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Voong, Christine

5-12-17

Honors American Literature

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As depicted in legends, Atlantis is a large city built by Poseidon, god of the sea,

surrounded by rings of water and land, inhabited by a civilization with greater beauty and

intelligence than any other civilization. As depicted beautifully by Plato, Atlantis is a rich city

that is greatly advanced civilization, but the citizens of this marvelous city were zealous of their

intelligence. Unfortunately, their thought of superiority upsets Poseidon, resulting in destruction

by earthquake and tsunami, devastatingly destroying the city and causing it to submerge in the

sea.

Whether the lost city actually exists still remains a mystery. However, driven by the

mystery and fascinating depiction, the disappearance of Atlantis stirred questions for many

interested archeologists are determined to find the city. Atlantis is a legend that researchers have

yet found the answer to. Many who researched the topic argues that the lost city of Atlantis

indeed exist and have constantly search for the location of the marvelous city. There is much

different evidence to its existence. So where is Atlantis located at? By studying past records and

clues left by Plato, researchers excitingly studied the possible candidate locations. Some

common theories points at Spain, Crete, and Morocco. In order to prove their theories correct,

archeologists have searched for evidence that can interestingly lead to the existence of Atlantis.

According to Platos dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, which were written around 330

B.C.E, Atlantis existed approximately over 11000 years ago located in the middle of the Atlantic

Ocean. As the legends states, Atlantis was a creating of Poseidon, god of the sea, after he fell in
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love with a woman, Cleito, who gave birth to five sets of twins, who later became the rulers of

Atlantis. The lush environment, outstanding structures, and advanced technology wonderfully

highlight the beauty of the civilization and island. The rich and fertile island inhabited by a race

of great nobility, beauty, and intellect, which creates the image of Utopia. Eventually, the

Atlanteans developed a sense of superiority towards other civilizations. It was believed that their

inexcusable behavior has unceasingly upset the Gods, resulting in a devastating disaster that

erases the island in only a single day.

The time period in between the existence of Atlantis and Plato is approximately 9000

years. Such difference makes researchers wonder, where exactly did the legend originate?

Interestingly, one theory suggests that the legend originated from Egypt as historians discovered

records of a magical city in the Great Pyramids as it dates back to 2630 B.C.

Researchers who studied Platos dialogues learned crucial clues to assist their search. At

the heart of the mystery is Platos reference to the Pillars of Hercules. Atlantis, he wrote, is

located outside the pillars. These Pillars of Hercules are believed to be the strait of Gibraltar

(Duncan 8:25) where some researchers began their search. Researchers heavily investigating the

areas near the pillars and cleverly used satellites for geographic photos. Although. Many have

different opinions regarding the location. Several other theories suggest that Atlantis may reside

in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, frozen in Antarctica, but many commonly agree that Atlantis

may be in Crete, Spain, and Morocco.

 When examining the locations, researchers and historians observe the climate, geographic

features, and researches historic records. By observing the climate, vegetations, and geographic

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features, researchers are able to find any resemblance to Platos descriptions. The historical

records of Atlantis were recorded in walls of pyramids and in Platos dialogues. By making such

comparisons, historians and researchers were able to discover striking resemblance to the

records. Parts of the legend seems incredibly stretched, to compose a more reasonable

explanation for the disappearance of Atlantis. According to Plato, the island was destroyed by a

massive earthquake that swallowed the island into the sea. There is a possibility for an island to

be demolished by a natural disaster in a day, if the disaster was monstrous. There were

suggestions that a tsunami caused by a rapidly melting glaciers and earthquakes. Adams

reasonably explains that the capture of our current moon had been violent enough to produce

earthquakes, cracks in the crust layer, and enormous volcanic explosions as the Earths molten

core escaped. When the oceans coalesced around the planets girdle like a gigantic spin cycle,

Atlantis was among the civilizations washes out providing another possibility for the

disappearance of the city (Adams 87). With these factors assisting the quest to find Atlantis and

the similarities some lands share, it may be achievable to prove the existence of the Lost City.

Researchers have constantly searched of the remains of the Lost City of Atlantis. Among

the researchers and archeologists the common theories of Atlantis location are mainly Greek,

Spain, and Morocco; other locations consist of Antarctica and in the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean. Each researcher cleverly used different methods to find their prominent city. Another

theory states that Atlantis was possibly a name an already discovered civilization.

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Is it possible for an island to entirely disappear in one night? A survey have been

conducted, one question asked It's possible for an island to disappear completely in one night.

42% agreed or strongly agreed, 26% have no opinion, and 32% disagreed or strongly disagree

It's possible for an island to disappear completely in one night.

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with the statement (table

1). If the island were to disappear in an entire night, what would be the cause? Researchers do

not know if the disappearance was cause by a supernatural phenomenal, as depicted in the

legend, another idea is that a natural disaster struck the island. There are several possible answers
to this phenomenal. In the podcast Art Bell classic City of Atlantis, Art Bell claims that the

disappearance of the city of Atlantis was caused by a natural disaster. He interviewed a

researcher and discussed the evidences found in different expeditions. Frank Joseph explored

with experts, and includes audience questions and theories that the disappearance of the city was

caused by natural disasters, which may have been caused by the end of the Ice Age. Joseph

explained, as time passes by, the ice during the Ice Age melts and over time a portion of

[Atlantis] sank and only its final destruction was a violent one (Bell 35:00), meaning that the

melting ice caused the sea level to rise, slowly sinking the city. Eventually, a final strike brought

the city underwater. Furthermore, sunken civilizations have been discovered in various oceans,

proving the possible existence of the lost city.

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Simon Winchester, a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster discusses that the lost city

of Atlantis is submerged in the southwestern coast of Spain in his article, Swallowed by the Sea

(2011). Winchester cited that Atlantis was utterly destroyed by a massive tidal wave which he

claims to be a Japanese tsunami, possibly somewhere off the coast of Spain. In the mud flats of

Spain archaeologists discovered remains of an

ancient civilization, such as submerged living

essentials and ruined architectures. The

historians interestingly theorized that the

circular wall might have been, of a stele

marked with carvings of what might have been

an Atlantean warrior (Winchester) as shown

in figure 1. Figure 1
 In another article, Lost City of Atlantis believed found off Spain, the author discussed an

expedition that intelligently used satellite imagery and radars to search for the Lost City.

Coincidentally, the analyzed satellite imagery of a suspected submerged city just north of Cadiz,

Spain (NBC news), resulting in many archeological finds in close proximity to that area, which

hold evidence of geographic phenomenal and human settlements. Archeologists have discovered

strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by its refugees after the city was

destroyed (NBC news). Zach Howard, an author, also purports researchers may have located the

lost city of Atlantis that was destroyed by a massive tsunami in his article, Lost city of Atlantis,

swamped by tsunami, may be found (2011). With tsunami records and satellite imagery, the

author briefly explained the satellite photo of a suspected submerged city to find the site just

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north of Cadiz, Spain (Howard). Researchers also used satellite photos to find any trace of

civilization and have discovered strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by

its refugees who possibly survived the devastating disaster (Howard).

In the article My Quest for Atlantis, Mark Adams studied commonly thought theories

with other scientists and starts his journey, using Platos clues as guides. While he searched he

observed the landscapes, looking for resemblance of Platos description, and interviewed

researchers and archaeologists of their findings. After nomadically searching from place to place,

Adams suggests that Spains characteristics are suitable for Atlantis. Using satellite photos he

show(ed) evidence that a city with structures similar to those in Platos Atlantis had once

occupied that very spot in Spain as demonstrated in figure 3 (Adams). In his interview with T.

J. Raphael, New researchers continue the search for the ancient missing city of Atlantis, he and

Marks Adams they discuss the book, Meet Me in Atlantis, which documents Adams search for
the magical city and the origin of the story of the sunken city. The story of Atlantis was originally

an oral tradition passed down to him from his ancestors who had first acquired the tale from

Egyptian hieroglyphics (Raphael). With that as a guide and Platos clues and the discoveries he

found, Adams believes that there are truths in the legend. In his book, Adams and his team

discovered The capture of

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our current moon had been violent enough

to produce earthquakes, cracks in the crust

layer, and enormous volcanic explosions as

the Earths molten core escaped. When the

oceans coalesced around the planets girdle

like a gigantic spin cycle. . . devastatingly

caused the disappearance of the city

(Adams, 87).
Figure 2 (NBC
Some researchers searched for Atlantis with the News)

assistance of historians. As they analyzed Platos dialogues and the depicted image of Atlantis,

historians found locations which strikingly shared a close resemblance to the legend. One of

which, is Greece. Platos dialogues states at the heart of the mystery is Platos reference to the

Pillars of Hercules. Atlantis, he wrote, is located outside the pillars (Duncam 8:25).

Researchers began with location that lay between these pillars. According to Ben Duncam,

there are three islands that shed light to this mystery. The Greek island . . . is a popular vacation

spot unparallel in its beauty but with a violent past, Crete . . . whose history is contributed to the

shaping of the world today, Tenerife which many believe is the last remnant of the lost city
(Duncan 1:30). Each of these locations shared some resemblance historically and physically. As

mentioned, Atlantis existed 11,500 years ago, the same time when Greece was also rich and

advanced. J.M Allen, the author and Atlantis searcher, followed Platos 52 clues and uses satellite

imaging and found resemblance of Atlantis geographic features in Crete. He also found

similarities in the tale of Atlantis and Cretes

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historical content. When

Crete was in war the fleet

of ships, numbering 1200,

which sailed against Troy,

[was] the same number Plato

gives for the fleet of Atlantis

suggesting he had acquired another version of events from broadly the same period of time

(Allen 65). Besides that, Adams and his team interestingly discovered that The shiny

orichalcum of Platos city could be related to the regions famous copper and tin, which were

mixed into Tartessian bronze (Adams, 283).

In the book The Lost Empire of Atlantis, Gavin Menzies claims that Atlantis was once the

advanced Minoan Civilization. He explains the culture and history of the civilization; since

Atlantis was an advance city, Menzies also explained the advancements of the Minoans, with the

assistance of scientists. Apparently, the Minoans of ancient Crete had well-organized, well-

planned cities . . . Crete must have had fleets of ships sailing to Africa a full 4,000 years before
Vasco da Gama and the Age of Discovery coincidently, Atlantis was also depicted to be

extreamly advanced and majestic (Menzies, 63). Sir Leonard Woolley, who led the excavations

in the 1930s and 1940s, uncovered royal palaces, temples, houses and town ramparts architects

of a great civilization of the ancient city Alalakh (Menzies, 112).

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Morocco, another candidate

location might share some

resemblance to the depiction but the

evidence weakly proves it. In his

article, Did Atlantis really exist on the Moroccan coast? (2016), Michael Kane emphasizes

Hubners theory that Atlantis lies on the coastline of Morocco. Using computer programming

and Platos 51 clues, Hubner pinpointed a location on the Morocco coastline where he claimed it

to be the location of Atlantis. Kane explained, after Hubners computer program created mapping

grids which discovered a ridge in the Atlas Mountains, he traveled to the sight to confirm his

theory with Platos clues. The author evidently discovered that the ridge in the mountains

matched Platos descriptions of a city with a circular shape making it a possible location of

Atlantis (Kane). Simon Worrall, who also interviewed Mark Adams, discussed in the article

Does New Theory Pinpoint Lost City of Atlantis? that Morocco coincidentally shared a

devastating end featuring earthquakes and tsunamis. The architect described shared series of

concentric circles around the city, black and red stone, and of course it was a seafaring society

(Worrall). The layout of Atlantis consists of rings centering a great temple while simultaneously

surrounded by water.
 In the journal, The Atlantis Research Journal, the author Edgerton Sykes asserts that

Cuicuilco was the sight of Atlantis. He had traced back the origin of the tale of Atlantis and its

history, which he uses as a guide to search for evidence at possible sights while analyzing their

history and geography, and connecting them to other supports, that was found. The author

discovered that the geographic layout of the island lies underneath the Atlantic ocean considering

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the belief that Atlantis have sunk underwater. Another hypo technical claim of the location lays

frozen in Antarctica. Author, Allan Adamson, studied the structure if Antarctica shown by the

photos taken by NASAs Operation IceBridge mission. With the geographic analysis, the author

was able to theorize that there may have been human settlement in Antarctica before the land was

completely frozen. The constantly changing ice features over time supports that a portion of

Antarctica contained bearable land.

Peter Daughtrey, author of Atlantis and the Silver City, asserts that there are many

possible theories of the location of the lost city, some are: Antarctica, between Britain and

Scandinavia, and in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As he searches for the lost city, he

analyzes Platos clues and the historical geographic landscapes of many common theories with

the assistance of other researchers. After carefully examining the vegetation and climates,

Daughtrey discovered that the conditions in southwest Iberia are exactly as Plato described

(Daughtrey, 96). The wide diameter, ring-like structure and elevating hill of Atalaia seems

strikingly similar to those of Atlantis.

 A mystical city that seems to have come out of ones imagination, with beautifully

constructed structures and great advancements; inhabited by intelligent and beautiful nobles. The

citizens lived in peace and prosperity. Suddenly, the majestic city was struck with a devastating

disaster and disappeared into the sea. Atlantis is a legend that has greatly inspired individuals to

set off into a quest in search of truth. Plato, being an important figure of Greek philosophy, had

recorded the location of Atlantis in a series of clues. Researchers, archeologists, and historians

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have continuously searched for evidence related to the topic. There are many possibilities such as

Antarctica, Atlantic Ocean, and Morocco, but the popular beliefs are Spain and Greece/Crete due

to their geographic features and historical content.

The wide range of possible locations is large Researchers and historians have choose the

location that they have due to the similarities shared with the clues depicted in Platos dialogues

and archaeological evidences of civilization. Spains location fits the recorded description and

Greeks /Cretes history amazingly fits those of the legend, as mentioned by J.M Allen in his

book, Atlantis: The Andes Solution. For future investigation, researchers should focus on the

history of the theorized location, which includes climate records and geographic features, while

using Platos clues to pinpoint the area. Even with the profound evidence, whether or not the city

truly exists remains unknown. Although the conformation of whether the legend remains

indefinite, the journey and discovery made impacts the mind and body spiritually.
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Work Cites
Adams, Mark. Meet me in Atlantis: across three continents in search of the legendary sunken
city. NY, NY: Dutton, 2016. Print.
Adams, Mark. "My Quest for Atlantis." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Mar.
2015. <https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/travel/my-quest-for-atlantis.html?_r=3>.
Adamson, Allan. Lost City Hidden Underneath Antarctica: Is It Atlantis? Tech Times. 2016.
Article
Allen, J.M. Atlantis: The Andes Solution. Library of Congress, 1998. Print.
Daughtrey, Peter. Atlantis and the silver city. New York: Pegasus , 2013. Print.
Howard, Zach. Lost city of Atlantis, swamped by tsunami, may be found. Science News,
Northampton, 2011. Article.
Kane, Michael. Did Atlantis really exist on the Moroccan coast? NY Post, 2016. News.
Menzies, Gavin. The lost empire of Atlantis: history's greatest mystery revealed. London:
Phoenix, 2012. Print.
NBC news. Lost City of Atlantis believed found off Spain. NBC news, 2011
T. J. Raphael, New researchers continue the search for the ancient missing city of Atlantis, PRI.
2015. Interview
Winchester, Simon. Swallowed by the Sea. Newsweek, 2011. Article.
WiseWanderer1. "Lost City of Atlantis ~ Naked Science Documentary (Full)." YouTube. YouTube, 31 May
2016. Web. 12 May 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy6JmY6pQjk>.

Worrall, Simon. Does New Theory Pinpoint Lost City of Atlantis?. National Geographic, 2015.
Article.
"Art Bell classic City of Atlantis." YouTube. YouTube, 29 July 2016. Web. 12 May 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDHj1pjfUBc>.
"The Atlantis Research Journal." The Atlantis Research Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.
<http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php?topic=777.0%3Bwap2>.