The Destruction of Atlantis

Everyone has heard of Atlantis at one time or another. The earliest records of it date back to two dialogues written by Plato, called the Timaeus and the Critias (ca. 380 BCE). They were originally intended as a trilogy, but the third dialogue was never written, and the Critias was never finished. According to these dialogues, Atlantis consisted of two islands, possibly more, one of which was small and circular, and another that was shaped roughly like a rectangle and immense. It flourished at about 9600 BCE, and it sank into the sea in a day and a night.

These tales of Plato's have generated countless speculation over the centuries about whether the island of Atlantis really existed at all, where it was located, what kinds of people lived on it, and so forth. There are hundreds of theories by many different scientists about what could make the island sink so quickly, and they range from carefully constructed hypothesis to strange and absurd guesses.

Some of the most common theories have to do with the level of the ocean rising and engulfing the island. Berlitz (1984) refers to Dr. Bruce Heezen, who claims that eleven thousand years ago, the water level of the ocean was perhaps three hundred feet lower than it is today. When the Ice Age ended, billions of gallons of ice and snow melted into the sea, resulting in a dramatic, sudden, and terrifying rising of the sea level all around the world. For example, the eastern coastline of the United States was some one hundred miles farther out in the Atlantic Ocean during the Ice Age. Today, with the resources and research materials available, this information has been verified by half a dozen sources. The rise of water undoubtedly caused the flooding of many low-level seaside communities. If the rising of the sea level was so sudden that it caused the flooding and disappearance of towns and cities in coastal areas, it could have also caused a large, low-lying island to similarly be swallowed up by the higher level of the ocean, leaving only the tops of its highest sections visible; just as legend describes.

This theory is also supported by a European commentary called Dera Linda Bock, which is mentioned by Galanopoulos and Bacon (1969). This was a Frisian chronicle from the Middle Ages, referring to the disappearance of an ancient land in the ocean:

"Atlantis, as the land was called by seafaring people, was swallowed by the waves together with its mountains and valleys, and everything else was covered by the sea. Many people were buried in the ground and others, who escaped, died in the water." (p. 189)

Another theory, first suggested in the early twentieth century by a group of European meteorologists, claims that an enormous meteor struck the Earth thousands of years ago, smashing part of the Atlantean continent down into the ocean and leaving only the isolated islands that still exist in the Atlantic Ocean. Muck (1978), a German rocket scientist, offers a detailed account, as well as a suggested date, as to when such a catastrophe may have happened. His theory is based on a huge meteor having collided with the part of Atlantis that is situated in the western Atlantic Ocean. This asteroid, referred to as the Carolina Meteorite, was to be accompanied by a vast number of smaller meteorites that formed the numerous craters or bays which are a feature of the American coast, and have been identified in the tens of thousands. Muck thought that the main asteroid/meteor struck the island continent of Atlantis, crushing part of it under the sea and causing volcanic explosions, tidal waves, and changes in the ocean floor - an understandable result of the shock that a large asteroid (which, if it were ten kilometers in diameter, as he states, would weigh around two hundred thousand megatons) exploding on contact with the Earth would cause. Dr. Muck has estimated the resultant explosion to be somewhat equivalent to thirty thousand H-bombs. He also proposed that one of the first dates of the unusually exact Mayan calendar marks the destruction of Atlantis, at the translated date of 8498 BCE. By a series of calculations, he has established the date of the end of Atlantis according to our present Gregorian calendar as occurring June 5th, at one o'clock in the afternoon, local or central Atlantic (or Atlantis) time.

"This fatal date coincides with the opposition of the sun, Venus, the moon, and Earth, which prepared the way, through a series of interlocking poles, for 'Asteroid A' to crash into one of the thinnest and most sensitive regions of the Earth's crust."(p.87)--the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; a fracture zone dotted with vocanoes.

Another theory having to do with the island of Atlantis being struck by an object from space to cause its destruction is by Braghine (1940), who says that Atlantis's disappearance was the result of a collision between the Earth and another planet that was captured by the Earth's gravitational field and became its satellite. He claims this other planet, which we now know as the planet of Venus, originated as a comet in the second millenium BCE. After the passage of time, the satellite's orbit became smaller and smaller, and finally entered the Earth's atmosphere, colliding with the Earth. In this collision, the island of Atlantis was submerged, and a large continent, located in the Indian Ocean, was also submerged. This lost continent was given the name of Lemuria, and later, Gondwana. In Braghine's view, Gondwana was inhabited before the appearance of the moon, and as such, he regards Gondwana as the birthplace of man. He also supposes that the Earth formerly had two satellites, the moon likewise being a planet captured by the Earth's gravitational field and, according to him, will eventually collide with the Earth.

This theory is based on certain Greek mythological stories about Proselenes (Pre-Moon men) and similar legends of other cultures, primarily Arabic and Hindu; and is in almost complete contradiction of everything known about the solar system and the structure and composition of the floor of the Indian Ocean and the date of its origin. This theory, therefore, does not have any substantial evidence to back it up, and has not been highly regarded.

Another place thought to be the 'island of Atlantis' is the existing island(s) of Thera. Thera is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and consists of a large, main island, along with several, smaller islands. On the island of Thera Proper is a once active volcano, which has periodically created and destroyed much of the island. Thera's geographical structure corresponds closely with the interpretation of Plato's description of Atlantis. If this is the case, then there is a simple explanation for the disappearance of the island. The volcano, named Santorin, produced violent eruptions in the past, which destroyed parts of the main islands, and produced smaller islands and added on to Thera Proper. These eruptions could have been the downfall of the Atlantean Empire.

Another possible outcome of the island is flooding. In Cape Sunium, the nearest point on the Greek mainland to Thera, there is a story of a legendary contest for the possession of Attica (part of Thera Proper) between Athena and Poseidon. According to the legend, Athena and Poseidon each produced a gift for the people of Attica. Athena produced and olive tree, and Poseidon a spring. Athena's gift was judged the more useful, and Poseidon lost. Poseidon was a bad loser: and in his anger, he flooded the country. Luce (1969) quotes Appolodorus as saying, "Poseidon was very wrathful, and flooded the Therasian plain [round Eleusis], and submerged Attica under sea-water." (p.145)

Lastly, J. V. Luce (1969), doesn't believe that Atlantis was ever a continent or "lost island." He explains:

I interpret the 'disappearance' of Atlantis to mean the end of Minoan dominance in the Aegean world. Admittedly parts of Thera literally disappeared under the sea, a strange and portentous occurance which was probably recorded in Egyptian annuals, and perhaps also left some mark on the Argonaut saga. But I do not look for lost Atlantis under the surface of Thera bay. Thera was in no sense the metropolis of Crete, and cannot be identified with the metropolis of Atlantis. Thera was simply a Minoan dependency like Kythera, Keos, and half a dozen more, For me, 'lost Atlantis' is a historical rather than a geographical concept. The volcano obliterated settlements on Thera and wrecked the island, and what it did to Thera may still be seen and studied is detail, and forms the strongest testimony to the destructiveness of the eruption. But what it did to Thera is comparatively unimportant in to what it did to the Minoanized archipelago surrounding it, and to the Minoan heartland to the south. A brillant and refined culture foundered under the brutal impact of Theran vulcanism. The tidal waves were the real 'bull from the sea' which was sent to plague the rulers of Knossos. (p. 204)

Did Atlantis ever really exist? What happened to it? No one knows for sure, but many scientists and explorers have theories of where it was and how or why it disappeared. These are just some of the theories on the destruction of Atlantis, and most are well-backed up by either scientific knowledge, or archaeological and/or historical evidence.

• Berlitz, C. (1984). Atlantis: the eighth continent. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
• Braghine, Colonel A. (1940). The shadow of Atlantis. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
• Galanopoulos, A. G. & Bacon, E. (1969). Atlantis: the truth behind the legend. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co.
• Luce, J. V. (1969). Lost Atlantis: new light on an old legend. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
• Muck, O. (1978). The secret of Atlantis. New York: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. and Quadrangle.