Plato wrote more than 2,500 years ago about a complex, beautiful city that disappeared in the night.
Plato says Atlantis was destroyed by earthquakes and floods. The story has become a legend.
According to Plato, the Atlanteans were half-human.
They built a great civilization. After their great deeds turned into evil acts, the gods destroyed Atlantis by flooding it underwater. They were punished with eternal suffering because they had committed terrible sins.
What did Plato Think?
Many experts believe Plato wrote about Atlantis in reference to a real place.
Many people have speculated about where the real Atlantis could have been.
Santorini, for example, had a Minoan kingdom.
The Minoan monarchy was powerful thousands of years before Plato, and a volcano on their island harmed their civilization.
Plato claimed Atlantis was as big as North Africa, so it should have been easy to find.
Quick Navigation
Finding Atlantis
Atlantis has been sought after by adventurers, treasure hunters, and scientists alike. However, its location is unknown. Researchers have discovered a lost city off of the Cuban coast that may be Atlantis.
Some believe it may be in the mudlands of southern Spain. Others think it may be in the Mediterranean Sea.
There are grounds to suppose it did. After all, other “lost” civilizations like Pompeii and Ubar have been rediscovered.
We know how destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis are. An earthquake in 373 B.C. destroyed the Mediterranean city of Helike.
Tsunami waves slammed into the island, killing survivors. Pavlopetri, an ancient Greek harbor city, was discovered in 1961.
Atlantis is believed to have been an attempt by Plato to warn people about greed and arrogance. He may have based Atlantis’ narrative on the vanished towns of Helike and Pavlopetri.
Natural Disaster
A natural disaster like a tsunami, an eruption, or an earthquake is the most popular theory.
Atlantis is said to have been sunk by a natural disaster like an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption
The Fiction
Many stories feature Atlantis. In Marvel Comics, Atlantis is modern and has inhabitants who breathe water.
Other stories use Atlantis as a backdrop. According to Robert E. Howard, the Hyborian Age began with the destruction of Atlantis and ended with the beginning of written history.
What do you think?
Is there really such a place as Atlantis?
Why did it disappear?
Did it sink into the sea?
Or did it just go away?
