A.V. Galanin 2011

I believe that Atlantis was most likely located behind the Pillars of Hercules - between Gibraltar and the Azores. There is a mountainous underwater country that was once dry land - an island or archipelago. And on the slopes of the highest underwater mountain Ampere, only at a depth of one hundred meters, an expedition working in 1984 and 1986 discovered strange objects that looked like “walls” and “rooms”. Then they couldn’t take pictures underwater. And geologists drew: some got “altars”, some got “walls”. At first it seemed to them that nature had created it all, but why were the sizes of the “rooms” the same? Among those geologists was Alexander Gorodnitsky, whose words from the song I took as an epigraph to this monograph. Surprisingly, A. Gorodnitsky wrote his famous song about the Atlanteans before his trip to Mount Ampere...

annotation

The monograph examines the possibility of a tectonic catastrophe in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which occurred 10-11 thousand years ago, from the standpoint of the pulsating Earth hypothesis. As a result of a sharp stretching of the oceanic crust, the large island of Atlantis, located in the Atlantic Ocean opposite the Strait of Gibraltar and located at the intersection of the meridional and latitudinal faults of the earth's crust, quickly sank into the ocean. Individual volcanic peaks of the northeastern part of Atlantis remained above sea level and became the Azores, while its main flat part became the ocean floor. The catastrophic sinking of Atlantis caused a huge tsunami wave that hit the Atlantic shores of Europe, Africa and America, causing irreparable damage to the mainland colonies of the Atlantean state. After the Atlantean catastrophe, humanity plunged into barbarism for several millennia, rediscovering the technologies that were possessed in Atlantis. The disappearance of Atlantis led to the intensification of the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream, which caused the sudden melting of the Scandinavian and North American glaciers, warming in the western sector of the Arctic and a sharp aridization of the climate in northern Africa and Western Asia.

Abstract

The author considers the opportunity of tectonic catastrophe in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean happened 10,000-11,000 yrs ago in the view of hypothesis of Pulsating Globe. In result of abrupt stretching of Oceanic crust large island Atlantis situated in Atlantic Ocean across the Strait of Gibraltar and being on the crossroad of longitudinal and latiudinal Earth Crust faults, had quickly submerged into the Ocean. Separate volcanic mountains of the north-eastern portions of Atlantis continent happened to be above ocean level and became Azores, whereas the main flat portion became the Ocean bottom. Disastrous submersion of the Atlantis caused a tremendous wave of tsunami, which came down on the Atlantic coasts of Europe, Africa and America, bringing irreparable damages to the inland colonies of the Atlases" state. After Atlantic catastrophe, humankind had sunk in barbarism for many thousands years, a new discovering technology which was used to be common in the Atlantis. Disappearance of Atlantis resulted in intensification of warm Atlantic current Gulf Stream, that caused abrupt thawing of Scandinavian and North-American Glaciers, warming of the western part of the Arctic and drastic climate aridization in the northern Africa and West Asia.

Chapter 1

Historical information about Atlantis

For protection, Poseidon surrounded the capital with three water and two land canal rings; the Atlanteans threw bridges over these canals and connected them with the sea, so that ships could sail along them to the city itself, or, more precisely, to its central part, which had a diameter of slightly less than a kilometer. In the center stood temples lined with silver and gold and surrounded by golden statues, a luxurious royal palace, and shipyards filled with ships. Plato reports: “The kings surrounded the island on which the palace stood, as well as earthen rings and a 30-meter-wide bridge with circular stone walls, and erected towers and gates everywhere on the bridges at the passages to the sea. They mined white, black and red stone in the depths of the middle island and in the depths of the outer and inner earthen rings. In the quarries, where there were recesses on both sides, covered with the same stone on top, they arranged anchorages for ships. If they made some of their buildings simple, then in others, for fun, they skillfully combined stones of different colors, giving them a natural charm; They also covered the entire circumference of the walls around the outer earthen ring with copper, applying the metal in molten form, the wall of the inner shaft was covered with tin casting, and the wall of the acropolis itself with orichalcum, which gave off a fiery shine.” In general, Plato devotes a lot of space to describing the unheard-of wealth and fertility of the island, its dense population, and rich natural world (even elephants lived there). While the divine nature remained in the Atlanteans, they disdained wealth, putting virtue above it; but when the divine nature degenerated, mixing with the human, they became mired in luxury, greed and pride. Outraged by this spectacle, Zeus planned to destroy the Atlanteans and convened a meeting of the gods. At this point the text of the dialogue that has reached us ends.

The ancient Greek philosopher Posidonius, interested in the facts of land subsidence, found Plato’s story plausible (Strabo, Geography, II, 3.6). In the II century. Aelian reported how the Atlantean kings dressed to emphasize their descent from Poseidon. In the 5th century The Neoplatonist Proclus, in his comments to the Timaeus, talks about Plato's follower Crantor, who around 260 BC. e. specially visited Egypt in order to learn about Atlantis and allegedly saw columns with inscriptions telling her story in the temple of the goddess Neith in Sais. In addition, he writes: “The fact that an island of this character and size once existed is clear from the stories of some writers who explored the environs of the Outer Sea. For, according to them, in that sea in their time there were seven islands dedicated to Persephone, and also three other islands of enormous size, one of which was dedicated to Pluto, the other to Ammon, and then to Poseidon, whose dimensions were 180 km; and their inhabitants - he adds - preserved the traditions coming from their ancestors about the immeasurably larger island of Atlantis, which actually existed there and which for many generations ruled all the islands and was likewise dedicated to Poseidon.

The mystery of Atlantis is described in many works, both adventure novels and serious scientific research. To date, scientists and enthusiastic researchers have put forward more than 1,700 hypotheses about the location of this mysterious continent and the reasons for its disappearance without a trace. However, not so completely without a trace.

One of the most outstanding scientists Ancient Greece, Plato, in his works Critias and Timaeus, mentions Atlantis, citing data from the diaries of his great-grandfather, the equally famous Athenian poet and statesman Solon. An Egyptian priest told him about the existence of a large country of Atlanteans, which fought with the Greeks for 9000 years. According to this fragmentary information, the land of the Atlanteans was somewhere on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules. According to Plato, according to Solon, Atlantis was a large and rich country with large cities and a very developed economy at that time. Picturesque territory of the country, covered with dense forests, was cut by numerous irrigation canals. Atlantis was a federation of ten kingdoms. The Atlanteans hoped to expand their territory and tried to enslave Athens and Egypt, however, they suffered a crushing defeat in the fight against the Athenian army. According to the same data, as a result of a terrible earthquake within 24 hours, the mighty Atlantis disappeared forever under water.

Scientists to this day have not reached a consensus regarding Plato’s story about this mysterious country. Perhaps Atlantis was just the product of one of the ancient Greek legends? This assumption is supported by the fact that not all of Plato’s stories were believed even by his contemporaries. According to these scientists, in such ancient times, 9000 years before the birth of Plato, such a highly developed culture could not have existed. She couldn’t for the simple reason that at that time the end of the Ice Age had just happened. Many scientists agree that cavemen and highly developed Atlanteans could have lived at the same time. And can it really be that an entire country disappears without a trace overnight? However, most scientists argue that Atlantis could well have existed in reality, because the legends must have had at least some basis, and most of the myths reflected events that took place in reality.

After all, archaeologists found the ruins of the once mythical ancient Troy, which was also considered a figment of the imagination of blind Homer. And not so long ago, the fact was scientifically proven that the ancient Greeks could make quite long long journeys on their ships, and, like Odysseus, reach the shores of Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece. As for the huge and destructive force earthquakes, then, according to geologists, it is really capable of burying a vast area in a short time.

However, if we assume that Atlantis really existed, another rather important question arises. Where should researchers go, where should they look for this mythical land? Scientists from different times and countries could never come to a common opinion. Some of them believed that the mysterious Atlantis sank to the bottom of the central part of the Atlantic Ocean - somewhere between two continents, Europe and North America. This statement is based on the words of Plato, who noted that the mysterious land was located in front of a strait called the Pillars of Hercules (framed by the rocks Abilik and Kalpa), which was located at the Strait of Gibraltar. In addition, these lands are home to many of the same species of animals and plants. In addition, not so long ago the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, located in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, was discovered. Adjacent to the ridge is a vast plateau with a number of ridges, the peaks of which form the Azores.

It is likely that this area was once dry land and sank to the ocean floor about 12 thousand years ago during a geological disaster. This period exactly coincides with the estimated time of the existence of Atlantis. After this, the warm Gulf Stream finally reached the shores of Northern Europe, and as a result, the Ice Age ended in our part of the world. This version of warming in Europe was put forward by the Russian scientist N.F. Zhirov, as well as some other researchers. It is likely that the Azores and Madeira Islands are the very remnants of the lost continent. According to some scientists, not all the inhabitants of Atlantis died during the collapse of their continent - some survivors reached the shores of America, while others reached Europe. It was they who laid the foundation for the greatest civilizations of Mexico and Peru, as well as Egypt and Mesopotamia. This explains the striking similarities in their architecture, traditions and religions, all the more surprising because the countries were far from each other.

Indeed, the inhabitants of both shores of the Atlantic equally worshiped the Sun, and believed in the myth of the global flood, widespread both in Mesopotamia and among the Indian tribes that inhabited the South and North America. It is amazing that the language of the Basques living in northern Spain in the Pyrenees Mountains is completely different from other European languages, but at the same time is very similar to the languages ​​of some Indian tribes. And the ancient pyramids created by our ancestors in Mexico and Egypt have a lot in common.

In addition, in both countries there is a custom of mummifying the dead, moreover, the same objects are placed in their graves. But the main thing is that in places where Mayan burials are located, archaeologists find jewelry made from green jade, the deposits of which simply do not exist in America. Maybe he got there from Atlantis?

According to a legend widespread among the Indians of Peru and Mexico, which tells about the white god Quetzacoatl, he arrived on the mainland on a sailboat from the edge of the early sun - that is, from the east. God taught the Indian tribes construction and crafts, revealed laws and religion to them, and then mysteriously disappeared. The Peruvians, who did not know about the existence of the Aztecs, believed in the same legend, except with one amendment - their god was called Viracocha. Perhaps these people came from Atlantis? It is believed that their images are found on the walls of the cities of Chichen Itza and Tiguanaku.

Scientists include the ruins of ancient Indian cities, the remains of which are located in the Peruvian Andes and the impenetrable jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, as evidence of the existence of Atlantis.

In the fall of 1970, while inspecting the coastal waters of the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean from a seaplane, D. Rebikov, a French archaeologist and aquanaut, noticed strange ruins of some buildings on the ocean floor near the island of North Bimini. Divers who went underwater discovered giant walls more than a hundred meters long. They were made of giant blocks, each of which weighed about 25 tons. Who were they built by? Perhaps Atlanteans? True, it was soon discovered that these “walls” arose as a result of cracking of coastal rocks that went under water due to the gradual sinking of the Bahamas to the bottom.

They are also looking for Atlantis in the Mediterranean Sea. The most plausible is the opinion of the Russian scientist A.S. Norov, who considered the island of Crete and many small Greek islands to the north of it to be the remnants of a continent that had sunk into oblivion. The famous Soviet geographer L. S. Berg agreed with this opinion. Today, the vast majority of scientists adhere to this theory. This version is supported by recent studies in this area and in the Atlantic Ocean.

When studying the area of ​​the supposed death of Atlantis at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, scientists found that the average thickness of sedimentary rocks in this zone is about 4 meters. Moreover, at the current rate of accumulation of such rocks, amounting to 10-15 mm per thousand years, this will require at least 300 thousand years, and certainly not 12 thousand, as claimed by supporters of the Atlantean origin of the mysterious Atlantis.

In addition, according to evidence from recent oceanographic research, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the result of a geological event, during which the continents of Africa and South America “teared apart” to form. Scientists separately noted the features of the pattern of coastlines: the western line of the African continent and the eastern line of the South American continent.

Accordingly, there is simply no room for Atlantis to be located in the Atlantic Ocean. But what then to do with Plato’s message about the location of the disappeared country, supposedly located in front of the Pillars of Hercules, that is, the Strait of Gibraltar? Before Plato, the name “Pillars of Hercules” could have meant a completely different place. Which one? The debate among researchers has not subsided to this day.

Regarding the Mediterranean location of Atlantis, assumed by most scientists, they give whole line enough weighty evidence.

For example, it has been established that on the island of Thira (Santorini), located in the Aegean Sea, about 3.5 thousand years ago there was a volcanic explosion of destructive force, similar to the one that was noted in 1883 on the island of Krakatoa in the southeastern Asia, among the islands of Indonesia. Apparently, this was the greatest geological disaster in the entire history of our planet.

The force of the explosion of the Santorini volcano was equal to the explosion of about 200 thousand atomic bombs, identical to those that were dropped on Hiroshima at one time.

Scientist Harun Taziev gives the approximate date of the explosion - 1470 BC and claims that as a result, about 80 billion cubic meters rose into the air. m of crushed rock, and the waves that arose in the process reached 260 m. Danish scientists reasonably believe that the explosion took place in 1645 BC. e., almost 150 years earlier.

Just at that time, the islands located in this part of the Aegean Sea were ruled by the Minoans, who achieved enormous success in science and craftsmanship. As a result of a powerful volcanic explosion, it was established that one of the developed cities on the island of Thira and the center of Minoan civilization, located on Crete - Knossos, perished.

Most of the state's territory was absorbed by the Aegean Sea. It was probably this event, the echo of which reached Plato through the centuries, and was reflected in his story about the country of the Atlanteans. True, in Plato’s interpretation, the size of the sunken continent is much larger, and the time of the catastrophe has been shifted many thousands of years ago.

In other words, according to fans of this hypothesis, in Plato’s descriptions we are talking specifically about the state of the Minoans. After all, according to his data, Atlantis was a developed sea power, and the same could be said about the country of the Minoans, which had an impressive navy. Plato said that on the island of the Atlanteans, fat herds of sacred bulls grazed, of which the Minoans had a lot, and they were also considered sacred. On the seabed near Thira, a ditch was discovered similar to the one with which, according to Plato, the fortress in the capital of Atlantis was protected. Now the island of Thira is a fragment left after the explosion of a giant volcano. The ruins of the Minoan city, excavated in 1967, lay under a thick layer of volcanic ash and, like Pompeii, are perfectly preserved. Archaeologists have found many colored frescoes and even wooden objects here.

In 1976, the famous French scientist and aquanaut Jacques Cousteau discovered the remains of the ancient Minoan civilization at the bottom of the Aegean Sea near the island of Crete. According to his calculations, it was destroyed during the devastating eruption of the Santorini volcano that occurred in 1450 BC. e. However, Cousteau always considered Atlantis a beautiful fairy tale by Plato.

The authority of Cousteau's opinion forced many scientists to “return” to the hypothesis of the Atlantean Atlantis. The impetus for this decision was the discovery west of Gibraltar of a group of seamounts with table-like peaks located only 100-200 meters below ocean level. Many scientists consider these mountains to be the remains of a vast archipelago that sank in ancient times.

The photographs taken by a researcher at the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1973 became a sensation. At that time, he took part in an expedition on the ship "Akademik Kurchatov". Looking at the eight underwater photographs he took, you can see the ruins of a fortress wall and other buildings on top of one of the seamounts.

As a result of those carried out in 1983-1984. research, scientists from the research vessels "Akademik Vernadsky" and "Vityaz" with the help of the underwater vehicles "Pysis" and "Argus", confirmed that Mount Amper is an extinct volcano that once sank to the ocean floor. Well, the notorious ruins are far from being the creations of human hands, but ordinary natural formations.

This means that the fruitless search for Atlantis in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean only confirms the conclusions of scientists looking for traces of its presence in the Aegean Sea. True, some disagreements arose within their orderly ranks. The reason for this in 1987 was the Russian scientist I. Mashnikov. He logically rethought the works of Plato and put forward a new hypothesis.

First of all, he disputes the time of the destruction of Atlantis, as well as some other data of Plato. For example, the number of Atlantean ground and naval forces. Judging by Plato's words, the Atlanteans had a huge armada - 1200 ships, as well as an army, which, according to experts, amounted to more than a million soldiers. Accordingly, the army of the Greeks that defeated the Atlanteans should have been no less numerous. According to Mashnikov’s quite logical reasoning, during the Ice Age there was simply nowhere for such a huge army to come from, taking into account the fact that at that time the number of inhabitants of the entire planet was no more than 3-4 million people, and at the same time they were at a fairly low level of development.

Accordingly, we are most likely talking about another, much later time. Mashnikov says that ancient people wrote down nine thousand as ten thousand minus a thousand, and, accordingly, nine hundred as a thousand minus one hundred. In the Egyptian number system, a thousand was denoted by the sign "M", and in the ancient Greek system, "M" meant ten thousand. Apparently, Solon simply rewrote Egyptian signs from ancient Egyptian documents, and Plato understood them in ancient Greek. This is how 9000 appeared instead of 900."

If we take into account the fact that Solon “stayed” in Egypt (560 BC) 900 years after the death of Atlantis, the approximate date of the disaster is 1460 BC. e. plus a possible error of 100-150 years.

Scientists, looking for Atlantis in the Atlantic, according to Mashnikov, took a false trail, because they had no doubt that Plato’s Pillars of Hercules, behind which this land was located, was the Strait of Gibraltar. But, under the Pillars of Hercules, apparently, some other place was meant. At the same time, Plato has direct instructions that allow us to determine the location of Atlantis. Plato says that the sea border between the country of the Atlanteans and the Athenian state was laid along the Pillars of Hercules. This means that these pillars could only be located in the Aegean Sea. In another place in his story, Plato directly points out that Athens opposed the state of the Atlanteans, which can be interpreted not only as a war, but also as a geographical one, that is, they were on the other side - on the peninsula of Asia Minor. At this time, the land of the Hittites was there. In addition, according to the author, only here cities were built on a circular plan, creating canals as if outlined by a compass.

But Plato talked about Atlantis as a large island that sank to the bottom of the sea. It can be assumed that part of this state was indeed located on an island, although not as large as Plato claimed. Probably, it was this island, and not the whole country, that perished as a result of a volcanic eruption or earthquake, as a result of which only a chain of islands remained, which is now called the Sporades. It turns out that Atlantis is actually Hettia or its island part. In addition, Plato, when retelling Solon, argued that Atlantis was at war with Athens. And from sources it is known that in the XIV century. BC e. Egypt waged war with Hettia, and after some time Athens entered the war, according to the historian Herodotus, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Hittites and captured 13 of their cities. Subsequently, the Hittite empire collapsed.

According to I. Mashnikov, the war between Hettia and Athens is the key to solving another mystery. Obviously, “Atlanteans” is not a nationality, but a contemptuous name for an enslaved people. The sculpture of the enemy, who became a slave and propped up the cornice, was a symbol of the courage of the victors and the humility of the vanquished. The defeated Hittites were turned into slaves and became Atlanteans, their fallen state began to be called Atlantis." Perhaps these arguments are not far from the truth.

An unusual version of the origin of Atlantis was put forward in 1992 by the German scientist Zangger. Some researchers consider his book about the secrets of Atlantis simply brilliant. According to Zangger, Plato's narrative is a distorted memory of the once fallen Troy. This ancient city, which was located near the Dardanelles Strait and was described by Homer in the 12th century. BC e. as having fallen under the onslaught of the Greeks, was considered a myth. But, in 1871, the ruins of Troy were found by the German scientist G. Schliemann. At the same time, Zangger provides quite a lot of significant evidence of this hypothesis, especially if we take into account the coincidences in the descriptions of Homer and Plato of the area in which Troy was located.

But what about the fact that Plato speaks not about the plain, but about the large island? Zangger believes that Solon is to blame for this. When reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the pillar while visiting the main temple in the residence of the Egyptian pharaohs, located in Saisi, he made a mistake. Allegedly, these hieroglyphs denoted a sandy strip or coast. A serious mistake was made in the designation of the place where Atlantis was located on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules. It is possible that the Dardanelles bore this name.

According to the author of this version, another serious mistake crept into Plato’s story, which was the incorrect determination of the time of the disaster. After all, on the column of an Egyptian temple is written the story that nine thousand years ago the Greeks overthrew a powerful power - Atlantis. This hypothesis also has weak side– discrepancies that the author explains by the mistakes of the ancient sages. In addition, the rationale for determining the date of the war is rather unconvincing.

In general, each of the hypotheses has a certain rational grain, and which of them will ultimately turn out to be true, only time will tell. Or a new hypothesis - after all, the mystery of Atlantis has not yet been solved.

In the works of some ancient Greek historians, geographers, mythographers, mathematicians, theologians and astronomers, there is mention of one state that has sunk into eternity: the legendary island of Atlantis. About two thousand years ago, Plato, Herodotus, Diodorus and other respected authors wrote about it in their works.

Ancient authors about the sunken island of Atlantis

Basic information about the lost Atlantis is contained in the writings of Plato. In the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he talks about an island state that existed about 11,500 years ago.

According to Plato, the ancestor of the Atlanteans was the god Poseidon. He connected his life with a mortal girl, who bore him ten sons. When the children grew up, the father divided the island between them. The best part of the land went to Poseidon's eldest son: Atlan.

Atlantis was a powerful, rich and populous state. Its inhabitants erected a serious defense system against external enemies and built a network of circular canals leading to the sea, as well as an internal port.

Large cities were distinguished by amazing architectural structures and beautiful sculptures: temples made of gold and silver, golden statues and sculptures. The island was very fertile, with a diverse natural world; people mined copper and silver in the depths of the earth.

The Atlanteans were a warlike people: the army of the state included a navy of 1000 ships, the number of crews was 240 thousand people; The ground army numbered 700 thousand people. The descendants of Poseidon successfully fought for many years, conquering new territories and wealth; This was the case until Athens stood in their way.

To defeat the Atlanteans, the Athenians created a military alliance with the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. But on the day of the battle, the allies refused to fight, and the Athenians were left alone with the enemy. Fearless, courageous Greeks defeated the aggressor and liberated the peoples previously enslaved by him.

But early on, the Greek warriors rejoiced at their achievements: they decided to intervene in the affairs of people, who had been monitoring the inhabitants of Atlantis for the last centuries. Zeus considered that the Atlanteans had become greedy, greedy, depraved and decided to punish them to the fullest extent by flooding the island along with its inhabitants and the Athenians who did not have time to celebrate the victory.

This is what Plato writes about Atlantis in his two works. At first glance, this is just a beautiful legend, an interesting fairy tale. There is no direct evidence of the existence of Atlantis in ancient times, nor any references to authoritative sources.

But these two dialogues survived not only Plato himself, but also two more millennia - during which time many disputes and theories arose regarding the lost state.

Plato’s student Aristotle, who listened to the speeches of Platonist philosophers for about 20 years, eventually categorically rejected the existence of Atlantis, declaring that the dialogues “Timaeus” and “Critius” were simply fiction, the ravings of an old man.

It was because of Aristotle that Atlantis was talked about reluctantly, in a low voice, until the end of the 18th century. After all, this venerable philosopher enjoyed unquestioned authority in Europe, especially in the Middle Ages. All of Aristotle's statements were perceived by Europeans as the ultimate truth.

So why was Aristotle so sure that Atlantis was a fiction, because he had no irrefutable evidence of this? Why was he so harsh in his judgments? Some sources claim that the philosopher simply did not like his mentor, so he decided in this way to spoil Plato’s authority in the eyes of his fans and admirers.

Mentions of the Atlanteans in the works of other ancient authors

Other ancient authors wrote very little about Atlantis: Herodotus claimed that the Atlanteans had no names, did not see and were defeated by troglodytes - cavemen; According to the stories of Diodorus, the inhabitants of Atlantis fought with the Amazons. Posidonius, interested in the causes of land subsidence, believed that Plato’s story was plausible.

Proclus in his writings talks about one follower of the ancient thinker: a resident of Athens, Krantor.

Allegedly, he specially went to 47 years after the death of the philosopher to find evidence in favor of the existence of the island state; Having returned from his trip, Krantor said that in one of the ancient temples he saw columns with inscriptions retelling the historical events described by Plato.

Search for Atlantis

It is quite difficult to indicate the exact location of the lost Atlantis: there are many hypotheses about where the sunken state could be located.

Plato wrote that a huge island was once located in the ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules (i.e., beyond Gibraltar). But his searches in the area of ​​the Canary, Balearic, Azores and British Islands led to nothing.

Some researchers propose to look for the remains of the material culture of the Atlanteans in the Black Sea, linking the flooding of the island with the “Black Sea flood” that occurred 7-8 thousand years ago - then the sea level rose in less than a year, according to various estimates, from 10 to 80 meters.

There is a hypothesis according to which Antarctica is the lost Atlantis. Scientists who adhere to this theory believe that Antarctica in ancient times was shifted to the south pole due to lithospheric shift, or a sharp displacement of the earth's axis as a result of the collision of our planet with a large cosmic body.

There is also an opinion that traces of Atlantis can be found in South America or Brazil. But most interpreters of Plato’s dialogues are sure: the lost island must be looked for only in the Atlantic Ocean.

In recent decades, the lost state has sought many expeditions, most of which returned empty-handed. True, from time to time the whole world is excited by news about the found traces of a submerged island.

Did the Russians find Atlantis?

In 1979, a Soviet expedition, while testing a diving bell, accidentally discovered some objects in the Atlantic Ocean that looked like the ruins of an ancient city.

The action took place just behind the “Pillars of Hercules” indicated by Plato, 500 km from Gibraltar, above the Ampere seamount, which many thousands of years ago protruded above the surface of the ocean, but then for some reason went under water.

Three years later, the Soviet ship Rift set off to the same place to explore the ocean floor using the Argus submersible. The aquanauts were amazed by what they saw; from their words, a panorama of city ruins opened up to them: the remains of rooms, squares, streets.

But the expedition that took place in 1984 did not live up to the hopes of the researchers: an analysis of two stones raised from the ocean floor showed that it was just volcanic rock, frozen lava, and not the creation of human hands.

The opinion of modern scientists about Atlantis

Atlantis is a fiction

Most modern historians and philologists are convinced: Plato’s dialogues are just a beautiful legend, of which the philosopher has many. There are no traces of this state either in Greece, or in western Europe, or in Africa - this is confirmed by archaeological excavations.

The opinion of scientists that Atlantis is only a figment of the imagination is also based on the following: the philosopher writes about a network of canals built on the island, about an inland port, but such large-scale projects in ancient times were beyond the power of people.

Plato indicated the approximate date of the island's immersion in the ocean depths: 9000 years before he wrote his dialogues (i.e. approximately 9500 BC). But this contradicts the data of modern science: at that time humanity was just emerging from the Paleolithic era. It is not easy to believe that somewhere in those times there lived a people who were thousands of years ahead of the entire human race in their development.

Many scientists are convinced that Plato, when writing his works, took as a basis some events that occurred during his life: for example, the defeat of the Greeks during their attempt to conquer the island of Sicily and the flooding of the town of Gelica as a result of an earthquake followed by flooding.

Other researchers believe that the basis for the philosopher’s works was the volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini with a tsunami that subsequently hit the coast of Crete and other islands of the Mediterranean Sea - this catastrophe led to the decline of the developed Minoan civilization.

The version is supported by the following fact: the Minoans really fought with the Archeans who inhabited Greece in ancient times and were even defeated by them (just as the Atlanteans were defeated by the Greeks in the dialogues “Timaeus” and “Critias”).

In general, many researchers of the thinker’s works believe that Plato, being an idealistic utopian, with his writings only wanted to call on his contemporaries to build an ideal exemplary humane state in which there would be no place for dictatorship, violence and tyranny.

However, the philosopher himself constantly emphasizes in his dialogues that Atlantis is not just a legend, but a real island state that once existed.

Plato doesn't lie

Some researchers still admit: there is a grain of truth in the works of the ancient thinker. Excavations carried out by archaeologists in recent years have helped scientists obtain new information about the life and technical achievements of our ancestors living 5-10 thousand years ago.

Modern archaeologists find the remains of grandiose structures created by ancient people everywhere: in Egypt, Sumer, Babylon. Collection tunnels groundwater, many kilometers of adits, stone dams, man-made lakes - all these structures were in operation long before the birth of Plato.

Consequently, the philosopher’s dialogues cannot be attributed to fiction only on the grounds that humanity 11 thousand years ago was unable to build a network of canals and bridges: recent archaeological excavations prove the opposite.

In addition, since Plato’s works have come down to us, rewritten more than once, there is a possibility that over two millennia there has been confusion with the dates.

The fact is that in the system of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the number “9000” is indicated by lotus flowers, and the number “900” by rope knots; supporters of the existence of Atlantis believe that later copyists of dialogues could easily confuse symbols that were so similar to each other, thus pushing the historical event back several thousand years.

On top of that, Plato, who belongs to a highly revered family in Ancient Greece, refers in his dialogues to his ancestor: the wisest of the “seven wise men,” the legislator Solon. And the ancient Greeks were very sensitive to their roots and tried to preserve the sacred memory of their relatives. Would Plato, given his moral qualities, have referred to Solon in his works, because if this whole story with Atlantis was just a fiction, he would have tarnished the name of the wisest representative of the family?

Afterword

Atlantis has been shrouded in an aura of mystery for many centuries. People have been trying to find the suddenly disappeared state for almost two thousand years: some wanting to take possession of the treasures described by Plato, others out of scientific interest, others simply out of curiosity.

In the 50s of the last century, a doctrine called “Atlantology” even appeared; its main task is to identify true information about Atlantis in historical sources and mythical legends.

The debate about whether the mysterious land once existed or whether the ancient Greek thinker simply made it up continues to this day. Various theories are born and die, guesses appear and disappear. Some of them are supported by science, while others are more like a beautiful fairy tale.

Perhaps our children or grandchildren will solve the riddle of Atlantis. But it may happen that another two thousand years will pass, and the mystery of the lost island will remain unsolved, and our descendants, just like us today, will be tormented by guesses and assumptions.

ARTICLE IN VIDEO FORMAT