Was there a historical basis for Atlantis?
Sources for the legend and questions of authenticity
Most people are familiar with the legend of Atlantis: a great ancient civilization which was struck down and sank beneath the waves.
Most people view this as a mere story, although many believe it to be true.
According to the 2020–2021 Chapman University Survey of American Fears, 49% of Americans believe in “advanced ancient civilizations such as Atlantis.” Interestingly, this was divided among racial lines, with the highest belief among Asian Americans and lowest among non-Hispanic whites. This may be related to the idea of Lemuria or Mu in the Indian/Pacific Ocean, although these are much more recent than the legend of Atlantis so it’s doubtful there’s any “traditional” link.
Most stories do contain a kernel of truth though. Was there a historical basis for this?
Side note: there are countless books which discuss Atlantis. I haven’t read any. Anyone interested in a deep dive should probably check out one of them. This Substack article is just me thinking out loud based on what I’ve seen and read thus far.
The Source of the Legend
The issue is that we have a singular source regarding Atlantis: Plato (428-347 BC) who claims to be quoting Solon (638-559 BC). Since Solon died long before Plato was born, the alleged story may have errors or fabrications even if we take it to be true. Passing down a story through the generations, even in an oratory culture, can lead to misunderstandings.
According to one source, the word ‘Atlantis’ first appears in Hesiod’s Theogony (~700 BC), although I couldn’t verify this in any of the translations I checked. One translation mentioned “Atlantid(es), the daughter(s) of Atlas” and that’s about it. Hellanicus of Lesbos (490-405 BC) used similar language.
Herodotus (484-425 BC) has a few potentially-linked phrases in Histories, but no specific evidence for or against Atlantis is present. One translation of 1:203 says “the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles, which they call Atlantic,” which some translate as ‘Atlantis’ (a bit of a stretch). In 4:184 he mentions a group of people called the Atlantes, named after the nearby Atlas Mountain in Libya. There is no mention of a great civilization there, only that the people are vegans who mine salt and don’t dream in their sleep.
The first real reference comes from Plato’s Timaeus (360 BC) and Critias (360-347 BC). This was theoretically meant to be a trilogy, concluding with Hermocrates, which was never published—either unfinished or Plato died before beginning to work on it.
Critias is incomplete, with its later parts lost to history. We have about 11 pages (less than 7,000 words) of content. Timaeus on the other hand, is over 100 pages and has a higher word count than many novels.
The story goes as such:
Poseidon had five pairs of twins with a woman from Atlantis, and dwelt with them on a small mountain. He eventually surrounded this mountain with moat-like concentric circles of water “so that no man could get to the island for ships and voyages were not yet heard of.” The people of Atlantis later expanded on this natural formation with walls, bridges, canals, and more. Each of the twins became a king in his own right, with 10 kingdoms eventually existing under the banner of Atlantis, which may have been the capital city of a widespread empire, or one island divided into 10 pieces. Atlantis was a utopian place, with its citizens full of excellence and virtue, yet over time fell into corruption and decay, waging war against Athens at one point. The Atlanteans supposedly conquered areas of Libya, Egypt, and Italy, before their civilization was struck down.
Aristotle believed that Plato invented Atlantis, similar to the invented society of The Republic. He’s considered a reliable source since he’s one of the few people to have studied under Plato. But no one in ancient times seems to have taken a strong stance one way or another. After ancient times, Plato’s works weren’t popular in the Middle Ages compared to those of Aristotle. Most of his works weren’t even translated until after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. Opinions about Atlantis were scarce before then.
The events of the story allegedly took place 9,000 years before the story itself, or close to 9,500 BC (coinciding with the Younger Dryas Impact Theory popularized by authors like Graham Hancock). However, Greek people didn’t even exist then, let alone Athens. (Athens was probably founded around 3500 BC as a basic settlement, expanding over time, and by 1400 BC included a Mycenaean fortress). 9,000 years ago,humanity was still figuring out agriculture. The first cities didn’t rise until about 4,000 BC.
More:
If Critias meant to say 900 years instead of 9,000, that would make more sense, as it’d line up with the Mediterranean Bronze Age Collapse of ~1200 BC. The pre-Greek cultures of the Minoans and Mycenaeans were definitely significant and both underwent rapid collapses.
The Location of Atlantis
It’s supposed to be a land beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, potentially in the Atlantic Ocean, if not near it. Several islands could be remnants of a “lost continent,” according to some people. Atlantis was most likely on an island, although Ancient Greek has multiple possible translations. One source claimed Plato/Solon could’ve meant island, promontory, peninsula, coastline, or continental land surrounded by water (lakes, rivers, or springs).
The "Pillars of Hercules" are one named landmark, except no one is sure where they are. This could refer to the Strait of Gibraltar or the Laconian Gulf.
Plausible locations include the Azores Islands or Minoan islands (Crete, Santorini, etc.)
Jimmy of Bright Insight believes Atlantis is the Richat Structure in Mauritania, Africa. I doubt this is the case, but he does mention some interesting parallels. One of Jimmy’s stronger points against Atlantis being a myth is that the story supposedly came from Egyptian records. Solon named the temple which served as his source, and while it no longer exists today, it still stood in Plato’s time. Anyone who doubted the story of Atlantis could have personally gone to Egypt to double-check the alleged records. Why would Plato make something up where he shares information on how to fact-check him? And why would Plato go into such great detail, including mentioning that the city of Atlantis was built with stones of three different colors?
Some early explorers and historians, after Columbus returned to Europe in 1493 AD, believed that the newly-discovered Americas were the Atlantis of legend (such as Fracisco Lopez de Gomara and Sir Francis Bacon).
A few people place Atlantis as far as the Caribbean (including theories about Bimini Road) or Antarctica (impossible since the continent never had a full-time human presence). Antarctic advocates correctly point out that Antarctica was once connected to other continents (Pangea) and covered with vegetation. Except it drifted apart long before modern humans existed (30-60 million years ago, after the extinction of dinosaurs) and ice covered the continent by 3-15 million years ago (destroying any life which would’ve remained). The first confirmed human footprint on mainland Antarctica dates to 1853 AD. While Antarctica can be suspicious at times, prehistoric humans never lived there, much less flourished into a globe-spanning civilization that could’ve impacted ancient Greek philosophy.
Most people don’t put Atlantis too far north because that’s moreso the realm of Thule (introduced by Pytheas around 330 BC) or Hyperborea.
Arguments from skeptics
Atlantis skeptics bring up three main points as rebuttal:
There is no direct archeological evidence of Atlantis; the burden of proof is on the advocates
Ancient written records are unreliable, incomplete, and/or contradictory
The idea is likely allegorical or metaphorical because it takes place within the context of a larger story
It’s effectively up to what one believes to be true. There isn’t much evidence for either side.
“It’s fiction, nobody cares” is the most boring explanation though.
Real events which may be related
The legend of Atlantis, even if wholly fictional, may have been inspired by true events. Large disasters include:
Toba eruption (76,000 BC)
This is unlikely to be involved; despite its alleged massive impact on humanity, it predates writing and even the development of coherent language. Although a traumatic event for sure, nearly wiping us out if the theory is to be believed, it’s difficult to consider that a story from so long ago would have survived the ages.
Neanderthal and Denisovan extinction
We now know that Neanderthals were much more sophisticated than stereotypes dictate. However, they predate European modern human cultures by too large of a time gap, and they didn’t build cities or have advanced technology. There weren’t “Neanderthal civilizations,” and like the alleged Toba eruption, is too old of an event.
Melting glaciers in the Younger Dryas causing flooding (12,000-11,000 BC)
This is more often tied to global Flood Myths like the story of Noah’s Ark and Epic of Gilgamesh, although the tellings of such myths aren’t thought to be older than 2,000-1,600 BC.
Also see: Meltwater pulse 1A (12,000 BC) and its related occurrences, which significantly raised global sea level
Graham Hancock’s “Ancient Apocalypse” show covers this in more detail, as do his books and interviews.
Black Sea deluge hypothesis (7,000-5,000 BC)
This is around the time when agricultural societies began to develop in Greece and Europe as a whole. The Mediterranean in particular was strongly influenced by the Cardium pottery culture (Italy, 6500-5500 BC), as well as Dimini (Greece, 5000-3000 BC) and Vinca (Balkans, 6000-4500 BC), among others. It’s possible that multiple cultures had a story of disaster from this time. Bronze Age Greece didn’t begin until around 3200 BC.
Doggerland also finished disappearing around this time (the region formerly connecting the British Isles with mainland Europe).
Various volcanic eruptions (9,000-500 BC) including the Minoan eruption (1,600-1,500 BC, perhaps 1628 BC)
The Minoans were quite advanced for a Bronze Age civilization, including the use of indoor plumbing and primitive HVAC. The palace of Knossos had over 1,000 rooms and at least one section was five stories high. They were a seafaring people with sophisticated art, later overtaken by the more warlike culture of the Mycenaeans—potentially a source of the “corruption” as mentioned in the Atlantis tale.
The height of Minoan prosperity is considered to be 1650-1450 BC, after which various Cretan palaces and settlements were destroyed. Mycenaean Greeks invaded, and the Minoan culture went into decline before their final downfall during the Bronze Age Collapse.
Bronze Age Collapse (1,200 BC)
The battle of Troy is set around this time according to legend (I’ll have more on this topic later)
The mysterious “Sea Peoples” could be inspiration for Atlantis, since Plato’s text mentions invasions focused on the eastern Mediterranean. The Sea Peoples were also never heard from again. However, I’m not aware of any evidence for Sea Peoples attacking Athens, which was a Mycenaean city at the time anyway.
I’ll have an article specifically about the Bronze Age Collapse “soon.”
Earthquakes and tsunamis destroyed a number of Mediterranean cities, including that of Helike in 373 BC. Plato lived between 428 and 347 BC, and the alleged source of his information is Solon (638-558 BC), so it couldn’t have been any disaster younger than these.
Personally I think the Minoans were the basis for Atlantis alongside some creative liberties. Atlantis’ war against Athens could be based on the Sea Peoples (1200 BC) with their eventual disappearance attributed to the Minoan eruption (1600 BC) or the Mycenaeans overtaking the Minoans.
Conclusion
There’s a ton of debate on this topic. There isn’t much to go by, so this is all purely hypothetical and amounts to a thought experiment. Our sole reference is an incomplete work from a philosopher who wrote from the perspective of someone descended from a man who heard a story from someone translating ancient records which no longer exist… it’s a tough sell.
People are free to debate or look for the fabled city but I frankly don’t have much interest in doing tons of research; my time can be put to better use elsewhere. Perhaps Atlantis will be discovered, and one day turn from myth into fact, like the city of Troy. Or it’ll remain fictional like the city of El Dorado.
In either case, there isn’t any Atlantean art to speak of, so there isn’t much for me to do here.
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I have no idea whether Atlantis was real, but it's interesting to think about it, and also to wonder what civilizations might have existed before the last ice age, or in the intervals between earlier ones.