The Lost City

So I missed a lot of events last week: Ides of March, James Madison’s birthday, St. Patrick’s Day… I apologize. Today’s post is a special request from a special fan…

Atlantis: No, not the Resort

Everyone’s heard stories about the mysterious island that existed thousands of years ago, and boasted some of the most advanced technology and greatest leaders of ancient times. Then, all of a sudden, it vanished. The island sunk supposedly? A natural disaster wiped out the entire population? Where did this fairy tale story come from? I feel sort of like the History Channel with this post because I’m writing about a conspiracy theory, and while this story does not include aliens (at least in my version) I’ll try to give you some facts and some myths.

The first mention of Atlantis is by Plato in his Timaeus and Critias. He mentions that it was a great civilization that conquered North Africa and much of the Mediterranean roughly around 9600 B.C. FYI, ancient Egypt flourished around 3000-1000 B.C., ancient Greece had its high point from 500-200 B.C. (Plato was writing in 355 B.C.), and Rome ruled the Mediterranean and most of Europe from 200 B.C. – 400 A.D., so this was theoretically MUCH earlier. The civilization was supposed to have been unrivaled in technology and grandeur until Plato’s time, or even after his time. As the story goes, Atlantis was founded by well-intentioned, smart men who expanded the civilization to dominate the Mediterranean. Over time though, the leaders became greedy and power-hungry. Poseidon thus decided to erase their existence. And just like Emeril, BAM, they’re gone.

It is unclear whether Plato meant this mystical story to be an allegory for what would happen to civilizations who the gods looked down upon, or if he had some factual basis for an island that was destroyed before recorded history even began. As most tradition was carried orally until the Egyptians, and really the Greeks, it is possible that there may have been some factual basis for his tale. However, let’s be honest, it sounds like a Plato parable to teach a lesson combined with a good bed time story. Other evidence that he is speaking from fact is that he repeats several times that this is “history” he is telling, whereas in other parables, like the Cave, he makes it clear that he is telling this to prove a point. Adding on to the “he said she said,” it is recorded much later that Aristotle, Plato’s student, claimed that Plato made up the parable for moralistic reasons. Who knows. Aristotle also went on to disagree with much of what his teacher wrote.

Several locations have been claimed for the island as well, and almost all of these have been “backed up” (in the loosest sense of the word) with archaeological discoveries and underground photographs. Some claim the island was in the Caribbean, some say it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean giving the ocean its name, others say in the Mediterranean, and some say it was in the Indian Ocean. For logistical reasons, the most likely location was in the Mediterranean, seeing as this was the only part of the known world at the time. There are also theories that the Atlantians dispersed through Africa, Europe, and even South America and that’s why we find similar stone structures, specifically pyramids, in those locations. Highly doubtful.

As we know from places like Pompeii and Herculaneum, natural disasters can indeed wipe out entire civilizations. Modern scholars who are bent on “discovering Atlantis” often study Crete as an example of a Mediterranean island wrought with natural disasters. In reality, the story of Atlantis has been blown so far out of proportion with crazy theories that it can be tough to figure out where this myth even came from. The only ancient source we have that mentions Atlantis is Plato, thus all later sources are based on him.

Unfortunately, the myth of Atlantis will continue to perplex and frustrate skeptics and believers alike who will never agree. It will remain one of histories mysteries conjuring up images of an ancient utopia and spawning bad movies and TV shows for years to come.