Atlantis Myths

The lost city of Atlantis has awoken the interest of people for a long time. Being the mysterious story of a long ago disappeared island, it has remained a fanciful myth in the eyes of many. For yet others, it is the center of dreams about finding a lost empire. In a tale so full of mythical events, it is hard to imagine reality intermingled, but, in the end, what determines the veracity of the long-lasting story? The legend of the lost city of Atlantis might hide more truth than at first meets the eye.
It is in the origin of the myth that the search for this truth begins; an origin that can be traced back to the Greek philosopher Plato, an important figure in Greece. This philosopher lived from 428 to 347 B.C, and had great influence in the
It was formed by alternating areas of land and circular water canals, with escarpments around its coast (“Atlantis, Real”) and an elevated area at its center featuring a temple dedicated to Poseidon -the Greek god of the sea and alleged founder of Atlantis (Krystek). The island was said to be greater than Libya and Asia combined, and had a beautiful landscape, with a rich soil that supported a healthy population. It also had access to rough gold (“Atlantis, Real”) and to a valued mysterious metal, thought to be an alloy between gold and copper (“Atlantis, The Problems”). The story of Atlantis, however, was even more notorious than its
He divided the island-nation among his ten sons and made them kings over it (“The Lost”). The eldest of these sons was Atlas, for whom the Atlantic Ocean and possibly other features, such as the Atlas Mountains in Africa, where allegedly named (Hodge). Over time, Atlantis became a powerful empire and conquered large portions of the European continent and Africa, extending as far as Egypt (Hodge). This extension is probably the reason why the Egyptian priest mentioned in Plato’s account knew about the lost nation. As related by this priest, the Atlanteans began a war against the Athenians, trying to conquer their territory as well, but lost. Apparently, they had become greedy and corrupt, which ignited their gods’ wrath. Right after being defeated, they were struck by an earthquake and tsunami, and sunk into the sea, disappearing forever (Krystek). Their story was lost for the Athenians as well, since most of them were also affected by the natural disaster, leaving only illiterate people of the mountains alive. All of this was said to happen 9,000 years before Plato’s time, somewhere beyond the Strait of Gibraltar (“The