Atlantis - An Analog

By Jane Offer

Most people have heard of Atlantis, that ancient civilisation that was Utopia, yet the story of Atlantis is shrouded in mystery and conflicting information. Even Encyclopedia.com, for example, begins its review of Atlantis with the words “More than 2,500 years ago, a legend first began to spread about a society...”

However, later in the piece, the timing they quote is shown to be in question, as it goes on to say that Plato, “…used the model of Atlantis to represent a world of perfect order in contrast to all that was imperfect in the world around him, he labelled the story of Atlantis literally true.” twice removed from reality. Despite this however, he believed the Atlantis story to be true, which helps to sustain the legend.

Plato lived 427 - 347 B.C.E. and was a critical thinker, believing that Atlantis existed 9000 years before his time. He did not trust art or literature, including legends, as he believed that ideas are our primary reality and the physical, material world is a reflection of those ideas. Therefore, as art and literature, a material form, are the product of our ideas, he deduced that they are

It tells of a land of abundance, with rich soil, clean water, hot healthy springs and teeming with animals. Atlanteans were self-sufficient, growing their own food, however, they also had the ability and technical knowledge to create incredible buildings from the plethora of natural resources available to them, to generate electricity, build flying machines and harness nuclear power for energy and warfare, all invented from an intellect far advanced than that of other lands. Individuals understood their environment, both in this dimension and others, and could easily manifest their needs, because they deeply understood the foundation and positive use of energy.

The location of this land has never been identified nor a reasonable conclusion as to its sudden disappearance. However, ocean explorer, Robert Ballard, understands that the legend is logical, as it is similar to a massive volcanic eruption on the Greek island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Ballard says the highly advanced society that lived there also disappeared suddenly. Ignatius L. Donnelly, an American fringe scientist, confirms Ballard’s thinking of the existence and disappearance of a mid-Atlantic continent in the exact location that Plato originally mentioned.