Gazrok v NinjaoftheNight : Atlantis is not a myth., page 1

Atlantis...fabled civilization of myth...or advanced civilization lost to time? My position is that it is indeed the latter. In order to illustrate this, it is important to clear up misconceptions about what Atlantis was, and how we define it as an "advanced" civilization. My goal is not to convince you that Atlantis was a city with flying cars, electricity, and death rays. Nay, I will illustrate the historic Atlantis...an advanced civilization akin to their later descendants, the Aztecs, Incas, etc.

For not only will I illustrate that Atlantis existed, but during the course of this debate, I will also illustrate where it is! After all, it is not my place to convince you of something's existence without showing you where indeed it does. Just as there are now confirmed archeological remnants of Troy (as written of by Greece's Homer), I will tell you of the remnants of Plato's Atlantis. We will not see remains of the aforementioned flying machines or death rays, for these are flights of fancy, taken by authors over the years. What we will see, is the tale of a civilization lost to the sands of time, but whose story was related to Plato, by the Egyptian Solon.

To establish the existence of Atlantis, it is important to examine the source of its account. The dialogue of Critias... (of which, I will provide a link later) Regardless of which viewpoint you hold on Atlantis...it is important to be aware of this text, as it is one of the few historical references to the ancient city. Keep in mind, though we consider the time of Plato to be "ancient", the account of Atlantis was considered "ancient" in his day! Therefore, it is not surprising that there aren't more accounts of this once great civilization.

The very origin of the name of the Atlantic Ocean, is given in the tale:

"And he named them all; the eldest, who was the first king, he named Atlas, and after him the whole island and the ocean were called Atlantic."

Furthermore, there are numerous details given, to describe the location:

"was an island greater in extent than Libya and Asia"
"outside the Pillars of Heracles"

These details, are the first which I will use to illustrate that the continent of Atlantis, is what we now refer to as South America. Instead, it is the city of Atlantis, not the continent that met its doom. The biggest point of confusion of the catastrophe lies in there being a difference between the island continent, and the island capital. Both were islands, and this is made clear in the text. Now, your first thought may be that South America is not an island. This is true...now. However, we are talking of the world 9000 years before Plato, so it may have truly been an island at the time, or it could have simply been perceived as an island by those of that time (being ignorant of the other continent to the north).

Another point of confusion in the text, is due to Critias describing a war between the Greeks of the time, and Atlantis. In doing so, he first describes each nation, as it existed at the time. In reading the text, he describes both Atlantis, and Greece. However, as he states, he describes the Greeks of the time first.

"I must describe first of all Athenians of that day, and their enemies who fought with them, and then the respective powers and governments of the two kingdoms. Let us give the precedence to Athens."

A common error of many Atlantean researchers is to ascribe these descriptions to Atlantis. This error is actually rather surprising...considering it seems rather clear who Critias is speaking of. Another point of confusion is the use of Greek names in the text, such as the continent being presided over by Poseidon. Again, Critias makes it very clear why he is using such names.

"Yet, before proceeding further in the narrative, I ought to warn you, that you must not be surprised if you should perhaps hear Hellenic names given to foreigners. I will tell you the reason of this: Solon, who was intending to use the tale for his poem, enquired into the meaning of the names, and found that the early
Egyptians in writing them down had translated them into their own language, and he recovered the meaning of the several names and when copying them out again translated them into our language."

Please forgive the time taken to clarify some misconceptions of the account of Atlantis. However, as we proceed with the debate, you will see how imperative it is to understand this account, as I present the evidence, not only of Atlantis' existence, but also of its location. Thank You.