Atlantis the Lost City-A Lesson From Plato

Has the lost city of Atlantis been found? The Sun, a UK tabloid, had an article stating someone has found the location using Google Earth. Google Earth denies the claim stating the lines seen are just the result of sonar used by boats measuring the ocean's floor.

Plato learned of Atlantis from someone who had been told the story by his grandfather when he was a young boy. The grandfather had heard the story from a friend of his father's, Solon.

Solon had traveled to Egypt, probably in search of knowledge. (People were always searching for knowledge back then.) Solon arrived at the city, Sais, that was located where the Nile divides. He discovered that their town goddess was the same as Athens', namely Athena (although she was called Neith in Sais).

The people of Sais seemed to love Athenians and claimed to be related somehow. They greeted Solon and received him with great honor. (That's Greekenese for with wild parties and great feasts...all in the search of knowledge, right?)

Solon, wishing to show off his knowledge, began boring them with the history of his land. He told them about the first man and the great flood...who survived, who was related to who...generally stuff no-one was interested in.

Finally one of Sais' priests (priest-another name for scholar in the old days) laughed at him telling Solon that he didn't even know his own history. This so enraged Solon that he wanted to fight the priest, even though the priest was an ancient old man. The priest (let's call him Joe for lack of a better name)...so Joe laughed at Solon and said, "O Solon, Solon, you Hellenes are never anything but children". (Hellenes is what they called the Athenians because the Athenians were always partying and womanizing.)

Joe then started telling Solon the real history of his country. He told of floods, great fires and earthquakes. Joe explained to Solon that disaster after disaster, the only people left were the uneducated ones who lived in the mountains. Because of this, their civilization had to reboot after every disaster.

Joe also told Solon that Sais never had these problems because they were protected by the river Nile. (The river Nile runs north, unlike most rivers who run south. Thus the river Nile, by not conforming to generalized beliefs about rivers, is able to offer protection from disaster. Never believe people who tell you to fit in!)

Anyway, Joe told Solon that with every reboot people lost knowledge. That was why Solon's history was no better than an child's tale. (Yikes! The bogeyman is everywhere!) Sometimes there were more people, sometimes there were less, but they never remembered the facts.

Once upon a time Athens was the best at everything...war, government, noble deeds and beauty. (War was big in the old days, oh yea, still big...sorry, my bad.) Solon was amazed. Joe told him that Athens was actually begun a 1000 years before Sais. Athena began Athens first, but Sais' records still existed. (nyanyanyane). Solon could feel free to go through these records anytime.

Joe pointed out the similarities in the Sais' and Athenian's ways of life, the similarities of beliefs, the similarities of seeking knowledge. He told Solon how Athena loved Athens most, how she thought that Athens would produce men whom she could be proud of. Joe told how Athens excelled at war and wisdom and honored Athena as no other people could.

Solon was amazed. He did not believe Joe. Joe told him to go to the temple and search through the records if he did not believe. Sais had recorded many stupendous deeds of the Athenians. There was one that outshone all the others.

The Athenians stood against Atlantis! Solon did not understand. Who was Atlantis that this stood out before everything else? If Athens was first in everything, what did Atlantis matter. Joe laughed. Atlantis was descended from Poseidon!

Atlantis was a country island that was beyond the Pillars of Hercules (now know as the Straits of Gibraltar). It was ruled by 1 king and 9 princes. The legend goes that Poseidon loved a mortal woman and had 5 sets of twin sons. (Luckily this is in the distant past, who could support 10 sons nowadays?!) It seems everyone was a specialist. You could specialize in war, husbandry (raising animals), artistry and government, to name a few. (why do I only feel the need to explain "husbandry"?)

Now these princes and their king were of godly blood and believed that they needed to obey the god's rule. Poseidon had left them rules inscribed above the temple. Above all else they were to protect family. (Not so different from what my mother taught me.)

A long time passed. They were successful above all men. This was a place of comfort and and peace. Nothing lasts forever! The story states that they became too interbred with the human species and lost their godlike ability to be happy.

They defied one of Poseidon's rules. "They were not to take up arms against one another, and they were all to come to the rescue if any one in any of their cities attempted to overthrow the royal house; like their ancestors, they were to deliberate in common about war and other matters, giving the supremacy to the descendants of Atlas. And the king was not to have the power of life and death over any of his kinsmen unless he had the assent of the majority of the ten."

They became more and more human and over time their greed grew.   They attempted to take over the world. Zeus, watching from Olympus, did not like this. (Zeus-father and king of Gods). He caused a great earthquake, tsunami, landslide...who knows.In 24 hours Atlantis no longer existed...it had been swallowed by the sea.

Critias tells Plato about Atlantis as if it was a real story.  A story passed down in his family for many years.  He believed the story true.  Since that time people have been trying to prove the existence of Atlantis without success.

People have theorized that the Atlantins were the fathers of the Greeks, the Egyptians and the Incas.  All societies thought to be ahead of their times.

The image shown on Google Earth is approximately where Atlantis was thought to exist.  Fact or fiction...you decide.

Let us reflect on what we learned:

• Sometimes, people know more about us than we know ourselves.
• Not every old person is stupid.
• Write down your memories, or they will disappear
• Do not anger the Gods!
• Know your history
• Live in the mountains.