Atlantis?

[El Muerto]

I've always found the story about Atlantis quite interesting. I've been reading quite a lot about it, there are plenty of speculations about it's potential location, but so far there is no sold proof for neither so far.

Here's just some basic information, if you're really interested to read more there are plenty of books published about it (both scientifical and pseudo-scientifical) and of course you can always find a lot on the Net.



Atlantis is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.

In Plato's account, Atlantis, lying "beyond the pillars of Heracles", was a naval power that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa, over 9,000 years before Plato's own time — approximately 9400 BC. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune".

As a story embedded in Plato's dialogues, Atlantis is generally seen as a myth created by Plato to illustrate his political theories. Although the function of the story of Atlantis seems clear to most scholars, they dispute whether and how much Plato's account was inspired by older traditions. Some scholars argue Plato drew upon memories of past events such as the Thera eruption or the Trojan War, while others insist that he took inspiration of contemporary events like the destruction of Helike in 373 BC or the failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC.

The possible existence of a genuine Atlantis was actively discussed throughout the classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied. While basically unknown during the Middle Ages, the story of Atlantis was rediscovered by Humanists at the very beginning of modern times. Plato's description inspired the utopian works of several Renaissance writers, like Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis". To this day, Atlantis inspires today's literature, from science fiction to comic books and movies, its name having become a byword for any and all supposed prehistoric but advanced (and lost) civilizations.


http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7717/atlantida04xk9.jpg


You can read more about Plato's Timaeus and Critias here (http://library.thinkquest.org/25245/thelegend/summary.html)

Possible locations (some of them are really a long shot): here (http://library.thinkquest.org/25245/atlantology/index.html)

I even found a theory which relies on some old tibetan writings that say that Moon wasn't always in the Earth's orbit, and that Atlantis actually sunk when Moon flew into the orbit and became natural sattelite and raised the sea level.
Of coure there are no scientific evidence for this, but it's pretty interesting. :)



So what do you think? Atlantis, a bullshit that Plato made up or a lost paradise?

[Todd]

I put Atlantis at the same "bullshit" level that I put bigfoot on.

[...Lauren?]

I've always found Atlantis to be very interesting, and read up on it a bit every now and then.

Not much scientific or historic proof for it though.

[Fox]

Well as far as I know, there's still some voyages going on trying to find the island.

I've been always interested too, it's very fascinating.
Of course, there's not a REAL proof about the "treasure" or anything about the island yet, but just old maps that some fanatics/scientifics have drawn.

Hm..

[El Muerto]

Yeah, but there was no proof that Troy isn't just fictional and they eventually found it. :)

[Dean]

It's one of those things that you can't really prove or disprove at the moment. It doesn't really interest me though.

[Nick]

i LOVE The Theory of it..it really is a interesting archaeological Tale

[+ / –]

I heard a theory that I thought was interesting, don't remember where it was but it basically links the 'sinking' of Atlantis to Noah's Ark.

In reality, where else can stories of a sunken city come from but a survivor? And that survivor would be 'Noah.'

Of course the stories won't be exactly as told, but imagine it this way. The sinking of Atlantis correlates to a flood, while the tale of Noah's Ark stems from the one survivor who just happened to have a boat or some flotation device.

An actual incident taken by story-tellers of the time branching off into two different 'tall tales,' it's an interesting view on how one event can be interpreted into separate stories.

[esaul17]

There is no way in hell Noah's Ark is a true story.

[Louis]

There is no way in hell Noah's Ark is a true story.

Even though in some sense, I agree with you, you could put that in a nicer way, just because some people do believe that it happened and they might take offense to it. I know I may sound like a mod-ish but I just think it sounds a bit harsh. Maybe it's just me.

As far as Atlantis is concerned, I don't know. I don't really care much about it.

But it's better than the Flat Earth theory. :lol:

[+ / –]

There is no way in hell Noah's Ark is a true story.

I never said it was a true story. It could be based on a true story though. I mean, take the human imagination, someone surviving a flood can go a long way.

Just like the flooding of a town can snowball into a sinking island.

[El Muerto]

I can't remember the exact timeline but I think that according to what Plato said, the Atlantis sunk some 4000 years before the flood even happened.

I like the theory that we are the third civilisation that inhabits the Earth, and that the two before us destroyed themselves. Atlantis was the second. People just reach a certain technological level and then it's inevitable that they destroy themselves, by war or some other means.


There is no way in hell Noah's Ark is a true story.
The great flood exists in almost every single religion or ancient culture as a story and is considered to be the oldest collective memory of the human race (of course if Atlantis is only a myth :) ). Maybe it didn't happen with Noah exactly as it was written in Bible but I'm pretty sure that some great flood did happen and that a small number of people really survived and brought a large number of animals in pairs with themselves on a ship. It's quite plausible, unselfish and a reasonable thing to do if you think that it's the end of the world and you're the only one to survive.

[Harlz]

The great flood exists in almost every single religion or ancient culture as a story and is considered to be the oldest collective memory of the human race

That is one of the most intrigeuing things I've heard in a long time... wow...

It must actually be that stories of the last time the ice caps melted have actually been remembered by humans... Thats extremely interesting...

[Nick]

there are TONS of different theory's and ideas of how 2 different stories can be linked together. it just boils down to what you WANT to believe and if you choose to

[Dean]

There is no way in hell Noah's Ark is a true story.
There is actually an area in the middle east/mediterranean where Mount Ararat was supposed to have been, but it hasn't been explored properly yet as it's dangerous for various reasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_anomaly

[El Muerto]

Mount Ararat is still there.

[Messy Marj]

Even though I'm not christian the Bible really fascinates me. It's stupid cause I've been to christian schools for 12 years long and I never showed interest untill now. Anyway, Noah's always been my favorite story and somehow I refuse to deny the exsistence of Noah and the ark.

Actually, I believe alot of things that are written in the Bible, but I don't feel the need to be christian. I dunno.

[Dean]

Mount Ararat is still there.
Yeah, I tried to reword that post a couple of times and I still ended up wording it wrongly. What I meant was something along the lines of "Where the ark was supposed to have came ashore", I just didn't think of it at the time.

[El Muerto]

Yeah, I tried to reword that post a couple of times and I still ended up wording it wrongly. What I meant was something along the lines of "Where the ark was supposed to have came ashore", I just didn't think of it at the time.

Yeah, I understood what you meant just wanted to make it clear for the others. :)

And concerning that article, I had no clue that there are parts on Ararat that haven't been explored yet. Fascinating. I can't even imagine what would happen if they really find something there.

[Ryo Hazuki]

What I like about the atlatis theory is that it is possible. It IS possible for an island to sink..

[Fear]

I don't see how a civilization underwater could ever happen. It's a cool story, nonetheless, but cmon.

[Will]

I don't see how a civilization underwater could ever happen. It's a cool story, nonetheless, but cmon.

What? Atlantis sunk, it wasn't always underwater.



Anyways, I think one theory no one ever thought of was that Atlantis was an alien spacecraft that just decided to leave one day. :lol:

[Fear]

What? Atlantis sunk, it wasn't always underwater.



Anyways, I think one theory no one ever thought of was that Atlantis was an alien spacecraft that just decided to leave one day. :lol:

Touche. :D

[El Muerto]

What? Atlantis sunk, it wasn't always underwater.



Anyways, I think one theory no one ever thought of was that Atlantis was an alien spacecraft that just decided to leave one day. :lol:

That actually very possible :D

[Derek The Infamous]

I am one of the many people out there who believes an Atlantis did exist, so yes..I am a believer.

I hope we find the ruins someday before they disappear forever.

[Luke]

I think it's certainly possible that Atlantis existed at some point, after all we know more about Space than we do about our own planet.

[Rachel]

Yeah, I tried to reword that post a couple of times and I still ended up wording it wrongly. What I meant was something along the lines of "Where the ark was supposed to have came ashore", I just didn't think of it at the time.

In this book I read, this Armenian mother told her son that Noah's Ark is the reason Armenians and Jews are "cousins". Cause it landed on Ararat.

Didn't they find pieces of the boat up there o_O

[devilsnight2003]

I think Atlantis is fairly interesting, to me its the same as the Egypitians, the Aztecs. Amazing civilisations that just seem to disappear. I think it is pretty hard to say it is true but i also feel that it cannot be disproven that Atlantis doesnt really exist. I think it would be to fair fetched to think that the stories of an underwater civilasation could survive but we know less about are oceans then we know about space and thats saying summit since most of the planet is covered by water

I do believe that a civilisation can only advance to a certain level before it finds constraints like are current problem being that we cannot get every memeber of the population of the plant to get along. It is in are nature to be self distructive, it is what makes us human.

[Messy Marj]

This may sound stupid, I dunno, but did it sunk, or was it flooded? Cause sinking and flooding is a whole other thing.

[El Muerto]

The original texts says: "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."

So yeah, it's not precised, and although there are some theories that Atlantis was just flooded by giant waves the general opinion is that the island acutally sunk.

[Messy Marj]

The original texts says: "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."

So yeah, it's not precised, and although there are some theories that Atlantis was just flooded by giant waves the general opinion is that the island acutally sunk.
Oh...so it first flooded and then sunk lol. Thanks.

[El Muerto]

That's what I call bad luck :lol:

[Messy Marj]

That's what I call bad luck :lol:
Yeah. :lol:

[Tom]

I believe Atlantis does exist. But my version may differ from..well..everyone.

I believe Atlantis was a great city with technology far superior to what we have ever and will see and that Atlantis is out there but is eluding us via the use of it's technology. The city might have hidden itself from mankind to prevent a larger disaster, because if they had firepower, mankind would surely abuse it and dark times would follow, so to prevent this they have been hiding away since the dawn of time.

When the Earth is in critical danger of some sort and faces possible extinction that Atlantis will rise and with it the solution to the problem.


Yeah, call me crazy or what not, but wouldn't it be cool if it were true?

[Will]

I think I'm one of the few who thinks the idea of Atlantis is really intriguing, but I don't think it ever actually existed. I mean, for an entire island to "sink" is one thing, but to not be able to find an island of the size Plato described is just ridiculous, especially since we've mapped pretty much the entire sea floor. Then again, that doesn't mean it's not below even that, but if it is, we certainly won't find it for a very, very long time.

As far as I'm concerned, Atlantis was just a story made up by Plato.

[Dart]

so...atlantis is a very complex theme...as a student of archeology and looking from a professional point of view there are simply not too much real evidence which can point that atlantis existed...

but...

evidence is not everything :) i am a passionate believer in the theory of existence of atlantis.the works of plato must not be taken as 100 percent realistic because no work written arond 2000 years ago can be taken litterally...for god's sake,people then believed in the minotaur...

anyways...more evidence has been surfacing through history and if you read a couple of good books(not the fanboyish "OMFG the atlantidians were aliens from jupiter and then jupiter collided with the sun and some of them ended up on earth teaming up with lizard people to form the new world order" crap) but books with logical explanations you will see that atlantis was not just maybe real,but also very possible...

like everything it must be viewed from an objective and an open minded perspective

[Christopher]

so...atlantis is a very complex theme...as a student of archeology and looking from a professional point of view there are simply not too much real evidence which can point that atlantis existed...

but...

evidence is not everything :) i am a passionate believer in the theory of existence of atlantis.the works of plato must not be taken as 100 percent realistic because no work written arond 2000 years ago can be taken litterally...for god's sake,people then believed in the minotaur...

anyways...more evidence has been surfacing through history and if you read a couple of good books(not the fanboyish "OMFG the atlantidians were aliens from jupiter and then jupiter collided with the sun and some of them ended up on earth teaming up with lizard people to form the new world order" crap) but books with logical explanations you will see that atlantis was not just maybe real,but also very possible...

like everything it must be viewed from an objective and an open minded perspective

:lol: Student of archeology and all that aside, you do know modern philosophy and all of our modern ideas on life are based on those of Socrates and Plato right? But I do agree that you shouldn't just take what he wrote literatelly.

About Atlantis?

Maybe there was a place like that, but I think it just refers to a certain existing place that we already know off and we just see it differently than how Plato did.

[Timothy]

:lol: Student of archeology and all that aside, you do know modern philosophy and all of our modern ideas on life are based on those of Socrates and Plato right? But I do agree that you shouldn't just take what he wrote literatelly.

About Atlantis?

Maybe there was a place like that, but I think it just refers to a certain existing place that we already know off and we just see it differently than how Plato did.

I think he meant in a scientific sense. Philosophy can transcend centuries and cultures, but science changes every day.

As far as Atlantis goes, it wouldn't surprise me being that we know so little
about the oceans that surround us.

[Christopher]

I think he meant in a scientific sense. Philosophy can transcend centuries and cultures, but science changes every day.

As far as Atlantis goes, it wouldn't surprise me being that we know so little
about the oceans that surround us.

:lol: Why would you want to base science on Plato? He's not a scientist...

[Timothy]

:lol: Why would you want to base science on Plato? He's not a scientist...

Exactly. That's why we should take his musings on underwater cities with a grain of salt. Like Dart said, they believed in fricken' minotaurs ! :lol:

[Christopher]

Exactly. That's why we should take his musings on underwater cities with a grain of salt. Like Dart said, they believed in fricken' minotaurs ! :lol:

What? It's not because something is not science that it's mythology... Plato did not believe in minotaurs...

Nevermind, though.

[El Muerto]

The main reason experts don't believe everything Plato wrote is that his Aristotel is much different from the way every other writer presented and described him not because of what he beleved in or not.

[Timothy]

What? It's not because something is not science that it's mythology... Plato did not believe in minotaurs...

Nevermind, though.

I'm just agreeing with what Dart said. Things that were said hundreds or thousands of years ago are, more often than not, not applicable to the modern world. Philosophy is different because it is somewhat elastic in nature.

Yes, I know Plato didn't believe in Minotaurs, I was just stating that people believed in some strange things back then. :lol:

[Christopher]

I'm just agreeing with what Dart said. Things that were said hundreds or thousands of years ago are, more often than not, not applicable to the modern world. Philosophy is different because it is somewhat elastic in nature.

Yes, I know Plato didn't believe in Minotaurs, I was just stating that people believed in some strange things back then. :lol:

:lol: Yeah sure, but their society was so much more advanced than some societies today...

[El Muerto]

While we're at that, people still believe in many things you can call strange :)

[Seinfeld]

While we're at that, people still believe in many things you can call strange :)

*cough Gravitation cough* :lol:

nah, but I totally agree...

[El Muerto]

*cough round earth cough*
:lol:

Anyway, if anyone's actually interested in reading some more on the subject of Atlantis: http://www.crystalinks.com/atlantisnews.html

[Dart]

the actual problem with atlantis is that scientists think it would sink all their theories about the evolution of the human race...we think that the evolution of the human race is linear,meaning that it continues in one line...australopitecus,homo erectus,homo habilis,homo sapiens...their bad is that the existence of the atlantidians wouldn't mean that the human race evolved differently from what we think,just that some of us evolved faster...like europeans evolved in a technological(but not spiritual) sense faster than indians...just an example...anyway,it's way too complicated to be explained in just one post

[Seinfeld]

the actual problem with atlantis is that scientists think it would sink all their theories about the evolution of the human race...we think that the evolution of the human race is linear,meaning that it continues in one line...australopitecus,homo erectus,homo habilis,homo sapiens...their bad is that the existence of the atlantidians wouldn't mean that the human race evolved differently from what we think,just that some of us evolved faster...like europeans evolved in a technological(but not spiritual) sense faster than indians...just an example...anyway,it's way too complicated to be explained in just one post

I think I know what you mean...makes sense...Like the different cultures evolved seperately and unequaly, is what you're saying, right?

[El Muerto]

Well I thought different cultures did evolve seperately and unequaly :blink:

And no one said that Atlantida was THAT advanced. They were just extraordinary rich and had strong military forces.

[Dart]

@ mr.nobody-that's it
@-dušan-i aimed more at the spiritual aspect...as if they knew mother earth so much better than we do...there are speculations that they used some kind of acoustic levitation-nowadays,an approved science as far as i know...try looking it up on wikipedia,it should be there