Legends of untold riches and beauty are popular with people because the possibility of achieving said greatness excites the masses. The lost city of Atlantis is one of the more popular legends, and it originated from a few pages in Timaeus and Critias, two of the famous “dialogues” written by Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century B. C. Existing 9,000 years before his time, Plato described Atlantis as a great naval power and utopian island kingdom that mysteriously disappeared into the sea over the course of a single day.
There are several theories regarding Atlantis and its possible whereabouts. One theory is that Atlantis was engulfed by the Atlantic Ocean. This theory originated from a book called Atlantis, the Antediluvian World, by Ignatius Donnelly. In his book, Donnelly argued that the accomplishments of the ancient world, such as metallurgy, language, and agriculture, must have been handed down by an earlier advanced civilization because the people of ancient societies were not sophisticated enough to develop these advances on their own.
Donnelly also assumed the Atlantic Ocean was only about one hundred feet deep, which is obviously false. However, he did state that Atlantis sank in the exact location Plato said it did: in the Atlantic Ocean just outside the Pillars of Hercules, the two rocks that mark the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. There are multiple problems with this theory, besides the error in the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. For one, we, as a society, have gained great knowledge on modern oceanography as well as an understanding of plate tectonics.
Despite this, no real traces of a lost continent have ever been found. Also, Donnelly’s book was written in 1882, which is around the time the idea that Atlantis was an actual historical place, and not just a legend invented by Plato, surfaced. It does not make sense how anyone in the late 19th century could know what happened to Atlantis many centuries before. Another theory about Atlantis’ disappearance involves the Bermuda Triangle. Charles Berlitz, who was inspired by Donnelly to make his own speculations, was an author that wrote about paranormal phenomena.
In the 1970s, Berlitz wrote that Atlantis had been located near the Bahamas and had fallen victim to the Bermuda Triangle. This theory is supported by the discovery of what look like man-made walls and streets found off the coast of Bimini. However, scientists have evaluated these structures and found them to be natural beach-rock formations. In addition, the Bermuda Triangle has been proven to be fake because the authors of the stories claiming it is real pseudo-cite their sources. More words are expended, but no new sources are used.
Atlantis could have been mistaken for another location. For example, in Earth’s Shifting Crust, by Charles Hapgood, Atlantis is said to have become Antarctica after the Earth’s crust shifted approximately 12,000 years ago. Atlantis was a more temperate continent, home to an advanced civilization, but the sudden shift to its current frigid location doomed the Atlanteans, and their city was buried beneath ice. This theory became impossible, though, when scientists gained a full understanding of plate tectonics.
Mistaking Atlantis for the Minoan Civilization, which thrived from 2500 BC to 1600 BC on the Greek islands of Crete and Thera, is a likely theory. The Minoan Civilization is believed to be Europe’s first great civilization. They had great infrastructure and were the first Europeans to use a written language (Linear A). According to most historians, their collapse was due to an earthquake that sparked a volcano, thus triggering an eruption. After being weakened, the Minoans were vulnerable to Greek invaders. The most likely theories regarding Atlantis, however, are that it id not actually exist. Specifically, the story of Atlantis could have added to a retelling of the Black Sea Flood, which occurred around 5600 BC. The flood was a result of a breach of the Bosporus by the Mediterranean Sea and led to the Black Sea becoming twice its size (what it is today). Plato could have heard the altered story passed down from a scattered inhabitant of the flooded region. It is also possible that Plato came up with the idea of Atlantis on his own in an effort to describe his vision of the ideal civilization.
To support this theory, no written records of Atlantis exist outside of Plato’s dialogues, including in any of the numerous other texts that survive from ancient Greece. And once again, despite modern advances in oceanography and ocean-floor mapping, no traces of such a sunken civilization have ever been found. The scientific establishment ultimately believes the story of Atlantis to be completely fake. Therefore, there are no further studies warranted. No government funds should be utilized to work on discovering the lost city of Atlantis because it will always be lost.
There are certain organizations that promote the belief that Atlantis did exist, such as the History Channel, on occasion. The government should not act against these organizations because they are entertaining to viewers and can promote business, but cautions should be enforced. For instance, if a show on the History Channel is examining the possibilities of Atlantis’ existence, the show should display warnings about how Atlantis is not real at the beginning and end of the show.