Atlantis is the legend of the country that disappeared mysteriously under the sea. A true story or myth brilliantly brought to life by the Greek philosopher Plato? Atlantis is one of the greatest mysteries, a lost continent, a long gone civilization that continues to be a topic of debate, research and inspiration amongst scholars and artists around the world. Atlantis is often painted as the lost continent, home to the first civilization, a paradise that quickly disappeared due to an apocalyptic natural catastrophe. Other seem to believe that Atlantis is all a beautiful made belief that was the background frame to Plato’s characters’ Timaeus and Critias.
The name Atlantis has been associated with various forms of civilization around the world. Both the Canary Islands, the Basques and the Aztecs all have a city named “Atlantis” in their historical past. “Plato said Atlantis was a large island in the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere west of the Pillars of Hercules” (Source: http://theshadowlands.net/atlantis/#The%20Legend%20of). Yet this standpoint seems to be greatly debated and claimed by various theories that associate the island with various regions of the world. According to Plato, Atlantis was a fabulous garden of Eden with precious flowers, crystals and minerals surrounded my fertile lands, rivers and all sorts of species. All resources were plentiful and the Atlanteans built everything from simple houses to elaborated and elegant palaces. The Greek philosopher seem to believe that in the heart of the capital was situated a gigantic palace, the heart of the island and the symbol of the power of the capital. According to some scholars, Plato also put forward the idea that Atlantis had a great military capacity with an enormous and well-trained army. Ancients tales seem to believe that Plato’s knowledge of the continent came from a man called Solon who had received the precious information from the ancient Egyptians. While there is no real proof to back up such facts, it is interesting to note that Plato’s tale “is also described in the Bible as the Great Flood” (Source: http://theshadowlands.net/atlantis/#The%20Legend%20of). Perhaps, the island is simply a metaphor of a paradise like Garden of Eden, a sacred and secret kingdom where men can escape their daily problems and mortal preoccupations. For now, all of these remain hypothesis and supposition since no scientific proof has been found in order to demonstrate or negate such theory.
While Plato located the island in the Atlantic Ocean, other theories seem to be in contradiction. According to an article by the BBC news, this long gone land was located in the Eastern Mediterranean about 3 500 years ago, home to the Minoans that propagated the myth of the Minotaur and the famous labyrinth. Some scientists seem to locate Atlantis amongst the Greek islands that disappeared after having been hit by a gigantic tsunami that also took away the Minoan culture. The Minoans were sailors and fishermen who based their survival on trade and the resources of the sea. For this reason, the population was concentrated around the coats, rendering villages vulnerable to a potential natural disaster such as a tsunami. “Minoan building material, pottery and cups along with food residue such as isolated animal bones were mixed up with rounded beach pebbles and sea shells and microscopic marine fauna” (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6568053.stm). This odd amalgamation is another hint that shifts hypothesis towards the possibility of a tsunami that took everything apart and meshed it up together.
The Atlantis myth seems to have an influence on every culture and seems to be even today a constant inspiration to artists like Alexander McQueen who designed his last collection based on the myth of Atlantis (see our special post on McQueen at /alexander-mcqueen-water-stylism.html). Olfo Rudbeck, a Swedish scholar, inspired by Homeric sailing directions located Atlantis in Sweden. Famous poet, William Blake was also inspired by the myth of Atlantis in his writings while Charles-Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a French scholar, translated a manuscript that told the story of a mysterious land that had sunk into the ocean after a natural disaster.
Perhaps the lack of proof, the multiple theories that come into contradiction with each other are all part of the magic myth of the lost continent Atlantis. While scholars strive to discover the truth, deep down people love the mystery that enables them to use their own imagination in order to create their own truth. Atlantis remains a myth of the past that continues to life in the present, a source of inspiration to writers and moviemakers around the globe.
