Many people know the myth of Atlantis, the legendary island-continent where a developed civilization flourished and which once went to the bottom of the ocean as a result of a terrible cataclysm. But Atlantis is not only a legend. For centuries, the island has been and is still a kind of symbol of historical and archaeological science. Let's say even more - not a symbol, but a kind of engine, thanks to which mankind has been enriched with wonderful discoveries …
Real scientists know that at the beginning of any scientific achievement lies a dream. It makes an active person constantly search and find. Medieval alchemists, in search of a certain philosopher's stone and in attempts to produce gold from the most ordinary materials, created porcelain, invented gunpowder, unraveled the secrets of some laws of transformation of matter, laying the foundation for modern chemical science.
The Spanish conquerors of the 16th century dreamed of Eldorado (in Spanish - the Golden Country), where there is supposedly so much gold that the natives almost build latrines out of it. In pursuit of El Dorado, the Spaniards explored the entire South American continent. As a result, humanity has gained invaluable geographical knowledge …
In the beginning there was a word
The first mention of the legendary continent dates back to the 4th century BC. Then the ancient Greek philosopher Plato recorded two dialogues called "Timaeus" and "Critias". In these dialogues, Plato refers to the philosopher Cretius, who in turn retells the words of another famous thinker of Greece - Solon, who lived in the 6th century BC.
Solon tells about his trip to Egypt, which was then a model for the Greeks in all spheres of life. During the trip, Solon got into a conversation with an Egyptian priest. The Greek tried to show off his knowledge of history. But the Egyptian interrupted him.
The priest called Solon's reasoning "childish." According to him, earlier on the territory of Greece lived "the most beautiful and perfect human tribe … Records tell what your people once harnessed the force, boldly directed at once all over Europe and Asia from the Atlantic Sea. Then, after all, the sea was navigable, because in front of its mouth, which you call the Pillars of Hercules, there was an island. The island was larger than Libya and Asia, taken together, and from it the seafarers opened access to all the other islands, and from those islands - to the entire opposite continent."
Promotional video:
This island was called Atlantis. According to the Egyptian, a formidable and powerful state of kings was formed on it. There were ten rulers in total, and the eldest was called Atlas. Every six years they met in council to pass laws and judge. The climate on the mainland island was the most favorable, which caused an unprecedented economic boom in Atlantis.
Atlanteans built magnificent temples and cities, their shipyards amazed seasoned sailors with their perfection.
The Egyptian priest assured that the power of the Atlanteans extended to Europe as far as Italy and to Africa as far as Egypt. Once they decided to conquer Greece. But the ancestors of the Hellenes put up stubborn resistance and defeated the invaders in several battles. The Greeks had already begun to approach Atlantis itself, when suddenly powerful natural disasters began - earthquakes and floods:
“In one day and one disastrous night, all the military force at once fell into the ground. Atlantis also disappeared, plunging into the sea ….
In its place, the waves of the Atlantic Ocean began to rage from now on.
Why Theseus killed the Minotaur
This legend has already excited the contemporaries of Plato. So, the ancient Roman sailors, wanting to discover at least the remains of the disappeared mainland, sailed west from the Pillars of Hercules (that is, from the modern Strait of Gibraltar) in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. So they discovered the Canary and Azores …
But the scientific search for Atlantis began only in the 19th century. First of all, scientists drew attention to the Mediterranean Sea, which was the cradle of many great civilizations, to which, according to legend, the power of the Atlanteans once extended. Therefore, it was suggested that the legendary mainland could not be located in the Atlantic at all, but just in the Mediterranean Sea.
One of these scientists was the English archaeologist Arthur Evans. He considered that we can talk about the civilization of the island of Crete, with which the ancient Greeks fought hard. Evans in this regard drew attention to the Greek legend of Theseus. According to her, a young hero entered the dungeons of the palace of the Cretan king Minos and killed a monster named Minotaur who lived there, who devoured people - these sacrifices were sent by the Greeks in order to appease the formidable Cretan king.
Apparently, the legend reflected the long-standing Greco-Cretan confrontation. And Evans decided to find the palace of King Minos. In 1900, he calculated the site and began excavations in Crete. First, the archaeologist discovered the remains of a powerful architectural structure. And soon the palace appeared in all its splendor. Huge halls, decorated with magnificent paintings, unusual columns of black color, huge statues of people and animals, the richest palace utensils made of gold, silver and bronze.
So mankind discovered one of its most ancient civilizations, called the Cretan-Mycenaean. Later, archaeologists found several more similar palaces and entire cities.
A number of scientists have joined Evans' opinion that this was the legendary Atlantis. After all, the Cretans turned out to be as great sailors as the inhabitants of Atlantis were, they built powerful shipyards, their ships sailed all the way to West Africa and the British Isles.
The power of Crete was such that their cities did not even have fortifications: they simply had no one to fear.
And the end of this civilization was almost the same as the end of Atlantis. The kings of Crete got bogged down in a war with the Greek tribes advancing from the north. In the midst of hostilities, the island's volcanoes suddenly revived, which destroyed this civilization, burying it under layers of lava and ash. The Cretan-Mycenaean culture was never able to revive, only vague legends remained, like the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur …
In the footsteps of the "Feathered Serpent"
However, there are still many who continue to adhere to the Atlantic version. They draw attention to the fact that in Plato's dialogues there is a mention of some kind of "opposite continent." The question arises - did the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, long before Columbus, know something about America?
In this regard, the legends of local Indian tribes are extremely interesting. According to them, culture was brought to American soil in ancient times by some white-skinned people who arrived from the East on large ships. They taught the Indians how to grow corn, raise livestock, build stone buildings, and gave them knowledge in astronomy and mathematics. The Aztec tribes called the main leader of these white teachers Quetzalcoatl (translated as the Feathered Serpent), and the Inca tribes - Kon-Tiki. Apparently, it was about some one person …
Maybe it was the Atlanteans who miraculously escaped the disaster and found shelter among the Indian tribes? There is still no definite answer to this question. Nevertheless, some interesting finds were made.
For example, the famous American archaeologist Edward Thompson, who excavated more than one city of the ancient Maya Indians, repeatedly asked the following questions. Why did the Indians build pyramids so similar to the ancient Egyptian ones? Why did the Maya embalm the corpses of their rulers after the example of the Egyptians? Why are there many similarities in the Indian and Egyptian calendars? Why are the temples of the Sun and Moon in the ancient Indian state of the Incas so much like the temple of the god Poseidon of the legendary Atlantis?
Apparently, long before Columbus, in ancient times, there were strong ties between America on the one hand, Europe and Africa on the other. It is possible that it was Atlantis that was just the bridge over which these connections were carried out. And after the death of the legendary continent, such a bridge was destroyed for many centuries …
In any case, today only one thing is clear - we know very little about our distant past, and our memory extends no further than the history of Ancient Greece. And thank God that there is a legend about Atlantis, which makes people not rest on the achieved knowledge.
Author: VADIM ANDRYUKHIN