Shrouded in legends, Atlantis, a continent the size of Asia Minor and Libya combined, was destroyed around 9600 B.C. At least that is what the ancient philosopher Plato describes in his work. To this day, however, it is not certain whether it really existed. If so, where was it? And why has she disappeared? Mentions of an advanced civilization from thousands of years ago appeared for the first time in Plato's Dialogues. But the tragic fate of this amazing island and its inhabitants still ignites the imagination. Some consider the story plausible, others consider it a legend or a parable. Are 11-12 thousand years ago could there really have been a developed civilization? Or maybe some references to it should not be taken literally?
Information about Atlantis was included in two dialogues written by Plato - "Timajos" and "Kritias". In the first, the Greek philosopher describes a kingdom on an island larger than Libya, which was behind the Pillars of Heracles. The second dialogue provides more detailed information about the architecture and society of this civilization. Plato refers to a tradition held in the family of Solon, who in turn received information from Egyptian priests.
The story of Atlantis was approached in various ways since antiquity. Aristotle was skeptical of the stories, but many philosophers believed Plato. In the era of the Great Discoveries, it began to be identified with the Americas. A real interest in the Atlantean legend was revived in the 19th century. It was a time of fascination with antiquity.
While Plato made it clear that civilization existed on the Atlantic island and that it was sunk, more and more amazing theories about its location were emerging.
Many features similar to Atlantis were displayed in particular by the island, or rather the Santorini archipelago (Thera) in the Aegean Sea. The large island was destroyed and partially submerged around 1600 BC. by a strong volcanic eruption. More or less its shape was correct (even in one of the names: "Strongili" - round). It agreed that there was a civilization here that disappeared after the catastrophe and was replaced by the Greek one. The connection with the Egyptian Sais, where the legend is supposed to come from, also fits. Age and location were the least. The same is true of the hypothesis ascribing the "Atlantean" past to Crete and Malta.
In addition, they searched for Atlantis in the Caribbean, South America, and even Antarctica and the North Sea. It was not possible - and how! - from its location in the Bermuda Triangle.
During the search, professional archaeologists and amateurs found many remains of various civilizations that were partially or completely destroyed by the cataclysm. Older cities and megalithic structures were also discovered. Thanks to this research, we learned more about the history of mankind in general. It turns out that different features of Atlantis can be more or less attributed to different lost civilizations.
In Timajos and Kritias, Plato puts this into the mouth of his relative, the sophist Kritias, who tells the story of their common ancestor Solon.
On his way to Egypt, Solon found himself in Sais, where the goddess Neith, identified with Athena, was worshiped. That is why he was warmly received by the local priests and they eagerly told him the story of the ancestors of the Athenians and their opponents, the Atlanteans.
Ten thousand years earlier (from around 500 B.C.E.), a civilization had arisen that shook the entire Mediterranean region and beyond. “She was walking from the outside, from the Atlantic Sea. Back then, this sea was accessible to ships there. Because it had an island in front of what you call the Pillars of Heracles. The island was larger than Libya and Asia combined. Those who traveled then had a transition from it to other islands. And from the islands, there was a road to all the opposite land that was bounded by that true sea. " Civilization ruled as far as the borders of Egypt and Tyrrhenium (the land of the Etruscans, i.e. today's Italy and Sicily). The ancestors of the Athenians of the day were the only ones who opposed this power. “Then came terrible earthquakes and floods, and one terrible day and one night came - then your entire army sank into the ground, and the island of Atlantis likewise submerged under the sea and disappeared. Therefore, even now that sea is inaccessible and unsearchable to ships; very thick silt is an obstacle - it was provided by the island sinking to the bottom."
In "Kritias" we learn more about the history of Atlantis. We learn, among other things: that the gods chose different parts of the world. Poseidon had Atlantis and there he placed his descendants with the mortal Kleitoo. God created concentric islands in the form of concentric circles separated by circles of water. When his children were born, he divided the island into ten parts. The middle one went to the eldest - Atlas, and the others to his brothers. Each of the ten sons had a twin brother. They all had power over some part of the vast kingdom, but they had to obey the laws written on the brass plaque in the temple.
The island ruled by the royal house was very fertile, rich in plants, animals, and ores. Inhabitants connected the mainland districts with bridges to gain access to the royal castle. They deepened and strengthened the canals and built ports. In the middle of the island was the temple of Poseidon and Kleitoo, surrounded by a golden wall and lined with silver and gold, and inside also other precious materials. The island used natural hot and cold water sources, and there was also a sewage system. The second concentric island was occupied by a hippodrome and barracks.
The description of Atlantis in "Kritias" is very extensive. It is impossible to list everything in one article. If you are interested, I encourage you to read the text.
As the cause of the fall of Atlantis, Plato mentions the loss of the divine element and the collapse of the customs of the population, which prompted the gods to impose punishment. We do not know any further details because "Kritias" is an unfinished dialogue.
In the 19th century, the historical narrative followed two paths. Serious rational historians kept away from all mythological stories and treated them as inventions of ancient peoples or parables of philosophers. On the other hand, there were many historians, archaeologists, and amateur travelers. These, in turn, sought confirmation or explanation of the myths with which they were fascinated in their childhood. A good example of such a man was the German businessman Heinrich Schliemann. His obsession with "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" led him to discover Troy and begin work on the Mycenaean culture in 1870. Before Schliemann, it was believed in scientific circles that the story of Troy was made up. Today we know that relying on ancient messages can lead to discoveries of quite real places and events. Even if they do not necessarily confirm all the old stories.
The fate of those who studied the remnants of the biblical Flood was similar. Although it is difficult to say whether the biblical version of this story is the most credible, there is no doubt as to the existence of the phenomenon itself, and even (as Plato mentions) multiple floods. Today, some scientists associate them with the rapid melting of glaciers, breaking ice dams, and raising the water level between 11 and 7 thousand. years ago. We know that the Sahara was green during this period.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was believed that the earth was fairly stable and that geological formations and life forms developed through a slow evolution. This is also how the history of civilization was treated. Today, you can hear and read about the imminent fall of humanity almost everywhere. However, 100-200 years ago, suggestions such as pseudoscience were most often treated. Therefore, the catastrophe, which appeared to be based on ancient myths, was vigorously fought. Even the work of field scientists such as Alfred Wegener, who was the first to suggest the theory of continental migration, has been discredited.
The American politician, lawyer, and amateur researcher Ignatius L. Donnelly is an interesting figure in himself. However, I will focus on his contribution to building the contemporary image of Atlantis. In 1882 he published Atlantis: the Antediluvian World. It is possible that he was inspired by Jules Verne's book "20,000 miles of undersea shipping" (published in 1870), in which the heroes of, among others, they find the lost Atlantis. At the same time, Schliemann's discoveries encouraged all admirers of ancient legends to search.
Donnelly assumed that the description of Platonic Atlantis was historical, that it existed as a highly advanced civilization before the Flood, and that all modern civilizations derive from it. The concepts presented in Donnelly's book were popularized, inter alia, by the pioneers of the twentieth-century esoteric movements, including Helena Bławacka and Rudolf Steiner. Many of his interpretations of Plato have entered popular culture. In movies, novels, or games referring to Atlantis, we find the concepts of Ignatius Donnelly rather than Plato.
From the point of view of modern science, his book has no cognitive value. Although it popularized the history of Atlantis itself, it labeled amateurs with the label of pseudoscientists. Is it right? It depends.
A long time has passed since the theory of tectonic movements was ridiculed and the flooding of the island by geological activity was considered impossible. Thanks to archaeological and anthropological research, we learned amazing things about our ancestors. 11 thousand years ago, structures such as Gobekli Toepe and Tell Qaramel already existed. One of the oldest cities in the world - Jericho - was actually surrounded by a thick wall (although no archaeological confirmation of the biblical history of the demolition of the walls has been found) already 9,000. years ago. Our dating of the history of mankind and civilization is shifting further into the past, and prehistoric people turn out to be more "civilized" than we imagined a few decades ago. That being said, who knows how much truth is in the stories of Atlantis? If we do not insist on interpreting literally everything that Plato and then Donnelly and many other popularizers have written, then we can say that Atlantis is likely. We don't just have material evidence for it. But after all, the greatest archaeological searches began with legends and myths.
So why did this advanced civilization disappear? According to Plato, the Atlanteans at first lived exemplarily and in accordance with the law of the gods. Later, however, they craved wealth and power. For example, they were at war with the Mediterranean, especially Egypt and the ancestors of the Athenians. Though they captured Egypt and much of the Mediterranean, the ancestors of the Athenians defeated them. Moreover, as a result of these actions, the Atlanteans lost the trust of the gods. Zeus, according to Greek mythology, the greatest of gods, decided to send a natural catastrophe to Atlantis to destroy it. Most often it is said that it was an earthquake, or possibly a volcanic eruption followed by a tsunami wave. The entire continent was inundated by sea waters. But where?
This is what all those who believe that Atlantis really existed are arguing about. Plato mentions in his works that she was located in the ocean around the Pillars of Heracles. Despite the fact that most researchers assume that these poles were meant to represent the Strait of Gibraltar, they most certainly are not. Several theories about the possible location of Atlantis were then born, which more or less correspond to what Plato preached about Atlantis. What places were about 9600 B.C.E. there was a developed civilization, the disappearance of which was caused by a natural disaster, are therefore taken into account?
Some scientists speculate that Solon made a mistake in his translation of the Egyptian manuscripts and changed the number from 1000 to 100. Atlantis would then disappear around 1500 BC. and would be ten times smaller in size. Based on these assumptions, researchers James Mayor and James Baikie announced the theory that the disappearance of Atlantis matches the disappearance of the advanced Minoan civilization in Crete. A number of sculptures and murals depicting bulls were found on the site, and this cult was also practiced in Atlantis. The disappearance of this civilization was caused by a volcanic eruption on the island of Thira (today's Santorini). However, the theory has a drawback. Well, Christians survived the outbreak and their culture continued to develop over the next 200 years. In addition, Crete is not in the Atlantic Ocean.
A clear similarity to the fate of Atlantis can be seen in the case of another island in the Mediterranean Sea. I am talking about Santorini or Thira. Approx. An underground volcano erupted here 3,600 years ago, as a result of which part of the island collapsed into the sea. Beneath a lava crust, a prosperous city has survived, thankfully without human remains, meaning all residents managed to evacuate before the explosion. Moreover, the area was inhabited since the late Neolithic. Was it Atlantis? There is no convincing evidence for this.
Other Mediterranean islands are also speculated as Atlantis, for example, Malta, Sicily, Cyprus, or the island of Faros (where one of the wonders of the world was located - the lighthouse). This is certainly not the case. If the Pillars of Heracles were a designation for the Strait of Sicily, as Italian journalist Sergio Frau suspects, then this mythical island could be Sardinia, which also suffered a natural disaster. Some of the people who escaped founded the Etruscan civilization, while the others joined the rest of the sea nations in the attack on Egypt.
By contrast, other researchers, such as Eberhard Zangger, regard Troy as a mythical Atlantis. They claim that the story of Atlantis is exactly the Egyptian version of the epic Ilias by the Greek poet Homer (he lived around the 8th century BC). They consider the Strait of Dardanelles to be the Pillars of Heracles. However, from the Egyptian point of view, Troy does not lie behind these pillars, but in front of them. In addition, it did not disappear because of the earthquake, nor was it flooded. There is too much confusion here.
Another theory is that in the 6th century B.C.E. the Pillars of Heracles were the mountains in the Laconian Gulf in the south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula. This would lead to completely different conclusions about the location of Atlantis. In this case, these poles opened towards the south towards Crete, and behind it towards Egypt. The area would undoubtedly be hit by a volcanic eruption in Santorini, and such stories could be passed on orally from generation to generation for thousands of years. So Atlantis was in the Mediterranean Sea?
There is no clear evidence for this. There is another hypothesis that Atlantis existed around 5500 BC. on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea, which at that time was still a freshwater lake. The Bosphorus Strait was designated as the Pillars of Heracles. The destruction of this civilization resulted in the breaking of the natural dam of the "lake" under today's Istanbul, which resulted in the flood, and then the connection of the Black Sea with the Mediterranean.
There will also be those who believe that Atlantis must have been in the Atlantic. There has been speculation about the Canary Islands and Madeira, but research into their substrate has disproved these theories. Another possible place is the Azores islands, as pointed out in his book by the American Congressman Ignatius L. Donnelly. He himself recognizes the Azores as the peaks of the sunken Atlantis. Interestingly, the undersea mountain near the islands has recently received the name Atlantis Seamount (submarine Atlantis mountain), and another Plato Seamount (Plato's submarine mountain). A group of French scientists says Atlantis was Cape Spartel in the Gulf of Cádiz in southern Spain, which was flooded by several earthquakes and tsunamis.
There are, in short, many theories about the location of Atlantis, including those that locate it near Cuba, Sweden, or Antarctica. There is, however, no convincing evidence that any of these places featured a mythical land. Therefore, most scientists assume that it was actually only a figment of Plato's imagination. Regardless of whether Atlantis existed or not, it allowed for the emergence of a beautiful myth about the land in the middle of the rings of waters, whose inhabitants could be demigods, and so they could even survive the sinking of their contents into the depths of the sea. Who knows?
Radford believes that since Atlantis has not been found so far despite advances in oceanography in mapping the seabed, it is indisputable evidence that it never existed in the real world.
The utopian city-state with its wise and rich community that created a developed civilization and that captivated many people in the world is just a fictional place invented by the Greek philosopher for his moralizing stories.
"There are many mysteries at the bottom of the oceans, but it is unimaginable that oceanographers, divers, and underwater probe operators overlooked a mass of land 'greater than Libya and Asia combined." (...) Atlantis never disappeared. It is where it has always been: in the writings of Plato, ”she concludes.
Bibliography:
- Martin Claussen, Anne Dallmeyer, Jürgen Bader, Theory and Modeling of the African Humid Period and the Green Sahara, in: https://oxfordre.com/climatescience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228620-e- 532, accessed on August 24, 2021
- Plato Timajos; Kritias, edited by Władysław Witwicki, Warsaw 1951
- Aleksander Kondratow, Lost Civilizations, Warsaw 1988
- Andrzej Marks, Atlantyda - Fantasy or Reality? Gdańsk 1986
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