A Brief History Of Atlantis: Between Fact And Fiction
Atlantis is a legendary lost continent, bygone ancient civilisation, and lost, submerged concentric-ringed city said to have existed way back in the past, situated, according to legend, somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean, at the crossroads between Europe, Africa, and North America. The first well known literary sources detailing the myth of Atlantis are the dialogues Timaeus and Critias. In these two dialogues, starting with Timaeus naturally, the story of this legendary continent and city is described. The story of Atlantis was initially heard by the political philosopher Solon while travelling to Ancient Egypt and from there it reached Ancient Greece. Athens is also described as a previously ideal state which has fallen from grace, deciding to wage war against the mythical city of Atlantis. In Critias, Plato continues to develop on the war between Athens and Atlantis, the latter insular kingdom situated beyond the pillars of Hercules (i.e. the present-day strait of Gibraltar) not being able to win over Athens given the robust and orderly Athenian society.
Fictional map of the lost island continent of Atlantis by German Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher, taken from his work Mundus subterraneus, vol. 1. published in Amsterdam in 1664. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Hypotheses on what Plato actually meant in his two dialogues
There are a number of hypotheses or speculations however regarding what Plato actually meant while referring to Atlantis in his two well known dialogues. One prevalent hypothesis is that the story of Atlantis is a metaphorical one. Displeased with the state of decay of the Athenian society of his time, Plato might have just simply made up the whole story of Atlantis as an ideal state in order for future generations to have a certain societal model to look up to. On the other hand, another probable theory, according to some, is that Plato was influenced by the downfall of the Minoans (Europe’s first and eldest civilisation), a powerful maritime trading empire which once upon time ruled the Aegean Sea, whose society and palatial complexes on Crete and the adjacent islands were severely hit by the eruption of the volcano on the island of Santorini/Thira which unleashed large tsunami waves southward to Crete. However, this particular theory has its flaws as well and has been debunked as not realistic in connection to Atlantis.
Possible locations of Atlantis across the Mediterranean
Throughout the passage of time, multiple locations have been proposed for Atlantis across the Mediterranean Sea.
As it can be clearly seen on this map, there have been several locations across the Mediterranean Sea proposed to represent the legend or myth of Atlantis. Two notable ones are Crete and Santorini/Thira, two rich islands in their Minoan heritage. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
A more plausible location
A more plausible location for this legendary insular kingdom is beyond the Pillars of Hercules, that is beyond the present-day strait of Gibraltar, delineating the Iberian peninsula from northern Africa.
The Pillars of Hercules are situated between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and, respectively, between Iberia and Northern Africa. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
In popular culture
In popular culture, the myth of Atlantis has inspired countless works of art, ranging from films (including animated films) to paintings, songs, and video games as well.
The tiny insular country of Niue situated in the southern Pacific Ocean issued a silver coin depicting Atlantis back in 2019. Image source: www.unsplash.com (via Zlaťáky.cz)
In the end…
Perhaps the ruins of Atlantis are somewhere down there on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Perhaps one day we will find out…
The ruins of Atlantis might as well be hidden somewhere deep in the North Atlantic Ocean. Image source: www.pixabay.com
Below you can watch a very interesting and informative documentary on YouTube on the myth of this fascinating island continent:
- Timaeus (dialogue) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Critias (dialogue) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Atlantis on www.wikipedia.org (in Norwegian Bokmal; an article within which I had several contributions in the past as well)
