Do you already know the Legend of Atlantis? Find out now if this legendary (and hypothetically "lost") city actually existed. Plato portrays it very well within Greek Mythology and Religion, check it out.
Atlantis means "daughter of Atlas" and is a legendary island or continent whose first known mention goes back to Plato in his works "Thimaeus or Nature" and "Critias or Atlantis".
In Plato's tales, Atlantis was a naval power located "beyond the Pillars of Hercules", which conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9000 years before the era of Solon, ie approximately 9600 BC After a failed attempt to invade Athens , Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune".
Scholars dispute whether and how Plato's story or tale was inspired by ancient traditions. Some investigators argue that Plato created history from memories of ancient events like the eruption of Thera or the Trojan War, while others insist that he was inspired by contemporary events like the destruction of Helique in 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415 BC-413 BC
Check: All about Atlas Titan
In the case of the Legend of Atlantis, in antiquity there would have been an immense continent (Atlantis) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, in front of the Gates of Hercules. These gates, according to ancient myths, closed off the Mediterranean Sea where the Strait of Gibraltar is currently located.
Atlantis would be a magnificent place, with extraordinary landscapes, a mild climate, large forests of leafy and gigantic trees, extensive fertile plains, yielding two or more crops a year, and tame, healthy and strong animals.
The inhabitants of this paradisiacal land were called Atlanteans and were lords of an enviable civilization, considered perfect and rich. It had palaces and temples covered with gold and other precious metals like silver and tin, and ivory abounded. It produced all kinds of wood considered precious, it had mines of all metals.
It had gardens, gyms, stadiums, good roads and bridges, and other important infrastructure for the well-being of its citizens. The jewelry used by the Atlanteans would be made with an exotic material and more valuable than gold, only known to the Atlantean peoples, which was called oricalc. The flourishing economy provided the arts, allowing the existence of artists, musicians and great sages.
The Atlantean empire was formed by a federation of 10 kingdoms that were under the protection of Poseidon. Its people were seen as exemplary in their behavior, and did not allow themselves to be corrupted by vice or luxury, but lived in the full and magnificent well-being that their perfect country allowed them.
However, they did not stop practicing and rehearsing themselves in the arts of war, since various peoples, moved by the envy and the abundance of the Atlanteans, tried to invade their land. The defense battles were so successful that pride and ambition to extend the kingdom's domains emerged.
So the mighty Atlantean army prepared for war and little by little it was conquering much of the known world at the time, dominating several peoples and several islands around it, a great part of Atlantic Europe and part of North Africa. And only because the Greeks of Athens would have resisted they would not have conquered more territories. Their hearts until then pure were hardening with their weapons. Pride, vanity, unnecessary luxury, corruption and disrespect for the gods were born.
Poseidon then called a council of the gods to stop the Atlanteans. In it it was decided to apply an exemplary punishment to them. As a result of divine decisions, great tectonic movements began, accompanied by huge earthquakes. The lands of Atlantis shook violently, the sky darkened as if it were night, the fire appeared that burned forests and fields of crops. The sea overtook the land with giant waves and swallowed up villages and towns.
In a short time Atlantis had disappeared forever into the immensity of the sea. However, as it had been possessed of great mountains, these would not have completely sunk. The high peaks would have been above the surface of the waters and originated the nine islands of the Azores.
Some of the inhabitants of Atlantis, according to legend, survived the catastrophe and fled to various parts of the world, where they left descendants.
The possible existence of Atlantis has been actively discussed throughout classical antiquity, but it is usually rejected and occasionally parodied by current authors. Alan Cameron claims that "it is only in modern times that people have begun to take the history of Atlantis seriously; no one did in antiquity." Although little known during the Middle Ages, the history of Atlantis was rediscovered by humanists in the Modern Age.
Plato's description inspired utopian works by several Renaissance writers, such as Francis Bacon in "New Atlantis". Atlantis still inspires literature - from science fiction to comic books - and cinema. Its name became a reference for any and all assumptions about lost advanced prehistoric civilizations.
Personally, we don't believe that the legendary city of Atlantis really existed, mainly due to the extremely futuristic description and connection with the famous "aliens of the past", but the truth is that in the end, nobody knows. There are archaeologists and historians who claim through academic studies that the city really existed, so it's up to each one's personal opinion.
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