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Where is Atlantis?
You know, that lost civilisation mentioned by Plato.
9 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Atlantis is an ancient island that sunk into the ocean, according to the Classical Greek philosopher Plato, who tells the story in his dialogues. While most people today believe that the story of Atlantis is simply allegory, the idea of a lost continent has captured public imagination since the days of Plato. Atlantis was supposedly home to an advanced civilization that had conquered many nations before failing in combat against Athens and collapsing into the ocean during an earthquake.
It is a matter of speculation whether or not the idea of Atlantis or a similar island predates Plato, as no earlier ancient sources are known. In the Classical era, philosophers and historians were divided over whether or not the story of Atlantis had any basis in fact. Though some claimed to have proof of the island's existence, none of it was definitive. Some writers of the ancient era wrote their own stories of vanished utopias that appear to parody Plato's Atlantis.
In the Middle Ages, the story of Atlantis was largely forgotten, but it resurfaced during the Enlightenment, when Francis Bacon used it as a symbol of Utopia in his The New Atlantis (1626). Bacon's account of Atlantis is similar to that of Plato, except that Bacon places the island in the Americas. In the late 19th century, the idea of a historical Atlantis regained popularity, and many expeditions sought proof of its existence. Scholars theorized a link between Atlantis and Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztecs. Atlantis was often portrayed as a very advanced society, with technology surpassing that of the present, and it began to interest those in Spiritualist circles.
Though Plato portrayed Atlantis as a flawed society, the antithesis to the ideal of Athens, the missing island became increasingly interpreted as a pinnacle of culture and enlightenment in the modern era. While the current understanding of plate tectonics has made the possibility of a real Atlantis unlikely to say the least, the vanished continent remains a powerful cultural symbol. Atlantis often appears in science fiction and fantasy works of all kinds, from books and films to video games and cartoons.
- 5 years ago
Aristotle testifies that his teacher Plato invented it, so it never really existed. There's no mention of it before his writings. He said Egyptian priests told Solon about it, but there's nothing about it in Egyptian literature. He said it was beyond Gibraltar, but geologists say it's impossible for such a place to be there. Plato says Athens defeated Atlantis, so it couldn't be a super civilization, even if it had been real. The time it was said to be destroyed makes no sense. Anyone who believes it was real is gullible. Believers in Atlantis probably also believe 2012 is the end of the world and other such "balle".
- 1 decade ago
No one really knows where it is or if it really did exist. Others believe that the story was inspired by catastrophic events which may have destroyed the Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera. Still others maintain that the story is an accurate representation of a long lost and almost completely forgotten land.
In the sixteenth century, at least one Spanish priest suggested that the Maya and their counterparts originated from Atlantis.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
There are millions of theories on this, however the best guesses, based on geographical possibilities along with volcanic evidence, are:
Santorini (Thira/Greece)
Malta
Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
The west coast of Indonesia (Facing the Indian Ocean)
The Canary Islands
The Cape Verde Islands
One of the Caribbean Islands just north of South America
A portion of Southern Ireland
And, of course an island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, which has now disappeared...
Source(s): Please feel free to add to this list... - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
It's fictional, maybe Plato meant a state of being.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
nobody knows for sure.
that's why it's called The Lost City.
However, there are some hypotheses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location_hypotheses_o...
.
- Anonymous5 years ago
Don't know, but I hope they found out one day.