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The story of Atlantis has enthralled people for over two millennia. This myth is one that has been the subject of countless books, poems, and even movies. Nearly everyone is familiar with the story of the fabled civilization that sank beneath the waves and it that has entered the popular imagination. Indeed, many do not believe that Atlantis is a myth but was a real historical place and that its remains may still be found to this day. The origin of the myth is in the Classical World, it was first told by the great Greek philosopher Plato. Most authorities accept that Atlantis is only a tale. However, there may have been a real ‘Atlantis’ and there are several ancient societies that possibly inspired the tale. This article will examine the ancient civilizations that could have inspired the myth of Atlantis. It will not examine the more far-fetched theories on the lost island, such as it was the Antarctic or Ireland.

The only sources for the story of the fabled island are the philosophical dialogues of Plato, that date from about 360 BC. The Athenian Philosopher mentions Atlantis in two of his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. In the Timaeus, the story of the island is only briefly discussed. In the Critias, Plato claims that the great Athenian law-giver Solon is the source of the story<ref> Forsyth, P. Y. Atlantis: The Making of Myth. (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1980), p. 12</ref>. This story had been handed down by wise men and priests for thousands of years and it was transmitted to Solon. The great Athenian was known to have traveled widely and is regarded as one of the ‘Seven Sages of Greece’. Plato claims that Solon translated some records from Egyptian into Greek and it was from these that he learned the story of Atlantis<ref>Plato. Timaeus, 3b</ref>. Some believe that Plato may have been influenced in his conception of Atlantis, by the works of the mythographer Hellanicus of Lesbos. In particular, he is believed to have written a work called Atlantis, who was the daughter of the God of the Sea Poseidon. The story of Atlantis in the Platonic dialogues is widely regarded as a form of philosophical allegory. Plato taught many of is doctrines in the form of allegorical tales, one of the best known is the story of the ‘Prisoners in the Cave’ found in the Republic<ref>Plato, The Republic, v, 515b2</ref>. The Athenian Philosopher’s discussion of the story of Atlantis is regarded as an allegory on the ideal society and what happens to states, when their citizenry lost, their virtues<ref>Forsyth, p. 18</ref>.

In the dialogue Critias, a well-known Athenian politician relates that the Olympian Gods divided the earth between them. The sea-god Poseidon was allocated the great island of Atlantis. This was located beyond the Straits of Gibraltar and was therefore situated in the Atlantic Ocean. It was believed to be very large and was approximately 500 miles long <ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>It was very fertile and rich, but it was very prone to earthquakes. According to Egyptian sources, the island was hilly and in the center was a great plain. Critias in the Platonic dialogue states that Poseidon had five pairs of twins with a nymph. The firstborn son was named Atlas and he later became monarch of the island. The Atlantic Ocean is named after this fabled king. The other sons of Poseidon were also given extensive territories to rule in and around Atlantis. According to the Platonic dialogue, Poseidon created a palace for the mother of Atlas. Near here, the Atlanteans build a canal and tunnels that linked this palace to the rest of the island<ref>Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>. They also built a great city that was surrounded by mighty walls, that were multi-colored and covered with precious metals. Plato has Critias state that Atlantis was a veritable paradise on earth for many centuries. It was a well-ordered land, that was justly ruled, and its kings were wise. In the Platonic dialogue, the island is portrayed as the perfect society and a Utopia. However, over time, the Atlanteans became decadent and lost their old virtue and become increasingly rapacious and war-like ref>, Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>. Some 9000 years ago there was a great war, between the Atlanteans and the rest of the inhabited world. The Atlanteans had subjugated most of Europe, as far as Italy. Athens led a coalition against the new Atlantean Empire. Even though the Athenians were betrayed by their allies, they still managed to defeat the Atlanteans<ref>, Plato. Critias. 32 b</ref>. Soon after the defeat of Atlantis, a series of floods and earthquakes shook the island and this led it to subside and eventually to sink into the sea<ref>Forsyth, p. 18</ref>. All traces of it apart from some records have vanished according to the Dialogue. We do not know if Plato invented the fable or if there was an actual myth about the great island, in the Classical era. In Ancient times, opinion was divided on the historicity of the island, some such as Strabo believed it to be true, while others saw it as a fiction. The tale of Atlantis inspired Francis Bacon in his great work the New Atlantis and St Thomas More in his work Utopia. In 1882, the Minnesotan politician Ignatius L. Donnelly wrote the pseudo-historical work Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. Donnelly took Plato literally and he contended that there had once been a huge island in the mid-Atlantic and that the Atlanteans once had a superior civilization. This work revived interest in Plato’s philosophical narrative and from then on there are those who have been committed to finding the lost island or continent.

==The Minoans==

Many believe that the origin of the Atlantis myth was the civilization of the Minoans, which was centered on the island of Crete. The Minoan civilization flourished between 2700 and 1500 BC. It is particularly famous for its great palaces and artworks. The most famous site in the Minoan culture is that of Knossos. This society dominated the eastern Mediterranean for many centuries and they traded with many other cultures including the Egyptians <ref> Castleden, Rodney. Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete (New York, Routledge, 1993), p 13-30</ref>. They also established many colonies throughout the Aegean such as that on the modern island of Santorini, which was known as the island of Thera in the Classical World. We do not know the name that the Minoans called themselves. The archaeologist who rediscovered the civilization called it after the legendary King Minos. There is a great deal of evidence that the Minoans were literate, but experts are still not able to decipher their writings. This civilization began a slow period of decline around 1700 BC. This was greatly exacerbated by the so-called Minoan Eruption. In the mid-1500 BC, there was a massive volcanic eruption on the Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). This is one of the largest known volcanic eruptions in all of human history. It was so large that it caused havoc as far away as China. Based on the amount of material that is released into the atmosphere it was the fifth-largest ever recorded. The volcano’s eruption caused much of the island of Thera to collapse into the sea. At the time of the eruption, there was a large Minoan town on the island and this is known, today as Akrotiri. At one point in time, Akrotiri was a major center in the copper trade but the population probably fled before the disaster. However, Akrotiri was completely buried, just like Pompeii. The eruption at Thera devasted the entire region. It appears that the volcano caused a tsunami that caused devastation on Crete <ref> Castleden, p. 113</ref>. The ash from the eruption also caused temporary climate change and led to crop-failures and ultimately famine. Many believed that the eruption on the island led to the demise of the Minoans. However, the great palaces were rebuilt and the Minoan civilizations recovered, after the date of the volcanic eruption. Many believe that the story of Atlantis was inspired by the disaster that overtook the Minoan World in the mid-2nd century BC<ref> Castleden, p. 117</ref>. There are certainly some similarities, the Minoans and the Atlanteans were undoubtedly superior cultures and were island-based societies. Then they both suffered from flooding and a cataclysm. In particular, the destruction of the rich and cultured city of Akhritori was the historical model for Atlantis. However, it should be noted that the idea that the Minoans could be equated with the Atlanteans is modern.

In the 4th millennium BC, a sophisticated Stone Age civilization emerged in Malta, an archipelago of islands in the center of the Mediterranean. This civilization is often known as the Temple culture. Beginning in around 3500 BC, the people of the island began to erect massive temples and other monuments. They are some of the earliest free-standing buildings that have been built in all of human culture. The majority of the temples consist of five semi-circular rooms that surrounded a central space, which was probably a sacred space. There have been many important archaeological finds in these temples, especially of figures of obese women. These are believed to represent some fertility goddess or a mother goddess. Some believe that Malta and its temples were the centers of an important pan-Mediterranean cult. The Maltese temple culture was one that lasted until 2200 BC. No one knows for sure why the civilization collapsed but it may have been a result of over-farming and climate change. The Temple culture may have been handed down in the oral tradition and it possibly contributed to the myth of a great civilization, that was lost, after a cataclysmic flood.

Atlantis has captured the imagination of many generations. However, it has been greatly misunderstood. Plato used the story of the doomed civilization to illustrate his philosophical views and arguments. He may or may not have used an existing myth or simply created it, something he did repeatedly in his works. Plato probably based his philosophical tale on a real-life model. An analysis of the Atlantean narrative would indicate that the Athenian philosopher based on his tale on s told about historical societies that collapsed. In all likelihood, Plato probably based his tale on the collapse of the Minoan Civilization and in particular the destruction of Akrotiri.

Donnelly, Ignatius. Atlantis: the antediluvian world. Book Tree, 2006.

Zink, David. The Stones of Atlantis. Prentice-Hall, 1978.

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