Loss of ancient knowledge. Most of the works of ancient authors are irretrievably lost or destroyed. However, not only time is the culprit of the irreparable loss of information about the past, especially in relation to the knowledge of the ancients. Knowledge gives a person a huge advantage over the surrounding people, and not all rulers like it.

This can be seen in the fate that befell the manuscripts and ancient texts of the Maya. In the XVI century. the Spanish monk Diego de Landa arrived in conquered Mexico with the goal of "turning the hearts of the pagans to the true God." In one of the Mayan temples, he discovered a huge library with ancient manuscripts. All books were burned by him. Of all the Maya libraries, only three manuscripts have survived to this day.

What happened to the writing of the Incas? Her fate was no less sad. During the time of one of the rulers of the Incas, an epidemic broke out, and, according to the custom of those times, they turned to the oracle for help. The answer was cruel: in order to save the country, “writing must be banned.” By order of the Supreme Inca, all written monuments were destroyed, it was forbidden to use the letter. Only in the temple of the Sun, several canvases with a description of the history of the Incas have been preserved. These handwritten panels already in the XVI century. the Spaniards sent to Madrid, but the ship sank, and the manuscripts - the only monument of Inca writing - were forever lost to mankind.

The destruction of manuscripts and written monuments has the same ancient history just like writing itself.

All the writings of the Greek philosopher Protogoras (5th century BC) were burned. And how many have been lost: Sophocles wrote 100 dramas, and 71 have come down to us. Of the 100 dramas of Euripides, only 19 have survived. Of the works of Aristotle, only one. From the "history of Rome" by Titus Livius, out of 142 books, 35 remained. Of the 40 books of Polybius, only five. And out of 30 books of Tacitus - four. Pliny Sr. wrote 20 books on history - all lost. It is known that nothing remains of the 200,000 unique volumes and scrolls of Priam's library (Asia Minor), taken out by the Roman Emperor Anthony and donated to Cleopatra.

Also, the libraries of the Iga temple in Memphis and the temple of the Goddess Neith, where in the VI century. BC e. Solon visited. An irreparable loss for humanity was the destroyed libraries, the Ptolemies and, of course, the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, founded in the 4th century BC. BC e. In this library, there were more than half a million of the most ancient papyri. Most of them were unique.

The manuscripts about Atlantis were also irretrievably lost or burned in the fire of the library of the temple of the Goddess Neith. Up until the 16th century. the question of Atlantis, thanks to the slander of Aristotle, who accused his teacher Plato of a lie, was closed. True, despite the dark years of the Middle Ages, sailors went out into the Atlantic Ocean in search of Atlantis. This contributed to the discovery of many islands Atlantic Ocean: Madeira, Azores, Canaries. They were considered the remnants of the once-existing Atlantis. And he helped the discovery of the islands and generally renewed interest in Atlantis, the monk Brandan, who left Ireland and lived on some amazing island. The island of Brandan and the legend about it prompted many sailors to look for the "promised land".

It's time for the great geographical discoveries. Christopher Columbus carefully studies ancient maps and the Toscanelli map (XV century), on which the islands of Brandana, O'Brazil and even Antilia were plotted. X. Columbus, having discovered a new continent, did not know about it. After all, he went to China and India and, once on the mainland, was sure that he had arrived on the islands east coast Asia.

And only 200 years after the discovery of America by Columbus, she appears on geographical maps, and Brazil is considered the legendary Atlantis. In the XVIII century. a geographical atlas is published, on which Atlantis has already been plotted.

The first scientist who considered America to be Atlantis was Francisco Lopez de Gomara. He already had the map of the Flemish Mercator. Gomara opened a new era in atlantology, confirming Plato's words about the American mainland. And after that, the science of Atlantis came to life again. As reports began to appear about the commonality of the cultures of the Old and New Worlds, more and more people discovered Atlantis. At first, Atlantis was placed only in the Atlantic Ocean behind the “Pillars of Hercules”, only changing places (Africa, America, Ireland, Azores, Canary Islands etc.).

In 1665, A. Kircher's book “ Underworld”, where Atlantis was located on the map in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America. Many atlantologists are surprised by the fact that the outlines of Atlantis correspond to the depths of the ocean, although they were not yet known.

In the 19th century I. Donelly writes the book "Atlantis, the antediluvian world", which was considered the "bible" of atlantologists. Donelli, relying on the achievements of oceanography and ethnography and knowing the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, places his Atlantis in the same place as A. Kircher. but greatly reduced in size. For I. Donnelly, Atlantis was a biblical paradise, with the seat of the Greek gods and, of course, the land of the cult of the Sun. In his opinion, the cult of the Sun from Atlantis passed to Egypt, Mexico. Peru.

Modern researchers have not yet been able to fully reveal all the hidden secrets of the existence of Atlantis. However, thanks to the many studies carried out in this area, there are still a number of assumptions and hypotheses regarding the existence of the described ancient civilization.

Official science, of course, does not recognize the existence of this mysterious - perhaps really only mythical - civilization in the past.

The achievements of the Atlantean civilization are impressive.

There is an opinion among scientists that the Atlanteans have reached a very high level of progress in all spheres of life. They could plan their life in completely different ways. For example, it was not alien to the people who once inhabited this sunken continent, telepathic communication with family and friends. They also liked to have long conversations about their role in the universe.

According to the Theosophists, the Atlanteans were the fourth race on earth. They appeared after the death of the Lemurian civilization, having absorbed some of its achievements, and existed before the appearance of the fifth, Aryan race. The Atlanteans were much more god-like than the Lemurians. Beautiful, smart and ambitious.

They worshiped the sun and developed their technology rapidly, just as we do today.

Description of Atlantis by Plato

In the year 421 BC, Plato spoke in his writings about the vanished civilization of the Atlanteans.

According to him, it was big Island, located in the middle of the ocean, beyond Gibraltar. In the center of the city there was a hill with temples and the palace of the kings. upper city was protected by two mounds of earth and three water ring channels. The outer ring was connected by a 500-meter canal to the sea. Ships sailed along the canal.

Copper and silver were mined in Atlantis. Sailing ships delivered ceramic dishes, spices, and rare ores.

The temple of Poseidon, the lord of the seas, was built of gold, silver, orchilak (an alloy of copper and zinc). His second temple was protected by a golden wall. There were also statues of Poseidon and his daughters.

After forty years, after the death of the philosopher, the Athenian resident Krantor went to Egypt to find Atlantis. In the temple of Neith, he found hieroglyphs with texts about the events that had taken place.

Scientific and technological progress in Atlantis

Due to their high level of mental and mental development, the inhabitants of Atlantis managed to establish contact with extraterrestrial beings. Some researchers give information that the Atlanteans were able to create ultra-fast and practical aircraft. Their very deep knowledge in the field of physics, mathematics and mechanics made it possible to produce equipment highest quality with unusual properties. And it was these devices that easily helped them travel through space!

The progress in technology was so stunning that today humanity has not yet been able to develop analogues to those flying devices, even taking into account the fact that science is constantly striding by leaps and bounds forward in all spheres of life without exception.

All this suggests that the inhabitants of Atlantis were outstanding people, possessed of great intellect and knowledge. At the same time, the Atlanteans willingly shared the acquired skills and experience with the younger generation. Therefore, progress in technical development gradually improved and reached unprecedented heights.

The first pyramids were built just on the territory of Atlantis. This unusual phenomenon still causes bewilderment among researchers, due to what improvised means and equipment it was possible to build such unusual structures!

Also economically, their country was prosperous. The work of any person in it was paid at its true worth. According to legend, Atlantis was an ideal country, there were no beggars and rich people who boasted of their wealth.

In this regard, the social situation in this country was always stable, no one was worried about food.

The appearance and morality of the Atlanteans

Due to the fact that the body of the Atlantean had remarkable physical strength compared to modern man, they could do much more work than our contemporaries.

The body of the Atlanteans was staggering in size. According to the evidence, it reached 6 meters in height. Their shoulders were very wide, the torso was elongated. There were 6 fingers on the hands, and 7 on the feet!

The facial features of people who once lived on Atlantis are also unusual. Their lips were very wide, their nose had a slightly flattened shape, while they also had huge expressive eyes.

According to their physiological data, the average life span of an average Atlantean was about 1000 years. At the same time, each of them tried to look beautiful in the eyes of others. Often, a variety of jewelry made of silver or gold, as well as precious stones, were used as decorations.

The Atlanteans were highly moral people. Therefore, they were alien to bad habits and an immoral way of everyday life. In any situation, they tried to act honestly with others, no one tried to deceive and set anyone up. In family relationships, marriage once in a lifetime was the norm. And the relationship itself was built solely on mutual trust, support and love for each other.

The political system in Atlantis was built in a democratic field. In many ways, it is similar to the one that prevails in the modern successful states of Europe with freedom of speech and the right to choose. The ruler of the Atlanteans was chosen by voting. At the same time, he ruled for a very long period - from 200 to 400 years! But whoever rules Atlantis, each of its leaders has always sought to create such a social environment within the state, thanks to which any person could always feel protected and cared for.

Causes of the death of Atlantis

One of the assumptions why Atlantis disappeared is based on the fact that the kings and the population of this continent began to abuse knowledge, with the help of which they carried out their aggressive intentions.

For example, the pyramids they built created portals to other worlds. All this contributed to the fact that the energy coming from a parallel reality could be negative and at a certain moment could adversely affect the entire continent, completely destroying it in an instant.

In their daily lives, magic has increasingly been used exclusively with malicious intent.

Too much knowledge creates a temptation to use it for selfish interests. And no matter how morally pure the inhabitants of Atlantis were at first, in the end, negative tendencies began to grow in their society over time. The predatory attitude towards nature, the growth of social inequality, the abuse of power by the small elite that ruled the Atlanteans ultimately led to tragic consequences associated with the incitement of a long-term war. And it was she who became the main reason that one day the entire continent was swallowed up by the waters of the ocean.

Some scientists also assert with certainty that the death of Atlantis occurred approximately 10-15 thousand years ago. And this large-scale event provoked a huge meteorite that fell on our planet. The fall of a meteorite could change the earth's axis, which caused a tsunami of an unprecedented scale.

What did Helena Blavatsky say about the causes of the death of Atlantis

According to Helena Blavatsky, the fall of Atlantis happened because the Atlanteans played God. It turns out that from high morality the Atlanteans rolled down to indulgence of passions.

The technology of the Atlanteans, which surpassed their spiritual qualities, allowed them to create chimeras - a cross between man and animals, to use them as sex slaves and physical workers. The Atlanteans were masters of genetic modification and cloning technology at a high level. This is similar to what people are doing now, in the 21st century.

Being telepathically warned that the continent would sink, many of the inhabitants of Atlantis fled, having managed to board ships before the final sinking of the mainland in 9564 BC. by a series of earthquakes.

The American mystic Edgar Cayce, who looked into the so-called astral akashic records in a trance state, claimed that many of the souls who once lived in Atlantis now live as representatives of the modern Western civilization in order to fulfill its purpose.

The search for a lost civilization

Over the past two thousand years, there have been multiple speculations about the location of Atlantis. Interpreters of the works of Plato pointed to the modern islands of the Atlantic. Some argue that Atlantis was located in present-day Brazil and even in Siberia.

Modern archaeologists consider the thinker's story about the Atlanteans a fiction. Circular networks of canals, hydraulic structures in those days were still beyond the strength of mankind. Researchers of Plato's philosophy and literature believe that he wanted to call for the creation of an ideal state. As for the period of disappearance, Plato names information that this happened eleven and a half thousand years ago. But during this period, man was only emerging from the Paleolithic, the Stone Age. Those people were not yet sufficiently developed mind. Perhaps these data of Plato about the time of the death of Atlantis are incorrectly interpreted.

There is one assumption why the figure of the death of Atlantis by Plato appears 9 thousand years ago. The fact is that in Egyptian reckoning "nine thousand" was depicted by nine lotus flowers, and "nine hundred" - by nine knots of rope. Outwardly, in writing, they were similar, and therefore there was confusion.

Modern research

In one thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine, all European newspapers were full of headlines "The Russians found an island." Photographs were presented in which vertical ridges, similar to walls, peeked out of the sand. Search operations unfolded exactly where Plato indicated - behind the Pillars of Hercules, above the underwater volcano Ampere. It was reliably established that it stood out from the water, was an island.

In 1982, another Russian ship, having sank under water, discovered the ruins of the city: walls, squares, rooms. These findings were refuted by another expedition, which found nothing. In addition to frozen volcanic rocks.

There are suggestions that the disaster occurred due to a sudden shift in the African tectonic plate. Its collision with the European caused the eruption of Santorini - and western islands sank.

Of course, it is now impossible to say with accuracy what exactly happened once to Atlantis and what contributed to its death. And many of the hypotheses set forth by the researchers can only come close to the truth.

Whether Atlantis was simply a figment of the imagination of Plato and other thinkers, or a reality reflected in ancient legends, miraculously preserved to this day, remains a mystery ...

Perhaps our civilization is moving towards the same finale, when we will become for our distant descendants the same mythical event that Atlantis is for us. And our continents will also unsuccessfully search for days of deep oceans.

Briefly about the article: A country that thousands of years ago could have conquered all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall strong people, hitherto unseen weapons, the mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could become a reality of our history, if not for ...

Lost Civilization

Atlantis - reality or dream?

All that is hidden now will once be revealed by time.

Quintus Horace Flaccus, Epistles, 6:20

A country that thousands of years ago could have conquered all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall strong people, hitherto unseen weapons, the mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could become a reality of our history, if not for ...

Thousands of books and articles have been written about the ancient country of Atlantis, buried by the deep ocean. What was Atlantis? An ancient and powerful human civilization? Or maybe a refuge for aliens from distant worlds? Why did Atlantis die? Was she the victim of a natural disaster or a devastating war with mysterious weapons?

Other ancient authors also wrote about Atlantis and its inhabitants. True, almost all of them lived after Plato, and therefore, most likely, relied on the data he cited.

The exception is the “father of history” Herodotus (485-425 BC), who mentioned the Atlanteans who lived in North Africa. However, this tribe got its name from the Atlas mountain range.

A surge of interest in the problem of Atlantis falls on the end of the 19th century. In 1882, the American Ignatius Donelly published the book "Atlantis - the antediluvian world", where he argued that this legendary land is the ancestral home of all mankind. To prove the theory, he used the data of archeology, biology and mythology, compared the legends, languages ​​and customs of peoples on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Donelly's work laid the foundation for the modern view of the problem of Atlantis and became a source of inspiration for other authors. The result is more than 5,000 titles of scientific, popular science and fiction books.

Broken phone

As you can see, atlantology is based on a shaky foundation. You are especially convinced of this by a sober analysis of Plato's texts. The philosopher learned about Atlantis from other people's words, and the whole story resembles a children's game of “spoiled phone”.

So what does Plato say? His great-grandfather Critias, being a 10-year-old boy, heard about Atlantis from his then already 90-year-old grandfather, also Critias. And he, in turn, learned the tragic history of the Atlanteans from a distant relative, the great Athenian sage Solon (640 - 558 BC). Solon, on the other hand, received a “relay baton” from the Egyptian priests from the temple of the goddess Neith in the city of Sais (which has not survived to this day), who from time immemorial allegedly kept historical annals in the form of hieroglyphs on temple columns. It turns out quite a long chain of intermediaries ...

Assuming that Plato did not invent anything, there is still plenty of room for error. Critias Jr. claimed that the story of Atlantis shocked him, so he memorized it in detail. However, there are direct contradictions in the dialogue. For example, in one place Critias says that: "... the story is indelibly imprinted in my memory", and in another - that: "... after such a long time, I did not remember the contents of the story enough." Further, it turns out that he had some records. Commemorative notes of the grandfather or Solon? Yes, and the grandfather of Kritia in his 90s could well have confused a lot of things, not to mention the fact that many details of the legend of the sunken earth, perhaps, are the fruit of senile boasting. “And I’ll tell you, granddaughter, a great-a-wild fairy tale!”.

So perhaps Aristotle was right, or partly right. Plato could indeed invent the history of Atlantis to illustrate his views (recall Thomas More's "Utopia"). Or, with all his honesty, the philosopher compiled dialogues from some other sources about Atlantis that have not come down to us, historical and geographical works of various authors, legends, myths and his own conjectures. Well, Plato simply could have come up with a chain of narrators for greater reliability.

True, the ending of Critias is most likely lost. Perhaps the "lost files" contained the answers to all questions?

"Pros and cons"

Plato describes the land of the ancestors of the Hellenes as follows: "It stretches from the mainland far into the sea ... and is immersed on all sides in a deep vessel of the abyss." But the ancient Greeks did not know about the presence of depths greater than a few tens of meters! Atlantologists believe that Plato's words about the "deep vessel of the abyss" are evidence of knowledge preserved from the time of the Atlanteans. However, Plato could use this turn as a poetic comparison. Or, based on the presence of the steep coasts of Attica, independently conclude that if the rocks abruptly break into the sea, it must be very deep there.

On the other hand, the war of the ancient Hellenes with Atlantis is very reminiscent of the wars of the Greeks with the Persians. The thought involuntarily creeps in that the philosopher projected the events of real history onto the distant past. The description of Atlantis in terms of relief and natural data resembles the island of Crete. The Temple of Poseidon, the main religious building of the Atlanteans, is very similar to the sanctuary of Aphrodite in Cyprus. The sculpture of the god of the seas on a chariot drawn by six winged horses resembles a very real statue of Poseidon by Skopas (4th century BC). Coincidence or fraud?

Where is this street, where is this house?

Atlantologists also argue about the location of the legendary land, although it would seem from Plato's dialogues that it is extremely clear that the island was located precisely in the Atlantic.

Plato says that to the west of the Pillars of Hercules (the ancient name of the Strait of Gibraltar) lay a huge island, larger than Libya and Asia combined, from which it was easy to cross the other islands to the “opposite mainland” (America?).

Therefore, many of the atlantologists believe that traces of Atlantis must be sought somewhere at the bottom of the ocean of the same name. Perhaps next to the now existing islands, which could be the high mountain peaks of the sunken earth.

At the same time, atlantologists stubbornly ignore the simplest fact - if an asteroid capable of flooding a hefty island crashed to Earth, this would cause such an increase in atmospheric temperature that almost all life on the planet would be destroyed.

Myths of the peoples of the world

Donelly, the "father" of atlantology, and his followers consider mythology to be the key proof of the existence of Atlantis, more precisely, several legends that coincide among many peoples.

First, there are the legends about the flood, which are found in almost all mankind. The gods, tired of human mischief, flood the whole earth with water, adding a number of weighty means of re-educating sinners - in the form of a fiery rain, for example.

Secondly, legends about aliens from distant lands (not to be confused with aliens!). From somewhere far away, an unknown person arrives, speaking in an incomprehensible language and teaching the natives various useful things.

Thirdly, legends about cosmic cataclysms. Something hefty is falling from the sky - a stone, the Moon, the Sun, a Dragon. It does nothing good for people. The people left out of business disperse, who goes where ...

Atlantis in the Mediterranean?

In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, the sunken island is placed in other parts of the world. The Mediterranean Sea enjoys special love.

Upon closer examination, this theory does not look like nonsense at all. Plato wrote that after Atlantis sank, “the sea in those places became ... unnavigable and inaccessible due to the shallowing caused by the huge amount of silt that the settled island left behind.” It is unlikely that in the Atlantic Ocean, with its considerable depths, muddy shallow waters would have served as a serious obstacle to navigation. But in the Mediterranean there are plenty of such places. And the nature of Atlantis may well be correlated with almost any Mediterranean island.

The god of the seas, Poseidon, fell in love with a simple girl, Kleito, who gave birth to him 5 pairs of twins, who laid the foundation for the people of the Atlanteans.

The Atlantean state was similar to Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea - an archipelago of several islands, the main of which was 1110 km long and 400 km wide. The climate is supposedly tropical, as elephants were found on the island. On the south side of Atlantis was its capital - the city of Poseidonis with a diameter of about 7 km. In the center of the city there was a lake, in the middle of which lay an island 965 meters in diameter, riddled with canals, with the Acropolis palace complex, surrounded by two earthen ramparts. The outer shaft was covered with copper, the inner - with tin, the walls of the acropolis were lined with orichalcum (metal unknown to us). The structure of the Acropolis included the joint temple of Kleito and Poseidon, surrounded by a golden wall, and the temple of Poseidon himself with a huge statue of the sea god inside. Outside around the temple were images of the wives and relatives of the kings of Atlantis, offerings from their vassals.

The population of Atlantis was about 6 million people. State system- monarchy: 10 kings-archons, the highest of which bore the title "Atlas" and lived in Poseidonis. Every 5-6 years, councils-assemblies were held - "courts" of kings, before which "bull sacrifices" were organized (a similar custom existed in Crete).

The Atlantean army numbered 660,000 men and 10,000 war chariots. The fleet - 1200 combat triremes with a crew of 240 thousand people.

Atlantes - the ancestors of the Russians?

Some scientists go their own way, placing the legendary land in the most exotic places. In 1638, the English scientist and politician Francis Bacon in his book "Nova Atlantis" placed Atlantis in Brazil, where, as you know, there are many wild monkeys. In 1675, the Swede Rudbeck argued that Atlantis was in Sweden, and Uppsala was its capital.

Recently, due to the lack of virgin places, they turned to our endless expanses - Azov, Black and Caspian Sea were also honored to take into their arms the completely lost Atlantis. There is also a charming theory that the Atlanteans are the ancestors of the ancient Russians, and the legendary land of Plato ... sunken Kitezh-grad! True, after the stories that Adam and Eve were from somewhere near Moscow, the Russian-Atlantic version no longer looks sensational enough.

R. Silverberg in "Letters from Atlantis" shows the events of a thousand years ago through the eyes of modern man, whose mind has moved into the body of the Prince of Atlantis (an obvious remake of Hamilton's "Star Kings"!).

A time traveler can also witness the events of the past ("Dancer from Atlantis" by P. Anderson, "Atlantis Endgame" by A. Norton and S. Smith).

Sometimes the Atlanteans became aliens from outer space (A. Shalimov, “The Return of the Last Atlantean”), or were the first earthlings who came into contact with an alien mind (V. Kernbach, "The Boat over Atlantis"; G. Martynov, "Spiral of Time") . Perhaps it was vile aliens who destroyed Atlantis? Here is the hero of the cycle "Atlantis" by G. Donnegan, the cool commando Eric, together with his comrades from the "fur seals" detachment, is trying to stop the insidious aliens-shads, who once treacherously drowned the unfortunate Atlanteans.

Many books tell about the adventures of outcasts who survived the catastrophe. Some have preserved the remains of civilization under water (“Atlantis Under Water” by R. Kadu, “Maracot Abyss” by A. Conan Doyle, “The End of Atlantis” by K. Bulychev). Others slipped away. To America (“Temple. A Manuscript Found on the Yucatan Coast” by H. F. Lovecraft), to Africa (“Tarzan and the Treasure of Opar” by E. R. Barrows); to Spain (“This distant Tartessus” by E. Voiskunsky and I. Lukodyanov); even to Britain ("Stones of Power" by D. Gemmel). For some Atlanteans, the shock from the death of their native side turned out to be so strong that other planets seemed to them the best refuge (A. Tolstoy, “Aelita”; A. Shcherbakov, “Cup of Storms”).

In V. Panov's recent novel "The Department of Wanderers" the catalyst for powerful forces is ancient artifact Atlantean Throne of Poseidon. Even Batman ("The Black Egg of Atlantis" by N. Barret) enters the battle for the Atlantean legacy when Penguin Man tries to take possession of an ancient item that gives dark power.

Why did Atlantis die?

There is also no agreement in ascertaining the reasons for the death of the island.

In addition to the basic, albeit absolutely unrealistic version of the fall of a giant meteorite, the hypothesis of a powerful earthquake is very popular. In history, there are cases of a sharp subsidence of the earth by several meters as a result of such a natural disaster. For example, the death of the pirate capital of Port Royal in Jamaica in 1692, when the city plunged into the sea by 15 meters. Strong earthquakes, especially those with an epicenter on the sea floor, can cause tsunamis. A typical example of such a disaster is the tsunami resulting from the eruption of the Krakatau volcano in Indonesia in 1883, when the wave height was about 40 meters. Such a wave is quite capable of burying a coastal zone of the mainland or even an entire island under it.

In addition to more or less scientific explanations, there are also occult-fantastic theories about Atlantis, sometimes very specific. For example, members of the Rising Atlantes sect, founded in the 70s of the last century, believe that the Atlanteans are the descendants of aliens, who then laid the foundation for the Egyptian civilization.

The bestsellers of ophthalmologist Ernst Muldashev, who is terribly popular among some Russians, also contain amazing discoveries. It turns out that the Atlanteans owned extrasensory perception, and 75,000 years ago, with the help of psychokinetic energy, they erected Egyptian pyramids. A number of great personalities - Krishna, Buddha, Christ - were also Atlanteans. And somewhere in the depths of Tibet in the caves, the surviving Atlanteans are still sleeping in a special form of suspended animation - samadhi.

Atlantis - a myth?

With all the many disagreements, the only thing that cements the discordant ranks of atlantologists is the idea that Atlantis really existed. However, there are many who say: Atlantis is a myth!

These are their main arguments. Firstly, apart from the dialogues of Plato, there are no other reliable references to Atlantis. Secondly, the island had to be too big, and it is not easy to stick it somewhere in terms of geography. Thirdly, modern geological and oceanographic research do not confirm the sinking of a large part of the land to the ocean floor. Fourthly, 10 thousand years ago there was no developed human civilization. But for any of these arguments, if desired (and many have it!) No less logical counter-arguments are easily found.

The most impartial scholars nevertheless admit that Plato's dialogues contain a rational grain and they describe real natural disasters that have befallen the Mediterranean - the same Crete.

The only thing that can draw a line under many years of discussion, indisputably proving the veracity of the legend, is the discovery of the remains of Atlantis on the sea or ocean floor. But is it possible?

Remains of former luxury

Scientists from many countries are constantly exploring the seas and oceans, making from time to time the most valuable archaeological discoveries. True, nothing has yet been found that would prove the existence of a sunken mainland or a huge island. Given the constant improvement of the technical equipment of such expeditions, landmark discoveries may not be far off. Another question - what can scientists find at the bottom?

The main building materials of antiquity were marble, granite, basalt and sandstone. Over thousands of years, most of the buildings will completely dissolve in sea water, except for some of the marble structures. In addition, some types of mollusks and the presence of strong underwater currents can be destructive to sunken buildings.

In salty sea water, metals undergo accelerated corrosion. Iron oxidizes after 200 years at sea, copper and copper alloys disappear after 400 years. True, if copper products are large (bells, cannons, anchors), a layer of carbonates forms on their surface that can protect the object. But high-grade gold can lie in the water for a very long time.

Wooden objects die in a couple of centuries, and high-quality ceramics lie at the bottom for millennia. At the same time, many items, if they are quickly overgrown with corals, are also able to be stored for a long time - however, it is difficult to detect them in this case. In general, some of the heritage of the Atlanteans is theoretically able to survive to this day.

Perhaps a miracle will still happen, and humanity will take a fresh look at its history? Schliemann was once also made fun of, but he, in spite of everything, discovered the legendary Troy ...

Atlantis! One word is enough to create images of mermaids, underwater cities, sunken ruins. But that's not all: the main image that this word evokes is an ancient, technologically advanced civilization that died at the whim of unkind gods or because of its own negligence.

Where did the idea of ​​Atlantis come from? Was it real place Or is it just an old fairy tale?

The history of Atlantis begins with ancient Greek philosophy, then continues in a literary movement inspired by Christopher Columbus, and then its popularity soars again when a congressman from Minnesota decides to try his hand at science and linguistics. Add to this the considerable interest from the leaders of the Third Reich and countless pseudo-scientific theories. And yet, today there are a huge number of people who are still hunting for the lost continent.

Get ready for a deep dive into the history of the sunken city of Atlantis.

To understand the origin of Atlantis, you need to know a little about the Greek philosopher Plato. He lived in Greece in the 5th century BC, and it was on his works that Socrates built his philosophy. He is without a doubt the most famous and influential philosopher of all time.

Plato introduced the idea of ​​a lost continent called Atlantis in his writings. Plato describes Atlantis as a major continent. According to him, Atlantis was originally a rather bizarre place that Poseidon himself loved.

At the head of the state were kings who worked in alliance with each other, thanks to which the state was a powerful formation. However, 9000 years before the time of Plato, the Atlanteans became too warlike, which angered the gods. And they, as Plato assures, sent the state to the bottom.

Etymology and mythology

According to the myth presented by Plato, the Greek gods at the dawn of time divided the lands among themselves, and Poseidon got Atlantis. There he fell in love with the girl Clito, whom he "protected" by taking her to a cave surrounded by ring-shaped mountains and the sea.

Presumably, this "concern" protected Clito from escaping. And it is worth noting that she had something to run from: she gave birth to Poseidon 5 pairs of twins, and they were just huge children. The eldest of them, Atlas, was appointed the rightful king of this place. All Island state was named after him. Plato claims that the Atlantic Ocean was also named after this ancient king (although modern science has a different version and associates the name of the ocean with the Atlas Mountains).

Allegory

The story of Atlantis is an allegory, a kind of extended metaphor whose hidden meaning reveals a deeper philosophical point. Plato uses this move quite often, and perhaps his most famous example is the Myth of the Cave, which he uses to explain his theory of forms.

In this case, Plato's allegory is associated with the idea of ​​an ideal state. Atlantis appears as anti-Athena. Her ambitious militant plans come to an end in failure.

Utopian literature

The works of Plato had a great influence on medieval philosophy, but it is sometimes difficult for scientists to understand where the ancient thinker is serious and where he uses artistic techniques.

The discovery by Europeans of land west of Gibraltar opened up completely new world expanded the boundaries of what is possible. Utopian literature established the existence of previously unknown worlds whose culture and customs were presented as different from "normal" European ones. The idea of ​​Atlantis received a new round.

One such work, Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, revived interest in the lost continent. At the time, European settlers were trying to learn more about the origins and mysteries of Indian peoples, and Bacon's work helped spark the idea that the Maya were descendants of the Atlanteans.

Suggested Locations

The next landmark event is the 1882 book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World by Ignatius Donnelly.

Donnelly uses some really sophisticated linguistics combined with racist Mayan theories to suggest that not only was Atlantis real, it was also the ancestral home of all mankind.

His ideas became extremely popular and people soon began looking for the real location of Atlantis. The list of "suspects" includes even real-life islands - Sardinia and Crete. Plato left a too vague definition: "west of Gibraltar." Therefore, the geography of searches was quite extensive.

In art and literature

Since Donnelly's book, Atlantis has been mentioned throughout popular culture and art. In those days, science fiction began to take shape as a genre. Thanks to this, we got Captain Nemo, who found the sunken continent 20,000 leagues under the sea. Edgar Burroughs (“The Lost Continent”), Alexei Tolstoy (“Aelita”), Arthur Conan Doyle (“The Maracot Abyss”), Kir Bulychev (“The End of Atlantis”), Andrea Norton (“Operation Search in time"") and many others.

Dozens of films have shown the life of the mysterious mainland, including Disney in 2001 (Atlantis: The Lost Empire).

The most chilling example is the opera The Emperor of Atlantis, an allusion to Hitler, which was written by a prisoner in a concentration camp.

Occultism

One of the main works of Theosophy is the "Secret Doctrine" by H. P. Blavatsky, which, according to Helena herself, was dictated to her in Atlantis.

Blavatsky's Atlantis differs from Plato's. To her, the Atlanteans were heroic figures from a million years ago, destroyed for careless handling of magic.

Nazis

The 1985 book The Occult Roots of Nazism describes how Nazi philosophy had a connection with Ariosophy, white nationalist occult philosophy. According to The Independent, SS chief Heinrich Himmler was looking for the Holy Grail to prove the Aryan origin of Christ.

The seminal works of Nazi philosophy include Alfred Rosenberg's The Myth of the Twentieth Century, based on a racial theory that claims that modern white Europeans are descended from the Hyperboreans who emerged from Atlantis.

Reliable data on the research of the Third Reich is extremely scarce. But it is certain that they were carried out.

Other lost and sunken lands

Atlantis is called the most famous lost continent. But she's not the only one of her kind. In fact, there are some pretty shocking facts about other parts of the land. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, we can say that the loss of one continent is a misfortune; and losing a dozen is just a statistic.

One of the most famous continents that have been lost is Lemuria. The version about it was first put forward by the British zoologist Philip Latley Sclater to explain why the ranges of lemur-like animals are separated by oceans. This idea has never received any real scientific interpretation, but thanks to the mention of Blavatsky, it has become firmly established in popular culture.

The Lost Continent of Mu was an attempt to explain similarities between distant cultures (such as the pyramids in Egypt and Central America) before aliens were drawn into the story.

An ancient legend said that there was an island off the coast of Ireland called Hy-Brasil that mysteriously reappeared once every seven years before one day it sank forever. Note that, despite the similarity in names, this is not at all connected with the real Brazil.

Bad news

Let's remember the fact that there is no historical evidence of the existence of the mysterious mainland. And thousands of explorers returned from expeditions with nothing. In truth, scientists have more evidence to disprove the myth than to prove it. Modern science has absolutely no reliable facts that could give hope to those who are fascinated by Atlantis.

But this is not enough. Man continues to believe that one day the secret of the depths will be revealed, and the ancient continent will appear in all its glory.

The inhabitants of La Venta lived under the sign of the jaguar. When researchers of American Indian history and culture think about the customs of the amazing people of La Venta, they often talk about a real "jaguar obsession". But where did this religious obsession come from?

I try to read the answer right there, on the altars and steles left to us by the builders of La Venta. On stela I, in a niche typical of this style, I see a woman in a short skirt. The muzzle of a jaguar is depicted above the niche and the woman. And on a stone monument found in Portero Nuevo, the scene, only hinted at in La Venta, is reproduced quite definitely: a date between a woman and a jaguar. From the connection of the divine jaguar with a mortal woman, according to legend, a mighty tribe of heroes, sons of heaven and earth, semi-divine builders of La Venta, arose an amazing people, unlike all the others. They were people and at the same time jaguars - "Jaguars Indians". (Stingl M., Secrets of the Indian pyramids. Translated from Czech. M. 1982. P. 24).

The Olmecs lived later as if the inhabitants amazing city Chatal-Gyuyuk in Asia Minor, whose culture is associated with the veneration of the leopard. But who knows how many centuries of Olmec history are still hidden among the jungles of America? ..

A follower of the ancient Greek philosopher Ignatius Donnelly wrote two books: "Atlantis - the world before the Flood" and "Ragnarok - the era of fire and death." Both of these books were published in 1882-1883 and for the first time aroused scientific interest in Plato's Atlantis.

In his youth, Donelly studied law, was fond of poetry. As a Republican congressman, he, unlike many members of the US Congress, as well as members of various councils, often visited the library, doing science seriously. For Donelly, the glory of the "father of modern atlantology" was strengthened.

With the light hand of Donnelly, it has become a tradition in atlantological literature to consider the lost mainland as a common cultural center Old and New Worlds, "boiler" of all high civilizations of antiquity. One of the first author of the book "Atlantis - the antediluvian world" drew attention to the similarity of the architecture of the Indians and Egyptians (mainly to the pyramids built in the Nile Valley, and in Peru, and in Mexico), the commonality of some customs, scientific knowledge, calendars and etc. These arguments are still advanced by atlantologists. Donelly was also the first (but by no means the last!) to hypothesize that it was from Atlantis that the cult of the sun god came out and covered almost the entire world.

In Donelly's book, the reader can find the following:

1. In the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, there was a large island, which was the remnant of the Atlantic continent, known ancient world like Atlantis. The description of this island by Plato is true and is not, as some believe, an invention.

2. Atlantis was the region where civilization first arose.

3. Over time, it became crowded; immigrants from Atlantis also settled the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi, Amazon rivers, the Pacific coast South America, the Mediterranean, the western coasts of Europe and Africa, the coast of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas.

4. It was an antediluvian world - Eden in the language of mythology. The gardens of the Hesperides, the Champs Elysees, the gardens of Alcinous, Mount Olympus, Asgard among the Vikings are nothing but memories of big country, about Atlantis, where once humanity lived for centuries in peace and happiness.

5. Gods and goddesses Ancient Greece, Phenicia, India and Scandinavia were simply kings, queens and heroes of Atlantis, and the actions attributed to them are a distorted memory of historical events. For example, the god Zeus was one of the kings of Atlantis.

6. The mythology of Egypt and Peru is close to the religion of Atlantis, based on the worship of the Sun.

7. The most ancient colony of Atlantis was probably Egypt, whose civilization was, as it were, a reflection of the civilization of the island of Atlantis.

8. The Bronze Age came to Europe from Atlantis. The Atlanteans were the first to use iron.

9. The Phoenician alphabet, the ancestor of all European alphabets, is derived from the Atlantean alphabet, which may have been the basis of the Mayan alphabet in Central America.

10. Atlantis was the initial place of settlement of the Aryan Indo-European family, as well as Semitic and some other peoples.

11. Atlantis perished in a terrible catastrophe. The island and almost all of its population were flooded by the waters of the ocean.

12. Those few who miraculously survived told the peoples living in the west and east about a terrible catastrophe - let's remember the legends about the flood among the peoples of the Old and New Worlds.

13. The proof of the stated hypothesis will allow to solve many problems that occupy mankind, to confirm the correctness of ancient books, to expand the field of human history, to explain the noticeable similarity between ancient civilizations on the opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean. There will be an opportunity to find the "progenitors" of our civilization, our fundamental knowledge; will be known Those who lived, loved and worked long before the Aryans appeared in India or the Phoenicians settled in Syria.

14. The fact that the history of Atlantis has been taken for a fairy tale for thousands of years does not prove anything. There is disbelief here, born of ignorance, as well as skepticism. Our distant ancestors are not always better informed about the past than we are.

For a thousand years it was believed that the ruined cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were a fairy tale - they were called fabulous cities. For a thousand years, the educated world did not believe Herodotus, who told about the wonders of the ancient civilization on the Nile and in Chaldea.

15. There was a time when it was doubtful that Pharaoh Necho sent an expedition around Africa. After all, travelers reported that after part of the journey the sun turned out to be in their north. Now it is quite clear that the Egyptian navigators really crossed the equator and discovered the cape 2100 years before Vasco da Gama. Good Hope. (Donelli I., Atlantis - the world before the Flood. Translated from English, Samara, 1998).

Soviet atlantologist N.F. Zhirov placed the "Isle of the Blessed" in the same place as Plato, followed by Donelly, that is, opposite the Pillars of Hercules of the Strait of Gibraltar, in the middle of the Atlantic, but supported his opinion with evidence from geology, oceanology, geotectonics and other sciences of the 20th century. Here are his words: "The data of modern science indicate that in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean there is an underwater North Atlantic Ridge, which could exist subaerially (above the surface of the water) at times close to those indicated by Plato in his legend. It is possible that some of these areas of land existed until historical time.

N.F. Zhirov suggested looking for traces of Atlantis on the islands located near Europe or Africa - the Azores, Canaries, etc. Plato writes that the walls of the capital of Atlantis - Poseidonis were built of stones of red, black and white. But these colors are the main ones for breeds. Azores, it is from such stones that the ancient buildings of the islanders are built! The Canary Islands provide evidence of a different kind. The indigenous, now disappeared population of the islands - the Guanches - are considered by many experts to be direct descendants of the Atlanteans. Already by 1500, the Guanches were completely exterminated by the Spanish conquerors, but the drawings and descriptions that have come down to us have preserved their appearance. The Guanches of Gran Canaria were tall, fair-haired and blue-eyed. Their customs showed similarities with the customs of ancient peoples. The Guanches had a caste of priests who wore clothes and headdresses similar to those of Babylon. They embalmed the dead like the Egyptians and buried them in domed tombs like the Greeks at Mycenae. The Guanches left rock inscriptions similar to those of Crete, but have not yet been deciphered. The Polish atlantologist L. Seidler cites the words of one of the last Guanches, recorded by a Spanish chronicler: “Our fathers said that God, having settled us on this island, then forgot about us. But one day he will return with the Sun, which he ordered to be born every morning and which gave birth to us" (Seidler L., Atlantis. Translated from Polish. M., 1966, p. 241). These words testify to two things. Firstly, that the Guanches considered themselves aliens in the Canaries, and forced aliens - "God forgot about us." Secondly, the white-skinned and blue-eyed islanders were sun-worshipers, like the Egyptians or Peruvians ...