Thousand of years ago Plato wrote about a city that seemed almost magical. In one day and one night it vanished forever under the Atlantic Ocean. Was Atlantis just a myth or a real place?
The city of Atlantis is one of the most historical mysteries. Around 350 BC, Plato was the first to write about this somewhat magical island in two books. The Greek philosopher and teacher described, in great detail, the advanced technology of this ancient place before it suddenly vanished "in a day and a night" beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
Plato wrote that the sea god Poseidon (Neptune) was given Atlantis and on a hill in the middle of the island the god built his mortal wife a large home. This palace was surrounded by five rings of water and land connected only by tunnels large enough for ships to pass through. Atlantians were amazing engineers. They built palaces, temples, harbors, docks and a complicated water system - all about 12,000 years ago. Farmers grew the food on a field not much larger than Oklahoma State. Behind this massive field there where mountains touching the sky where many of the wealthy villagers lived. Plato described spectacular buildings, fountains that had both hot and cold water, stone walls covered with precious metals and huge statues made of gold.
The wife of Poseidon had 10 sons (five sets of twins.) Each son ruled a part of Atlantis. For generations Atlantis was peaceful and all was well. As time passed each succeeding king tried to outdo the other and built a greater kingdom. Eventually Atlantians became greedy and corrupt. Zeus decided to teach them a lesson so he called all the gods together. Plato ended his story here so we never really know what happened.
The question that remains is whether or not Atlantis really existed. Plato went into enough detail to convince a lot of people to look for the lost city. Other people think the story is fiction, so Plato could have put as much detail into it as he wanted. It's hard to imagine the technology described during the Early Stone Ages. There's a good chance that when the time period was translated it was misinterpreted by several years. If this is true, then Atlantis would have been in the Middle Bronze Age which is quite possible.
I think Atlantis is a myth. Plato probably got the story from his son, Solon, mixed up. Plato said Solon discovered the story of Atlantis in Egypt. Atlantis is said to have exsisted WAY before Egypt, and if there were records, where are they now? Atlantis was probably confused with Tantalis, one of the cities in Greek mythology. The same thing happened to Tantalis that's said to have happened to Atlantis in Plato's story. Zeus got mad at Tantalus and struck him with a bolt of lightning. The city he founded, Tantalis, was shattered by an earthquake and drowned beneath a lake.
Kidz Submit by:
Nickname: Dala_Majere
Age: 15
I think Atlantis is real. I think maybe part of Plato's story is made up but not all. I believe in Atlantis and when I grow up I'm determined to find it. It is my one and only goal.
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Nickname: Angel_fire929
Age: 16
I believe in Atlantis. I think the shepards journal is real and I also believe it's between the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas and I'd join someone to help find it.
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Nickname: jamieatlantis
Age: 14
I think Atlantis is real, but I do not believe all of Plato's ideas. I believe that Atlantis may have in fact been real and MAYBE have sunk under the sea, but it's probably not all that Plato described. I doubt it's still there, and if it is, I really doubt it still has living people there. Come on people, get real.
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Nickname: Jada2008
Age: 13
Did Plato write his story as a work of fiction? Or was he really describing an island that existed many years ago? Believe it or not?
