The Elusive Location of Atlantis Part 1

According to Plato, the island of Atlantis was beyond the Pillars of Herakles and in the Great Ocean. It describes where and how big the island was and why it was referred to as a continent. Perhaps not as big as Australia as an island continent but a significant size.

Hypothesised locations of Atlantis in the Mediterranean
Courtesy of Wikipedia

“This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent.”
Plato, Timaeus

There have been a number of theories put forward as to the site of Atlantis, some are more credible than others. Many of the proposed locations have met with the same catastrophe as Atlantis, but as yet not proven to be the lost continent.
Here’s a list of suggested sites:
• In the Mediterranean-Sardinia, Crete, Santorini, Cyprus, Malta, Ponza (island states); and Troy, Turkey
• Black Sea-Bosporus, Sinop, Ancomah
• Atlantic region-Cadiz, Azores, Canary Islands, Bimini, Caribbean, South America
• Further afield-Antarctica, Indonesia
• Middle East-Sahara desert
• North Sea-shallow areas off Holland, Germany, England and Scandinavia
• Ireland

Hypothesised location of Atlantis in worldwide
Wikipedia

The fact is many of these places suffered a cataclysmic event, though no one has been able to prove which one is the historic Atlantis. Having said that, there are a few that meet the “criteria” of suffering a flood, the time period the island submerged and a disastrous end.

The world has seen many great natural disasters, flood, fire and the ice age are the prevalent events that changed the geography. We can look back in recent years such as the earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan and Indonesia. The ocean is rising and many of the cities near the water will be submerged. The shifting tectonic plates shape the Earth and create geomorphic changes. What happened to Atlantis can occur again.

Not to end on such a doomsday note, I do think Santorini is the site of Atlantis, as it was as Plato wrote a sophisticated society and a sea power. Malta is another possibility as archaeologists have found evidence of an ancient civilisation dating back to 9000 BCE. However there’s new evidence to suggest Cadiz may be the remanent island of Atlantis plus it ties in with the description and location given by Plato. I will be following these new theories and be interested to learn what they uncover.

Santorini. Clockwise from center: Nea Kameni; Palea Kameni; Aspronisi; Therasia; Thera Santorini island, Greece
EOS photo NASA, public domain

My next post will look the early maps that were drawn of Atlantis and the world.

In my second book of Servant of the Gods Series, Santorini or Thira as it was called, my intrepid travellers happen upon the site of Akrotiri.

Thank you for tuning in and reading.

As always, your comments are valued and welcomed.

Accursed Women
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Historical fiction fantasist Luciana Cavallaro, a secondary teacher, meanders from contemporary life to delve into the realms of mythology. Subscribe to her FREE short story

Sources:
Atlantis “Evidence” Found in Spain and Ireland By Stefan Lovgren for National Geographic News August 19, 2004
Atlantis Location Hypothesis 
Has the real lost city of Atlantis finally been found… buried under mud flats in Spain? By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Shocker: 9 Reasons Atlantis May Have Been Real By Katherine Neer
Top 10 Possible Locations for Atlantis by David Hatcher Childress Atlantis Rising Issue 9 from Atlantis Rising Website

ancient greece, ancient greek mythology, ancient greeks, atlanteans, geography, geology, Mediterranean, myth of atlantis, natural disasters, plato, santorini, Thira, World locations