Sammie Williams
Ms. Janine Hornung
OCEA & 101
12 October 2012
The lost City of Atlantis

“Long ago there existed an island, populated by a noble and powerful race. This beautiful place was a domain of Poseidon, god of the sea, who had fallen in love with a mortal woman, Cleito. He created a magnificent palace for her in the centre of the island. The people of this land possessed great wealth thanks to the abundant natural resources of the island, which was also a centre for trade and commerce. The rulers held sway not just over their own people but over the Mediterranean, Europe and North Africa” (Menzies).
The Greek philosopher, Plato, wrote the above description of Atlantis in 355 B.C. Plato had originally planned to write a trilogy of books on subjects such as the creation of the world, the nature of man, the story of Atlantis as well as other subjects. The first book, Timaeus, was completed, Critias, which contains the story of Atlantis, was incomplete, and Hemocrates, was never written (Levy).
The story of Atlantis is one of the oldest myths of mankind, a lost paradise and the most popular of all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations. It’s location has been assigned to almost every possible place on earth including Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Israel, Sinai, Sweden, Bahamas, Bermuda Triangle, Japan and even Kumari Kandam (“Lost Continent”). In Plato's book, Timaeus, a character named Kritias tells an account of Atlantis that has been in his family for generations. According to the character, the story was originally told to his ancestor, Solon, by a priest during Solon's visit to Egypt. There had been a powerful empire located west of the “Pillars of Hercules” (what is now known as the Straight of Gibraltar) on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The nation there had been established by Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Poseidon is said to have fathered five sets of twins on the island. The continent and surrounding ocean was named after the firstborn son, Atlas. Poseidon then divided the land into ten sections, each ruled by a son.
The capital city of Atlantis was a marvel of architecture and engineering. The city was composed of a series of concentric walls and canals. At the very center was a hill, and on top of the hill a temple to Poseidon. Inside was a gold statue of the God of the Sea showing him driving six winged horses.
For generations the people of Atlantis led prosperous, wealthy lifestyles. The Atlanteans were great craftsman, constructing many temples, palaces, harbors and docks. Over time, the people became greedy and corrupt; they decided to use their powerful navy to invade Greece and Egypt. Zeus, the Greek god of the sky and ruler of Mount Olympus, became angry at their arrogance and immorality. He sent a huge wave that drowned Atlantis, which vanished forever in a sea of mud.
I have long been fascinated by this story, and in doing my research for this paper, discovered opposing theories as to the city of Atlantis actual existence. While some believe the story is a tale in morality, others believe Plato was describing an actual lost civilization, one that truly existed. Plato was a Greek philosopher, mathematician and one of the key founding brains of natural philosophy, science and Western philosophy. He wrote 35 Dialogues and 13 letters that form the basis of this thinking, often presenting a connection between the gods, humans and nature. Researchers critical of his account point out that this story, like many of his writings was intended as an educational story to illustrate his philosophical ideas. Fundamentally the story of Atlantis is said to be a warning tale about the rise of decadence, taking the gods for granted and misusing power (“Discovery”).
I do believe that Plato was recounting a story passed down to him of actual events. As with most tales told over a course of time, certain facts are lost, mistaken or omitted. In reading Timaeus and Critias, I noticed that Plato makes the point that this not a story, but historical fact, not once, but four times. K.T. Frost, a professor of history at Queens University in Belfast, suggested that Plato had made errors in the location and timetable of where and when Atlantis existed. Frost suggested that instead of being located west of the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar), it was actually east. Plato had written the destruction of Atlantis occurring 9000 years before he wrote of its existence, Professor Frost believed this was a mathematical error or was mistakenly written as 9000 when it was actually 900 years before Plato’s writing. This also led Professor Frost, along with Spyridon Marinatos, an archaeologist, and A.G. Galanopoulos, a seismologist, to suggest that Atlantis was located in Greece at the island of Crete (Menzies). Many of the details used to describe Atlantis fit what is known about Crete. Crete is now a part of modern Greece located just south of Athens across the Mediterranean Sea. Before 1500 B.C. it was home to the Minoan Empire. The Minoans was probably one of the most civilized cultures of that time, specializing in architecture and art. Very similar to the civilization of Atlantis, the woman of Crete held high political status, both cultures were peaceful and both enjoyed the unusual sport of “bull leaping” where an unarmed man wrestled and jumped over a bull.
The most fascinating similarity between Atlantis and The Minoans is the cause of their destruction and disappearance. In Plato’s dialogue Timaeus, he writes that “there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune…the island of Atlantis…disappeared in the depths of the sea” (“Lost Continent”). Similarly, the Minoan civilization disappeared. Geological studies have shown that on an island now known as Santorinas, located ten miles to the north of Crete, a massive volcanic explosion occurred around 1500 B.C. In comparing it to the most powerful earthquake explosion in historic times, the explosion on island of Krakotoa in 1883, where a 120 feet Tsunami killed 36,000 people and produced volcanic ash that blackened the sky for 3 days, the explosion at Santorinas was believed to be four times as powerful as Krakota (“Discovery”). It seems entirely possible that an earthquake of this magnitude would destroy and wipe an entire civilization from existence. I believe that Plato was indeed describing the Minoan civilization, Atlantis was really Santorinas and the empire was destroyed by a massive Earthquake. The study of Oceanography has given me a new found respect and understanding for the power of the wind and the ocean. The story of Atlantis is both a cautionary tale of the arrogance of power and the decadence and declines that follow and the fragile balance between life and the Earth that supports it.

Works Cited
Levy, Joel. The Atlas of Atlantis and other lost Civilizations. London: Octopus Publishing, 2007. Print.
Menzies, Gavin. The Lost Empire of Atlantis. Great Britain: Orion Publishing, 2011. Print.
“The Lost Continent of Atlantis”. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2012
“The Atlantis Mystery” Solving History with Olly Steeds”. N.p. n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012