The history of mankind keeps many secrets, among which are the ancient civilizations that have ever existed and left us with legacy of myths, legends, riddles. Scientists all over the world are still racking their brains over them, trying to understand where the fact and where the fiction are.
Meanwhile, modern researchers have at their disposal a lot of evidence that highly developed civilizations already existed on Earth in the distant past. This is confirmed by ancient chronicles and legends, archaeological excavations in many parts of our planet. The most, perhaps, mysterious is the ancient civilization called Atlantis, the Land of the Atlanteans.
The first mention of it can be found in the works of Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher. The value of his works, such as Timaeus and Critias, lies in the fact that they have reached descendants in full, unlike the works of other ancient philosophers and thinkers.
The content of these works allowed a number of historians to recognize Atlantis as the fruit of Plato's fantasy. However, modern research, based on historical evidence taken from ancient sources, speaks of a commonality of customs and religion that once existed in Atlantis, with the customs and religions of other neighboring regions. All this can be seen in the writings of Plato. The evidence given in them is fully supported by historical data and archaeological excavations.
What was Atlantis
Atlantis was an island larger than Asia (Asia Minor) and Libya combined. The surface of the island from the coast to its middle was a plain. The land on it was very fertile and lush. There was a small mountain in the very middle of the island. According to legend, the first of the kind of rulers of Atlantis descended from this mountain.
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The island had almost everything a man needed: many types of stone, various minerals, including mountain copper orichalcum. The value of the latter was inferior only to gold. Dense forests covered the island, which provided the necessary building material. There were many wild and domestic animals on the plain, and even elephants grazed here. There was enough food for everyone.
Using such blessed gifts of the land, the inhabitants of Atlantis built palaces and sanctuaries. Bridges were built across the water rings that surrounded the capital three times. In addition, a bridge was built connecting the royal palace with the sea, and a 60-mile long navigable canal was dug, on which a harbor was built. The royal palace stood in the middle of this island.
What the abode of the kings of Atlantis looked like
In the center of the island was the Temple of Poseidon, which was covered with gold on the inside and silver on the outside. The ceiling was lined with ivory and was also covered in gold and silver. The walls and floors were covered with mountain copper.
Inside the temple are statues of solid gold, including a statue of Poseidon on a chariot. The chariot was harnessed with six golden-winged horses. There were also a hundred Nereids sitting on dolphins. The sacrificial altar of the temple corresponded to all this wealth.
In different parts of the capital, the sanctuaries of various gods were built. In the middle of the king's island there was a hippodrome with rooms for royalty and guards, and the guards were closer to the royal palace.
State structure of Atlantis
All Atlantis was divided into ten districts, each of them was ruled by a monarch who had his own army. According to the law of Atlantis, each king, if necessary, was obliged to allocate 10 two-horse chariots with a crew of three warriors, 10 heavy infantry, as well as slingers, stone throwers and sailors (the fleet of Atlantis consisted of 20 thousand ships).
Diplomatic relations between the district kings were based on the prescriptions of the first kings of Atalantida, which were engraved on a column that stood in the temple of Poseidon.
Once every 6 years, the tsars gathered in the temple to resolve pressing issues, controversial situations and punish the guilty. The trial was necessarily accompanied by the sacrifice of ten bulls to Poseidon. Interestingly, the killing of bulls took place without metal weapons.
The decisions made were recorded on a gold tablet, which was left to posterity.
The kings were forbidden to fight among themselves.
Why did Atlantis go under water
According to Plato's writings, the perversion of the Atlantean society was to blame.
For many centuries, the Atlanteans observed all the ancient laws, honored the gods, that is, their ancestors. Moderation reigned in everything, prudence ruled their behavior.
But over time, life in abundance perverted them. Vanity prevailed in their actions. Power has become a support for the rulers in solving all issues.
And then the god of all gods Zeus decided to "shake up" the Atlanteans in order to moderate their excessive ambition by putting their island under water.
This is what Platonic tradition says.
The terrible fate of the legendary Atlantis, its disappearance in the sea waters remain to this day the subject of discussions and searches.
The solution to the riddle of ancient civilization is complicated by the fact that the ancient Greek philosopher did not indicate its location in his works. As a result, the area of the search for the Earth of the Atlanteans was quite large. The depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and even Antarctica were subjected to underwater research. Alas, no results so far.
Meanwhile, French geologist Pierre Termier believes that the accumulated new evidence of the geology of the Atlantic region accompanies the theory of the existence of a continent between America and Europe. This is proven by science. There remains only a controversial question about the heyday of this continent from the point of view of the geological history of the planet.
In favor of the existence of the ancient civilization of the Atlanteans and the possible reason for its sinking under water is the fact that the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is the most unstable part of the earth's crust. Its eastern part is a huge volcanic zone. Its western part is still in motion.
All of this to some extent explains the reason for the unsuccessful search for Atlantis. The last word in this riddle, perhaps, will be for oceanographers, ethnographers and anthropologists.