Stories of ancient cosmopolitan civilizations being destroyed is not unique to Greek Mythology, but the story of Atlantis is by far the most famous of these myths. This is an interesting entry though, since this myth was actually created by the famous philosopher Plato after a trip to Egypt.
Much like the "myth" of Slenderman, the whole story of Plato was a fabrication of his imagination based on the historical destruction of the city Helike and the island of Santorini. (First was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami and the other was destroyed in the famous Thera eruption) Plato said his idea stemmed from from a visit to Egypt by the legendary Athenian lawgiver Solon in the 6th century BC. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of Sais, who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis to him.
Plato, pointed upwards more times than Sin Cara
Whatever the inspiration, Plato wrote his story in his masterpiece The Republic as basically a morality tale about what happens when your civilization degrades into total decadence. And like the myth of Sodom and Gommorah, the point was to get the reader or listener to realize if cities devolve into non stop hedonism and orgies, the gods themselves are going to glass it more than a Covenant spaceship.
Now where is Atlantis? Well according to what Solon learned, Plato claimed it was in front of the "Pillars of Heracles", which as we all know is located at the Strait of Gibraltar. Of course over the years people far and wide have their own theories of where this mythical city lies. I recommend watching the History Channel since they seem to never shut up about it. (Along with Hitler, UFOs, and Ancient Aliens)
Because when I think History Channel, I think of Crazy men with crazy hair talking about how the pyramids were built by Aliens. I'll stick with History 2 thank you very much.
Anyway the idea that some sort of Atlantis did not exist isn't as far fetched as that guy's hair. Atlantis itself is a metaphorical city, but was somewhat based on actual disasters. The first one I mentioned was the destruction of Helike in 373 BCE, which occurred in Plato's lifetime.
Note that this used to be under a lagoon for over 2000 years!
The city of Helike was located on a few kilometers away from the Gulf of Corinth, but on 373 BCE that all changed with an earthquake. In one day the entire city was rocked by a earthquake and swallowed up by the ensuing tsunami. None of its citizens survived and the Spartans lost 10 ships docked there. An effort involving 2000 men tried to recover the bodies, but was unsuccessful.
Soon the reasoning of this disaster turned to the wrath of the gods, specifically Poseidon; who was the god of not only the seas, but also Earthquakes. It turns out that the people of Helike refused to give back a statue of Poseidon back to its owners in Ionia; (located on the Southeastern coast of Turkey) not even giving them a model of the statue to them. (Some claimed that the Helikians even murdered the Ionian deputies who came for it)
Now Poseidon had a temper that would make all of Joe Pesci look mellow and because of this slight to the Ionian people, he struck the earth with his trident and caused the earthquake. And so there you have it, one event that inspired Plato to make the story of Atlantis. Ironically the city of Helike, much like the city of Pompeii, was seemingly forgotten and regarded as mere myth until 2001 when it was rediscovered.
May I quote a certain Black Scottish Cyclops? "KA-BOOM!"
The second location that probably inspired Plato is a place that I can proudly say that I've been to. Due to all the protests and riots that occurred Greece at the time of my excursion in the Mediterranean, (The Summer of 2010 to be exact) our wonderful cruise-line had to change the trip so I didn't get to see Mycenae and only spent 4 hours in Athens, but I got to see the sickle like island of Santorini.
But this island wasn't always shaped like that, in fact it was once a whole island, but there was a sleeping giant bigger than the Ents. Back then it was called Thera and it was inhabited by a race of people known as the Minoans who were a pretty advance race back in the early Bronze Age, but weren't advanced enough to see that they were living on a giant volcano.
Sometime around the mid Second Millennium BCE there was a massive eruption, bigger and more violent than a teen popping a huge zit on his back. The Minoan settlement of Akrotiri was immediately lost and covered up in volcanic ash, but the effect's of the Thera eruption reached other parts of the world.
The main hub of the Minoan Empire in Crete, who had experienced a terrible earthquake recently, received some minor ash fall and tsunamis, but it was the economic impact that devastated the Minoans. Soon after the Thera eruption the Minoan Empire fell to the warlike Mycenaean Empire and the Egyptians soon wondered why those traders from that Minoan Empire never came back. Thus the idea of Atlantis started to form in the minds of Egypt.
Yep that's a lot of rings
Now according to Plato, Atlantis was the perfect Utopian empire; its colonies spread throughout the entire globe that would not be met until the British Empire and Steelers Nation. It was also a highly advanced civilization that seemed to master it's tech tree faster than anyone else around it. The main "continent" of Atlantis was described as having alternating rings of canals surrounding it looking like the artistic impression above.
So yeah Atlantis was an impressive empire and the pinnacle of civilization where people lived to 200 and everyone lived in bliss and relative peace. What caused it to go down the tubes? Arrogance and decadence of course!
Yep we dun messed up
As time went on in the people of Atlantis began to get more and more depraved as they began to become more arrogant than Flyers fans. They soon thought they were better than the god's themselves and stopped worshiping them. The gods seeing this blasphemy and impiety decided to unleash the thunder more than a metal concert.
"...In a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea." This is what Plato said about the ultimate fate of Atlantis in The Republic, where the gods (More than likely the combo of Poseidon and Zeus) said, "These Mofos want to abandon us? Well they can do that under the sea!" There were earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis which absolutely raped Atlantis like a little boy in Jerry Sandusky's personal shower room. (Topical!)
After all that was said and done, Atlantis sunk into the ocean, lost forever were it's technological achievements and empire. After the fall of Atlantis, its colonies; whom at this time were being more mistreated than a drunk redneck's wife, decided to rebel and form their own nations. Soon these former colonies would become the civilizations that would create what we know as the Ancient world.
And so this blog ends, turns out it became more of a history lesson on Ancient disasters, but then again this "myth" was a mere fabrication by Plato to teach an Aesop. So to end this blog I present the opening scene to one of my favorite 2D Disney flicks which is as terribly underrated as Treasure Planet. Here it is, the beginning to Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
God why did this movie have to bomb?
Oh and PS: Screw the Flyers and their dumbass neanderthal fans
Much like the "myth" of Slenderman, the whole story of Plato was a fabrication of his imagination based on the historical destruction of the city Helike and the island of Santorini. (First was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami and the other was destroyed in the famous Thera eruption) Plato said his idea stemmed from from a visit to Egypt by the legendary Athenian lawgiver Solon in the 6th century BC. In Egypt, Solon met a priest of Sais, who translated the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis to him.
Plato, pointed upwards more times than Sin Cara
Whatever the inspiration, Plato wrote his story in his masterpiece The Republic as basically a morality tale about what happens when your civilization degrades into total decadence. And like the myth of Sodom and Gommorah, the point was to get the reader or listener to realize if cities devolve into non stop hedonism and orgies, the gods themselves are going to glass it more than a Covenant spaceship.
Now where is Atlantis? Well according to what Solon learned, Plato claimed it was in front of the "Pillars of Heracles", which as we all know is located at the Strait of Gibraltar. Of course over the years people far and wide have their own theories of where this mythical city lies. I recommend watching the History Channel since they seem to never shut up about it. (Along with Hitler, UFOs, and Ancient Aliens)
Because when I think History Channel, I think of Crazy men with crazy hair talking about how the pyramids were built by Aliens. I'll stick with History 2 thank you very much.
Anyway the idea that some sort of Atlantis did not exist isn't as far fetched as that guy's hair. Atlantis itself is a metaphorical city, but was somewhat based on actual disasters. The first one I mentioned was the destruction of Helike in 373 BCE, which occurred in Plato's lifetime.
Note that this used to be under a lagoon for over 2000 years!
The city of Helike was located on a few kilometers away from the Gulf of Corinth, but on 373 BCE that all changed with an earthquake. In one day the entire city was rocked by a earthquake and swallowed up by the ensuing tsunami. None of its citizens survived and the Spartans lost 10 ships docked there. An effort involving 2000 men tried to recover the bodies, but was unsuccessful.
Soon the reasoning of this disaster turned to the wrath of the gods, specifically Poseidon; who was the god of not only the seas, but also Earthquakes. It turns out that the people of Helike refused to give back a statue of Poseidon back to its owners in Ionia; (located on the Southeastern coast of Turkey) not even giving them a model of the statue to them. (Some claimed that the Helikians even murdered the Ionian deputies who came for it)
Now Poseidon had a temper that would make all of Joe Pesci look mellow and because of this slight to the Ionian people, he struck the earth with his trident and caused the earthquake. And so there you have it, one event that inspired Plato to make the story of Atlantis. Ironically the city of Helike, much like the city of Pompeii, was seemingly forgotten and regarded as mere myth until 2001 when it was rediscovered.
May I quote a certain Black Scottish Cyclops? "KA-BOOM!"
The second location that probably inspired Plato is a place that I can proudly say that I've been to. Due to all the protests and riots that occurred Greece at the time of my excursion in the Mediterranean, (The Summer of 2010 to be exact) our wonderful cruise-line had to change the trip so I didn't get to see Mycenae and only spent 4 hours in Athens, but I got to see the sickle like island of Santorini.
But this island wasn't always shaped like that, in fact it was once a whole island, but there was a sleeping giant bigger than the Ents. Back then it was called Thera and it was inhabited by a race of people known as the Minoans who were a pretty advance race back in the early Bronze Age, but weren't advanced enough to see that they were living on a giant volcano.
Sometime around the mid Second Millennium BCE there was a massive eruption, bigger and more violent than a teen popping a huge zit on his back. The Minoan settlement of Akrotiri was immediately lost and covered up in volcanic ash, but the effect's of the Thera eruption reached other parts of the world.
The main hub of the Minoan Empire in Crete, who had experienced a terrible earthquake recently, received some minor ash fall and tsunamis, but it was the economic impact that devastated the Minoans. Soon after the Thera eruption the Minoan Empire fell to the warlike Mycenaean Empire and the Egyptians soon wondered why those traders from that Minoan Empire never came back. Thus the idea of Atlantis started to form in the minds of Egypt.
Yep that's a lot of rings
Now according to Plato, Atlantis was the perfect Utopian empire; its colonies spread throughout the entire globe that would not be met until the British Empire and Steelers Nation. It was also a highly advanced civilization that seemed to master it's tech tree faster than anyone else around it. The main "continent" of Atlantis was described as having alternating rings of canals surrounding it looking like the artistic impression above.
So yeah Atlantis was an impressive empire and the pinnacle of civilization where people lived to 200 and everyone lived in bliss and relative peace. What caused it to go down the tubes? Arrogance and decadence of course!
Yep we dun messed up
As time went on in the people of Atlantis began to get more and more depraved as they began to become more arrogant than Flyers fans. They soon thought they were better than the god's themselves and stopped worshiping them. The gods seeing this blasphemy and impiety decided to unleash the thunder more than a metal concert.
"...In a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea." This is what Plato said about the ultimate fate of Atlantis in The Republic, where the gods (More than likely the combo of Poseidon and Zeus) said, "These Mofos want to abandon us? Well they can do that under the sea!" There were earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis which absolutely raped Atlantis like a little boy in Jerry Sandusky's personal shower room. (Topical!)
After all that was said and done, Atlantis sunk into the ocean, lost forever were it's technological achievements and empire. After the fall of Atlantis, its colonies; whom at this time were being more mistreated than a drunk redneck's wife, decided to rebel and form their own nations. Soon these former colonies would become the civilizations that would create what we know as the Ancient world.
And so this blog ends, turns out it became more of a history lesson on Ancient disasters, but then again this "myth" was a mere fabrication by Plato to teach an Aesop. So to end this blog I present the opening scene to one of my favorite 2D Disney flicks which is as terribly underrated as Treasure Planet. Here it is, the beginning to Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
God why did this movie have to bomb?
Oh and PS: Screw the Flyers and their dumbass neanderthal fans
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