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Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Atlantis
From an etching by Athanasius Kircher c. 1666. Please note that North is indicated by the arrow.
Atlantis is the most famous of the mythical islands. The story was first told by Plato, in his Critias. "Critias: Let me begin by observing first of all, that nine thousand was the sum of years which had elapsed since the war which was said to have taken place between those who dwelt outside the Pillars of Heracles and all who dwelt within them; this war I am going to describe. Of the combatants on the one side, the city of Athens was reported to have been the leader and to have fought out the war; the combatants on the other side were commanded by the kings of Atlantis, which, as was saying, was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia, and afterwards sunk by an earthquake, became an impassable barrier of mud to voyagers sailing from hence to any part of the ocean..." (Full Text )
Most scholars believe that the story of Atlantis was a fiction created by Plato that was merely a story created to illustrate some point. Nevertheless, the legend has seemed to have captured people's imagination. There have been dozens of theories about where the "real" Atlantis was. These theories have ranged from sunken islands in the Atlantic, to Cuba, to Thera, as well as many others. Many books have been written with "evidence" to "prove" the real location of Atlantis. It seems extremely difficult to believe that an actual civilization as advanced as Plato's Atlantis ever existed without leaving any real evidence behind. Regardless, it is a popular and entertaining topic, and there has been much research and literature devoted to the topic. Rather than duplicate others' efforts, here are some useful links.
