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Contents
"For
thousands of years the idea of Atlantis has captured the minds and
imagination of countless generations. At least 25,000 books have been
published on the subject, and the output of material just keeps on
growing.
Atlantis it seems has a special place in our hearts,
and the reason for this is hotly debated. Some call it a collective
consciousness of this by-gone era, and others term it mass hysteria.
But to us the idea of Atlantis is important because we need to show
that former world ages have a basis in fact. This is why successive
investigators have lavished so much time and effort in this quest. It
is the urge to prove what many claim to feel by instinct - the
historical reality of a once great island that sank beneath the waves.
Origins of story:
Amazingly,
the fact we have any clue at all of such an islands existence is down
to the diligence of just one person - the Greek philosopher Plato.
Writing
in the 4th century BC, his Timaeus and Critias provides a tantalising
outline of a great island that once existed beyond the Pillars of
Hercules. This island, inhabited by a god-like race wielded enormous
power and influence. Initially this power was used to great benefit,
but eventually Atlantis grew steadily corrupt. According to Plato it's
end came during a period of intense volcanic activity when the island
literally vanished beneath the waves.
Source material.
Plato
derived his source material from the friend of a friend - Solon, who
travelled extensively throughout Egypt. There he was taken into the
confidence of priests from the Temple of Sais. They told him of sacred
records relating to a great island westwards of the Pillars of
Hercules. These spoke of its physical size and dimensions, it's
location with respect to America and Europe, as well as a detailed
outline of its customs and traditions. According to the priests, the
immense catastrophe that destroyed the island occurred over 9000 years
beforehand.
Vanished 12,500 years ago.
Here
lies the crux of the story. Atlantis vanished over 12,500 years ago. At
that time humanity was thought to have barely risen above the status of
hunter gatherers. Yet the Timaeus and Critias insists on the existence
of a highly developed world at that time.
Atlantis; Fact or fiction?
At
present mainstream science steadfastly refuses to even consider the
possibility that Atlantis may once have existed. Those scientists that
even accept some bare semblance of truth in the legend, modify Plato's
timescale to considerably more recent times, and place it's location
anywhere, other than where Plato claims it to have been!
The
uncomfortable reality is that for Atlantis to assume its place in
history, it must surmount years of ingrained bigotry; the refusal to
see the island in anything but a fictional setting.
Continental Drift.
As
it is the scientific arguments against the existence of Atlantis are
many. Principally they hinge around two key points. The first is the
apparent impossibility that such a vast landmass could have existed
where Plato claims it to have been! The main element in this particular
point calls as evidence the fact that in the process of Continental
Drift , there is not enough of the geological jigsaw for such an island
to have formed, and broken away from it's parent landmass! It therefore
falls on those who believe in the historical existence of Atlantis to
show exactly which piece of the puzzle the island once formed .
Inexact science.
This
may seem like an insoluble problem. Continental drift is scarcely an
exact science and division of opinion is commonplace. For instance at
the start of this century the scientific establishment considered the
whole concept to be highly ridiculous. The notion of continents
travelling across oceans seemed too implausible to merit a reasoned
response. Indeed the proponent of the theory, the German lecturer and
astronomer Alfred Wegener, was widely pilloried.
Pangaea.
Now
it seems just as ridiculous that continental drift could ever have been
doubted. This becomes even more unbelievable when we realise just how
easily the theory can be demonstrated. For instance in many areas of
the world we see the shape and outline of continents and landmasses
with contours matching those of other landmasses from which they appear
to have separated. Nowhere is this more apparent than South America,
where the outline of the east coast matches perfectly the distant
contours of West Africa.
Where matters become harder, is when
we try to piece together all the various landmasses to the point where
they all began to pull apart. This was a time when there existed just
one major land territory known as Gondwanaland, or Pangaea as it is
often known. It was from here the continents fragmented - literally
floating away in a slow process of continental drift that is still
carrying on to this very day.
Gulf of Mexico.
Although
many words have been written on the relevant pieces of the continental
jigsaw and where they belong, some elements of the puzzle still remain
a mystery. There is the suspicion that some of the principal pieces are
missing. This is exciting, because one such area focuses on the Gulf of
Mexico. It's jagged outlines speak volubly of a tearing process.
Additionally this area of the sea bed holds its own set of mysteries.
For years oceanographers have struggled to comprehend the complexity of
its submerged geology.
Subduction zones and tear lines bear
testimony to a turbulent parting of a substantial landmass. Yet
incredibly this landmass is nowhere explained by anything we see in the
world today. In other words there is no portion of land that can be
identified as having separated from this location. In some respects
this is only to be expected. Atlantis no longer exists. There is
nothing left to see. All we have is the unmistakable impression of some
massive tear around the rim of the Mexican Gulf.
Click here for picture of the location and presumed geographical outline of Atlantis.
Slow drift.
All
this means that if Atlantis had severed itself from the Yucatan
peninsula, it would have drifted slowly westward across an ever
widening Atlantic. Together with the continent of Africa it would have
steadily progressed on its pliant sima layer by a matter of inches each
year. Eventually these inches became many many miles until finally they
added up to the width of an Ocean.
The favoured position for the
eventual demise of Atlantis is often quoted as being close to the tiny
Azores islands. These sunken volcanic islands bear forceful testimony
to an incredible natural disaster in ancient antiquity. Another point
in favour of this setting is the geographical disparity between other
islands around the Azores, and the not too distant African mainland.
The island of Madeira is a notable example. This incredible island has
a surprising landscape, neither African nor European, but more like a
Central American state, with plunging verdant ravines, and jagged
peaks, stretching evocatively above low lying clouds. This incongruous
landscape cannot easily be explained. The only real answer is that it
constitutes a tiny fragment of another continent that drifted thousands
of miles from it's parent landmass around the Gulf of Mexico.
Similar Zoology.
Similarities
of flora and fauna on either side of the Atlantic led early biologists
to assume the existence of a former land bridge spanning the entire
ocean. Other theorists maintain that Atlantis was itself the point of
creation for many species. This idea received support from a Professor
Edward Hull. Writing in the early years of this century he claimed:
'The flora and fauna of the two hemispheres support the geological
theory of a common centre in the Atlantic where life began and that
during and prior to the glacial epoch great land-bridges north and
south spanned the Atlantic Ocean'.
Strange migrations.
9Testimony
to the former existence of a massive Atlantic island is often
attributed to the bizarre migration habits of certain fish, birds, and
rodents. Drawn by some unknown urge these creatures find themselves
directed to specific areas of unbroken ocean, almost as if expecting to
find land there. The case of the Scandinavian lemming is especially
notable, so too the exotic saffron winged catopsilia of British Guiana.
The male species of this exotic bird is sometimes said to answer a
fatal call that lures it far out into the Atlantic Ocean. Once having
reached a specific location the whole flock then fly directly into the
sea in an act of mass suicide.
The European Eel Enigma.
By
far the most fantastic of these of these Atlantic migrations concerns
the European eel. Twice in its lifetime it migrates from the
comparative safety of European rivers to the mysterious region of the
Sargasso Sea, far out in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Sargasso Sea is
itself a huge enigma. Comprising of a vast body of oceanic algae, it
teems with small fish, crabs, prawns, and molluscs. Even more
remarkable is that very few of these creatures are natural inhabitants
of the open sea. It is almost as if a massive landmass submerged at
this point leaving a floating platform of debris that is constantly
being added to.
Silent witness to Atlantis.
Why
the European eel should even attempt to make its hazardous two year
pilgrimage to this point is difficult to imagine. Some believe the
answers lie ingrained in the eels mind as a genetically maintained
memory; the instinctive belief that an island once existed here. In his
book The Secret of Atlantis, German author Otto Muck makes the
following observation: 'Instinctual animals cannot learn from
experience. Eels have been ruled by instinct since the Cretaceous Age.
They are unaware that Atlantis no longer exists, that the current
circling around the Sargasso Sea is broken. And even if they did know,
they could not change their instinctual lifestyle'. The author
concludes: 'The eel has, it seems, a better memory than man. It cannot
forget the land in the east. Every larvae, every one of the courting
eels, bears silent witness to Atlantis'.
One terrible day and night.
The
second major objection to the historical existence of Atlantis, is
Plato's assertion that it vanished beneath the waves in 'one terrible
day and night!' After all, islands don't just disappear, least of all
in a day and a night - or do they?
Until now this 'day and a
night' has proved an enormous stumbling block to the literal
interpretation of Plato's account. To the critics this is the ultimate
proof that makes the whole thing absurd. How could an island vanish so
quickly? And why is Plato so sure that it did? Was it sheer ignorance,
or did this island really submerge in little more than twenty four
hours?
Ambiguity.
Over
the years attempts to explain the mystery either as an allegorical
reference, a full figurative interpretation, or as some arcane
spiritual concept, all fall flat. Even more confusion stems from not
knowing precisely what Plato meant us to believe. Nor are matters
helped by the ambiguity of the relevant text. It says: 'and in a single
dreadful day and night all your fighting men (referring to Athens) were
swallowed up by the Earth, and the island of Atlantis was similarly
swallowed up by the sea and vanished'.
Two Interpretations.
Here
there are at least two interpretations. The first is that Plato gives
an equal timescale of a "day and a night" to both the swallowing up of
Athens and 'similarly' Atlantis, which according to him then vanishes
beneath the waves. The second interpretation is that the 'day and a
night' refer solely to the demise of Athens, whereas 'similarly' refers
to Atlantis only as it concerns its disappearance beneath the waves,
and not the time scale involved. That is to say that it then sank
gradually beneath the waves.
Of course gradual is a relative
term. In the case of Atlantis we are talking of a phenomenal disaster
and even if it's demise was not over the course of one day and night,
Plato implies it was an event of astonishing rapidity.
Persuasive Theory.
One
theorist who believed in the literal interpretation of 'a single day
and night', was the distinguished German scientist Otto Muck. With
painstaking research Muck put together his own highly persuasive theory
of how such a massive island could disappear almost overnight. He
believed the answer lay in the treacherous geography of the area
Atlantis once occupied!
If Plato's account is taken literally it
occupied a position close to one of the most vulnerable areas of the
Earth's crust. This was almost directly astride the Mid Atlantic Ridge
- the Achilles tendon of the world, as many have called it ! Here in a
chain of intense volcanic activity, the Earth's crust is dangerously
thin. If anything like a plunging meteor were to rupture the crust
anywhere along this ridge, it would trigger off a catastrophe capable
of wiping out all life on the planet.
Massive Convulsion.
If
this is indeed what happened to Atlantis, then the whole sea-bed
surrounding the island would have erupted in a truly massive
convulsion! It would be like a line of gunpowder running between
barrels of dynamite. Huge clouds of steam would shoot skywards with red
hot magma spewed across the surface of the sea. In geological terms it
means that the delicate chain of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge would quite
literally explode in a vast wall of flame stretching far above the sea.
The Bible in its flood account speaks of the moment ‘when all the
fountains of the great deep burst forth’!
It was Muck's
contention that so much volcanic debris erupted skywards that it led to
the creation of a huge magma depression. So huge in fact that Atlantis
literally sank on it's base. Explains Muck: 'And the forces of hell
were let loose.....red hot magma shot up at terrific speed and mixed
with the waters of the Atlantic. This created all the conditions for a
submarine volcanic eruption of the greatest possible force. The
fracture seam ( The North Atlantic Ridge) was torn apart. The bottom of
the sea burst open to the north and to the south'. Continues Muck: 'A
magma depression was created below the centre of the Atlantic basin
.... and the magma level must have dropped by 2-2.5 miles'.
Sinking Island.
Like
a stricken warship Atlantis began to sink. Mucks exceptionally detailed
calculations based on Plato's size of the island estimated that
Atlantis would not only have begun sinking, but that it would have
completely submerged within 24 hours. In other words just like Plato
said it did! The author then goes on to complete his amazing hypothesis
in the following manner: 'The ocean waves rushed in, hissing and
emitting clouds of steam, to their newly created sea bed. The previous
day that bed had been a large island with high mountains and buildings.
Today Atlantis lies some 2 miles lower, in the centre of the
depression, right on the ancient fracture seam'.
Wider catastrophe.
Obviously
the Atlantis disaster was part of a much wider catastrophe. Around
Iceland in the North Atlantic there is a particularly strong indication
of sudden inundation. The depth chart of the subsidence around the
island illustrates this quite graphically. It reveals a dramatic
sinking of a large area of land that seems to have occurred with
amazing rapidity. There is no doubt that 14,000 years ago the geography
of this region would have looked quite different. Iceland was then four
times its present area, of which the Faroes, together with Beerenberg
volcano on Jan Mayers island are all that remain of a once great land
mass.
In Icelandic mythology we find a strange echo of these
events in the Volluspa, a kind of poetic apocalypse that tells of a
time when the sun, the moon and the stars were shaken from their
places. Large portions of Norse mythology also speak of the immensely
turbulent days of a great natural disaster, and influences of this
folklore were later to pass into European consciousness through Wagners
opera Goterdammerung - The Twilight of The Gods!
Gradual Subsidence.
Although
Atlantis is said to have vanished beneath the waves in a relatively
short time, there is evidence to indicate that some parts of the island
took longer to submerge. Plato, and the Greek philosopher Aristotle,
both agree that even in their day, the waters beyond the Straits of
Gibraltar were unnavigable due to layers of very thick mud. The cause
of this they believed was subsidence left behind from a sunken island.
Impenetrable Mud.
In
the Timaeus and Critias Plato explains it as follows: 'At that time, as
we said, Atlantis was an island larger than Libya and Asia Minor
combined, though it was subsequently overwhelmed by earthquakes and is
the source of the impenetrable mud which prevents the free passage of
those who sail out of the straits into the open sea'.
In his
book Meteorologica Aristotle also mentions 'shallows due to mud' and
Scylax of Caryanda likewise mentions a sea of thick mud just beyond the
Pillars of Hercules. It seems that even as recently as 2300 years ago -
which on the geological scale is barely an eye-blink - the Ocean beyond
Gibraltar was unnavigable because of deposits of mud from a vanished
island. Even today an examination of the sea bed at this point reveals
an exceptionally high level of sedimentation.
Until now this was
explained as the result of sediment carried by the powerful currents
passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. Yet this would seem unlikely.
The reason is that although the area around the Straits is relatively
shallow, one does not need to progress far into the Mediterranean
before encountering very deep waters. It means that sediment from the
Mediterranean would be more likely to deposit itself against the rise
of this slope, within the Mediterranean, rather than the Gulf Of Cadiz,
outside it.
Other Evidence.
Similar
evidence can be found further westwards. Around the island of Madeira
we see a vast submerged chain of mountains named the Horseshoe
Seamount. Southwards from here, and indeed throughout the whole of this
area there is an enormous expanse of sedimential deposit covering wide
portions of the surrounding sea-bed. The strange thing is there is
nothing to account for this deposit - nothing that is, unless there was
once a large area of land here that for some reason began to break
apart and later submerged.
Wholesale submersion.
The
sum total of this evidence implies that the Atlantis disaster may have
been a much more recent affair than Plato is telling us. On the other
hand perhaps the initial catastrophe, which destroyed Atlantis - or
it's spiritual centre - was merely a precursor to the wholesale
submersion of numerous other islands that once existed here. Their
demise, like that of Atlantis was probably precipitated by the initial
devastating catastrophe that could have led to a complete fragmentation
of this entire chain of islands.
Throughout the whole of
northern Europe similar stories of sunken lands and cities speak of a
widespread phenomenon. In Brittany in France, some of the enigmatic
stone alignments plunge straight in the sea towards important submarine
markers that were undoubtedly above ground when the alignments were
created.
Sunken Cities.
In
Greece, the sunken city of Chenchrae, near Corinth is a testimony to
the awesome powers of nature that in an instant can sometimes plunge
habited settlements far below the surface of the sea. Bimini in the
Bahamas is yet another example. Here an exciting catalogue of submerged
roadways, huge precisely cut blocks of stone, as well as columns and
pillars, and a variety of other crafted artefacts testify to the
handiwork of an advanced culture. In his book The Stones of Atlantis,
author David Zink argues an Atlantean connection. He concludes: 'I am
inclined to regard Bimini as an Atlantean colonial site, or a location
of a different culture parallel in time to Atlantis'.
The
evidence from here and so many other locations bordering the Atlantic
provides clear proof of a sudden and undoubtedly catastrophic
submersion. This disaster may have occurred in stages, but the initial
spark of ignition is also discernible. So too is the extreme violence
of this happening. For instance sediments found in Scottish lakes
indicate that at some point in history the ocean poured across the land
depositing material that could not have arrived there by any other
means.
Loess Terraces.
Sedimential
deposit attributable to the same disaster has also been found on dry
land. A notable example of this are the famous Loess terraces of Shensi
in China. This area forms part of a vast chain of deposit stretching
from France, across Germany, southern Russia, Turkestan, and into
northern China.
Epic of Gilgamesh.
A
surprisingly accurate record of the thick mud that accompanied the
Atlantean disaster can be found in the writings of ancient Sumer. In
the Epic of Gilgamesh, there is the following account: 'There came the
night, when the ruler of darkness sent down a terrible rain. I looked
at the weather, it was frightful to look at .... at day break clouds as
black as the night appeared in the sky! All the evil spirits raged and
all light was transformed into darkness. For days a constant torrent of
rain mixed with ash and mud rained down on the Earth'!
The
Gilgamesh reports that everyone was quickly turned to mud. But even so,
the fury of the disaster was still not exhausted. For as the deluge of
rain combined with the tidal waves that ravaged the continents, the
land began to flood, and small hills and mountains quickly submerged.
In the Timaeus and Critias Plato recounts the devastating effects on
the city of Athens. 'You are left with something rather like a skeleton
of a body wasted by disease; the rich soil has all run away leaving the
land nothing but skin and bone....Today it ( the Acropolis) is quite
bare of soil which was all washed away in one appalling night of flood'.
Survivors.
By
all accounts the Atlantis disaster must have occurred with deadly
rapidity. In these circumstances the island would quickly have become
enveloped in huge clouds of toxic gases. Survival time would amount to
less than several minutes. Yet here again we have the enigma of finds
that indicate that a sizeable number of people were able to reach
surrounding continents - both in Europe and Africa, where their
presence is quite obviously recorded. This migration extends along the
whole of the western European coastline - the imprint of a culture that
from Senegal in Africa, to the frozen tundras of Scandinavia is
remarkably consistent.
The pure and simple truth is that almost
overnight the shores of this area are transformed by the arrival of a
remarkably skilled people that appear to arrive out of nowhere.
Significantly there is no record of social evolution that would explain
such skills, and we are left looking at a mystery with no obvious
solution. None that is, unless we explain things in terms of a vast
exodus from an Atlantic island that no longer exists.
Atlantean exodus art.
A
pointer to this Atlantean exodus can be found in many examples of
ancient art. It is a curious feature that in cultures as far dispersed
as Sweden and Crete, we see a common theme depicted over and over. It
is of people crammed into tiny boats pitting themselves against the
open sea in a mass evacuation from an unknown danger. Obviously this
was an event deeply etched into the memory of these people, and one
they were anxious to retain as part of their ancestral record.
The
fact is that find after find illustrate that the birth of civilisation,
as we erroneously call it, was not just from a flashpoint in
Mesopotamia, but also as part of an eastwards migration from the shores
of the Atlantic. In support of this we find incredibly complex
monuments like Stonehenge extant well before the building of the
pyramids in Egypt. We also find an amazing chain of elaborate stone
circles throughout the north west coast of Africa.
Cultural enigmas.
On
the other side of the Atlantic there is a similar enigma. Cultures like
the Olmecs seem to emerge as if from nowhere, displaying great mastery
of stone and architecture. In Mexico, the ruins of Teotihuacan close to
Mexico City provide an even greater sense of mystery. Here in a
magnificent sprawling complex of pyramid mounds and broad open avenues
we find ourselves confronted with a seemingly unanswerable dilemma:
Just who built the place?
Remarkably there is no obvious answer.
It was certainly not the Aztecs, nor was it the Olmecs or the Maya. In
fact all we know is that the architects of this exceptional site seem
to arrive out of nowhere and then with their work complete disappear
almost as quickly.
People of Aztlan.
Remarkably
the name Teotihuacan, when translated from the Nahua language means
"The place where men become gods." The belief was that Teotihuacan was
where the great gods held council after the destruction of the island
known to them as Nahuatl Aztlatlan. Aztec belief like that of so many
other Indian tribes was that their origins lay in this halcyon island
of plenty, eastwards across the Atlantic. Aztlatlan was its name, and
it's inhabitants were known as the people of Aztlan! Of course the
similarity between this name and that of Atlas - reputed to be the
first king of Atlantis is obvious, so too the comparison between the
name Aztlatlan and Atlantis.
Further intrigue comes from the
word Atl. In the Nahuatl language it means water, a word it shares with
the Berber people on the opposite shores of the Atlantic, in far away
Africa.
The ancients.
Another
enigma hinges around the very word ancients. According to the
dictionary ancient means 'of times long past !' The word is of Latin
origin. In its latinised form it becomes 'antiants', and the shade of
it's meaning alters slightly to become those, or that which went
before! Thus the word ancients becomes antiants . But this word
antiants is not too far removed from the name Atlantis! Antiants -
Atl-antiants.
Could then the word ancients really mean, 'they
that came from Atlantis' - the inhabitants of this long lost island? A
name, and a word, that gave its meaning to the world that once existed?
Linguistic connection.
Other
Atlantean links are evident in dialects spoken either side of the
Atlantic Ocean. On the Iberian Peninsula the Basque language is often
considered unique. Heralded as the oldest language in the world it is
widely credited as belonging to no other language group. Remarkably
however it was found to bear an astonishing resemblance to a dialect
spoken by the Otonu tribe in Central America. So close was this
similarity that Basque missionaries had no trouble in preaching to the
native Indians in their very own language.
Obviously such
peculiarities are difficult to explain. In fact the only rational
answer is that both tongues have a common source of origin dating back
to a far distant time period that is no longer remembered.
Many comparisons.
This
linkage of old and new world cultures is also apparent in the striking
facial comparison between pure bloodied Basques and the Central
American Indians. Undoubtedly we are dealing with a single race of
people yet between them lies the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean!
Even the very name of this ocean has an undisputed Atlantean link, and
should properly be called the Atlantis Ocean. Other place name
connections can be found either side of its waters. For instance Atlas,
the first king of Atlantis, is also the name of the majestic range of
mountains that rise above Morocco. Across the Atlantic on the Yucatan
Peninsula, the Maia take their name from the first born daughter of
Atlas - King of Atlantis.
In Europe, Cadiz in Spain derives from
the name Gadirus, described by Plato as a governor of 'the furthest
part of the island towards the pillars of Heracles'. Even the name of
the Spanish region of Catalonia hides probable Atlantean connections.
If we remove the letter C from Catalonia, we get ATALONIA!!! The
resemblance between this, and Atlantis is striking. It could of course
be just a coincidence but if so it forms just one of many such
coincidences that seem far too numerous to be explained as an element
of chance alone.
Entertainment.
In
a fast growing list of these amazing 'coincidences' we find that modern
and ancient forms of entertainment also appear to have links to a
common point of origin. For instance the Basque game Pelota, played
with a ball bounced against a wall by the bare hand or club shaped bat,
bears a striking resemblance to a ball pit game played at Mayan
sacrificial ceremonies. Virtually the only difference is that the Mayan
variant required the losing team to be sacrificially slaughtered.
The bull fighting connection.
The
most exciting evidence of shared traditions in countries facing the
presumed location of Atlantis, is undoubtedly bull-fighting. The ritual
hunting of bulls and the spilling of their blood as an act of
sacrifice, was according to Plato, one of the most solemn of Atlantean
ceremonies. It can hardly be coincidence then, that the countries that
still engage in bull-fighting - Spain, France, Portugal, and even
Mexico, all have Atlantic facing coasts that look out towards the
presumed location of this long lost island!
A number of these
countries are also renowned for their love of fine horsemanship and
breeding of horses. This too was another Atlantean passion. Indeed the
inner sanctum of the island, which rested on a concentrically arranged
ring of islands possessed a 'special course for horse racing'. Both the
emblem of the bull and the horse were deeply etched into the symbolism
and practice of Atlantean worship - a symbolism still very much alive
and duly celebrated in the Iberian love of equestrian sports and bull
fighting.
The labyrinth...
Further
authentication of Plato's account of Atlantis can be found in the
universal use of the labyrinth, or the swirl symbol. From the Hopi
Indians to the Aztecs, to the natives of the Nasca plains, and across
the world to almost every culture, including Minoan Crete, we see the
unmistakable evidence of a universal symbol. It is to be found amongst
the stone circles of Britain and France, through to Sicily and Malta,
and beyond it to the African continent - an ever present motif of a
special symbol!
But why? Why did the ancients endow this symbol with such awe and mysticism, and why was it so universally adopted?
Map of Atlantis?
Categorised
as the symbol of life, the universal use of the swirl pattern or
labyrinth, is often explained as the inspiration of a massive
collective subconscious, or a symbol that represents the physical
outline of our galaxy. This may well be so, but as with so many things
in the ancient world, it is also capable of double or triple
significance. In this case yet another possibility arises from Plato's
description of the layout of Atlantis. For intriguingly enough we are
told that the inner sanctum of Atlantis, housing it's administrative
and spiritual centres, was formed around a series of concentrically
shaped canals. These unmistakably form the shape of a labyrinth!
It
isn't too hard to imagine that perhaps the spread of this symbol was
conceived with just one intention - to preserve the memory of that
special world of Poseidon's island. Atlantis had now sunk beneath the
waves, the rest of the world cast into turmoil. To secure it's memory,
a lasting emblem was created, the emblem of Atlantis! Use of this
emblem in effect constituted a mark of identity, a global kinship
cemented by knowledge of this lost age. An emblem that served to unite
distant people the world over, and keep alive the memory of this
special place.
Historical Reality.
When
placed against a background of all the available evidence, the sum
total of the proof regarding Atlantis points to a snapshot of history
in complete variance with the established view of things. And this is
far from the end. In the course of time as more and more finds come to
light, our connection to Atlantis is sure to grow brighter and
brighter. Already the proof of its existence is approaching the point
of being close to irrefutable, and before long we are sure to have an
even clearer image of an island that just refuses to die! An island
that sooner or later must regain its place in established history.
At
the very least it means that the burden of proof has shifted quite
decisively. Detractors of the Atlantean theory - both scientists and
otherwise, must now show how the many enigmas mentioned here, could be
explained in some other way. A task that given all the evidence to the
contrary is surely close to impossible.
Above all, this evidence
illustrates that the presumed existence of former world ages is more
than just a legend. For if Atlantis existed, or to put it more
succinctly - if we allow it to exist, and don't put up blinds of
ignorance - then a whole range of other possibilities now fall within
our grasp."
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