Essay/Term paper: Where is atlantis

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Book Reports

ATLANTIS

Where is it?















































Atlantis was an ancient civilization which was destroyed in one



massive explosion. Many people have searched for Atlantis but it has still



not been found. According to Plato, a Greek philosopher, Atlantis was



located in the Atlantic Ocean past the pillars of Hercules, the Strait of



Gibraltar. Plato has been credited with many scientific discoveries, but



Atlantis"s existence is still unproved. "Plato, one of the fathers of western



thought, is out sole direct source for the legend of Atlantis. His



fragmentary account of the continent that was swallowed up by the sea



still excited the modern mind." (Reader"s Digest)



The story of Atlantis began about 11,000 years ago. Atlantis was the



dwelling of Poseidon, the sea god in Greek mythology. Poseidon fell in



love with a mortal woman, Cleito. He built an island, Atlantis, and he



constructed a elaborate house in the center of the island. Poseidon built



rings of land and water surrounding his house with walls on either side of



them. Poseidon and Cleito had five sets of twin boys who would become



the rulers of the island. Once the boys were old enough to



rule each was given a section of the island to rule. Atlantis had a huge



plain and very high mountains. Many exotic animals and plants inhabited



the island. As the story goes the highly advanced inhabitants slowly



became corrupt. The gods called a meeting and discussed what should be



done. They decided to destroy the island to punish the Atlanteans. In one



massive explosion beautiful Atlantis was gone.



Atlantis has been mentioned in hundreds of readings, but none give



the exact location of the destroyed island if it really once existed.



Even though the Atlanteans were advanced in technology they lost



contact with their religion (Edgar Cayce)surrounding countries. Even



though Atlantis was destroyed the survivors probably fled to nearby



advance civilizations. Egypt did become one of the most advance



civilizations in the World.



Plato gives a vivid description of what Atlantis looked like in his



wrightings. There was a 300 foot wide, 100 foot deep canal on Atlantis. 5.5



miles from the ocean was where the rings of water and land were located.



there were three sets of rings. Each of the land rings were surrounded by



walls which were coated in precious metals. On the continent of Atlantis



there was a huge plain 330 miles long and 110 miles wide. To the north of



the plain there were very high mountains.



The search for Atlantis has been narrowed down to three places.



First, the Azores Islands. These islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean



and are roughly where Atlantis was supposedly located. These islands



could be the tops of Atlantis"s very high mountains, or they could just be a



group of islands in the Atlantic. Time will tell. The only problem with



this theory is that there is no evidence of a highly advanced civilization, on



the island or under the sea. The second location is the Bimini Islands of the



coast of Florida. These islands have huge roads of stone blocks they lead



off into the ocean. These islands are close to the Bermuda Triangle, which



is a source of countless mysteries. These islands could also be the tops of



the mountains that were on Atlantis, or they could be the remnants of the



continent itself. The third location is the Greek island of Thera. A highly



advanced civilization lived on this island until its destruction, the survivors



fled to neighboring countries and merged in with the other societies. On



Thera there are many artifacts and buildings left, but much of the island is



gone or sunken into the Mediterranean. Three fourths of the island was



destroyed in the explosion destroying or sinking most of the islanders



Thera is a volcanic island and was completely destroyed by and explosion



about 900 years before Christ. There is one problem though, Plato stated



that Atlantis existed 9000 years before Christ.



Although Atlantis has still not been found the search continues.



Many expensive high-tech devices are used in the search. Some of the



tools are: remote operated submarines, radar equipped boats, and high



tech mini-submarines driven by humans. Even with all of the technology



Atlantis still remains a myth. "It was not a poart of any ancient oral



tradition. It was not a legend passed down, by word of mouth, from



generation to generation, over the centuries. It was the work of one man,



Plato." (Reader"s Digest)