Mrs. K's Atlantis Page

Many of the myths and legends of the past still exist. Some of them, like the lost City of Troy, have been proven to be historical fact. One of the most enduring legends concerns the Lost Civilization of Atlantis. Though the remains of the legendary civilization have yet to be discovered, many historians now accept its exiistence as fact. The primary debate in today’s modern world centers not around whether or not Atlantis existed, but on where it was located, how much influence it had, and what became of it.

The first written reference to Atlantis comes in two of Plato’s dialogues - Timaeus and Critias. These dialogues were written sometime around 360 B.C. Timaeus only mentions Atlantis in passing. It is in the dialogues of Critias that the reader is given a detailed story of a legendary civilization that flourished, then disappeared, 9000 years before the time of Plato and Socrates. Critias learned of the tale from his grandfather (also named Critias), who had in turn heard it from his father, Dropides. Dropides had supposedly heard the story from Solon himself, after Solon had learned it from an Egyptian priest.

Plato’s dialogues speak of an enormous island nation, located west of Egypt and opposite the Pillars of Hercules (the Straits of Gibralter). This island was a center for trade and commerce. As such, it had contact with many ancient civilizations. According to the legend, the rulers of Atlantis had colonies well into Europe and Africa. The civilization was said to be one of great wealth and prosperity. Plato describes the island as being larger than Libya and Asia combined (or at least as much of Asia as was known in Plato’s time). According to the legend, nine thousand years had passed since the war “between those who dwelt outside the Pillars of Hercules and all who dwelt within them.” The legend goes on to say that “Of the combatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the leader...” and “the combatants on the other side were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as was saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and when afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean.”

In describing the destruction of Atlantis, the ancient Egyptian priest told Solon first of the wonders of the ancient Athenian civilization. He explained to Solon that the Athenians of 9000 years before had defeated the Atlantians, liberating the lands that had been conquered by the Atlantians -- “the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt, and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia.”

He went on to tell that “afterwards 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 a like manner [emphasis added] disappeared in the depths of the sea.” According to the priest, the sinking of Atlantis accounts for the impenetrability of the sea in those parts of the Atlantic because a shoal of mud was created by the sinking of the island.

Review of the legend of Atlantis provides several clues as to its location and probable existence. A trend has developed in recent years to place Atlantis in the vicinity of the island of Thera, in the Mediterrnean. Seventeen centuries before the birth of Christ, the town of Akrotiri on Thera was known as a trade center for the Minoan civilization. The island itself was formed by volcanic eruptions. It was destroyed around 1500 B.C.E., by a volcanic explosion which caused half of the island to sink into the sea. This was approximately 900 years before Solon learned of the existence of Atlantis during his travels.

For this reason, many historians now believe that somewhere in the multi-generational handing down of the story of Atlantis, a mistake was made with regard to the date of its destruction. The Linear A symbols for hundred and thousand are extremely similar, so this mistake would not be beyond the realm of possibility. However, there has been a remarkable dash to jump on the bandwagon, as it were, and to conclude that the story of Atlantis actually applies to the ancient civilization on Thera. Archaeological discoveries in recent years have proven that there was an advanced culture flourishing on Thera during the known timeline of the Minoans.

This would seem to be a case of attempting to change the facts to fit the evidence at hand. No one disputes the existence of the Minoans. The discovery of ruins on Thera, while remarkable, do not prove or disprove the theory of Atlantis. Plato’s descriptions of location were very specific, and it seems highly unlikely that he or the ancient Egyptians would have described the location of Thera in the terms used in Critias or Timaeous. Also, the priest did not say that Atlantis was destroyed at the same time as ancient Athens, but that it was destroyed in a like manner. The eruption on Thera is likely the cause of the destruction of the ancient Athenian civilization that the priest spoke of to Solon.

Additional facts that may or may not point to the existence of an as yet undiscovered civilization may be found all over the globe. If Atlantis did exist, as Plato says, that could account for strange similarities found in ruins from such diverse places as Egypt, Central America, Mexico, and the United States. In Ignatius Donnelly’s 1888 book, Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, he points out the similarity of the Mayan and Greek languages, the close approximation of types of government between the continents, and the striking resemblance of the architecture of ancient Greece and Egypt to that of Central America. Throughout the book, Donnelly makes a case for the Atlanteans being the direct ancestors of a great many of the world’s civilizations. Certainly there are enough “coincidences” between continents to cause the most skeptical person to wonder at the possibilities.

The more time passes, the more man learns about his history. New technologies are constantly being developed, which in turn lead to ways to discover more about the past. The possibilities are endless. The world’s oceans cover two-thirds of the planet surface. Only a small fraction of them have been explored at this time. On land, there are literally millions of areas that are complete mysteries to modern man. Atlantis may yet be waiting to be discovered. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy.”

Interesting Atlantis Sites

The Lost Continent of Atlantis A nice summary of J.V. Luce's The End of Atlantis: New Light on an Old Legend.

Atlantis History A very well-written site with known information, exploration of theories, etc.

Atlantis: The Lost Continent Finally Found Organizes Atlantis articles about scientific evidence, presence in myth and religion, and more. Includes answers to frequently asked questions.

500 Atlantis Links Scroll down on this page for a comprehensive listing of links about Atlantis (and other mysteries).

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Email: astrok2003@hotmail.com

This page was last updated on: January 01, 2005