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Well, not exactly.
Atlantis, if it existed (and I believe it did) was probably the victim of war. That war was fought with spearmen, chariots, and slings though, and it didn't end the world.
You see, in the later part of the second millenium BC, there were many wars between Greek city-states and other related city-states. Troy, Ugarit (spelling?), Mycenea, and perhaps Atlantis were victims of this. These are generally remembered as attacks of "the sea people" who seem to have been rogue Greeks who appeared for a couple of centuries and vanished. The Egyptians had at least minor skirmishes with them as well.
The Atlantean king Gaderius (Eumeleus in Greek- spelling questionable) was credited with the founding of Gadir, later known as Gades or Cadiz, Spain. (also Tharshish or something like that to the Hebrews). The problem is that Gadir is a phoenecian word (meaning gates) and Gades was a colony of the Phoenecian city-state of Tyre.
This means that the Atlanteans are actually Phoenecians, and Atlantis is just a city that's been lost to history. (Ugarit wasn't found until the 18th or 19th century after the "sea people" destroyed it, so thats not an isolated incident.)
I don't see whats so hard to believe about Atlantis in this context. There was a city state we haven't found yet, there were a few wars, the city was destroyed, and a philosopher who I hear used a lot of drugs (plato) told grand stories with an extremely loose basis on that historical fact while arguing about the gods and ideal societies and such.
Really though that explanation gives some reason not to believe in Atlantis at all. The only link it leaves between Plato's account and reality is the origin of Gadir, which means that Atlantis would then be worth searching for since it would solve the mystery of where the Phoenecians came from. BUT the Phoenecians didn't start expanding until Troy fell, which may indicate that the phoenecians started somewhere on the Black sea. Gades was a colony of Tyre, and as long as that fact holds true (I see no reason it should ever be disproved, although I have never actually done any digging at either site I admit) then we have to assume that the Phoenecians did not come from outside the mediterranean, which means so much for Atlantis in every sense of Plato's description.
Considering that I'm an old believer in Atlantis, and still wonder if i'm missing something, this is a rather boring and disappointing conclusion, but I have found that when I look hard for evidence to support my arguements and make a ruthless effort to be right, I find myself drawn further and further from Plato's account, until I hardly support the existence of Atlantis at all. Unless I find new evidence to support it (seems unlikely, but you never know what I'll read tomorrow) I don't see how I could get to excited about the idea that Atlantis wiped itself out in a massive technological war (especially with nukes as some imply).
That all being said... I think it would be kinda cool if we found out that humanity had been around for a few dozen millenia and just keeps starting over again.
From Thread: Scientist believes Atlantis found...
Posted by The Vagabond, on July 22, 2004 at 00:58 GMTWell, not exactly.
Atlantis, if it existed (and I believe it did) was probably the victim of war. That war was fought with spearmen, chariots, and slings though, and it didn't end the world.
You see, in the later part of the second millenium BC, there were many wars between Greek city-states and other related city-states. Troy, Ugarit (spelling?), Mycenea, and perhaps Atlantis were victims of this. These are generally remembered as attacks of "the sea people" who seem to have been rogue Greeks who appeared for a couple of centuries and vanished. The Egyptians had at least minor skirmishes with them as well.
The Atlantean king Gaderius (Eumeleus in Greek- spelling questionable) was credited with the founding of Gadir, later known as Gades or Cadiz, Spain. (also Tharshish or something like that to the Hebrews). The problem is that Gadir is a phoenecian word (meaning gates) and Gades was a colony of the Phoenecian city-state of Tyre.
This means that the Atlanteans are actually Phoenecians, and Atlantis is just a city that's been lost to history. (Ugarit wasn't found until the 18th or 19th century after the "sea people" destroyed it, so thats not an isolated incident.)
I don't see whats so hard to believe about Atlantis in this context. There was a city state we haven't found yet, there were a few wars, the city was destroyed, and a philosopher who I hear used a lot of drugs (plato) told grand stories with an extremely loose basis on that historical fact while arguing about the gods and ideal societies and such.
Really though that explanation gives some reason not to believe in Atlantis at all. The only link it leaves between Plato's account and reality is the origin of Gadir, which means that Atlantis would then be worth searching for since it would solve the mystery of where the Phoenecians came from. BUT the Phoenecians didn't start expanding until Troy fell, which may indicate that the phoenecians started somewhere on the Black sea. Gades was a colony of Tyre, and as long as that fact holds true (I see no reason it should ever be disproved, although I have never actually done any digging at either site I admit) then we have to assume that the Phoenecians did not come from outside the mediterranean, which means so much for Atlantis in every sense of Plato's description.
Considering that I'm an old believer in Atlantis, and still wonder if i'm missing something, this is a rather boring and disappointing conclusion, but I have found that when I look hard for evidence to support my arguements and make a ruthless effort to be right, I find myself drawn further and further from Plato's account, until I hardly support the existence of Atlantis at all. Unless I find new evidence to support it (seems unlikely, but you never know what I'll read tomorrow) I don't see how I could get to excited about the idea that Atlantis wiped itself out in a massive technological war (especially with nukes as some imply).
That all being said... I think it would be kinda cool if we found out that humanity had been around for a few dozen millenia and just keeps starting over again.
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