Atlantis: beautiful legend or reality? Atlantis - the great secret of the planet Atlantis in the Atlantic Sea is written by Plato

Since antiquity, there have been ongoing disputes about the legendary Atlantis and its ancient civilization. More than 6 thousand volumes of books have been written about Atlantis. Dozens of academicians, hundreds of doctors of sciences of Russia took part in the research of the topic, having written more than 215,000 articles. But did this mysterious civilization exist at all? If yes, when and where? How to interpret the testimonies of the ancients? And - most importantly - what practical significance does, if it has, now, the fact of the existence of this country in ancient times?

My plans do not include attempts to conduct my own research and write an essay on the epochal mystery of Atlantis. I will only try to acquaint curious readers with some of the hypotheses existing in the world of scientists. And only on some of them I will express my personal opinion. The legend of Atlantis - the sunken island on which once existed highly developed civilization, lived a strong, enlightened and happy people - the Atlanteans - has been worrying mankind for more than two thousand years. The primary source of information about Atlantis is the writings of the ancient Greek scientist Plato.

He lived in the 4th century BC, he told us about Atlantis in the form of conversations-dialogues ("Plato's Dialogues"). Two books of the thinker - Timaeus and Critias - contain a story about Atlantis by Plato's contemporary, the writer and politician Critias, who heard in his childhood from his grandfather, and he, in turn, from "the wisest of the seven wise "- the Athenian legislator Solon. Solon became aware of this from the Egyptian priests.

The dialogue "Timaeus" begins with the arguments of Socrates and Timaeus about the best state structure. Having briefly described the ideal state, Socrates complains about the abstractness and schematic nature of the picture obtained and expresses a desire “to listen to a description of how this state behaves in the struggle with other states, how it enters the war in a worthy manner, how during the war its citizens do what what befits them, according to their training and education, whether on the battlefield or in negotiations with each of the other states. Responding to this wish, the third participant in the dialogue, the Athenian politician Critias, recounts the story of the war between Athens and Atlantis, allegedly from the words of his grandfather Critias the Elder, who, in turn, told him the story of Solon, heard last from the priests in Egypt.

The meaning of the story is this: once, Athens was the most glorious, powerful and virtuous state in the world. Atlantis was their main rival. "This island was larger than Libya and Asia combined." A “kingdom of amazing size and power” arose on it, which owned all of Libya to Egypt and Europe to Tirrenia (western Italy). All the forces of this kingdom were thrown into the enslavement of Athens. The Athenians rose to defend their freedom at the head of the Hellenes (ancient Greeks); and although all their allies betrayed them, they alone, thanks to their valor and virtue, repulsed the invasion.

The Atlanteans were crushed, and the peoples enslaved by them were freed. After that, however, a grandiose natural disaster occurred, as a result of which the entire Athenian army perished in one day, and Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea.

The dialogue "Critias", with the same participants, serves as a direct continuation of the "Timaeus" and is entirely devoted to the story of Critias about ancient Athens and Atlantis. Athens then (before the earthquake and flood) was the center of a large and extraordinarily fertile country; they were inhabited by a virtuous people who established an ideal (from Plato's point of view) state structure. Namely, the rulers and warriors who lived separately from the main agricultural and handicraft masses, on the Acropolis, were in charge of everything, the community (Acropolis is a hill in Athens, on which it was erected and is still located main temple ancient Greeks - Parthenon). Modest and virtuous Athens is opposed by the haughty and powerful Atlantis.

The ancestor of the Atlanteans, according to Plato, was the god of the seas, Poseidon, who met with the mortal girl Kleito, who gave birth to ten divine sons from him. The eldest of them was called Atlant, after his name the island was named Atlantis, and the sea - the Atlantic.

From Plato's Dialogues

According to Plato, Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Ocean beyond Gibraltar and died about 12 thousand years ago (between 9750 and 8570 BC). The Critias dialogue gives detailed description Atlantis, its relief, cities, social system. And before that follows an equally detailed story about the ancient homeland of the Athenians (the current Attica - or even Greece, - according to Critias, "only the skeleton of a body exhausted by an illness, when all the soft and fat earth was washed away and only one skeleton is still in front of us"), about its capital with the Acropolis, which is much larger than the current one, about its inhabitants - “the leaders of all other Hellenes by the good will of the latter” (testimony of Critias). The code of laws that Poseidon himself gave to the Atlanteans was inscribed on a high orichalcum pillar, installed in the middle of the island. Atlantis was ruled by ten kings - each with his own part of the island. Once every five or six years they gathered behind this pillar. Here they "conferred about common affairs, or they sorted out whether anyone had committed any misconduct, and they made a court."

The Atlanteans were distinguished by their nobility and lofty way of thinking, “looking at everything except virtue with disdain, they valued little that they had a lot of gold and other possessions, were indifferent to wealth as a burden, and did not fall to the ground in the intoxication of luxury, losing power over oneself.

But “nature inherited from God” was depleted, “repeatedly dissolving in mortal impurity, and human temper prevailed” - and then the Atlanteans “were unable to endure their wealth any longer and lost their decency”, losing the most beautiful of their values, although they “seemed most beautiful and happiest just when they were seething with unbridled greed and power.

Time passed - and the Atlanteans changed, filled with "the wrong spirit of self-interest and power." They began to use their knowledge and the achievements of their culture for evil.

Testimony of Timaeus

In the end, Zeus became angry with the Atlanteans, and "in one day and a disastrous night, the island of Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the sea." According to Plato, this happened in the 10th millennium BC.

And the debate about whether Atlantis really existed or was invented by Plato began in ancient times.

Afterword

It is natural to assume that after reading the article, the reader will have a reasonable question: What is the purpose of the proposed series of publications on the portal. As mentioned in the annotation to the article, more than 6 thousand volumes of books have been published about Atlantis, hundreds of thousands of articles have been written. Not only venerable scientists, but also science fiction writers, journalists, and poets took part in writing articles and books. So is it still necessary to produce articles, especially not for a professional researcher, not for a geocachingist and not for a columnist?

The fact is that when selecting materials for publications, I came across a great many sources (books, reviews, abstracts, portals), each of which sometimes contains up to several hundred pages. Often texts are repeated to a large extent. Reading and analyzing these materials is a laborious and tedious task. Therefore, I wanted to write a small series of articles that would give the most general ideas about the legendary Atlantis in an extremely compressed form (about the hypotheses of its location on the planet, the causes and time of death, about earthly civilizations and cataclysms, etc.). This is not an easy task, and therefore I am not sure if I can handle it. However, I will try if I see readers' interest in continuing the story. In each article, I intend to provide links to sources of information that, if desired, inquisitive readers can find and get more complete and in-depth knowledge about Atlantis.

The article uses sources from the Internet:

1. Plato on Atlantis (original from the Timaeus and Critias dialogues)
2. Atlantis. Wikipedia
3. A.M. Kondratov. "Atlantis of the Tethys Sea"
4. Historical portal
5. Article "Renaissance Titans"
6. Ancient Greece. Wikipedia
7. Encyclopedia "Circumnavigation". Atlantis (Alexander Gorodnitsky)

To be continued

Help of the World Encyclopedia of Travel

Pythagoreans led a special way of life, they had their own special daily routine. The Pythagoreans had to start the day with verses: “Before you get up from the sweet dreams cast by the night, think, spread out what things the day has prepared for you.”

Weird, but in the section "Ancient Greece" (in the same Wikipedia) the historical periods of Greece are somewhat (!) Later:

This is completely inconsistent in time with Plato's dialogues.

To be continued

Critias (excerpt from "Dialogues" about Atlantis)

(excerpt from "Dialogues" about Atlantis)

Timaeus, Critias, Socrates, Hermocrates

Timaeus. Oh, Socrates, how the traveler rejoices after taking a breath after a long journey, I feel the same joy now, having brought my reasoning to the end. But to God, who has been in deeds since ancient times, and in the word that has arisen now, recently, I offer up a prayer: may those of our speeches that are said as they should be, he will turn us to salvation, and if we said something awkwardly against our will, let it be for us due punishment! And the due punishment for the one who sings out of tune is to teach him the tune; so that from now on we can speak correctly about the birth of the gods, may in answer to our prayer be given to us a healing potion, of all potions, the most perfect and best, knowledge! Having made a prayer, by agreement we pass the word to Kritia.

Critias. I will accept the word, Timaeus, but, as you yourself asked for indulgence at the beginning, referring to the immensity of your subject, so I will do the same. Considering what I have to say, I think I have the right to demand even more indulgence. I myself know that my request is, perhaps, vain and excessively strange, but I have to express it. It’s good for you: who, being in their right mind, will undertake to prove that you spoke incorrectly? But my task, as I will try to prove, is more difficult, and therefore requires more indulgence.

You see, Timaeus, it is easier for someone who talks to people about the gods to inspire confidence in his speeches than for someone who talks with us about mortals, for when the listeners are deprived of experience and knowledge in something, this gives those who take it into their heads to speak before them about it, great freedom of action. And what our information about the gods is, we ourselves understand this. To make clearer what I mean, I invite you to pay attention with me to the following thing. Everything we say is in some way an imitation and a reflection; meanwhile, if we consider the work of painters on the depiction of divine and human bodies from the point of view of the ease or difficulty with which it is possible to inspire the audience with the appearance of complete resemblance, we will see that, if it is a question of land, mountains, rivers and forests, as well as about the whole firmament with everything that exists on it and walks on it, we are satisfied if the painter is able to even come close to the likeness of these objects; and, as we cannot know anything about them with sufficient certainty, we do not check or denounce what is written, but tolerate obscure and deceptive shadow writing. On the contrary, if someone begins to depict our own bodies, we vividly feel the omissions, we are always very attentive to them and we are severe judges of those who do not achieve resemblance in everything and not completely.

The same is easy to see with regard to reasoning: we approve of speeches about celestial and divine objects, if they show even the slightest probability, we carefully check speeches about mortal and human things. Therefore, you should have indulgence to what I now have to say without any preparation, even if I cannot achieve conformity in everything: think that the mortal is not easy, but, on the contrary, it is difficult to represent in accordance with probability. All this I have said, Socrates, in order to remind you of the indicated circumstance and to demand no less, but even more indulgence for what I have to tell. If it seems to you that I rightly demand a gift, give it to me freely.

Socrates. Ah, Critias, why don't we give it to you? And let the third Hermocrates also receive the same gift from us. It is clear that a little later, when it is his turn to speak, he will ask for the same thing as you. Now, so that he may afford another introduction, and not be forced to repeat it, let him build his speech as if he had already received indulgence for it. So be it, my dear Critias, I will tell you in advance how the spectators of this theater are inclined: the previous poet had an amazing success with them, and if only you are able to continue, indulgence is guaranteed to you.

Hermocrates. Of course, Socrates, your words apply to me, not only to him. Well, timid men have never erected trophies, Critias, and therefore you should boldly take up your speech and, calling for the help of Peon and the Muses, present and sing the virtues of ancient citizens.

Critias. It is good for you to be brave, dear Hermocrates, when you are placed in the back ranks and another soldier is standing in front of you. Well, you still have to test my position. As for your consolations and encouragement, then you need to heed them and call on the help of the gods of those whom you named, and others, especially Mnemosyne. Perhaps the most important thing in my speech depends entirely on this goddess. After all, if I correctly recall and retell what was told by the priests and brought here by Solon, I will almost be sure that our theater will consider me tolerably fulfilled my task. So, it's time to start, there is nothing to delay any longer.

First of all, let us briefly recall that, according to legend, nine thousand years ago there was a war between those peoples who lived on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules, and all those who lived on this side: we have to tell about this war. It is reported that at the head of the latter waged war, bringing it to the very end, our state, and at the head of the first kings of the island of Atlantis; as we have already mentioned, it was once an island larger than Libya and Asia, but now it has collapsed due to earthquakes and turned into impassable silt, blocking the way for sailors who would try to sail from us to the open sea, and making navigation unthinkable. Numerous barbarian tribes, as well as those Greek peoples who then existed, will be discussed in detail in the course of the presentation, but it is necessary to tell about the Athenians and their opponents in this war at the very beginning, describing the forces and state structure of each side. Let us render this honor first to the Athenians and tell about them.

As you know, the gods divided among themselves by lot all the countries of the earth. They did this without strife: it would be wrong to imagine that the gods do not know what is appropriate for each of them, or that they are able, knowing that a thing should belong to another, yet start a strife about this thing. So, having received the desired share by right of lot, each of the gods settled in his own country; having settled down, they began to nurture us, their property and pets, as shepherds nurture their flock. But if these latter act on bodies with bodily violence and graze cattle with a scourge, then the gods chose, as it were, the place of a helmsman, from where it is most convenient to direct an obedient living being, and acted by conviction, as if by a rudder of the soul, as their plan prompted them. Thus they ruled over the whole race of mortals.

THE SOURCE OF THE LEGEND ABOUT ATLANTIS

You need to start searching for Atlantis, of course, by studying the news about this legendary continent of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427 - 347 BC) - According to his story, Atlantis is the continent that was once located behind the "Pillars of Hercules" (Gibraltar) and who died "in one day and a disastrous night." The description of Atlantis is given in the dialogue "Te-mei" and in the unfinished dialogue "Critias".

Plato learned about Atlantis from his grandfather Critias, who heard about it from Plato's great-grandfather - Dropida. The latter was a relative of the “wisest of the seven wise” Solon, who informed Dropid about the death of the Atlantean state and about the war between the Proto-Athenes and the Atlanteans. The great secret was told to Solon by Egyptian priests in the city of Sais (Nile Delta) in the 6th century BC. e.
Such a source of the legend about Atlantis is given by Plato himself.

Is he trustworthy? Apparently yes. This is not just a family tradition. Solon was an archon, that is, the ruler of Athens 200 years before Plato. He came to power on the wave of popular reverence for his wisdom. He ruled for a long time and gloriously, according to the laws approved by him, subsequent generations of Greeks lived, and not only in Athens. .

Changes, that is, the change of the power of the priests-philosophers to the power of democracy, and then the transition from democracy to tyranny, began to occur already during the life of Plato.

But Plato himself could well find records of Solon himself in the family temple and royal library. They were obviously kept and revered.

It is also known, and not only from Plato, that Solon, in his old age, actually traveled to Egypt. And at that time, the Egyptian priests could well accept him, and he could learn a lot from them, including the legend about Atlantis.

Then Plato himself made the same journey, but, apparently, he did not have the same trusting relationship with the Egyptian priests. The situation in the world has changed, and not everyone liked the strengthening of Greece, and especially Athens (especially since the conquests of Pericles). In addition, Egypt was dependent on Persia, with which the Greeks were at war. So Plato could well be accepted not as a sage, but as an envoy of a hostile power. Therefore, he returned from Egypt empty-handed and relied not on his own research on Egyptian documents, but only on the stories of Solon.

But the very fact that he made this journey confirms that he treated these records with great reverence. And his journey itself was started for the reason that Plato wanted to know more details about Atlantis first hand. But it didn't work out.

So, the source of the legend about Atlantis is the Egyptian priestly tradition, continuous and most revered in the ancient world.

Does this tradition have anything to do with us Slavs? It turns out yes. Indeed, in the legend of Atlantis, we are talking about the times of great civilizations, about the Sacred History. And the tribal traditions themselves, its source, may well be correlated with the Slavic tradition.

ATLANTO-SLAVIC "ROOTS"SOLO AND PLATO

Let's pay attention to the genealogy of the sage Solon himself, since his family goes directly to the god of the seas Poseidon, who, according to Greek tradition, "founded Atlantis and populated it with his children."

That is, the clan of Solon himself ascended to the Atlanteans. And it was no coincidence that he asked the Egyptian priests about Atlantis: he, in fact, was interested in his own genealogy and the deeds of his ancestors. And he received information about those times.

We know the names of these gods and progenitors of mankind not only in Greek, but also in the Slavic-Vedic version.

So, the Slavs called the god Poseidon consonantly: the Bottom Tsar, or the Bottom Tsar. And it is quite possible that initially this was his oldest name. It is known from Slavic legends that earlier he was called the god Don and he was the incarnation (face) of the god Beles and the son of the heavenly cow Dana. But after the great war of the three Clans and the defeat in the battle with Dennitsa, he went to sea and became the lord of the sea waters.

And by the way, in the Caucasus, Ossetians still call the god of the Don River Donbettyr. One of the names of the Caucasian Cossacks, "Donets", also goes back to the name of this ancient god. And this name is related to the names of the ancient peoples known in ancient times - "Danavas", "Danaans" and the like.

So we have every reason to believe that the name of the Underground King (Don) is no less ancient than the name Poseidon or, for example, the Asia Minor name of the Lord Adonai.

The Slavs also called the progenitor god the Black Sea Serpent, Chernomorets.

The Cossacks still sing songs about a certain Cossack Chernomorets, who rode to the sea on black horses: "Chernomorets is coming ... leading seven horses." And by the way, in Belarus, the text of this song (first published in the last century) has been preserved, in which the same melody, almost the same words, but where Chernomorets is no longer a Cossack, namely the Sea King. He comes out of the Black Sea and proposes to a certain queen, who rejects him.

And in fact, Chernomorets wooed Queen Plenka (among the Greeks, this is the nymph Pleiona). The sorceress Film was the queen of the Altyn (Atlantis) island. These legends later also turned into epics and legends about Svyatogor and the queen of the Pomeranian-Altyn kingdom.

From them, from Svyatogor, whom we identify with the titan Atlant (we will talk about this in more detail later), and from the queen of Plen-ki-Pleyona, the southern, “Atlantic” root of Europeans comes.

And by the way, the Greek tradition of presenting the genealogies of ancient families (including the families of Plato and Solon) has intersections with the corresponding Slavic-Vedic traditions about the clans.

In fact, the genealogy of Solon (and Plato) in ancient Greek sources is presented as follows: the god of the seas, Poseidon, seduced a certain Tyro, the adopted daughter of the queen of the Greek province of Thessaly named Sidero.

Well, how can you not remember Slavic goddess Sid, wife of Beles? And also Sadko, the most famous bylinas, a descendant of Atlanta-Svyatogor, who was patronized by Beley? That is, the Greek goddess Sidero is probably a relative of the Slavic-Vedic goddess Sida, and at the same time she stands at the origins of the Solon family.

Further. According to legend, Tyro gave birth to a certain Neleus. The great-grandson of this Neleus was the Athenian king Kodr. Solon was a descendant of Codrus, and Plato was Codrus' great-great-great-grandson. Note that Tyro was the wife of King Salmoneus, but she did not give birth to sons from him, but first from King Sisyphus who seduced her, and then from Poseidon. Sisyphus was the husband of Merope Atlantis (exactly!), That is, the daughter of Atlanta.

And now let's compare the considered Greek genealogy with the Slavic one. In Slavic legends, the place of the hero Sisyphus is occupied by the genus Van (or Janos). Van is the son of the goddess Devana and Beles (whom we have already identified with Poseidon).

Atlantis and Hyperborea

According to an ancient Slavic legend, Van gives birth to the son Sadko from the daughter of Svyatogor Mary. Among the Greeks, from the nymph Merope, he gives birth to the legendary navigator Odysseus.

Then from Van came the clans of the Wends (for example, the Vyatichi), and from Meri also the Finno-Ugric clans (for example, the Mari, Merya, Muroma). And by the way, the Mari, who have preserved the ancient faith and priesthood, to our time revere Merya and her son Mari, the progenitor of the Mari. And we also note that the families of the Vyatichi and Mari from time immemorial lived in neighboring lands.

So, in essence, these are varieties of the same pedigree. We see similar legends, similar names in Slavic and Greek sources, and all the traditions mentioned about the ancestors of Plato lead us to the era of Atlantis. We can even state that the roots of the royal family of the first kings of Athens are in some sense “proto-Slavic”. This is a very respected family in our lands.

Of course, the genealogy of Plato is reduced, only 12 ancestors are given, and the twelfth is the god Veles-Poseidon himself. So many generations could have changed over the course of six centuries, not 10,000 years! But nevertheless, the preservation and transmission of some legends in this priestly and royal family is quite probable, especially since Solon then learned the most important information about Atlantis from the Egyptian priests.

IS PLATO'S STORY RELIABLE?

We will consider the Slavic roots of this legend in more detail below, and now we will return to Plato's story about Atlantis.

Of course, the very genre of dialogues in which this story is given allows you to freely deal with ancient sources. Plato's Dialogues is not a historical work. In them, the author himself speaks through the mouths of historical figures, legendary heroes, gods. He expresses his thoughts on politics, religion, philosophy, etc.

The political idea of ​​Plato is understandable. It was important for him to give an example of an ideal theocratic society and contrast this society with the Athenian democratic state, in the political structure of which Plato found significant flaws.

How it is familiar to us, who have survived the transition to democracy! We are also not entirely satisfied with what we received. Plato's thoughts are not outdated even now, despite the fact that he defended the theocratic and monarchical system (being himself of a royal, aristocratic family).

Plato spoke of the ancient war between the Athenians and the Atlanteans, but had in mind the recent Greco-Persian wars. Despite his political predilections, Plato was a patriot of Athens and therefore glorified the victory of the ancient Hellenes. Plato described in detail Atlantis, its inhabitants, descended from Atlanta and Poseidon, their way of life and beliefs, the capital of the state and the island itself, located behind the Pillars of Hercules and having the size "larger than Libya and Asia taken together." But aren't these descriptions just an invention of the author, reinforcing his main political and philosophical ideas?

Disputes about this have been going on for two and a half thousand years. The works of Plato have been studied from early antiquity to the present day. In the Middle Ages, Plato was revered almost on a par with the Church Fathers. This explains the incredible popularity of his story, as well as the fact that the ancient sources, less artistically advantageous, but more historically reliable, reporting about Atlantis (the land of the titan Atlanta), remained and remain in the shadows. I'm not talking about Slavic traditions, about which so little was known until our time.

Today the library of atlantology has 25,000 books with approximately 2.5 million pages. This is over 100,000 times what Plato wrote. The Platonic story inspired many science fiction writers, such as Jules Verne and A. Conan Doyle. And at all times, along with people who believed Plato, there were people who considered Plato's Atlantis to exist only in dreams.

Especially often began to reject the reality of Atlantis in our time, when the authority of the sacred tradition was shaken, when the possession of the ultimate truth began to be claimed by people who earned themselves a "scientific" name by being skeptical of any tradition that cannot be verified right now. And in the ancient history, covered with legends, one has to take a lot of things at their word.

Skepticism, of course, is good as one of the methods of knowledge, but as long as it does not become an end in itself, as long as it does not become a cover for ignorance.

Almost the main argument against Atlantis, skeptical people consider the impossibility of the existence of a vast land in the Atlantic Ocean, a continent that could suddenly sink. At the same time, skeptics, who usually have nothing to do with geological science, refer specifically to paleogeology.

As a former geophysicist-ecologist (who graduated from the geophysical department of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University, and then graduate school and prepared a dissertation on ecology, now shelved because I was carried away by other things), it is clear to me how unsteady such a statement is. In geological and geophysical science, many statements that seemed indisputable yesterday are refuted today by new data. But even today, the most extreme skeptics cannot deny that the water level in the Atlantic Ocean in the historically foreseeable period fluctuated by many tens of meters, and vast areas of land were flooded, sometimes catastrophically. And it cannot be ruled out that large islands could perish in the ocean itself as a result of geological cataclysms.

However, only underwater archeology can give a definitive answer to the question of whether there was a highly developed state similar to Plato's Atlantis on the site of the flooded land.

The reality of Atlantis was disputed already in ancient times. Even Aristotle, a contemporary of Plato, said: "Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer."

The famous geographer Strabo can be considered an opponent of this hypothesis, who did not agree with the opinion of the philosopher Posidonius, who believed that “the story of the island of Atlantis may not be a fiction” (“Geography” II, 3, 6). However, Strabo's opinion can be ignored, since, like modern scientists, he believed that a skeptical attitude towards everything, especially legends, gives his judgments more weight. So, Strabo, for example, did not believe the traveler Pytheas, who told about Iceland (the island of Tula), and did not believe in the reality of China, despite the fact that caravans had been traveling along the “Silk Road” for hundreds of years. Marvelous! Roman matrons flaunt in Chinese silks, and Strabo, drawing a map of the world, cuts Eurasia right behind India. And at the same time, describing the lands that were not part of the Roman Empire, he relies on information and ancient geographical works and from the poems of the “divine” Homer, which were considered to be dead and served as a Bible for the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, in everything that concerns the lands mastered by the Romans, he is accurate, here he is not inferior to modern geographers.

Among the supporters of the existence of Atlantis can be called the historian Ammiacus Marcellinus, who wrote about her death as a historical event. Pliny the Elder in Natural History mentions, among other sunken lands, the "vast expanse" of Atlantis, "according to Plato" (II, 92).

The Platonists and Neo-Platonists believed the story told by Plato, the founder of the Academy, to be reliable. Plato's student and

the commentator on Timaeus Kantor believed that the death of Atlantis was an indisputable historical fact, he claimed that the Egyptian priests showed him the history of the Atlantean war in the form of bas-reliefs on the columns of temples (Procl In, Tim. 75, 30-76, 2D). The Platonist Proclus referred to the story of a certain geographer Marcellus (perhaps Marian of Heraclea Pontica), who in his essay "Ethiopia" spoke of a huge island that had once perished in the Atlantic. But the opinion of the school, whose founder was Plato, was also not considered indisputable. Many did not take into account the testimony of Cantor, an admirer and student of Plato. What bas-reliefs did he see on the columns of Egyptian temples? Perhaps he mistook for the image of the warring Atlanteans the reliefs, which show the "peoples of the sea" that collapsed in the XII century BC. on the coast of Asia Minor and Palestine? Such images have survived to this day, and today scientists are making assumptions about who is depicted there.

Atlantologists are sure that these are, of course, the Atlanteans, perhaps the last landing of the Atlanteans who escaped from the sinking island and therefore were forced to leave their former habitats and set off to conquer new lands. Such a version was put forward in the recent past by the famous atlantologist N.F. Zhirov. But the invasion of the "peoples of the sea" occurred in the XII century BC. And this is a historic time. Who were these "peoples of the sea"? Many believe that they were the Mycenaeans. It is noted that the armor depicted on the Egyptian bas-reliefs, in particular, the cones on the helmets, resemble the weapons of the Mycenaean warriors.

To people who completely reject Plato's story of Atlantis, it seemed incredible that the legends and even more detailed descriptions of Atlantis and its state structure persisted for ten thousand years. And you can understand their distrust.

Of course, a detailed account of the state of the Atlanteans is essentially a utopia, an ideal model that Plato transferred to antiquity. But the other part of his story relies on a more reliable source. Namely, on Greek and Egyptian traditions, on Sacred History. That is, the legends about Atlanta and his daughters Atlantis and Hesperides (i.e. Vespers).

And by the way, the legends are not only Egyptian, but also, quite likely ... Slavic, since in ancient times Scythian-Slavic legends were also retold by ancient authors and they could also be known to Plato.

SLAVIC-HYPERBOREAN SOURCE OF LEGEND ABOUT ATLANTIS

We have already mentioned Slavic legends akin to Greek about Atlanta-Svyatogora, Plenka-Pleyon and the like.

It is already obvious that the Greek traditions about Atlantiswe we can compare with legends not only Egyptian,but also Slavic-Vedic (the ancient Greeks named these traditionsnew Hyperborean). These Slavic legends about Altyn-^ko-Pomeranian kingdom, as well as northern legends about Eveningnitsah have survived to this day (and by the way, not allthey are still published). It is impossible not to recognize the Hesperides-Atlantis in the Slavic Vespers. And these legends in many ways supplement other well-known traditions about that lost land.

As you know, the daughters of Atlanta are called in Greek exactly Atlantis. And we can remember that in a number of legends aboutthat land (including in Slavic legends) it is stated that in that ancient Atlantis women ruled, there was originally a matriarchy. And the patriarchy was in the land of At itselflanta (among the Slavs of Svyatogor), who was the father of Atlantis, but he himself ruled in another, in Eastern Atlantis, in the so-calledmy holy mountains.

Here it should be noted that the Slavic legends about Vechernitsy-Atlantis belong to the Russian North, to Pomorie. In these legendsdakh Vechernitsy - rulers (or sorceresses-sorceresses) who live near the coast of the White Sea. And by the way, near(beyond the White Lake) are the Andoga River and the Andoga Mountains, the namewhich reminds us ... of the Andes mountains in America!

And in fact, according to legend, the connection of these lands with Ameriwhich were carried out in ancient times. Not only Normanswent to North America before Columbus, but Russianry! Connections of the Russian North, Novgorod region with the Mediterraneanryem and egypt are also known. From here furs were delivered andamber in deep antiquity. And here they find the same "Babylons", labyrinths of stones, as in the Mediterranean. beautifulnew study of the connections of the symbolism of our northern labyrinthscomrades with labyrinths not only Mediterranean, but also, onexample, the Indian labyrinths of North America, as well as the labyrinths of Oceania (again leading us to the secrets of Atlantypes) was published by E.S. Lazarev (see: Lazarev E. S. gi gatePerborean dedication / / Science and religion, 1996 No. 1).

True, this Eastern Atlantis, unlike other "Easternexact Atlantis", most likely, was only connected by trade and cultural ties with the original Atlantis in the Atlanticocean, of course, until its death, whatever we mean by that.

However, it is impossible not to notice the fact that even the Greeks sometimesthey said that Atlas lived in Hyperborea (details on these certificatesexamples we will discuss later). In addition, the lands of the ExtremeThe north was also flooded. The entire shelf of the Arctic Ocean went under water in the memory of people after the last glaciation, and this time coincides with the time of deathPlatonic Atlantis. But of course this land is not At itselflantis. This is Hyperborea-Arctida - the land that also went underwater, according to the European secret tradition and legends.

Legendary Arctida up to the Age of Enlightenmentphi were placed on the maps as the land is quite real, almost contemporary to them, while Atlantis was revered as dead (its maps began to be compiled according to Plato's descriptions only by modern atlantologists).

Surprisingly, the story of the death of Atlantis, as if following an ancient mystery, has repeated itself in our time. The Ando-ga River (we have just talked about the American-Atlantean "root" of the name of this river) now flows into the Rybinsk reservoir. But at the bottom of this reservoir in the middle of the 20th century there were ancient Russian villages and even cities, for example, Mologa ...

And by the way, nearby, on the Mologa River, lovers of antiquity recently discovered the impressive ruins of a city that is not on any ancient map, which already dates its existence to pre-historic times. And there are enthusiasts who have already begun to compare this mysterious city with Kitezh-grad.

However, the location of Lake Svetloyar, where the real Kitezh-grad perished, is well known.

Indeed, a little further south, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, there are similar legends about the holy city, which also went under water. These are Russian legends about the holy city of Kitezh, which, like Atlantis, has gone to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar.

And I note that there are many similar legends about cities and monasteries that have gone under water in Russia. For example, there is also a legend about a monastery that sank to the bottom of Bolshoye Svyato Lake, near the village of Dedovo near Murom. Doesn't this tradition also have "Atlantic" roots?

These legends also deserve careful study. However, this Russian tradition, that is, the legends about the holy land that has gone under water, as well as the northern traditions about Vespers-Atlantis, are not very well known even in Russia, not to mention the rest of the world.

And here it should be noted that in the Slavic, especially North Russian, lands, the legends about Arctida and Atlantis are mixed.

Another powerful layer of similar legends clearly refers to the lands of Southern Russia, to the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region. We will dwell on these legends in more detail. We also explore the legends related to Atlantis and preserved in the lands of the southern Slavs bordering Greece.

Mermaid and water. Volga carving. 19th century

The ancient legends about a land located somewhere in the extreme west (and sometimes in the north and east), about the garden of the Hesperides and Atlantis, about the giant Atlas, or Atlanta, the first king of Atlantis, are best preserved by the Greeks themselves. They have been widely known for a long time.

We will begin the study of these Greek legends.

GREEK SOURCESLEGENDS ABOUT ATLANTIS

First of all, it is necessary to separate the evidence of Atlantis by ancient authors who referred to Plato, and evidence based on sources independent of Plato.

Such a division can clarify a lot. For example, Plato considers Atlas the son of Poseidon, and not a titan, a deity more ancient than Poseidon himself. But such an interpretation is found only in Plato. Other ancient authors do not distinguish between Atlas, the king of Atlantis - the titan Atlas.

Atlantis by N.F. Zhirov

The reason that forced Plato to change the genealogy of Atlantis is also understandable: for Plato, Atlantis is primarily a king (besides, his direct ancestor), and a king can be the son of a god, like other kings, but cannot be a god-titan himself. According to the interpretations of other ancient authors, such as Euhemerus, the gods and titans are ancient kings, whose life and activities are distorted by myths.

In addition to the legends about Atlanta, about the garden of the Hesperides, there was also a legend about the death of the country of the Atlanteans. It is described in detail by the historian of the 1st century BC. e. Diodorus Siculus. Moreover, he relies not on the story of Plato, but on the legend that he heard from the inhabitants of the island of Samothrace in the Aegean Sea. His story, which differs significantly from Plato's, is more plausible. It has been preserved not in a work of art, but in a historical work that allows a rationalistic explanation of the myth, but not an arbitrary interpretation of it. We will return to Diodorus' testimony shortly.

DID ATLANTIS DIE IN THE ATLANTIC?

Plato placed Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean and gave its exact coordinates: opposite the mouth, “at the table of Hercules

bami", in the "Atlantic Sea". He also mentioned the mysterious continent beyond Atlantis, "to which that true Pontus is limited." Many atlantologists believe that this mysterious continent is America.

Probably, at the time of Plato, vague data about America already existed. However, Plato was familiar with the teachings of Pythagoras and Parmenides about the sphericity of the Earth. This means that Plato, like Columbus later, had to believe that beyond the ocean are the eastern shores of the "ecumene", the world known at that time, that is, India. In the IV century BC. e. the Greeks thoroughly explored the environs of Gibraltar, so there is no doubt that Plato was aware. Of course, he could have misconceptions about distances, but not about the existence of the Atlantic itself.

It is necessary to tell about the very name of the ocean: Atlantic. It can be found already in the writings of Herodotus (5th century BC). It is believed that this name is associated with the myths about the titan Atlas, or Atlanta (as well as the Atlas Range in Africa), which supported the firmament. Since Plato calls Atlanta the first king of the Atlanteans, it is not surprising that he also places Atlantis somewhere in the extreme west, in the Atlantic.

Therefore, Atlantis has always been searched for beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. They searched in the area of ​​the Canary plateau, believing that the islands of the Canary archipelago are the peaks of the mountains of the sunken Atlantis.

According to another hypothesis, which was considered by the atlantologist N.F. Zhirov, it was proposed to look for Atlantis in the region of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which allegedly sank to the bottom of the ocean after the end of the last Great Glaciation. Zhirov gives a map of this land, reconstructed by him from the relief of the bottom of the Atlantic.

Yes, and the very end of the glacial

period, some scholars associated with

the sinking of Atlantis, which, according to their assumptions, freed the way for the warm waters of the Gulf Stream to the Arctic Ocean, which led to a warming of the planet's climate. This point of view was expressed by Academician V.A. Obruchev. However, this hypothesis has not stood the test of time and must be rejected today. There are currently quite a few theories that explain the end of the ice age and the dynamics of all recent glaciations in a different way. It is known that there were several ice ages - it is absurd to say that each time the end of the ice age required the subsidence of Atlantis, and hence its subsequent rise to start a new glaciation.

One of the arguments in favor of the Atlantean "registration" of Atlantis was considered the presence of some parallels in the ancient Egyptian culture and the culture of the American Indians.

There are common features in the Mayan and Egyptian calendars - in particular, both peoples took as a starting point a date that coincides with the Platonic date of the immersion of Atlantis.

It may seem that the principles of building the pyramids in America and Egypt come from the same source. It is believed that ancient civilizations received these achievements thanks to the disappeared Atlantis, the former "bridge" between Ancient Egypt and America.

It was assumed that the word "Atlantis" is translated from the Nahuatl language - Mexican Indians - as "the land lying on

in the midst of the water" because in this language "atl" means "water". Atlantis was also compared with the legendary ancestral home of the Aztecs, the country of Astlan (“Country of herons”), which was located on an island in the middle of a sacred lake.

The legends of the American Indians also told about "red-bearded and light-skinned" newcomers from across the ocean, who were the creators and keepers of the achievements of Indian culture. The tribes of the Aztecs, Maya, Chichba also represented their gods as "fair-skinned and red-bearded", similar to Europeans. This is evidenced by the legends of the Indians and the monuments of the ancient visual arts. These mysterious aliens were also seen as Atlanteans.

Ancient history keeps many unsolved mysteries; for their explanation it seems tempting to turn to the legends of Atlantis. For example, an amazing fact: before the pictorial hieroglyphic writing appeared in ancient Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC, a more perfect continuous cursive writing already existed there. Today, no one can decipher the signs of this mysterious letter. But from this follows the conclusion that writing was invented even before the beginning of Egyptian history! Perhaps these mysterious scribes were Atlanteans?

In Mexico, under lava flows, whose age is estimated at 8,000 years, a pyramid was discovered. This means that in ancient America, civilizations arose almost two thousand years earlier than the civilizations known to us in the Western Hemisphere. Don't they owe their appearance to the "fair-skinned and red-bearded" Atlanteans?

And the gigantic sanctuary of the Sun at Baalbek? All that remained of it was the foundation, made of three slabs, each weighing 2,000 tons (!). Each of them is 20 meters long, almost 5 meters wide and 4 meters high. To move them from their place, the efforts of 40 thousand people are needed! According to legend, this sanctuary was built before the Flood by Adam's son Cain. Which completely disappeared civilization left this monument?

But let's not jump to conclusions. Each of these facts, interesting in itself, does not yet serve as proof of the reality of Atlantis, the legendary island in the Atlantic. The history of mankind keeps many secrets. To use Atlantis as a universal key to reveal any secret is at least naive. With no less reason can be considered in solving these problems and aliens from outer space, and the ancient gods.

Is it necessary to invoke the hypothesis of Atlantis to explain some common features in the cultures of peoples separated by the Atlantic Ocean? Swimming across the ocean could be made in ancient times. In our time, the possibility of such travels was experimentally confirmed by Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed across the Atlantic on the boats "Ra" and "Ra II", constructively repeating the ancient Egyptian ships, and Tim Severin, who traveled along the route of the ancient Irish on the ship "Brandan" made of leather. Similar journeys are made by our compatriots.

The decoding of the word "Atlantis", based on the Aztec dictionary, is also doubtful. There are other interpretations as well. Plato himself, the only one who gave such a name to this ancient land, understood it as "the land of Atlanta." The Greeks interpreted the name of the titan as "irresistible, unshakable."

There is also a Slavic-Vedic (as well as Turkic) interpretation of this name: "Golden". The legends of the Slavs and Turkic peoples know the Altyn-bogatyr, who is very reminiscent of Atlanta, and "Altyn" means "golden", "Altyn Mountains" means "Golden Mountains" (we identified with them, for example, Altai).

And in this case, Plato's Atlantis, located in the Atlantic Ocean, turns out to be the "Golden Country". And this interpretation seems to me the most convincing.

ATLANTIS DIE IN THE GLOBAL FLOOD?

Yes, in ancient times there were great civilizations that disappeared almost without a trace, perished in the waters of floods and vast areas of land,

islands. And it would be tempting to classify all the monuments listed above as the heritage of Atlantis or the heritage of related cultures.

But were the civilizations that left their traces the same Atlantis that Plato wrote about? Did the people who lived then in these lands call themselves Atlanteans? And is it correct to identify Plato's Atlantis with the great civilizations of the Earth that existed before the Flood, described in the legends of many peoples? This is the question we need to solve.

And for this we will study the myths about the Flood. Records of this myth, or similar ones, can be found in religious texts left over from many ancient civilizations.

There is no doubt that the biblical story of the Flood is based on memories of ancient catastrophes. Which ones? It is extremely difficult to answer this question. The actual events that gave birth to the myth are sometimes so obscured by the memories left over from subsequent centuries that it seems unrealistic to free them from fantastic clothes.

The study of legends, fairy tales leads to the inevitable appeal to hypotheses. There is a certain danger in this, since the reasons for choosing hypotheses are often subjective. But there is no other way. In order to choose the most plausible hypotheses, you need to "get used to the image" of a man of the distant past, you need to learn how to think, as he thought, you need to try to understand what he was guided by when creating a myth.

You need to feel like that person who escaped the flood, who told his children about antediluvian life, about sunken lands and villages, about formidable gods who punished people for sins...

And yet the only criterion for the correctness of the chosen path, the chosen hypotheses; there are data of the exact sciences. Archaeological data or (if you need to find geological confirmation of the reality of paleocatastrophes) data of geology and geophysics, geochronology.

And here we set ourselves the task of tracing also the real events that served as a prototype for this legend. Knowing the floods of antiquity, for example, about the floods that occurred after the end of the last Great glaciation - 12 thousand years ago, and about the flood in the Black Sea - 4 - 6 thousand years ago, and

also about the floods caused by natural disasters - earthquakes, eruptions of underwater volcanoes, etc., we will try to single out from them those that are related to the legend and the Flood and Atlantis.

Copying, saving on a hard disk or otherwise saving works posted on this library is strictly prohibited . All materials are presented for informational purposes only.

The "fatal" mistake of Plato (Critias or Solon) is revealed, which led to confusion with the location of Atlantis.

Atlantis has not disappeared, it exists and lies in the depths of the sea. A lot has been said about Atlantis, thousands of research materials have been written. Historians, archaeologists, searchers have proposed fifty versions of a possible location around the world (in Scandinavia, in the Baltic Sea, in Greenland, North and South America, in Africa, the Black, Aegean, Caspian Sea, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and so on), but the exact location is not named. Why such confusion?

Starting to figure it out, you discover one pattern that all assumptions are initially tied to some kind of similarity, a find of antiquity, a single description, under which (which) the materials were subsequently “fitted”. As a result, nothing worked. There is a similarity, but Atlantis cannot be found.

We'll go the other way

Let's look for Atlantis in a different way, which in this case (judging by the well-known proposals), has not been used by anyone before. First, let's take the method of elimination, where Atlantis could not be. As the circle narrows, we will use all the "benchmarks" that were proposed by the ancient Greek scientist, the sage (428-347 BC) Plato (Aristocles) in his works - Timaeus and Critias. In these documents, the only and rather detailed description of Atlantis, its inhabitants and historical events related to the life of the legendary island is given.

“Aristotle taught me to satisfy my mind only with what reasoning convinces me, and not just the authority of teachers. Such is the power of truth: you are trying to refute it, but your attacks themselves elevate it and give it great value, ”said the Italian philosopher, physicist, mathematician Galileo Galilei in the 16th century.

Below is a map of the world, as it was presented in Greece during the time of Plato, Herodotus (IV - V century BC).

Mediterranean Sea

So, let's start "cutting the ends." Atlantis could not be in any far corner of the world, and even it was not in the Atlantic Ocean. You will ask why? Because the war (according to the history of the story) between Athens and Atlantis could not be anywhere except in the Mediterranean Sea on this “patch of civilization” due to the limited development of mankind. The world is big - but the developed one is small. Close neighbors fight among themselves more often and constantly than distant ones. Athens simply could not, with her army and navy, reach the limits of Atlantis if she were somewhere far away. Water and vast distances were an insurmountable obstacle.

“This barrier was insurmountable for people, because ships and shipping did not yet exist,” Plato narrates in his work Critias.

In ancient Greek mythology, which arose many thousands of years later than the time of the death of Atlantis, the only (!) hero Hercules (according to Homer in the XII century BC) performed a feat, traveling to the farthest western point of the world - to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

“When the Atlas Mountains arose on the path of Hercules, he did not climb them, but made his way through, thus paving the Strait of Gibraltar and connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic. This point also served as a border for navigators in the ancient era, therefore, in a figurative sense, “Hercules (Hercules) pillars” is the end of the world, the limit of the world. And the expression to reach the pillars of Hercules "means" to reach the limit.

See picture The Strait of Gibraltar today is the place reached by the historical hero Hercules.

In the foreground is the Rock of Gibraltar on the edge of mainland Europe, and in the background on the coast of Africa is Mount Jebel Musa in Morocco.

What western limit of the earth reached Hercules (“end of the world”) was unattainable by other mortals. Thus, Atlantis was closer to the center ancient civilization She was in the Mediterranean. But where exactly?

Pillars of Hercules (according to Plato's story, behind which lay the island of Atlantis) in the Mediterranean Sea at that time there were seven pairs (Gibraltar, Dardanelles, Bosphorus, Kerch Strait, Nile Mouth, etc.). The pillars were located at the entrances to the straits, and all had the same name - Heracles (later Latin name - Hercules). The pillars served as landmarks and beacons for ancient sailors.

“First of all, let us briefly recall that, according to legend, nine thousand years ago there was a war between those peoples who lived on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules, and all those who lived on this side: we will have to tell about this war ... How we have already mentioned that it was once an island that exceeded the size of Libya and Asia (not their entire geographical territory, but rather the areas inhabited in antiquity), but now it has failed due to earthquakes and has turned into impenetrable silt, blocking the way for sailors who would try to swim from us to the open sea, and making navigation unthinkable. (Plato, Critias).

This information about Atlantis, which dates back to the 6th century BC. came from the Egyptian priest Timaeus from the city of Sais, located on the coast of Africa, in the western delta of the Nile. The current name of this village is Sa el-Hagar (see below the picture of the Nile River Delta).

When Timaeus said that the barrier from the remains of the sunken Atlantis blocked the way "from us to the open sea", then speaking about us (about himself and about Egypt), this clearly testified to the location of Atlantis. That is, it lies in the direction of travel from the Egyptian mouth of the Nile to the wide waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

In ancient times, the Pillars of Hercules were also called the entrance to the main navigable (western) mouth of the Nile, nicknamed the mouth of Heracles, that is, Hercules, where the city of Heracleum was located and there was a temple in honor of Hercules. Over time, the silt and floating material from the sunken Atlantis was blown across the sea, and the island itself went even deeper into the abyss.

“Since in nine thousand years there have been many great floods (namely, so many years have passed from those times to Plato), the earth did not accumulate in the form of any significant shoal, as in other places, but was washed away by waves and then disappeared into the abyss.” (Plato, Critias).

The island of Crete

Next, we exclude other, impossible locations. Atlantis could not be located in the Mediterranean Sea north of the island of Crete. Today in that area there are countless small islands scattered over the water area, which does not correspond to the story of flooding (!), and by this very fact excludes the entire territory. But even this is not the main thing. There would not have been enough space for Atlantis (according to the description of its size) in the sea north of Crete.

The expedition of the famous explorer of the sea depths of the French oceanographer to the area north of Crete on the periphery of the islands of Thira (Strongel), Thera discovered the remains of an ancient sunken city, but from the above it follows that it belongs to another civilization rather than Atlantis.

In the archipelago of the islands of the Aegean Sea, earthquakes, catastrophes associated with volcanic activity, which led to local subsidence of the earth, are known, and according to new evidence, they occur in our time. For example, a recently sunken medieval fortress in the Aegean Sea near the city of Marmaris in a bay on the coast of Turkey.

Between Cyprus, Crete and Africa

Narrowing the search circle, we come to the conclusion that only one thing remains - Atlantis could only be in one place opposite the mouth of the Nile - between the islands of Crete, Cyprus and the northern coast of Africa. She is there today at a depth and lies, having fallen into a deep basin of the sea.

The failure of an almost oval water area with influx from the coast, horizontal wrinkling (from sliding) of sedimentary rocks to the center of the "funnel" is clearly visible from the Internet survey of the seabed from space. The bottom in this place resembles a pit, sprinkled with soft sedimentary rock on top, there is no solid "crust of the continental mantle" under it. Only visible on the body of the Earth is a hollow inside that is not overgrown with firmament.

The Egyptian priest Timaeus, in his story about the location of the silt from the flooded Atlantis, gives a link to the Pillars of Hercules (it was logical for him to say - closest to him), located at the mouth of the western Nile.

In another case (later already in Greece), when Plato described the power of Atlantis, we are already talking about other pillars, as mentioned above, there were seven of them in the Mediterranean at that time. When Plato expounded the text of the work (according to the retelling of Solon and Critias), the Egyptian priest Timaeus (the primary source of the story) had not been there for 200 years by that time, and there was no one to clarify the information about which pillars they were talking about. Therefore, the subsequent confusion arose with the location of Atlantis.

“After all, according to our records, your state (Athens) put an end to the insolence of countless military forces that set off to conquer all of Europe and Asia, and kept their way from the Atlantic Sea. […] On this island, called Atlantis, there arose a kingdom amazing in size and power, whose power extended to the whole island, to many other islands and to part of the mainland, and moreover, on this side of the strait they took possession of Libya (northern Africa ) as far as Egypt and Europe as far as Tirrenia (west coast of Italy). (Plato, Timaeus).

The sea that washed the island of Atlantis (between Crete, Cyprus and Egypt) was called the Atlantic in ancient times, it was located in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the modern seas: the Aegean, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian.

Subsequently, due to an error in tying Atlantis not to the Nile, but to the Pillars of Gibraltar, the name "Atlantic" Sea automatically spread to the ocean beyond the strait. The once inland Atlantic Sea, due to the inaccuracy of the interpretation of the story of Timaeus and the description (Plato, Critias or Solon), became the Atlantic Ocean. As the Russian proverb says: “We got lost in three pines” (more precisely, in seven pairs of pillars). When Atlantis went into the abyss of the sea, the Atlantic Sea disappeared with it.

Timaeus, narrating the history of Atlantis, noted that the victory of Athens brought freedom from slavery to all other peoples (including the Egyptians), who had not yet been enslaved by the Atlanteans - "on this side of the Pillars of Hercules", speaking about himself - about Egypt.

“It was then, Solon, that your state showed the whole world a brilliant proof of its valor and strength: all, surpassing all in fortitude and experience in military affairs, it first stood at the head of the Hellenes, but because of the betrayal of the allies, it turned out to be left to itself, met alone with extreme dangers and yet defeated the conquerors and erected victorious trophies. Those who were not yet enslaved, it saved from the threat of slavery; all the rest, no matter how much we lived on this side of the Pillars of Heracles, it generously made free. But later, when the time came for unprecedented earthquakes and floods, in one terrible day, all your military strength was swallowed up by the cracked earth; likewise, Atlantis disappeared, plunging into the abyss. After that, the sea in those places has become unnavigable and inaccessible to this day due to the shallowing caused by the huge amount of silt that the settled island left behind. (Plato, Timaeus).

Description of the island

You can even more clarify the place of Atlantis from the description of the island itself.

“Poseidon, having received the island of Atlantis as his inheritance ..., approximately in this place: from the sea to the middle of the island, a plain stretched, according to legend, more beautiful than all other plains and very fertile.” (Plato, Timaeus).

“This whole region lay very high and steeply cut off to the sea, but the whole plain that surrounded the city (capital) and itself surrounded by mountains that stretched to the sea, was a flat expanse, three thousand stadia long (580 km.), And in the direction from the sea to the middle - two thousand (390 km.). All this part of the island was turned to the south wind, and from the north it was closed by mountains. These mountains are praised by legend because they surpassed all the present ones in their multitude, size and beauty. The plain ... was an oblong quadrangle, mostly rectilinear. (Plato, Critias).

So, following the description - approximately to the middle of the island of Atlantis stretched a rectangular plain measuring 580 by 390 kilometers, open to the south and closed from the north by large and high mountains. Fitting these dimensions into a geographical map north of the mouth of the Nile, we get that the southern part of Atlantis could completely adjoin Africa (near the Libyan cities of Tobruk, Derna and Egyptian cities on the coast west of Alexandria), and its northern mountainous part could be (but not a fact) - the island of Crete (in the west), and Cyprus (in the east).

In favor of the fact that Atlantis in earlier times (than its mention in the ancient Egyptian papyri), namely tens of thousands of years ago, was connected with Africa - says the story of the animal world of the island.

“Even elephants were found on the island in great numbers, for there was enough food not only for all other living creatures that inhabit the swamps, lakes and rivers, mountains or plains, but also for this beast, of all the animals, the largest and voracious.” (Plato, Critias).

It should also be taken into account that with the end of the ice age, with the beginning of the melting of the northern glaciers, the level of the world's oceans rose by 100-150 meters and, probably, the part of the land that once connected Atlantis and the mainland was gradually flooded. Elephants and the inhabitants of the island of Atlantis (named after their king Atlanta), who came here earlier from the depths of Africa, remained on a large island surrounded by the sea.

Atlanteans were ordinary people modern look, and not four-meter giants, otherwise the Hellenes from Athens would not have been able to defeat them. The insular, isolated position of the inhabitants prompted civilization to a separate active, ahead of external warring barbarians, development (fortunately, everything needed was on the island).

On Atlantis (in its capital, similar to a hill extinct volcano) hot springs of mineral water flowed from the ground. This indicates a high seismic activity of the territory located on the "thin" mantle of the earth's crust... "a spring of cold and a spring of hot water, which gave water in abundance, and, moreover, amazing both in taste and in healing power." (Plato, Critias).

Immersion under water

I will not now assume what caused the internal "hiccups" of the Earth, as a result of which Atlantis sank into the basin of the Mediterranean Sea in a day, and then even deeper. But it should be noted that exactly in that place along the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea there is a fault boundary between the African and European continental tectonic plates.

The depth of the sea there is very large - about 3000-4000 meters. It is possible that a powerful impact of a giant meteorite in North America in Mexico, which, according to the US National Academy of Sciences, occurred 13 thousand years ago (about the same time) and caused an inertial wave and plate movement in the Mediterranean.

Just like continental plates, crawling on top of each other, breaking edges, uplift mountains - the same process, but in the opposite direction, when diverging, it forms subsidence and deep depressions. The African plate slightly moved away from the European one, and this was quite enough to lower Atlantis into the abyss of the sea.

The fact that Africa in the history of the Earth has already moved away from Europe and Asia is clearly evidenced by the huge intercontinental fault that runs through the Mediterranean Sea. The fault is clearly visible on the geographical map along the lines (seas) of the split in the earth's crust, which go in the directions - the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Persian and Oman.

See the picture below, how the continent of Africa moves away from Asia, forming the above seas and bays at the break points.

Crete - Atlantis

It is possible that the current island of Crete was earlier that very northern, high mountainous part of Atlantis, which did not fall into the abyss of the sea, but, having broken away, stayed on the "European continental cornice". On the other hand, if you look at Crete on a geographical map, then it does not stand on the very cliff of the mantle of the European mainland, but about 100 kilometers from the basin of the Mediterranean (Atlantic) Sea. This means that there was no catastrophic break of Atlantis along the current coastline of the island of Crete.

But here we must also take into account the fact that since then the sea level has risen by 100-150 meters (or more) due to the melting of glaciers. It is possible that Crete and Cyprus, as independent units, were part of the archipelago of the island Atlantis.

Historians and archaeologists write: “Excavations in Crete show that even four or five millennia after the alleged death of Atlantis, the inhabitants of this Mediterranean island sought to settle away from the coast. (Memory of ancestors?). Unknown fear drove them to the mountains. The first centers of agriculture and culture are also located at some distance from the sea”…

The former proximity of the location of Atlantis to Africa and to the mouth of the Nile is indirectly evidenced by the extensive Kattara depression in North Africa in the Libyan Desert, 50 km from the Mediterranean coast, west of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The Qattara depression is minus 133 meters below sea level.

See the picture above - the huge Qattara depression near the Mediterranean coast in Egypt.

There is also another lowland on the tectonic fault line - this is the Dead Sea (minus 395 meters) in Israel. They testify to a once-completed territorial catastrophe, common to all, associated with the subsidence of large tracts of land from the divergence in different directions of the European and African continental plates.

What gives the establishment of the exact location of Atlantis

The depression of the Mediterranean at the site of the former Atlantis is too deep. At first, the silt that rose and then settled to the bottom and subsequent sedimentary deposits somewhat covered Atlantis. The golden capital with its countless treasures in the temple of Poseidon turned out to be at great depths.

The search for the capital of Atlantis in the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea in the "triangle" between the islands of Crete, Cyprus, the mouth of the Nile will bring a useful result to the "treasury" of the world history of mankind, but this requires research by deep-sea vehicles.

There are guidelines for the attentive reader to search for the capital... There are two Mir underwater stations in Russia that could survey and study the bottom.

For example, Italian explorers-oceanographers in the summer of 2015 on the shelf of the island of Pantelleria, located approximately in the middle between Sicily and Africa, at a depth of 40 meters at the bottom of the sea found a giant man-made column 12 meters long, weighing 15 tons, broken in half. Traces of drilling holes are visible on the column. Its age is estimated at about 10 thousand years (comparable to the era of the Atlanteans). Divers also found the remains of a pier - a ridge of stones half a meter in size, laid out in a straight line, protecting the entrance to the ancient ship harbor.
These findings suggest that the search for the capital of Atlantis is not hopeless.

It is also encouraging that the confusion with the "Pillars of Hercules" has been successfully resolved and the location of Atlantis has finally been established.

Already today, for the sake of historical truth, the Mediterranean basin, at the bottom of which lies the legendary island in memory of Atlantis and its inhabitants, can and should be returned to its ancient name - the Atlantic Sea. This will be the first important world event in the search and discovery of Atlantis.

Research vessel and bathyscaphe "Triton"

Organized public expedition to search for Atlantis

There are many wealthy people and organizations in the world who are thinking about how they can invest their capital profitably and profitably. They have a good offer. A public expedition is organized to discover the remains of the Atlantean civilization in the Atlantic (Mediterranean) Sea (not to be confused with the Atlantic Ocean). For mankind, for modern science, for history, the discovery of the ancient civilization of Atlantis is an important subject of research.

The vacancy of "Columbus" of the XXI century is free. An investor who finds an opportunity to finance the expedition will have the opportunity to perpetuate his name in history. Just as Columbus, having gone at his own risk across the ocean to an unknown world, found America, similarly, the name of the investor will go down in the history of Atlantis. If artifacts of Atlantis are discovered, they will be accepted by any respected museum in the world, and the investor can compensate the financial costs of the expedition with a profit. But the main thing is that all material costs are worth nothing compared to the fact that Atlantis and its subsequent study will remain in the treasury of mankind's achievements for all subsequent centuries.

In Russia, the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences has the appropriate equipment for the expedition (a ship, MIR submersibles), and interested researchers and specialists could perform search work. But according to the head of the laboratory of underwater vehicles of this institute, Anatoly Sagalevich, the MIR bathyscaphes have not been in demand since 2011, they need 10-12 million dollars to repair, it is necessary to change attachments. Russia has lost its primacy in this area. Today, the leaders in underwater exploration are the Americans. Businessman, explorer of the world's depths of the oceans Victor Vescovo from the state of Texas, USA on the bathyscaphe "Triton" in 2019 sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to a depth of 10928 meters in the Pacific Ocean. He intends to explore other deepest points of the planet.

Discoveries always bring dividends in everything else. Only "failure is an orphan, and victory has many parents." Everyone is invited to take part in a project of the scale of the entire civilization and invest their capital with benefit and profit. To the one who undertakes this business, I will name more accurate landmarks and coordinates of the search for the capital of Atlantis.

Atlantis as described by Plato

The mysterious ancient Egyptian city of Sais has been mentioned in written sources since 3000 BC. e., and scientists find it difficult to name the exact time of its foundation. The city had a very modest fate, until in the 7th century BC. e. did not become for a short time the capital of the 26th dynasty of the pharaohs.

Sais was full of temples, and one was especially revered. It was in it, on huge stone columns, that hieroglyphs were carved that told the story of Atlantis.

The priests explained: “Nine thousand years ago ... there was still an island that lay in front of that strait, which is called in your language the Pillars of Hercules. This island exceeded in its size Libya and Asia combined ... On this island, called Atlantis, a kingdom amazing in size and power arose, whose power extended to the whole island, to many other islands and to part of the mainland, and moreover on this side the strait, they took possession of Libya as far as Egypt and Europe as far as Tirrenia (presumably, the capital of Tirrenia was in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern city of Grenoble, southeast France).

That is, according to its size, Atlantis, according to the deciphered hieroglyphs, resembled the current Spain.

The most detailed description of Atlantis was left by Plato in two of his dialogues: "Timaeus" (briefly) and "Critias" (where the narration is more detailed).

Our compatriot writer Valery Bryusov said: “If we assume that the description of Plato is fiction, it will be necessary to recognize Plato as a superhuman genius who managed to predict the development of science for millennia ahead ... Needless to say, with all our respect for the genius of the great Greek philosopher, such insight seems impossible to us, and we consider another explanation simpler and more plausible: Plato had at his disposal materials (Egyptian) coming from ancient times.

Plato's friend Critias in Timaeus recounts the story of the war between Athens and Atlantis, allegedly heard from the words of the grandfather of Critias the Elder, who, in turn, told him the story of Solon, heard from the priests in Egypt. The general meaning of the story is this: 9 thousand years ago, Athens was the most glorious, powerful and virtuous state. Their main rival was the aforementioned Atlantis, and all its forces were thrown into the enslavement of Athens. The Athenians stood up to defend their freedom and managed to repel the invasion, crushed the Atlanteans and freed the peoples they enslaved. A grandiose natural disaster soon followed, as a result of which the entire Athenian army perished in one day, and Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea.

The dialogue "Critias" with the same participants serves as a direct continuation of the "Timaeus" and is entirely devoted to the story of Critias about ancient Athens and Atlantis.

In the presentation of Plato, the center of Atlantis was a hill located 50 stades (8–9 kilometers) from the sea. To protect it, Poseidon surrounded it with three water and two land rings, and the Atlanteans threw bridges over these rings and dug channels, so that ships could sail along them to the city itself, or, more precisely, to the central island, which had 5 stages (slightly less than a kilometer) in diameter.

Maybe Atlantis looked like this

Temples towered on the island, lined with silver and gold, surrounded by golden statues and sparkling in the sun so that it hurt the eyes, there stood a luxurious royal palace, shipyards filled with ships, etc., etc. “The island on which there was a palace ... as well as earthen rings and a bridge with a width of pletra (30 m), the kings circled with circular stone walls and placed towers and gates everywhere on the bridges near the passages to the sea. They mined white, black and red stone in the bowels of the middle island and in the bowels of the outer and inner earthen rings, and in the quarries, where there were recesses on both sides, covered from above with the same stone, they arranged parking for ships. If they made some of their buildings simple, then in others they skillfully combined stones for the sake of fun. different color giving them a natural charm; in the same way, the walls around the outer earthen ring were covered with copper around the entire circumference, applying the metal in molten form, the wall of the inner shaft was covered with tin casting, and the wall of the acropolis itself was covered with orichalcum, emitting a fiery brilliance.

In a luxurious temple dedicated to Poseidon, bulls were sacrificed. The temple was surrounded by a sacred grove in which wild bulls freely grazed. According to established tradition, every five or six years the king and his relatives, the specific rulers, gathered here to renew their agreement with Poseidon. First they had to catch a bull, and iron weapons were forbidden, and they took with them wooden sticks and rope nooses. The captured bull was then led to a metal column that stood inside the temple and on which the most ancient legends and laws of the country were imprinted. In front of her, a bull was sacrificed, his blood flowed over the inscriptions, and the rulers swore that they would remain true to their law, and in order to seal the contract, everyone drank from the cup in which this blood was mixed with wine. At the end of the ceremony, the rulers held a council and made decisions.

According to legend, as long as the divine nature was preserved in the Atlanteans, they neglected wealth, putting virtue above it. But when the divine nature degenerated, mixed with the human, they wallowed in luxury, greed and pride. Zeus, outraged by this, planned to destroy the Atlanteans and convened a meeting of the gods ...

This is where the dialogue—at least the text that has come down to us—stops.

Scientists have suggested that Atlantis could be here

Repeatedly mention Atlantis and other ancient Greeks: Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Pliny the Elder.

In the 5th century, the Neoplatonist Proclus, in his commentary on the Timaeus, speaks of a follower of Plato, Crantor, who around 260 B.C. e. specially visited Egypt in order to learn about Atlantis and allegedly saw in the temple of the goddess Neith in Sais columns with inscriptions telling the history of this state. In addition, he writes: “That an island of this character and size once existed is clear from the stories of some writers who explored the vicinity of the Outer Sea. For, according to them, in that sea in their time there were seven islands dedicated to Persephone, and also three other islands of enormous size, one of which was dedicated to Pluto, the other to Ammon, and then to Poseidon, whose dimensions were a thousand stadia (180 km) ; and the inhabitants of them,” he adds, “have preserved the traditions, coming from their ancestors, about the immeasurably larger island of Atlantis, which actually existed there and which for many generations ruled all the islands and was likewise dedicated to Poseidon. Marcellus has now described this in the Ethiopian. Marcellus is not mentioned in other sources, and, apparently, his "Ethiopica" is simply a novel.

Actually, there are three problems with this whole story. First, in Plato's dialogues there are a lot of different philosophical myths. He, unlike Aristotle and even more so historians, never set as his goal the communication to the reader of any real facts, he was only interested in ideas illustrated by philosophical myths.

But if the story is true, then, firstly, the question arises why it was not widely known or captured on other monuments of Ancient Egypt. However, to be fair, it should be noted that most of Egyptian monuments have been lost, and many were "secret", and the priests hid them from the uninitiated.

Secondly, it turns out that around 9565 BC. e. there was a culture that used metal tools, worked stones in construction and agriculture. This is typical of the Bronze Age, which dates back to about 3200 BC. e.

Thirdly, if a huge island was destroyed by the Atlantic Ocean within a day and a half, then a global catastrophe should happen. But no further mention of her has been found.

If you think about it, in fact, with the exception of the production of metal utensils, in such high level The island's culture is nothing out of the ordinary. Only a little later, a sophisticated trading culture existed at Çatal Huyuk in Anatolia. Stone city walls and towers were in Jericho, possibly as early as 7000 BC. e. And metal processing began, according to historians, only 2 thousand years later.

So there is nothing particularly fantastic in the existence of such a culture in 9000 BC. e. no. Many researchers believe that Atlantis, as described by Plato, is a civilization of the late Bronze Age. Without going into dates, let's try to find out if there were any major centers of Bronze Age culture that disappeared?

Yes, it turns out they were.