Myths and legends about Atlantis, the ancient world. History of Atlantis: myths, speculation, riddles and real facts. The death of a great civilization

History of Atlantis: myths, speculations, mysteries and real facts

For more than one generation, researchers have been debating the existence of Atlantis, a powerful ancient state that disappeared from the face of the Earth once and for all. Interest in this topic arose after the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato saw the light of day. It was Plato who first wrote about Atlantis, described the ancient civilization, the strength and power of the Atlanteans. Was this a deliberate and skillfully created myth, or are we dealing with a description of real facts? ancient history human civilization– remains a mystery. Neither before nor after it was possible to obtain and find evidence of the existence of the Atlantean state. The mysteries of Atlantis remain unsolved to this day, forcing historians to put forward new hypotheses and researchers to look for the location of the disappeared island-state on the map of the planet.

The Atlantean civilization is a source of controversy

Today, a huge number of works have been written about the disappeared mighty civilization of the ancient world, ranging from poetic essays and literary descriptions to serious scientific treatises. In each individual case one has to deal with a huge set of assumptions and hypotheses about what ancient world looked different from what a world map looks like today. Another new hypothesis gives rise to a new myth, which instantly acquires new details, assumptions and details. Another thing is the complete lack of facts that can answer the question: whether Atlantis existed in reality or not. This meager research material remains the preserve of science fiction writers and atlantologists. Skeptics believe that the history of Atlantis is an artificially created phenomenon in modern historical science.

The problem of Atlantis must be considered in two aspects: from the point of view of the historical epic, and using a scientific approach. In the first case, you have to deal with evidence and materials, the existence of which is never disputed by anyone. The palm in this area belongs to the works of Plato. The ancient Greek philosopher mentioned the powerful state of antiquity in the dialogues “Critias” and “Timaeus”, which were compiled on the basis of the diaries of another prominent ancient Greek scientist philosopher Solon, who was Plato’s great-grandfather. With the light hand of Plato, the name of the ancient state appeared, and its inhabitants began to be called Atlanteans.

In his notes and books, the ancient philosopher relied on the legend according to which the ancient Greeks fought with the state of the Atlanteans. The confrontation was ended by a grandiose cataclysm that led to the destruction of Atlantis. According to the ancients, it was this catastrophe that led to the island city of Atlantis disappearing from the face of the planet forever. What kind of catastrophe on a planetary scale led to such consequences is still not known and has not been proven. Another question is that in the scientific community this moment There is a point of view that 12 thousand years BC. the world has truly comprehended major disaster, which changed the geography of the planet.

Plato's dialogue “Timaeus” quite accurately indicates the location of the country of the Atlanteans, and is full of descriptions of the details of the culture and life of the Atlanteans. Thanks to the efforts of the ancient Greek philosopher, the disappeared civilization is being persistently searched for in the Atlantic Ocean. Just one phrase, “opposite the Pillars of Hercules,” recorded by Plato, indicates the location of the legendary country. There is no more accurate data on the location of the mysterious ancient state, so many researchers on this topic believe that Atlantis could have been located in any other part of the ancient world.

The inconsistency of many facts set out in Plato’s works raised a number of questions for subsequent generations. The main secrets of Atlantis are as follows:

Is there a high probability of the existence of an island of such a large size, traces of which are almost completely absent today;
what catastrophe that occurred in ancient times could have led to the instant death of a large state;
could a civilization exist in such ancient times with such a high level of development, which is attributed to the Atlanteans by ancient and modern researchers;
why today there are no real traces from the past indicating the existence of Atlantis;
Are we descendants of the highly developed Atlantean culture?

How did the contemporaries of the ancient Greeks see Atlantis?

By studying Plato's works, we can briefly summarize the information that has reached us. We are dealing with the history of the existence and mystical disappearance of a large archipelago or large island, which was located in the west of the then ancient world. Central city superpower was Atlantis, which owes its name to the first king of the state, Atlantis. The island location explains government system empires. Probably Atlantis, like many cities of ancient Greece, was a union of island rulers united under imperial leadership. Maybe there was another one in Atlantis political system, however, Plato's dialogues give the names of the kings after whom other islands of the empire were named. Therefore, ancient civilization took the form of a union or confederation.

Another question is detailed description Plato's life structure of a mysterious power. All the main buildings and structures of the state are located on the central island. Acropolis, royal palace and the temples are protected by several rows of earthen ramparts and a system of water channels. The interior of the island is connected to the sea by a huge shipping canal, so we can safely say that the power of Atlantis was focused on achieving sea power. Moreover, according to Plato’s version, the Atlanteans worship Poseidon (ancient Greek god, ruler of the seas and oceans - brother of Zeus). In Plato, the temples of the Atlanteans, their architecture and the arrangement of their homes shine with luxury and wealth. Reaching the shores of Atlantis, surrounded on all sides by water, and the path to the island lay only by sea, was not an easy task for sailors of that time.

In his narratives, Plato is very keen on describing the improvement of the Atlantean capital. The most interesting thing in this aspect is that the descriptions of the ancient Greek philosopher strongly resemble the descriptions of other ancient Greek cities found in other ancient sources. The described infrastructure, weapons, ships, religion and lifestyle of the inhabitants of Atlantis look like the height of human perfection and a model of well-being.

The mystery of Atlantis in Plato's descriptions is present at every step. Isn’t it surprising that people live far from the centers of civilization known to the world at that time, yet they have enough high level development, can make long sea voyages, trade with everyone around them, eat spices and other crops. The Atlanteans have powerful army and a large fleet capable of entering into confrontation with the armies of the ancient states of the Mediterranean.

This should be the end. Only Plato was able to describe the life and structure of the legendary state so clearly and in detail. There were no other sources that would point to similar facts, no, and perhaps there will not be. Neither the Sumerians nor the ancient Egyptians said anything about a large state in the Western Hemisphere. The ancient ruins of the Indian civilizations of North and South America are silent about interaction with the mysterious and powerful state. Could there have been such a powerful civilization in the central Atlantic many years ago, about which there is still no real evidence?

Secrets of Atlantis: myths and legends versus real facts

Some researchers continue to feed the world illusions that Atlantis really existed. Following the lead of Plato, who pointed out the exact location of the island, researchers in search of Atlantis are checking the territories in the area of the Azores Islands, in the Bahamas. This is facilitated by the consonance of the names of the Atlantic Ocean and the legendary island.

According to one version, Atlantis was located in the Azores region. Studies of the Ampere seamount, located on the way from Europe to America, and the neighboring areas of the Atlantic mid-ridge have not yielded any results. The geological and morphological structure of the seabed does not give reason to believe that a large geological formation existed in this area of the earth's crust in ancient times. Even the gigantic cataclysm that wiped out so much from the face of the earth large island or archipelago, would have left behind undeniable evidence. If the island sank as a result of a successive chain of earthquakes and floods, then its remains could still be found today.

Modern scientists do not have information about the major geological and tectonic catastrophe that befell the earth in ancient times. The biblical data about the global flood that befell the Earth and humanity takes us to a completely different era. All information, events and facts that speak in favor of the existence of Atlantis in this part globe, do not stand up to criticism if we rely on the theory proposed by Plato.

Supporters of another hypothesis, the Mediterranean one, have more compelling evidence in their favor. However, here too there are a number of points that cause controversy. What were the real boundaries of such a powerful union, and where could such a union be located? big Island or small continent. Western border known to people that time of the world, runs along the Pillars of Hercules - now the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic. Why, with such an eventful and crowded environment, did the ancient world not have cartographic data on the location of a large state that influenced the political and economic structure of the world? On the maps compiled by the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians and Egyptians that have survived to this day, known areas are limited to the Mediterranean region, the territories of Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Many Atlantologists increasingly agree that a civilization of similar proportions could have existed in the Eastern Mediterranean, within the explored sphere of political and economic interests of ancient states. The disappearance of the island and the death of the country of the Atlanteans can be linked to the catastrophic eruption of the Santorini volcano, which erupted around the 17th century BC. This hypothesis takes place, since it was during this period that the Cretan power flourished. According to this theory, the volcanic eruption not only destroyed half of the island of Thira, but also destroyed numerous city-states that existed in the region. If we put aside the question of names and the connection to Plato’s statements about the Pillars of Hercules, such a picture of the ancient world has a right to life.

In this context, the version about the existence in ancient times of a powerful state competing with the ancient Greek city-polises fits perfectly. The facts of the strongest cataclysm of that time were also noted in ancient sources. Today, volcanologists and oceanologists reasonably consider this version of the death of Atlantis to be quite real. Scientists have found evidence that the Minoan civilization really had enormous military power and had a high level of development, allowing it to confront the Greek states.

Sparta and Athens are located 300-400 kilometers north of the islands of Thira and Crete, which are ideal for the location of the Atlantean state. The explosion of a volcano, which destroyed a mighty power in one night, destroyed the balance in the world that had existed until that moment. The consequences of such a large-scale disaster affected the entire Southern Europe, North Africa and the coast of the Middle East.

Versions in favor of another location of the legendary power today have no basis. Researchers are increasingly connecting the existence of Atlantis with Plato's philosophical view of the existing world. This is echoed by other sources in which the land of the Atlanteans is associated with other mythical territories and states that existed in the imagination of the ancient Greeks.

Hyperborea and Atlantis - ancient mythical states

To the question of where to look for Atlantis today, the answer may sound prosaic. You have to look everywhere. It is possible to rely on ancient sources only in cases where the question is raised about cultural heritage, which has survived to our times. In the sense in which we perceive Atlantis today, as an imaginary country and highly developed civilization, the ancient Greeks at one time imagined Hyperborea. This mythical country, located in the far north, a thousand kilometers from the shores Ancient Greece, was considered by the Greeks to be the habitat of the Hyperboreans, the descendants of the gods. Is this the Atlantis that Plato wanted to tell the world about when writing his treatises?

The Hyperborean lands, according to modern scientists, should have been located on the territory of the current Scandinavian countries: in Iceland or Greenland. The Greeks directly pointed out that even Apollo himself, the sun god, was considered the patron saint of this people. What kind of lands are these, do they really exist? It was assumed that Hyperborea was a fictional country for the ancient Greeks, where perfect and powerful people lived and the gods rested. The country that Apollo regularly visits may be the same Atlantis - the state to which the ancient Greeks strove in their development.

Vladimir Obruchev

THE TALE OF ATLANTIS

Excerpt from the story

1. Strange find

I spent the summer in small resort on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Brittany. Actually, it was not a resort, but a small fishing village, to which people from big cities came in the summer, looking for complete peace and relaxation in direct communication with nature. This is not provided by any resort with its concentration of people undergoing treatment or simply having fun, with its Kursaal, music, exhibition of women's toilets, and if it is on the seashore, then a beach on which there are more people than grains of sand.

You can only rest your nerves, tired of city life, in a place where there is no Kurhaus, no music, no city crowd.

Such truly “resorts” can be found in the most remote corners of the French coast, known to few nature lovers. Along with modest housing and sufficient, albeit monotonous, food (milk, eggs, fish), they also have a beach, albeit a small one, the sea, picturesque rocks, clean air and complete peace. The fishermen have already adapted to summer guests: they rent out the best room of their hut [house] to them, moving for the summer to a barn or under some kind of shed if they only have one room.

It is enough to move a quarter of a mile from the village - and you will find yourself completely alone on the seashore, on the sand or among the rocks, or in the vastness of fields stretching inland, and you can enjoy hours of communion with nature and undisturbed peace.

I spent the summer in one of these villages: it consisted of a dozen huts [houses], half of which were occupied by the same lovers of real relaxation, like me. Knowing why each of us chose this place, we tried not to disturb each other. Everyone had their own favorite place on the seashore, which others did not occupy. Only during lunch, and especially after sunset, would we gather for an hour or two at the edge of the village to chat, exchange Parisian news before going to bed, and the fishermen, if they were not busy, took part in the conversations and told us their “sea » news about fishing, storms and failures. We were often present when the catch was unloaded from boats and learned to distinguish all sorts of fish that we had no idea about before, knowing them only as component restaurant menus.

I often went several miles from the village, climbing over rocky capes, at the foot of which the surf roared; he was resting on the sand of the small bay that formed between them. The entire coast of this area consisted of an alternation of picturesque rocky capes extending into the sea and soft, more or less wide bays. In calm weather, lying on some boulder, you can spend hours looking into the neighboring transparent green depths, watching the underwater life, watching how fish glide through the groves of green and red algae, sparkling with silvery scales at sharp turns, how crabs crawl, how various shells open and close their doors; or in a strong wind, watch the waves crashing against the rocks, weaving an ever-changing lace of foam, listen to their soothing noise. In the bays, stretched out on the sand under a retreating cliff, you can bask in the sun for hours, taking off your tight clothes, watching either the clouds floating across the blue sky or the waves rolling onto the beach. And at low tide, when the sea recedes dozens of fathoms, what a pleasure it is to wander barefoot on the hard wet sand, collecting rich curiosities left by the sea - shells, jellyfish, fish, catching crabs and then rushing to the shore before the advancing surf, which floods your feet.

On one of these long excursions I lay down on the sand of a small bay bordered by two far-protruding capes. My eyes are tired from the shine of the waves, my ears are tired from the sound of the surf. I lay down with my back to the sea and plunged into half-asleep dreams. In the interval between the capes, the bay was limited by a cliff three fathoms high, over which stretched a sparse pine forest, battered by storms. It was possible to get into the bay only through the rocks of one or another cape, since the cliff was almost vertical, so the bay was visited very rarely. During storms, the waves rolled up to the very foot of the cliff, maintaining its verticality. Everything that accumulated during constant destruction in the interval between storms and could eventually smooth out the cliff was carried away by the waves.

Lying facing the cliff, I first noticed its composition: in the lower part there were the same rocks that made up the rocks of the capes, but at the top, on their uneven surface, lay a layer of pebbles, one and a half to two fathoms thick, the product of the work of waves of a bygone time when sea level was higher than it is now. Large and small boulders and pebbles formed irregular layers, alternating with gravel and sand; this material was connected to each other quite tightly, which is why it held vertically.

While mechanically following the individual layers of pebbles and boulders in their whimsical combination, I noticed in one place a boulder of some strange, completely quadrangular shape, as if the sea had not done any work on it to round off its sharp corners and edges. It was located almost directly above the rocky part of the cliff, in the lower layer of boulders.

“I’ll have to check it out sometime,” I thought and fell back into dreams.

A few days later, getting ready for a regular walk along the coast, I remembered this strange boulder and grabbed my geological hammer, which at first I always carried with me, but then, having studied the composition of all the rocks, I left it at home as unnecessary, preferring to take a net for catching crabs . So, armed with a hammer, I reached the bay and climbed up a slope strewn with boulders to the foot of the cliff.

The mysterious boulder stuck out two feet above my head, and I had difficulty getting it out with a hammer. The first light blow struck me. It sounded dull, as if I had struck wood. I began to examine the boulder carefully, now from a close distance, and was even more surprised - it had the shape of a regular rectangular parallelepiped, a foot and a half long and up to one foot high, matte black in color, except for the ocher-brown streaks and spots that in some places hid its real appearance. color.

“Probably a fragment of a beam from some ship,” I decided; and since this was no longer of geological interest, he walked off the cliff and lay down in his usual place on the sand, indulging in his lazy dreams.

But then the thought returned to this wooden boulder. He was buried under a thickness of pebbles and boulders two fathoms deep, and this circumstance made me think. Such a thickness could have accumulated over a very long time and at a time when sea level was much higher than it is now. Consequently, the fragment fell into its place a very long time ago, not centuries, but many [?] millennia have passed since then. And if this is part of a ship, then some ancient Vikings, Normans, maybe Romans from before the birth of Christ. And although I was not involved in archeology, I thought it was interesting to take a closer look at this fragment. But how to get to it? There were no stairs or any kind of scaffolding material nearby. We had to postpone the inspection until the next day.

But the next day, a strong storm broke out in the morning, and the road along the seashore became inaccessible. Huge waves thundered over the rocky headlands and burst into the bays one after another, like green monsters with a curved neck and a white mane. The rocks trembled under the blows of this frantic attack, the spray flew up in fountains above the crest of the cliffs. Admiring from above the various pictures of the crazy surf, I completely forgot about my discovery yesterday, and when I saw how high the waves were pouring into the bays, I thought that I would never see it again - it had probably been washed up by the surf and carried away.

Only two days later the storm subsided, the sea calmed down and was only slightly agitated under the warm rays of the sun, as if tamed by someone’s powerful hand during a mad rush. I went the usual way to the distant bay, secretly hoping that the fragment of the ancient ship had not been carried away by the water and, perhaps, even remained in its shelter, in which it had lain for so many centuries. But hope was so weak that I did not take with me a small ladder, which I spotted in the attic of my owner’s hut [house].

Descending from the rocks to the bay, I already noticed from a distance that in the place where this fragment should have been located, some dark object protruded strongly from the cliff. I quickened my steps - and in a few minutes I was already at the foot of the cliff. What happiness! The fragment not only remained in place, but became unexpectedly easily accessible - three-quarters or more of it was already freed from the surrounding pebbles, washed away to its entire height by wave impacts. He stuck out, keeping his narrow end in the cliff, and it was clear that one more such storm - and he would find himself in the waves.

I touched it with a hammer and felt it give in slightly under pressure. A few light blows from the right and left on the protruding part - and the fragment fell out, accompanied by a heap of boulders and pebbles, to the foot of the cliff. I was even forced to jump away so that my leg would not be hurt by the hail of stones. I managed to notice that these stones, falling on the fragment, made dull sounds, as if they were hitting a hollow object. This, of course, increased my curiosity, and I, barely waiting for the end of the shedding, rushed at the prey, like a kite at a gaping chicken. Throwing away the stones and shoveling away the sand was a matter of a few seconds. And now something really strange lies in front of me. This, of course, is not a fragment of an ancient ship, but something incomparably more interesting. It was immediately clear that this something was sewn into coarse tarred fabric, the threads of which stood out clearly thanks to the light dust that had accumulated in the cells.

“Have I really found some kind of ancient treasure? - I thought. - How did he get here? Who buried it and when?”

An examination of the cliff above the depression that remained after the object fell out showed me that there could be no question of buried treasure. The layers of pebbles and boulders passed through normally, there was no visible disturbance of the structure, which would inevitably have been revealed if people had dug a hole to lower this object into it. Therefore, the only possible explanation for its presence was that it was thrown out by the waves back then...

Stories about the mysterious disappearance of ships and planes in Bermuda Triangle, supported by the legends of the sunken Atlantis, still excite the minds of many people today. The fate of our highly civilized predecessors, whose existence has not yet been proven, according to Charles Berlitz, became the reason for the writing of more than twenty-five thousand books and articles. Atlantologists to this day argue about whether Atlantis existed. Many of them believe that it was not in the Atlantic Ocean or even on Earth. Others rely on the meager information that has reached us from time immemorial.

Most theories about the existence of Atlantis are based on biblical legends and the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he refers to the impressions of the Athenian legislator Solon, who visited the ancient Egyptian city of Sais. During a meeting with Egyptian priests, he was shown written monuments of Atlantis and told the story of its existence, which he later told to Plato's great-grandfather.

In Plato’s Dialogues it is said that “...in Atlantis there was a large and wonderful empire that ruled almost the entire island and several others (islands in the Atlantic Ocean), as well as part of the continent. They owned wealth that kings and rulers had never had before and that they probably never would have.

They lined their temples with silver, and their belvederes with gold... The roofs were made of ivory, decorated with gold, silver and origalcum (maybe an alloy of bronze). Everything around was densely populated, the canals and the most major ports were full of ships and traders sailing from all parts of the world... In addition, there were many elephants on the island.”

According to Plato, the end of the beautiful empire came suddenly: “... After this, terrible earthquakes and floods appeared, in one single day and night of rain... the island of Atlantis disappeared and sank into the sea...”

Where was Atlantis and when did it disappear? Plato writes: “...in these days (9000 years before Plato), i.e. 11,500 years ago, ships sailed in the Atlantic Ocean because there was an island located opposite the strait, which you call the Pillars of Hercules. The island was larger than Libya (North Africa) and Asia ( Asia Minor), taken together, and served as a path to other islands, and from the islands it was possible to cross the entire opposite continent, which was surrounded by a real ocean, since the sea that is between the Strait of Hercules (Mediterranean Sea) is only a bay with a narrow passage, but one or the other is a real sea and the land surrounding it can confidently be called a continent...”

It is unclear from Plato's writings whether some of the inhabitants of Atlantis survived and what their further fate. Does the disappearance of Atlantis have something in common with the global flood or, perhaps, biblical legends about Noah's Ark, stories of the Mahabharata and Babylonian legends - different versions of stories about the same cataclysm? And if we ask this question on the pages of our book, it is because modern interpreters of the problems of Atlantis associate the “mysterious” disappearance of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle with the return of the descendants of the mythical Atlanteans to their native places.

But let's go back to the geological history of our planet. Is it possible that the cases described by ancient legends, myths, biblical traditions and Plato were valid? Is it possible that an ancient continent existed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? These questions also affect the history of the formation of the oceans.

Modern geophysical research makes it possible to detect significant differences in the structure of the earth's crust of continents and oceans. Using seismic methods, geophysicists have proven that the thickness of the continental type of the earth's crust is about 30–40 km under high mountain ranges. And the thickness of the oceanic crust is only 5-15 km. The boundary between the two types of earth's crust passes around the 2000 m isobath, where some significant differences arise in their structure.

These data confirm initial assumptions that the coastal areas of the sea were once vast plains. Sound locating, a powerful means of measuring sea depth, offers us an excellent opportunity to map the topography of the seafloor. Such maps clearly show the mouths and canyons of ancient rivers that have sunk under water, the coastline that existed tens of thousands of years ago, former terraces, as well as other features of modern coastal areas. Using data like this, we can now reconstruct the position of the ocean surface over a period of tens of thousands of years.

Deviation of sea level from the present one in meters. On the abscissa is time in millennia. 1 - according to Fairbridge - 1961; 2 - according to Curray - 1968

It is generally accepted that in the last 12 thousand years, after the end of the Würm Ice Age, the contours of the continents have not undergone significant changes. This means that changes in sea level can be a consequence of the own internal oscillations of the ocean-atmosphere system. As a result of warming that began 15 thousand years ago, the sea level, which was then 110 m lower than today, began to rise at a rate of 2 cm per year. This increase continued until 5–6 millennia ago, after which the rate of increase dropped to 1–2 mm per year.

Such processes apparently led to the inundation of vast coastal areas and many island systems. But is it possible to refer to them in the case of Atlantis? Obviously not, because Plato believes, and the same follows from other legends, that this happened suddenly, and the speed of climatic processes is extremely low. Then we will have to look for an explanation in the tectonic activity of the Earth.

Today, there are two main theories about the formation of the ocean - the theory of neomobilism (global plate tectonics) and the theory of oceanization of the continental crust. The first theory is based on the hypothesis of the German geophysicist Alfred Wegener about continental drift. Wegener suggested that about 230 million years ago there was only one continent on Earth - Pangea and one ocean - Panthalas. The rotation of the Earth led to the fragmentation of the macrocontinent and the horizontal movement of continents. As a result, the Atlantic and Indian oceans were formed.

Estimated configurations of Pangea and Panthalas 200 million years ago.

The location of the continents at the end of the Triassic - 180 million years ago.

One of Wegener's strongest arguments in favor of his proposed mechanism for the formation of continents and oceans was the similarity coastlines on opposite shores of the Atlantic and other oceans. His theory, however, experienced a crisis until the sixties of our century, when it was revived again, this time as the theory of neomobilism. Proponents of this theory argue that the Earth is covered with solid plates that move under the influence of convective movements that occur at a depth of more than a hundred kilometers below the earth's surface. The boundaries between the two plates, according to this theory, coincide with seismically active zones, and not with the boundaries between continents and oceans, as Wegener argued.

According to the theory of neomobilism, by the end of the Triassic period (about 180 million years ago), the formation of the basins of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans began. The Tethys Sea divided Pangea into two continents - Gondwana and Laurasia. During the same period they separated South America and Africa, as well as Hindustan, which begins to rapidly move north. Today this is evidenced by the traces left by the drift of Hindustan at the bottom Indian Ocean. Later, as a result of Africa moving counterclockwise and Asia moving in the opposite direction, the Tethys Sea disappeared.

Based on information about the geological evolution of the Earth, it is possible to make assumptions about its future structure. Geologists suggest that Atlantic Ocean will continue to expand, especially in its southern part, and the territory Pacific Ocean- shrink. Australia will move north and join the Eurasian plate, and Asia and North America will connect in the area of the Aleutian Islands.

There is reason to believe that the Red Sea, one of the most active seismic zones, will continue to expand, Africa will shift to the north, and a future ocean will emerge in place of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This is also evidenced by geophysical measurement data showing that today the African and Indian plates are moving away from each other at a speed of about 2 cm per year. In addition, the temperature and salinity in the deep waters of the Red Sea reach extraordinary values - 64.8 °C and 313%o, i.e. ten times higher than normal. This anomaly is explained by the rise of molten earth masses through cracks in the earth's crust.

But enough about the geological future of the Earth. Let's go back to her past again. Obviously, the theory of neomobilism does not allow us to prove the existence of Atlantis, because the movement of plates is extremely slow. It remains to turn to the theory of oceanization of the earth's crust.

The location of the continents at the end of the Cretaceous period - 65 million years ago.

Unlike the neomobilism theory, the oceanization theory assumes that the oceans were formed due to the vertical movement of the earth's crust. The continents themselves are horizontally motionless, and the thick continental crust can, under certain conditions, sink into the liquid asthenosphere. This is due to local overheating of the asthenosphere, a decrease in its density and an increase in its mobility. Moreover, after the continental crust subsides, part of it melts in the asthenosphere and it thins, forming the oceanic type of the earth’s crust.

And yet, when did the subsidence of the earth's crust occur? By answering this question, we can find the answer to the disappearance of Atlantis and many other surface areas of the Earth. Today it is generally accepted that the formation of the oceans proceeded quite quickly, and over large areas. But the last stage of the formation of the oceans took place for tens of millions of years during the last phase of the geological history of the Earth - in the Cenozoic era. And Plato wrote about a catastrophe that happened about 10 thousand years ago (?).

Today, many experts on Atlantis believe that it was located in the interior of the Atlantic Ocean, and some even argue that its location coincides with the so-called Bermuda Triangle. Let's then look at part of the shelf strip in the area of the Florida Peninsula and the underwater Blake Terrace, located at a depth of 800-1000 m under water. Data from seismic studies and soundings carried out by the Glomar Challenger confirm that the subsidence of the continental shelf began in the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago and proceeded very slowly. Later, about 30–50 million years ago, the rate of subsidence began to increase.

All these are processes of the distant geological past. As for the “relatively recent” sinking of Atlantis, this could have happened as a result of a late stage in the process of ocean formation. And yet, if Atlantis existed, then it was a large island, not a continent. Today there is strong tectonic activity on the ocean floor. For example, it is assumed that the rupture of the transatlantic cable in 1898 occurred precisely as a result of underwater earthquakes. During its repair, rocks were removed, the formation of which, according to some scientists, is possible only when cooling on the surface of the earth. In this case, these rocks were once above the surface of the sea.

The attention of atlantologists was also attracted by the results obtained by measuring ocean levels using artificial Earth satellites. The first radar altimeter was installed on board the American space laboratory Skylab. During the flight, more than one hundred and fifty series of measurements were carried out from an orbit of 440 km. The results were unexpected. It turned out that in the area of the Blake Plateau there is a decrease in sea level by almost 4 m, and over the Puerto Rican Trench the sea level drops to 15 m. The width of the denivelation in the Puerto Rico region is about 100 km. The most interesting thing, however, is that these measurements of the ocean surface topography are closely related to measurements of the bottom topography.

The surface of the ocean, although we are accustomed to considering it horizontal, has its own topography. For example, the difference between sea levels on both sides of the Gulf Stream is about 1 m per 100 km and persists along most of the North American coast. A direct consequence of this tilt are the speeds at which the flow moves... A simple arithmetic calculation shows that a denivelation of 15 m per 100 km will lead to the formation of currents that will be 15 times faster than the Gulf Stream! With a Gulf Stream speed of 1 m/s, this would mean that in the Puerto Rican anomaly the current speed would be 15 m/s! But only the wind blows at such a speed in the atmosphere; in the ocean it is ten times less.

The sea surface reaches its lowest point in the Puerto Rican Trench.

Projection of the Skylab trajectory on June 4, 1973 (a); sea level measured using the satellite's altimeter (6); relief of the seabed under the satellite trajectory (c).

Soon after this discovery, some of the interpreters of the riddles of the Bermuda Triangle were inclined to explain the disappearance of ships by falling into “holes” in which the water rotates at a terrible speed and “sucks” them into the depths of the sea. Such an interpretation is completely untenable, since all these effects may not be associated with sea currents. According to many scientists, in areas with a sharp increase in ocean depth, significant amounts of compacted earth masses lie. As a result, the earth's gravity is stronger in them, the water is compressed more, and therefore the sea level is lower. Calculations show that in the Puerto Rico area the sea surface should not be horizontal at all. If it were horizontal, then in this case one would expect the emergence of giant whirlpools.

But let's still listen to the assumption of gravitational anomalies, say some modern researchers of the Bermuda Triangle. Then the conclusion inevitably arises that the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis are two sides of the same problem. An ancient civilization, for reasons unknown to us, disappeared under water, and its “high-energy” sources led to this compaction, or they still function to this day and are the cause of gravitational and electromagnetic phenomena in the area.

However, ocean surface anomalies are not an isolated phenomenon, characteristic only of the Puerto Rican Basin. Altimetry measurements show that east of Brazil, in southern parts Atlantic Ocean, similar anomalies are also noted that are associated with underwater peaks existing in these areas. Moreover, a close connection between underwater peaks and the position of the ocean level has also been discovered over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Cape Verde Islands and in a number of other places in the World Ocean.

At the end of July 1979, in the Soviet weekly “Abroad,” I came across a headline: “A new expedition in the Bermuda Triangle area is looking for traces of ancient civilization" The message was reprinted from the Brussels Pöpl. This information, among other things, said: “A joint Franco-Italian-American scientific expedition went to the area of the notorious Bermuda Triangle. The purpose of a new journey to this part of the World Ocean, which rumor has called the “Enchanted Sea,” is an attempt to discover the remains of an ancient civilization that existed before the civilization of the Mayans and Ancient Egypt.”

It was also said that some of the most popular researchers of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle took part in the expedition: Americans Manson Valentine - biologist, paleontologist and archaeologist from Miami, Charles Berlitz - one of the largest propagandists of sensations about the Bermuda Triangle and unidentified flying objects, French archaeologist Jacques Mayol and others.

In his book “Without a Trace,” Charles Berlitz included an image of a pyramid allegedly discovered at the bottom of the ocean.

Jacques Mayol believes that this area of the Atlantic Ocean was once dry land that sank as a result of melting glaciers. Flying by plane over the Bahama Bank, Maillol saw “artificial changes in the topography” of the bottom, similar to those observed in Peru. Therefore, the main focus of the expedition will be on searching artificial structures at the bottom of the ocean.

Recently, many reports have appeared about the walls of ancient buildings discovered on the ocean floor, former roads covered with huge stone blocks, and various other structures - “the work of human hands.” Their origin and essence are still unclear, so most archaeologists have so far refrained from making any conclusions.

At the beginning of 1977, the echo sounders of a fishing vessel registered on the ocean floor, somewhat away from Bermuda, an irregularity resembling a pyramid. This was the reason for Charles Berlitz to organize a special expedition. In his best-selling book Without a Trace, he describes this pyramid as being about 400m below the ocean's surface, claiming that the height of the pyramid is almost 150m, the base is about 200m, and the slope is the same as the Cheops pyramid. One of its sides is longer than the others, but Berlitz believes that this is a consequence of uneven deposition of sedimentary material. If underwater research shows that the pyramid was built from stone blocks, this will dispel doubts about its geometric correctness. And from here, according to the author, a bridge will be built connecting Ancient Egypt with the lands of Maya...

But for now, this is all just another guess...

Pangea (gr.) - the whole Earth, Pantalas - the whole ocean.

Altimeter is a device for measuring height.

42. ATLANTIS

The legend of Atlantis - a sunken island on which a highly developed civilization once existed, where a strong, enlightened and happy people lived - the Atlanteans - has been exciting humanity for more than two thousand years.

The only source of information about Atlantis is the writings of the ancient Greek scientist Plato, who lived in the 4th century BC. e., written in the form of conversation-dialogues. In two such dialogues - “Timaeus” and “Critius” - Plato cites the story of his contemporary, writer and political figure Critias about Atlantis - “a legend, although very strange, but completely reliable”, which Critias heard in childhood from his grandfather, who - from the “wisest of the seven wise” Athenian legislator Solon, and Solon from the Egyptian priests.

Egyptian priests, based on ancient records, said that once in the “Atlantic Sea” (as the ocean was then called) there lay a huge island - “larger than Libya (that is, Africa) and Asia taken together.” On this island “a great and formidable power of kings arose, whose power extended over the entire island and many other islands (...). In addition, they (...) controlled Libya to Egypt and Europe to Tyrrhenia” (as Italy was called at that time). The legend of Atlantis tells that in primordial times, when the gods divided the earth among themselves, this island came into the possession of Poseidon, the god of the seas. Poseidon settled there with ten of his sons, born from the earthly woman Clito. The eldest of them was called Atlas, after his name the island was called Atlantis, and the sea was called Atlantic.

From Atlas came a powerful and noble family of kings of Atlantis. This clan “collected such enormous wealth as had never before been seen in the possession of kings, and even later it would not be easy to form such a family.”

On the island, earthly fruits grew in abundance, various animals were found - “both tame and wild”, minerals were mined in its depths, including “one breed, which is now known only by name, (...) - the orichalcum breed, extracted from the earth in many places on the island and after gold, which had the greatest value among the people of that time.”

The inhabitants of Atlantis built on their island beautiful cities with fortress walls, temples and palaces, harbors and shipyards were built.

Main city Atlantis was surrounded by several rows of earthen ramparts and canals - “rings of the sea.” The city walls were covered “like mastic” with copper, tin and orichalcum, “giving off a fiery shine,” and the houses were built of red, white and black stone.

A temple to Poseidon and Clito was erected in the center of the city. The walls of the temple were lined with silver, the roof was covered with gold, and inside “one could see an ivory ceiling, colored with gold, silver and orichalcum. They also erected golden idols inside the temple - a god who, standing in a chariot, ruled six winged horses, and himself, due to his enormous size, touched the ceiling with his crown.”

The Atlanteans conducted brisk trade, the harbors of Atlantis “teemed with ships and merchants from everywhere, who in their mass deafened the area day and night with shouting, knocking and mixed noise.”

Atlantis had a strong army and fleet, consisting of one thousand two hundred warships.

The code of laws that Poseidon himself gave to the Atlanteans was inscribed on a high orichalcum pillar installed in the middle of the island. Atlantis was ruled by ten kings - each with their own part of the island. Once every five or six years they gathered in front of this pillar and “consulted about common affairs, or examined whether anyone had committed any offense, and held court.”

The Atlanteans were distinguished by their nobility and exalted way of thinking, “looking at everything except virtue with disdain, they valued little the fact that they had a lot of gold and other acquisitions, they were indifferent to wealth as a burden, and did not fall to the ground in the intoxication of luxury, losing power over oneself."

But time passed - and the Atlanteans changed, they were filled with “the wrong spirit of self-interest and power.” They began to use their knowledge and achievements of their culture for evil. In the end, Zeus became angry with them and “in one day and a disastrous night (...) the island of Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the sea.” According to Plato, this happened in the 10th millennium BC. e. Modern scientists express the opinion that the death of the island was caused by a catastrophe, the cause of which was one of the man-made achievements of the ancient Atlanteans.

Disputes about whether Atlantis really existed or whether Plato invented it began in ancient times. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, a friend and student of Plato, argued that Atlantis was completely fictional (according to legend, it was on this occasion that Aristotle uttered the famous saying: “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”). However, many believed that Atlantis really existed and traces of it could be found.

Over the course of subsequent centuries, interest in Atlantis faded and then awakened again, but never disappeared completely.

It is estimated that to date about 3,600 scientific works have been written about Atlantis (not to mention numerous works of fiction). Atlantology has become an independent branch of science. Atlantean scientists have made many guesses regarding the location of Atlantis and the reasons for its destruction, and have put forward a hypothesis about the influence of the Atlantean civilization on the development of world civilization.

Poet V.Ya. Bryusov, who was professionally involved in Atlantology and taught a scientific course on this topic, wrote at the beginning of the 20th century: “We do not yet have the right to assert (...) that “Atlantis has been proven.” But there is no doubt that science must accept Atlantis as a necessary “working hypothesis.” Without the assumption of Atlantis, much in early antiquity will remain unclear, inexplicable (...). Atlantis is necessary for history and therefore must be discovered!”

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book 100 Great Mysteries of History author

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Almost two and a half thousand years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427 - 347 BC) wrote down a legend about a powerful ancient state, inhabited by the descendants of the god Poseidon, which reached unprecedented prosperity, but then perished in the depths of the sea. Plato reported the following about the origin of the Atlanteans:

“... Poseidon, having received the island of Atlantis as his inheritance, populated it with his children, conceived from a mortal woman, in approximately this place: from the sea to the middle of the island a plain stretched, according to legend, more beautiful than all other plains and very fertile, and again, in the middle of this plain, about fifty stadia from the sea, stood a mountain, low on all sides. On this mountain lived one of the men who were born there at the very beginning by the earth, named Evenor, and with him his wife Leucippe; their only daughter was named Cleito. When the girl has already reached marriageable age, and her mother and father have died, Poseidon, inflamed with lust, unites with her. Having given birth to male twins five times, Poseidon raised them and divided the entire island of Atlantis into ten parts, and to the one of the eldest couple who was born first, he gave his mother's house and surrounding possessions as the largest and best share and made him king over the rest, and these others - the archons, to each of whom he gave power over a populous people and a vast country.

Information about Atlantis is contained in two Platonic dialogues: Timaeus and Critias. The above passage is taken from Critias, a significant part of which is devoted to the history and social structure of the mysterious ancient state. Unfortunately, this dialogue has not reached us completely. There are a couple of paragraphs in the Timaeus that talk about the location of Atlantis, although the main topic of the dialogue has nothing to do with it.

According to Critias, the Atlanteans were a powerful and warlike people. They brought many tribes under their rule. But the conquered lands could not compare in wealth and beauty with their homeland, for Poseidon was generous to his children:

“Much was imported to them from subject countries, but most of what was needed for life was provided by the island itself, first of all, any types of fossil hard and fusible metals, and among them what is now known only by name, but then existed in reality: native orichalcum , extracted from the bowels of the earth in various places on the island and in its value then second only to gold. The forest provided in abundance everything that builders needed for their work, as well as for feeding domestic and wild animals. There were even a great many elephants on the island, for there was enough food not only for all other living creatures inhabiting swamps, lakes and rivers, mountains or plains, but also for this animal, the largest and most voracious of all animals. Further, all the incense that the earth now nourishes, be it in roots, in herbs, in wood, in oozing resins, in flowers or in fruits - she gave birth to all this there and cultivated it perfectly.”

The inhabitants of Atlantis were skilled in many arts and crafts; they built numerous palaces, temples, canals, harbors and shipyards in their land. The palace of the supreme king was erected in the very place where Poseidon himself once lived with his beloved. This place was surrounded by circular canals, the first of which, according to legend, were the work of God himself. Subsequently, the Atlanteans continued construction:

“First of all, they built bridges across the water rings that surrounded the ancient metropolis, building a path from the capital and back to it. From the sea they made a canal three plethra wide and a hundred feet deep, and fifty stadia long, all the way to the outermost ring of water: thus they created access from the sea to this ring, as if to a harbor, preparing sufficient passage even for the most large ships. As for the earthen rings that separated the water rings, near the bridges they dug channels of such width that one trireme could pass from one water ring to another; on top they laid the ceilings under which navigation was to take place: the height of the earthen rings above the surface of the sea was sufficient for this... On these rings they built many sanctuaries of various deities and many gardens and gymnasiums for the exercise of men and horses. All this was located separately from each other on each of the ring-shaped islands; among other things, in the middle of the largest ring they had a hippodrome for horse racing, which was the width of stages, and the length ran around the entire circle... The shipyards were filled with triremes and all the gear that might be needed for triremes, so there was plenty of everything . This is how the place where the kings lived was arranged. If you pass the three outer harbors, then there was a wall running in a circle, starting from the sea, which along its entire length was separated from the largest ring of water and from the harbor by fifty stadia; it closed near a canal that opened into the sea. The space inside it was densely built up, and the channel and the largest harbor were crowded with ships on which merchants arrived from everywhere, and in such numbers that talking, noise and knocking were heard day and night... The stone is white, black and red in color. they mined in the bowels of the middle island and in the bowels of the outer and inner earthen rings, and in the quarries, where there were recesses on both sides, covered with the same stone on top, they arranged anchorages for ships. If they made some of their buildings simple, then in others, for fun, they skillfully combined stones of different colors, giving them a natural charm; They also covered the entire circumference of the walls around the outer earthen ring with copper, applying the metal in molten form, the wall of the inner shaft was covered with tin casting, and the wall of the acropolis itself with orichalcum, which gave off a fiery shine.”

The myth of Atlantis has excited the imagination of many generations, the plot of a vanished civilization has been and is widely used by science fiction writers, the image of the Atlanteans is eagerly exploited by all kinds of occultists, and countless scientists are trying to establish what is really hidden behind the story told by Plato.

According to the author of the dialogues, he retold a family legend, the origins of which were the outstanding Athenian statesman Solon (640 - 559 BC), the ancestor of Plato, who lived two centuries later. This respected Athenian traveled to Egypt, where he was kindly received by the priests of the goddess Neith, who was identified with Pallas Athena, the patroness hometown Solona. Egyptian priests, keepers of a tradition that was significantly superior in antiquity to the Hellenic one, told the Greek sage about the power that had sunk into oblivion, and at the same time enlightened him about some pages of the history of his own ancestors.

Plato argued that the events reported by the Egyptians took place 9 thousand years before Solon's visit. The dialogue Timaeus says the following about them:

“In those days it was possible to cross the sea, for there was still an island lying in front of that strait, which in your language is called the Pillars of Hercules. This island was larger in size than Libya and Asia combined, and from it it was easy for travelers of that time to move to other islands, and from the islands to the entire opposite continent, which covered the sea that truly deserves such a name (after all, the sea on this side the said strait is only a bay with a narrow passage into it, while the sea on the other side of the strait is a sea in the proper sense of the word, just as the land surrounding it can truly and quite rightly be called a continent). On this island, called Atlantis, arose a kingdom of amazing size and power, whose power extended over the entire island, many other islands and part of the mainland, and moreover, on this side of the strait they took possession of Libya right up to Egypt and Europe right up to to Tirrenia."

One version of the location of Atlantis

It would seem that Plato left us a very extensive and precise geographical description. But in fact, the Timaeus passage gives the modern reader very little information about the real size and location of Atlantis. First of all, it is completely unclear what “exceeded Libya and Asia in size combined” means. What exactly was meant by Libya and Asia? According to the explanation traditionally given in popular literature, Libya is the Greek name for all of Africa, and Asia refers to the peninsula of Asia Minor. But it is obvious that Plato could not have meant the entire African continent, especially since both his compatriots and the Egyptians who told the story had a very vague idea of its size. The historical works of antiquity record a single successful attempt to circumnavigate Africa, undertaken in the 7th century. BC e. Phoenician sailors. The history of this expedition is retold by Herodotus, but the “father of history” does not give any exact dimensions of the continent, but only says that the journey was accompanied by long stops and lasted two years. There were no repeated attempts to follow the same route. It is logical to assume that Libya in this case means some part of North Africa, whose borders are clearly delineated, but where exactly they lie is anyone’s guess. The situation is similar with Asia. It is clear that we are not talking about Asia in its modern borders. As for the assumption that we are talking about the Asia Minor peninsula, it is completely arbitrary. With the same success, it could be any other geographical object in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

As for the pillars of Hercules mentioned in the description, they also do not clarify the issue too much. Even if, as is generally believed, the rocks of the Strait of Gibraltar are meant, it is quite difficult to understand from the text whether the mythical island was located on this or that side of the strait, in the Atlantic Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea. But the fact is that Plato’s Pillars of Hercules are not necessarily Gibraltar. Yes, this name was assigned to the strait connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, but others could also be called this way geographical features known to the Greeks. Antiquity is generally characterized by wandering names. For example, along with the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the Mediterranean and Black Sea there was the Cimmerian Bosphorus (modern Kerch Strait). A dozen cities scattered throughout the Mediterranean could bear the same name. Some atlantologists suggested that Plato’s Pillars of Hercules could have been one of the Bosporuses and placed Atlantis in Crimea. There were also more exotic options.

Along with geographical names in Plato's dialogues there is also a description of the location, but it is quite confusing, and, as the reader can see, it does not fit perfectly into any of the popular versions, and with some stretches it fits too many. Thus, if we assume that the Pillars of Hercules are the Strait of Gibraltar, then “the sea on this side of the said strait”, which “is only a bay with a narrow passage into it” is the Mediterranean Sea, and “the sea on the other side of the strait” which “is sea in the proper sense of the word” - the Atlantic Ocean. In this case, the mention of the mainland, which embraces this “sea in the proper sense of the word” on all sides, which, moreover, is mentioned as something self-evident, looks strange. Even if we assume that the Greeks of the times of Solon or Plato had some information about America, it is unlikely that this knowledge was widespread. According to traditional ancient ideas, the Ocean encircles the earth on all sides.

If we identify the Pillars of Hercules with the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles, then “the sea in the proper sense of the word” is the Black Sea. It is more similar to Plato’s, in that it is surrounded on all sides by the mainland, but much smaller than the Mediterranean, and then it is not clear why the latter is called a bay. However, the assumption that someone who retold this story had a misconception about the size of the Pontus Euxine is less fantastic than the version about a bridge of islands crossing the Atlantic.

It is also possible that a grammatical error crept into the text, as a result of which it was not entirely correctly understood, and the Black Sea is meant by the “bay”, and the Mediterranean by the “sea in the proper sense of the word.”

Finally, Plato's Pillars of Hercules can be placed somewhere on the southern tip of the Apennine or Balkan Peninsula. If in ancient times there were several islands between these peninsulas and the African coast, East End Mediterranean Sea could well be perceived as a separate sea or bay. This picture corresponds in general terms to that painted in the Timaeus, but the search suitable place we can continue.

From all of the above, it follows that we do not have any accurate information about the location of Atlantis, but only have room for speculation.

This is the case with the place of action; we are no better informed about its time. True, the dialogues indicate the date of the death of the legendary power - 9 thousand years ago (from the moment of Solon’s conversation with the priests of Neith), but a detail is immediately given that contradicts this date. The servant of the goddess tells the Greek sage about the war between the Atlanteans and the Athenians:

“And so all this united power was thrown at one blow to plunge both your and our lands and all the countries on this side of the strait into slavery. It was then, Solon, that your state showed the whole world a brilliant proof of its valor and strength: surpassing everyone in its strength of spirit and experience in military affairs, it first stood at the head of the Hellenes, but due to the betrayal of its allies it found itself left to its own devices, and alone faced the extreme dangers and yet defeated the conquerors and erected the trophies of victory.

It saved those who were not yet enslaved from the threat of slavery; but all the rest, no matter how many of us lived on this side of the Pillars of Hercules, it generously made free.”

According to archaeological data, the city of Athens arose no earlier than the 2nd millennium BC. e., attempts to build the first irrigation structures in the Nile Valley date back to the 5th millennium BC. e. We have to admit that either the war described by the Greek philosopher is a fiction, or the date is incorrect. Of course, there is another path, which is most often followed by not too discerning lovers of everything mysterious: to consider the date indicated by Plato as indisputably true, and to declare that generations of archaeologists were mistaken when estimating the age of ancient civilizations.

No one argues that our knowledge of ancient history is very fragmentary; there are a number of cases where new archaeological discoveries literally turned established scientific ideas upside down. But one single date in one single work can hardly outweigh the results of numerous scientific studies, which claim that 11 thousand years ago there were no states on Earth and man had just begun to master agriculture and cattle breeding; Solon’s ancestors had not yet come to Balkan Peninsula, and the Nile Valley was unsuitable for human life. It's easier to assume that the date is wrong. This is more than likely if we remember how the legend of Atlantis came to us. In Plato's dialogues, it is the narration of a character relaying a story that he heard as a ten-year-old boy from his grandfather. The grandfather sets out a family legend, which is based on the story of Solon two hundred years ago. Solon conveys what he heard from the priest of the goddess Neith, with whom he, not knowing the Egyptian language, communicated through an interpreter. The priest tells a legend of deep antiquity, and its original source is completely unknown to us. Obviously, with such a “damaged phone” the story may not only contain errors and inaccuracies, it can not do not contain them, and only those details that are confirmed in other sources are worthy of trust.

Nevertheless, these confirmations must be sought, because there are examples when historians had to repent of their disdain for folk legends. It is doubtful that the history of the war between the Athenians and the Atlanteans arose from scratch. The dramatic story about its end is hardly pure fiction:

“But later, when the time came for unprecedented earthquakes and floods, in one terrible day all your military strength was swallowed up by the opening of the earth; likewise, Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the abyss. After this, the sea in those places became, to this day, unnavigable and inaccessible due to shallowing caused by a huge amount silt, which left behind a settled island."

By the way, the mention of the non-navigability of the sea that survived until the time of Solon is another argument in favor of the fact that the disaster occurred not so long ago, as well as an important sign for those who want to find the place where it plunged into the abyss mysterious land. If two and a half thousand years ago the remains of a sunken island prevented the passage of ships, then geologists today are able to detect its traces, so geological studies of the seabed have always been an important part of Atlantalogy.

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