The story of Atlantis. We have all heard it I'm sure, but how many of you believe that this ancient civilization actually existed? When Plato speaks of Atlantis in Critias he states that the continent lies in the atlantic sea, or 'sea of the atlanteans'. After countless sweeps and expeditions in the atlantic sea nothing has ever been found to verify these stories to be true. After reading articles from www.atlan.org i have to admit i am intrigued. The bit about location is important. Would if the Atlantic Ocean that is today, was not that Atlantic ocean during Platonic times? I am very interested in this ancient civilization and different theories around. I will be more then happy to hear some other theories around or to discuss the one from the link above.
http://www.atlan.org/articles/checklist/ This bit is good. Basically this is a list of all the areas atlantis has thought to have existed in. It compares them all to what Plato describes in Critias and Timaeus.
It is completely possible for such civilizations to exist because the lithosphere (crust of the earth) recycles itself. The lithosphere is made up of techtonic plates that slide under each other (creating ravines, earthquake faults, mountain ranges) and the land comes back up in molten lava through volcanoes. So if there was an Atlantis, we wouldn't find traces of it because it's long gone. They've also found beaten paths in the deep ocean that belonged possibly to ancient communities... pretty awesome to think about.
i don't know about 'atlantis' but i certainly don't believe that the Sumerians and Egyptians all of a sudden sprang up out of nowhere. one day they're primitive stone age hut dwellers. then all of a sudden they can write, build, express culture etc etc... i just don't buy that for example, the Sphynx has been accuratley dated to be from around 10,000BC, long before any civilisation as we know it existed. but they know it is this old, because of water erosion on the momument, which is consistent with a wet and humid climate. the last time Egypt had this climate: around 10,000BC man-made structures have been found off the coast of Japan, underwater. the last time this place was above sea level, was around 10,000 years ago. so, as i said. I don't know whether there was an Atlantis, as Plato described. but I am 100% certain that we have been 'civilised' for a lot longer than orthodox historians would have us believe. some good authors to check out, would be Graham Hancock, and John Anthony West. i recommend Graham Hancock's book 'Fingerprints of the Gods'.
Thats intresting! I heard a couple years back that same thing about how the sphynx was there long before the Egyptians and how it originally had the face of a lion but then the Egyptians changed it into the face of man. Good stuff As for atlantis.. hey why not?
The theory from the link given above (yes mine) places Atlantis in Indonesia. Specifically here (taken from www.atlan.org) Heres a paragraph from www.atlan.org speaking the "located in the atlantic ocean" part about the Atlantis story. (for all of the people who never got around to clicking the link and reading) discuss..
the big deal with atlantis is not so much "did it exist?" or "where is it?" but rather, what are the lessons to be learned from the "myth" and legend. they fucked themselves over by their oppulence, their decadence and blinded themselves to their place in the world. they thought they were masters of their world, and they payed for their arrogance and ignorance.
Plate tectonics are measured in millions of years. Since the dawn of civilization the fastest moving plates have moved a few meters at most. Measuring water erosion isn't accurate at all, especially in the desert where structures are eroded by wind and acid rain as well. Most egyptologists agree that the sphinx was built in 3000 BC, as far as I know. I've read a few Atlantis theories myself and I think they're pretty sketchy at best.
You're skipping a few civilizations. And no thats not how it happened. Will Durant has a sieres called the story of civilizations, the first book in that sieres, Our Oriental Heritage, describes the begginings of civilization quite well. If you have alot of time its a good read. If not, you can get it on tape and listen to it while driving and such.
I've read Will Durant's book "The history of Philosophy". The guy is awesome, I've been meaning to find that series. What does he say in "Our oriental heritage"?
A lot of things. It basically describes the step from tribe to civilization in Asia. It shows you how close early civilization was to the nomad tribe. If you're at all interested in Anthropology its a must read.