Atlantis- The Lost City

Plato once spoke of a city- a city so pure. A Utopia roamed by the demigods. There are many speculations on if this city exists, no one knows for sure.. However many are searching for this “Lost City”, but where would they start?

There are many theories about where Atlantis was said to be, however one that caught my attention was the theory by Michael Hubner. He believes that Atlantis is near South-West Morocco, of course his theory is very debatable. Some people actually believe that Atlantis sunk underground due to shifts and erosion.

The way Plato spoke about this Utopia is truly amazing, he talks about how their lands were rich filled with lush vegetation as well as exotic wildlife. It makes you think, What would life would be like back then?

If Atlantis truly existed we have to remember that it would have been around way before Jesus, monotheism wasn’t even an idea back then. Most, if not all, people had basically the same concept: Polytheism. They believed in many Gods, each God had a specific job/specialty. Plato spoke of how the reason Atlantis sunk was because the Gods became angry with them. Whatever they had done angered the Gods so much that a flood caused by them (The Gods) killed all living souls, good and bad. Evidence has changed the minds of some scientists view on this ruined Utopia. Ruins were found that some scientists believe to be Atlantis, in the rumble is a statue. Perhaps of Poseidon?

In a hypothetical scenario let’s assume that Atlantis existed, a flood wiped out this “Utopia” caused by Gods. Let’s say the rubble these people found was indeed Atlantis and that statue was Poseidon. Why would he murder the people that worshiped him maybe even more than the Holy God Zeus himself?

Speaking of floods, let’s discuss the theories of how Atlantis became lost, if it existed at all..

Theory 1:

The first and most obvious theory is flooding.

The story of this catastrophic event ties in with the story of “Noah’s Great Flood” from the Bible. In the Bible it speaks of many floods caused by comets and earthquakes. However, in this story it is said to be caused by the Black sea. According to two scientists, “water from the Mediterranean and Aegean seas overflowed into the Black Sea”. This flood was assumed to cover about 60,000 square miles of coastal plains. Robert Billard is one of the worlds best underwater archaeologists. In 1985 his crew found one of the most remarkable and famous shipwrecks, The Titanic.

His crew also found evidence of an ancient civilization in the Black sea. Which to him is proof of this ancient Utopia. By carbon dating shells found along the shoreline they have been able to establish the timeline of these events.

Theory 2:

In one of Plato’s mysterious books he speaks of a circular island with concentric structures, today we now know this island as Santorini. Which still today has a very impressive concentric structure. Even though its structure was massively affected by the rupture of a volcano called “Minoan”. However even before then Santorini was amazingly built. Recently Plato’s once stories are now coming together, peace by peace, to prove that they weren’t really stories. In the past 20 years results from detailed geologic studies have been coming out with information proving Plato’s “Stories”.

Many believe that Santorini is actually Atlantis.. Or rather is the ruins of Atlantis. If the eruption of the Minoan volcano ruined all the lushes vegetation, and killed the exotic life. It is not hard to believe that this concentric island is now the ruins and rubble of the past.Both theories can be questionable, however it is completely plausible.

So, if this Utopia really did exist, what was life like?

The belief of the citizens is pretty easy. Atlantis was around way before the birth of Jesus, so for that reason it’s only safe to assume that the people of Atlantis were polytheistic.

Like most, if not all, people during that time they all had the same concept. Polytheism, meaning that they didn’t believe in just one god, they believed in many gods. Each god having a certain and specific job and or specialty. Plato spoke of how the reason Atlantis sunk was because the gods were angry with them. Whatever they had done it angered the gods so much that they flooded Atlantis killing all living souls, good and bad.

Even though it’s easy to find out their beliefs, there day to day life is much more complex to unravel. Like anyone living in these cruel and unforgiving times, you do the best you can to stay above water (Hah). It was unsanitary and extremely hot.

Speaking generally- Disease and famine was very common in these times due to how new we were to surviving in groups. However Plato spoke of Atlantis as a Utopia, meaning that all the problems most of the world had was nonexistent there.

Men/Boys- Like most of the world at this time, it is safe to assume that the men held most of the power along with most of the respect. Plato spoke of an advanced Utopia, however the way he perceived a “Utopia” is probably different from ours.

Women/Girls- Most females during this time were treated lesser than men. Considering the only/ One of the only place(s) that valued women during this time was Sparta. Women were domestic and didn’t really take part in any serious business.

In all honesty we can’t really be sure what life was like, we know how others lived, but Plato spoke as if it was above all others. So who knows how it was?

Maybe Plato exaggerated his description?

Maybe Atlantis truly never existed?

In my opinion it is definitely possible that Atlantis truly had existed. I am not all knowing nor am I able to truly say if they were “Demi Gods”. However scientists who are really passionate to figure out the truth behind this supposed Utopia have definitely gathered enough evidence to convince me that it was true. The world was still shifting back then, it would not surprise me if a volcano or shifting of plates caused such destruction. There are so many good different theories, it is hard to say which one I support. Hopefully one day we will solve the mystery of “The Lost City”.

Pop Culture

In Pop Culture Atlantis is depicted as a lot of things. It can be shown as a lost city which is nothing but ruins, like shown in the Disney show “Phineas and Ferb”. In the new hit movie “Aquaman” it was a city above all others. They were advanced in technology. The gods got mad and sunk them, they adapted to their surroundings. Some evolved forward into these above human creatures, who looked like us, but could breathe water and lift a submarine out of water. Others who had evolved forward took the shape of what seemed to be a mix between a fish and a human, however still as advanced as those who looked human. The last we see of the people who evolved forward looked like crabs, but humanized crabs. Some evolved backwards turning into these almost insect like creatures? Who were “below” humanity. Each different species split off into different corners of the Ocean.

I think the image of Atlantis in Aquaman is very interesting, the creator of both comic and movie’s image of Atlantis is nothing like Plato’s. With Plato, once they sunk they died, however the creators view is though they sunk and they lived on, adapted, and evolved into this still great civilization.

I think these ideas of Atlantis are important, it gives us ideas of our own future. What I mean by that is that we start off with these ideas which fuel imagination, perhaps these imagination fueled hearts will resort in new inventions? New adaptions? A new way to stop pollution? Or to save the ocean?

Whether or not you believe in “Atlantis” I believe it’s very important to have the story of it around. Imagination leads to a new and improved world. Who knows? It may really exist. The ocean holds many secrets.. some of which will never be found.