Atlantis

Lost City

If the writing of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato had not contained so much truth about the
human condition, his name would have been forgotten centuries ago. But one of his most famous
stories—the cataclysmic destruction of the ancient civilization of Atlantis—is almost certainly false.
The idea of Atlantis — the "lost" island subcontinent often idealized as an advanced, utopian society
holding wisdom that could bring world peace — has captivated dreamers, occultists and New Agers
for generations. Thousands of books, magazines and websites are devoted to the sunken city, type
the word “Atlantis” into Google and 120 million results pop up. People have lost fortunes — and in
some cases even their lives — looking for Atlantis. So why is this story still repeated more than 2,300
years after Plato's death?

The origins of Atlantis

Unlike many legends whose origins have been lost in the mists of time, we know exactly when and
where the story of Atlantis first appeared. The story was first told in two of Plato's dialogues, the
"Timaeus" and the "Critias," written about 360 B.C.

Though today Atlantis is often conceived of as a peaceful utopia, the Atlantis that Plato described in
his fable was very different. In his book "Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology," professor of
archaeology Ken Feder notes that in Plato's story, " Atlantis is the embodiment of a materially
wealthy, technologically advanced, and militarily powerful nation that has become corrupted by its
wealth, sophistication, and might." As propaganda in Plato's morality tale, the Atlantis legend is more
about the city's heroic rival Athens than a sunken civilization; if Atlantis really existed today and was
found intact and inhabited, its residents would probably try to kill and enslave us all.

Despite its clear origin in fiction, many people over the centuries have claimed that there must be
some truth behind the myths, speculating about where Atlantis would be found. Countless Atlantis
"experts" have located the lost continent all around the world based on the same set of facts:
Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica, Bolivia, Turkey, Germany, Malta and the Caribbean.

Plato, however, is crystal clear about where Atlantis is: "For the ocean there was at that time
navigable; for in front of the mouth which you Greeks call, as you say, 'the pillars of Heracles,' (i.e.,
Hercules) there lay an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together." In other word it lies in
the Atlantic Ocean beyond "The pillars of Hercules" (now known as the Strait of Gibraltar) ,which
marked the edge of the ancient Greek world . Yet it has never been found in the Atlantic, or
anywhere else.

Plato said that the founders of Atlantis were half god and half human. They created a utopian
civilization and became a great naval power. Their home was made up of concentric islands
separated by wide moats and linked by a canal that penetrated to the center. The lush islands
contained gold, silver, and other precious metals and supported an abundance of rare, exotic
wildlife. It was an advanced society, technically accomplished and well governed. Yet when this
wealthy aggressor waged an unprovoked war, it was the small, democratic Athens that prevailed
through her “virtue and strength”. The seemingly utopian Atlantis failed, Plato notes, because its
people became corrupt. As punishment, he says, the gods sent "one terrible night of fire and
earthquakes" that caused Atlantis to sink into the sea.

The most obvious sign that Atlantis is a myth is that no trace of it has ever been found despite
advances in oceanography and ocean floor mapping in past decades. For nearly two millennia
readers could be forgiven for suspecting that the vast depths might somehow hide a sunken city or
continent. Though there remains much mystery at the bottom of the world's oceans, it is
inconceivable that the world's oceanographers, submariners, and deep-sea probes have some how
missed a landmass "larger than Libya and Asia together."

The legend of Atlantis is a "logical" one since cataclysmic floods and volcanic explosions have
happened throughout history, including one event that had some similarities to the story of the
destruction of Atlantis. About 3,600 years ago, a massive volcanic eruption devastated the island of
Santorini in the Aegean Sea near Greece. At the time, a highly advanced society of Minoans lived on
Santorini. The Minoan civilization disappeared suddenly at about the same time as the volcanic
eruption. However Santorini wasn’t Atlantis, because the time of the eruption on that island doesn't
coincide with when Plato said Atlantis was destroyed.

The Atlantis legend has been kept alive, fueled by the public's imagination and fascination with the
idea of a hidden, long-lost utopia. Yet the "lost city of Atlantis" was never lost; it is where it always
was: in Plato's books