of it. The notion of Atlantis represents different ideas to everyone: for some, it is the ultimate archaeological site waiting to be discovered, a lost source of supernatural knowledge and power, or perhaps it is nothing more than a philosophical treatise on the dangers of a civilization at the pinnacle of its power. Whether Atlantis did exist or is merely the creation of Plato may never be known. Nonetheless, the very idea of its existence continues to inspire and intrigue many, echoing our desire to achieve or return to an age of prosperity.

Origin

Plato's account of Atlantis, believed to be the first, is found in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written in the year 360 B.C.E. In the Socratic dialogue style, Plato conveys his story through a conversation among politicians Critias and Hermocrates as well as the philosophers Socrates and Timaeus. It is Critias who speaks of Atlantis, first in the Timaeus, describing briefly the vast empire "beyond the pillars of Hercules" that was defeated by Athenians after it attempted to conquer Europe and Asia Minor. In Timaeus Critias goes into more detail as he describes the civilization of Atlantis. Critias claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to Egypt by the Athenian lawgiver Solon in the sixth century B.C.E. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of Sais, who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis, recorded on papyri in Egyptian hieroglyphs, into Greek.

According to Critias, the Hellenic gods of old divided the land so that each god owned a share. Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than Libya and Asia Minor combined, but it later sank due to an earthquake and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean.

The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space

The Egyptians described Atlantis as an island approximately 700 kilometers (435 miles) across, comprising mostly mountains in the northern portions and along the shore, and encompassing a great plain of an oblong shape in the south. Fifty stadia (about 600 kilometers; 375 miles) inland from the coast was a mountain, where a native woman lived, with whom Poseidon fell in love and who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made rightful king of the entire island and the ocean (called the Atlantic Ocean in honor of Atlas), and was given the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his fiefdom. Atlas's twin Gadeirus or Eumelus in Greek, was given the extremity of the island towards the Pillars of Heracles. The other four pairs of twins—Ampheres and Evaemon, Mneseus and Autochthon, Elasippus and Mestor, and Azaes and Diaprepes—were likewise given positions of power on the island.

Poseidon carved the inland mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three circular moats of increasing width, varying from one to three stadia and separated by rings of land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain, making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each of the city's rings.

The society of Atlantis lived peacefully at first, but as the society advanced, the desires of the islanders forced them to reach beyond the island's boundaries. According to Critias, nine thousand years before his lifetime, a war took place between those outside the "Pillars of Hercules" (generally thought to be the Strait of Gibraltar) and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans had conquered the parts of Libya within the pillars of Heracles as far as Egypt and the European continent as far as Tyrrhenia, and subjected its people to slavery. The Athenians led an alliance of resistors against the Atlanteans’ empire, but the alliance disintegrated, leaving Athens alone to prevail alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands. After the Atlanteans were forced back to their own island, a tremendous earthquake destroyed the civilization and the island sank into the ocean, thus ending the once mighty society.

Fact or Fiction

Many ancient philosophers viewed Atlantis as fiction, including (according to Strabo), Aristotle. However, in antiquity there were also philosophers, geographers, and historians who took Plato's story as truth. One such was the philosopher Crantor, a student of Plato's student Xenocrates, who tried to find proof of the existence of Atlantis. His work, a commentary on Plato's Timaeus, is lost, but another ancient historian, Proclus, reports that Crantor traveled to Egypt and actually found columns with the history of Atlantis written in Egyptian hieroglyphic characters.[1] As with all works of antiquity, it is difficult to evaluate ambiguous proclamations since no hard proof other than writings survives.

A map showing a supposed location of Atlantis from Ignatius L. Donnelly's Atlantis: the Antediluvian World (1882)

The debate over Atlantis remained relatively quiet until the late nineteenth century. With Heinrich Schliemann's 1872 discovery of the lost city of Troy using Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as guides, it became clear that classical sources once regulated to mythology may actually contain some lost truths. The scholar Ignatius Donnelly published Atlantis: the Antediluvian World in 1882, helping to stimulate popular interest in Atlantis. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known ancient civilizations were descended from its high Neolithic culture. Others proposed more outlandish ideas attributing supernatural aspects to Atlantis and combining it with stories of other lost continents such as Mu and Lemuria by popular figures in the Theosophy movement, occult, and the growing New Age phenomenon.[2]

Most scholars dismiss belief in Atlantis as a New Age idea, and regard the most plausible explanation as that Atlantis was a parable of Plato's, or was based on a known civilization, such as the Minoans. The fact that Plato often told didactic stories disguised as fictitious tales is cited in support of this view. The Cave is perhaps the most famous example, in which Plato illustrates the nature of reality by telling a story. Such scholars warn that to take Plato's story literally is to misinterpret him. It is more likely that Plato was sending a warning to his fellow Greeks about the dangers of imperial expansion, political ambition, as well as promoting nobility and the acquisition of knowledge not for personal gain.[3]

The truth of Plato’s intentions remains known only to Plato, but no one can doubt the symbolic longevity of his story. Atlantis may not be a physical place, but it certainly has been established as a location in humanity's shared imagination.

Location hypotheses

Did you know?
There have been dozens—perhaps hundreds—of locations proposed for Atlantis

There have been dozens—perhaps hundreds—of locations proposed for Atlantis, to the point where the name has become a generic term rather than referring to one specific (possibly even genuine) location. This is reflected in the fact that many proposed sites are not within the Atlantic Ocean at all. Some are scholarly or archaeological hypotheses, while others have been made by psychic or pseudoscientific means. Many of the proposed sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story (water, catastrophic end, relevant time period), but none has been proven conclusively to be a true historical Atlantis. Below is a list of the more popular (and plausible) locations that have been suggested.

Inside the Mediterranean

Hypothesized locations of Atlantis in the Mediterranean Sea

Most of the historically proposed locations are in or near the Mediterranean Sea, either islands such as Sardinia, Crete, Santorini, Cyprus, or Malta.

The volcanic eruption on Thera, dated either to the seventeenth or the fifteenth century B.C.E., caused a massive tsunami that experts hypothesize devastated the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the story. Supporters of this idea cite that the fact that the Egyptians used a lunar calendar based on months, and the Greeks a solar one based on years. It is therefore possible that the measure of time interpreted as nine thousand years may actually have been nine thousand months, placing the destruction of Atlantis within approximately seven hundred years, there being 13 lunar months in a solar year.[4]

Satellite image of the islands of Santorini, one of many sites purported to have been the location of Atlantis

The volcanic eruptions on the Mediterranean island of Santorini during Minoan times were likely powerful enough to cause the cataclysm that befell Atlantis. The main criticism of this hypothesis is that the ancient Greeks were well aware of volcanoes, and if there was a volcanic eruption it seems likely that they would have mentioned it. Additionally, Pharaoh Amenhotep III commanded an emissary to visit the cities surrounding Crete and found the towns occupied shortly after the time Santorini was speculated to have completely destroyed the area.

Another hypothesis is based on a re-creation of the geography of the Mediterranean Sea at the time of Atlantis' supposed existence. Plato states that Atlantis was located beyond the "Pillars of Hercules," the name given to the Strait of Gibraltar linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. Eleven thousand years ago, the sea level in the area was some 130 meters lower, exposing a number of islands in the strait. One of these, Spartel, could have been Atlantis, though there are a number of inconsistencies with Plato's account.

In 2002 Italian journalist Sergio Frau published a book, Le colonne d'Ercole ("Pillars of Hercules"), in which he stated that before Eratosthenes all the ancient Greek writers located the Pillars of Hercules on the Strait of Sicily, while only Alexander the Great's conquest of the east obliged Eratosthenes to move the pillars to Gibraltar in his description of the world.[5] According to his thesis, the Atlantis described by Plato could be identified with Sardinia. In fact, a tsunami caused catastrophic damage to Sardinia, destroying the enigmatic Nuragic civilization. The few survivors migrated to the nearby Italian peninsula, founding the Etruscan civilization, the basis for the later Roman civilization, while other survivors were part of those Sea Peoples that attacked Egypt.

Outside the Mediterranean

Beyond the Mediterranean Sea, locations all over the world have been cited as the location for Atlantis. From Ireland, Sweden, to Indonesia and Japan, many of these theories rely on little hard evidence. Two of the most talked about areas, however, are the Caribbean and Antarctica.

Often connected to the mysterious events alleged to have transpired in the Bermuda Triangle, the Caribbean has received attention for underwater structures, often called "The Bimini Road." Discovered by pilots in the 1960s, the Bimini Road consists of large rocks that are laid in two parallel formations in shallow water, running a couple miles away from the Bimini Islands.[6] Numerous expeditions have set out for the Bimini Islands to attempt to prove or disprove that the formation is man-made and somehow connected to Atlantis. Most scientists, particularly geologists, find the evidence inconclusive or have concluded that the phenomenon is a natural occurrence. Believers, however, strongly argue that the rock formation is too symmetrical and deliberate to be an act of nature. In either case, no other remains have been found that suggest the Bimini Road leads to Atlantis.

Hypothesized locations of Atlantis worldwide

The theory that Antarctica was at one point Atlantis was particularly fashionable during the 1960s and 1970s, spurred on by the isolation of the continent, H. P. Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness, and also the Piri Reis map, which purportedly shows Antarctica as it would be ice free, suggesting human knowledge of that period. Charles Berlitz, Erich Von Daniken, and Peter Kolosimo have been amongst those popular authors who made this proposal. However, the theory of continental drift contradicts this idea, because Antarctica was in its current location in Plato's lifetime and has retained its inhospitable climate. Still, the romance of Antartica's relatively unexplored regions continues to lead many to superimpose ideas, such as Atlantis, onto it.

Pop Culture

Exploration and discovery of long lost cities and civilizations is a theme that is not bound by space or time in the popular imagination. Atlantis has become the ultimate mythical city, its name becoming iconic for all other lost cities. Atlantis appears in all types of literature, from Renaissance works to modern day science fiction/fantasy, archaeological and scientific works, to New Age books. Television andmovies have also capitalized on the allure of Atlantis. The myth is so alluring that one of the largest hotel in the Bahamas is the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, a lost city themed resort.

Within the New Age movement there are those that believe Atlanteans were technologically advanced, that they self-destructed due to their rapid advancement, or that they used (and perhaps were themselves) extraterrestrial technology. Similar ideas have been attributed to many other ancient societies, such as the Egyptians, as many new age beliefs intend to unify different mysteries under one idea. In the end, Atlantis' continued discussion and study is a testament to humankind's endless curiosity and desire not to leave our current charting of the world where it is, but to continue to look for mysteries to explore, and lost worlds from our past to discover.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ H. G. Nesselrath, "Where the Lord of the Sea Grants Passage to Sailors through the Deep-blue Mere no More: The Greeks and the Western Seas," Greece & Rome 52 (2005): 153-171.
  2. ↑ Robert Todd Carroll, (2005) "Atlantis" Retrieved April 18, 2007.
  3. ↑ Julia Annas, Plato: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  4. ↑ Alex Hawk (1998), "Atlantis.....Thira?".
  5. ↑ Sergio Frau, Le colonne d'Ercole (Rome: Nur Neon, 2002, ISBN 8890074000).
  6. ↑ Ellie Crystal (2007), "Bimini Road." Retrieved June 15, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Ancient sources

  • Plato. 360 B.C.E. Timaeus, translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  • Plato. 360 B.C.E. Critias, translated by Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved April 12, 2007.

Modern sources

  • Bichler, R. (1986). “Athens besiegt Atlantis. Eine Studie über den Ursprung der Staatsutopie.” Canopus 20 (51): 71-88.
  • De Camp, L. S. (1954). Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature. New York: Gnome Press.
  • Donnelly, I. (1882). Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. New York: Harper & Bros. Available online from Project Gutenberg. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
  • Ellis, R. (1998). Imaging Atlantis. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0679446028
  • Erlingsson, U. (2004). Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land. Miami, FL: Lindorm. ISBN 0975594605
  • Flem-Ath, R. & Wilson, C. (2000). The Atlantis Blueprint. London: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316853135
  • Frau, S. (2002). Le Colonne d'Ercole: Un'inchiesta. Rome: Nur Neon. ISBN 8890074000
  • Gill, C. (1976). “The origin of the Atlantis myth.” Trivium 11: 8-9.
  • Görgemanns, H. (2000). “Wahrheit und Fiktion in Platons Atlantis-Erzählung.” Hermes 128: 405-420.
  • Griffiths, J. P. (1985). “Atlantis and Egypt.” Historia 34: 35 ff.
  • Heidel, W. A. (1933). “A suggestion concerning Platon's Atlantis.” Daedalus 68: 189-228.
  • Jordan, P. (1994). The Atlantis Syndrome. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750935189
  • Martin, T. H. [1841] (1981). “Dissertation sur l'Atlantide,” in T. H. Martin, Études sur le Timée de Platon. Paris: Librairie philosophique J. Vrin. pp. 257-332.
  • Morgan, K. A. (1998). "Designer history: Plato's Atlantis story and fourth-century ideology." Journal of Hellenic Studies 118: 101-118.
  • Nesselrath, H. G. (1998). "Theopomps Meropis und Platon: Nachahmung und Parodie." Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft 1: 1-8.
  • Nesselrath, H. G. (2001a). "Atlantes und Atlantioi: Von Platon zu Dionysios Skytobrachion." Philologus 145: 34-38.
  • Nesselrath, H. G. (2001b). "Atlantis auf ägyptischen Stelen? Der Philosoph Krantor als Epigraphiker." Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 135: 33-35.
  • Nesselrath, H. G. (2002). Platon und die Erfindung von Atlantis, München/Leipzig: KG Saur Verlag. ISBN 3-598-77560-1
  • Nesselrath, H. G. (2005). "Where the Lord of the Sea Grants Passage to Sailors through the Deep-blue Mere no More: The Greeks and the Western Seas." Greece & Rome 52: 153-171.
  • Phillips, E. D. (1968). "Historical Elements in the Myth of Atlantis." Euphrosyne 2: 3-38.
  • Ramage, E. S. (1978). Atlantis: Fact or Fiction?. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253104823
  • Settegast, M. (1987). Plato Prehistorian: 10,000 to 5000 B.C.E. in Myth and Archaeology. Cambridge, MA: Rotenberg Press.
  • Spence, L. [1926] (2003). The History of Atlantis. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0486427102
  • Szlezák, T. A. (1993). "Atlantis und Troia, Platon und Homer: Bemerkungen zum Wahrheitsanspruch des Atlantis-Mythos." Studia Troica 3: 233-237.
  • Vidal-Naquet, P. (1986). "Athens and Atlantis: Structure and Meaning of a Platonic Myth," in P. Vidal-Naquet, The Black Hunter. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 263-284. ISBN 0801832519
  • Wilson, C. (1997). From Atlantis to the Sphinx. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0880641762
  • Zangger, E. (1993). The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis Legend. New York: William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0688113508

Further reading

  • Andrews, Shirley. Atlantis. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 156718023X
  • Ashe, Geoffrey. 1992. Atlantis: Lost Lands, Ancient Wisdom. New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500810397
  • Dunbavin, Paul. Atlantis of the West: The Case for Britain's Drowned Megalithic Civilization. ISBN 0786711450
  • Erlingsson, Ulf. 2004. Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land. Lindorm Publishing. ISBN 0975594605 Retrieved May 24, 2007.
  • Joseph, Frank. 2002. The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization. Bear & Company. ISBN 1879181851
  • Matlock, Gene. 2002. The Last Atlantis Book You’ll Ever Have to Read: The Atlantis-Mexico-India Connection. Tempe, AZ: Dandelion Books. ISBN 978-1893302204
  • Mifsud, Anton, Simon Mifsud, Chris Agius Sultana, and Charles Savona Ventura. 2001. Echoes of Plato's Island. 2nd edition. Malta. ISBN 9993215015
  • Zangger, Eberhard. 1992. The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis Legend. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0688113508

External links

All links retrieved August 21, 2023.


Continents of the world
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Geological supercontinents

Gondwana • Laurasia • Pangaea • Pannotia • Rodinia • Columbia • Kenorland • Ur • Vaalbara

Mythical and theorized continents

Atlantis • Kerguelen Plateau • Lemuria • Mu • Terra Australis • Zealandia

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