What is Atlantis? Atlantis may be fictional but it has a considerable
impact on literature. Atlantis is an island, which was first mentioned
in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias. Atlantis represents the antagonist naval power that
besieges "Ancient Athens" Plato describes Atlantis as an island nation
located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean populated by a noble and powerful race over
11,000 years ago. The people of this land possessed great wealth because of natural
resources found throughout their island. The island was a hub for trade and commerce. The
rulers of this land held sway over the people and land of their own island and well into
Europe and Africa. Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of
the sea. As per the myth Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleit. He then created
a dwelling at the top of a hill at the center of the island and surrounded the dwelling
with rings of water and land to protect her. Cleito, then gave birth to five sets of twin
boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers
with the eldest, Atlas, first King of Atlantis, was given control over the central hill and
surrounding areas. At the top of the central hill, a temple was
built to honor Poseidon which had a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled
by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to pass judgments,
discuss laws, and pay tribute to Poseidon.. For generations the Atlanteans lived simple,
virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. They became greedy and powerful. As the Atlanteans
grew powerful, their ethics began to decline. Their armies eventually captured Africa as
far as Egypt and Europe as far as Tyrrhenia before being driven back by an Athenian-led
alliance. Greed and power dominated them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans,
he gathered the other gods to decide a suitable punishment.
Later, by way of divine punishment, the island was beset by earthquakes and floods, and sank
into a muddy sea. Soon, in one violent surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, its people,
and its memory were swallowed by the sea. Until late 1800s Atlantis was just a story.
Then, an American named Ignatius Donnelly became fascinated with the story and studied
flood history from Egypt to Mexico and believed that Plato was recording an actual natural
disaster. Ignatius wrote a book called Atlantis, the Antediluvian World, which became a bestseller.
Ignatius. Since then, many books have been written about the lost city.
The most believable theory about Atlantis came from the Greek archaeologist Angelos
Galanopoulos in the late '60s. He theorized that around 1500 BCE, a massive eruption from
a volcano ripped apart the island of Santorini in the Mediterranean and probably wiped out
most of the civilization on the Greek islands and regions of Greece. Angelos suggested this
disaster is the one that sank Atlantis. If this is so, then he must have his dates wrong
- or does he? He reasons that when the story was being translated, the Egyptian symbol
for 100 (a coiled rope) was mistaken for the symbol for 1000 (a lotus flower). This changes
the date from 9000 years ago to 900 years ago. The only thing wrong with this explanation
is that Plato specifically said the city was near the Pillars of Hercules, which are thought
to be nowhere near Greece.
The exact location of the lost city of Atlantis is still questioned by many people. British
Royal Air Force photo interpreter J.M. Allen believes that Atlantis is in Altiplano, near
the Andes Mountains, in Bolivia. Edgar Cayce, the famous psychic chandler believed the remains
would be found off the coast of Florida near Bimini Island. Some think it's lost somewhere
in Central America, the China Sea or Africa. Others believe that Atlantis is nothing more
than a myth.
So what do you all think about Atlantis. Is it fictional or real, comment below and let
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