The Legend of Atlantis

Around 350 BC, Plato wrote about a mysterious island civilisation that had suddenly disappeared. The island was so magical and mystical that it took two books to cover this amazing place. For years people have been looking for this lost city: Atlantis.

1. Living in Atlantis

Plato describes the Atlantians as being great engineers and architects. There were palaces, harbours, temples and docks. The capital city of Atlantis was built on a hill surrounded by rings of water. These rings were joined by tunnels big enough for a ship to pass. A huge canal connected the outer rings of water to the ocean. Most of the city’s food came from fields on the outskirts of the capital. The richer citizens of Atlantis lived beyond these fields in amazing houses.

2. Atlantis - Just a Story

For over two thousand years the story of Atlantis remained an interesting tale, but in 1882 an American named Ignatius Donnelly became fascinated with the story of this city. He wrote a book called Atlantis, the Antediluvian World which became a bestseller. Ignatius studied flood history from Egypt to Mexico and he thought that Plato was recording a real natural disaster. Since then, many books have been written about Atlantis and the details surrounding its disappearance.

3. Atlantis - Facts and Fictions

In the late 1960’s, Greek archaeologist, Angelos Galanopoulos, put forward a new theory about Atlantis. He believed that in 1500 BC, a massive volcano erupted, causing the island of Santorini in the Mediterranean to be ripped apart. This event, he theorized, probably wiped out most of the civilization on the Greek islands and regions of Greece. Angelos thought this disaster was perhaps the same one that sank Atlantis.

4. Where could Atlantis be?

The location of the lost city of Atlantis is unknown but many people have put forward theories. For example, British Royal Air Force photo interpreter, J.M. Allen, is convinced Atlantis is in Altiplano, near the Andes Mountains, in Bolivia. On the other hand, Edgar Cayce, a famous psychic, believed the remains would be found off the coast of Florida near Bimini Island. Some people think it's lost somewhere in Central America. Others point to the East China Sea. However, many believe that Atlantis is nothing more than a myth.