The story concerning the island of Atlantis was first instructed 2,300 years in the past by the Greek thinker Plato, who mentioned there was an excellent historic metropolis that was destroyed and submerged underneath the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s unclear whether or not Greeks on the time took Plato’s account as a metaphor for the autumn of profitable societies or believed it was a file of historical past.

Both manner, it’s nonetheless a subject of scorching debate for a lot of scientists, historians and philosophers.

Right here, MailOnline seems to be on the prime 5 theories concerning the Misplaced Metropolis – from claims it was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle to by no means current in any respect.

The story concerning the world of Atlantis was first instructed 2,300 years in the past by the Greek thinker Plato who mentioned the good historic metropolis had been destroyed and submerged underneath the Atlantic Ocean

Plato’s Atlantis Atlantis is a delusion that was talked about in Plato’s dialogues ‘Timaeus’ and ‘Critias’ written round 360 BCE. It’s a story that had been handed down by generations, in response to Plato. The Greek thinker mentioned it was instructed to him by his grandfather who was instructed it by the Athenian statesman Solon. Solon had apparently been instructed this from the Egyptians. The story tells of how there was as soon as a mighty civilization based mostly on an island within the Atlantic Ocean, that dominated over quite a lot of different islands dotted round elements of Europe and Africa. The society had nice situations for agriculture and superb buildings. It was made up of roads and canals. It then waged battle on different elements of the world like Asia and elements of Europe not conquered. It tried to assault Historic Athens, who fought again and have become the one nation to face as much as Atlantis. Following the battle, Atlantis was hit by a collection of violent earthquakes and floods. The island then sank into the ocean and its warriors have been swallowed by earth. Commercial

1. Atlantis was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle

One principle about the place the misplaced civilization disappeared to is that it was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle.

The patch of the Atlantic Ocean, also referred to as the Satan’s Triangle, turned an city legend after greater than 50 ships and 20 airplanes disappeared within the space.

In his e book, The Misplaced Continent Revealed, Charles Berlitz says that the traditional civilization might have additionally fallen prey to the infamous Bermuda Triangle.

Berlitz claimed that Atlantis was really a continent off the coast of the Bahamas.

Those that help this principle level to the very fact an underwater highway, generally known as the Bimini Highway, was discovered north of Bimini island within the Bahamas.

The underground rock formation, typically known as the Bimini Wall, is half a mile (0.8km) lengthy, made up of rectangular limestone blocks.

The highway lies round 18 toes under the ocean’s floor and travels alongside a northeast, and southwest line.

It was first found by divers in 1868 who described it as a ‘pavement’.

The highway’s location and excellent formation have led many to imagine it might be the highway to Atlantis, resembling roads just like the period.

Bizarrely Bimini Highway was talked about by American mystic and prophet Edgar Cayce, 30 years earlier than its discovery in 1938.

On the time he predicted: ‘A portion of the temples could but be found underneath the slime of ages and seawater close to Bimini.

‘Count on it in ‘68 or ‘69 – not so far-off.’

He additionally added that Bimini Island would have been thought of one of many mountaintops of Historic Atlantis.

Carbon relationship carried out by scientists, nonetheless, has revealed that these buildings might have been fashioned naturally by coastal erosion of limestone.

Certainly one of principle about the place the misplaced civilization disappeared to is that it was swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle

Bimini Highway is an underground rock formation, typically known as the Bimini Wall. It’s half a mile (0.8km) lengthy, made up of rectangular limestone blocks close to the Bahamas

2. Atlantis was destroyed in a pure catastrophe

Among the many countless theories of what occurred to the traditional world are solutions that pure disasters are accountable for the destruction of the island.

Most prominently these embrace mass flooding, an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

One principle that retains reoccurring is that the autumn of Atlantis is in reference to an enormous volcanic eruption that occurred on the Greek island of Santorini (then generally known as Thera) about 3,600 years in the past.

The eruption spewed out round 9.5 to 14.3 cubic miles (40 to 60 cubic kilometres) of lava, leading to a big underwater caldera at Santorini and inflicting big quantities of the land to change into submerged.

One principle is that the autumn of Atlantis is in reference to an enormous volcanic eruption that occurred on the Greek island of Santorini (pictured), then generally known as Thera, about 3,600 years in the past

Round 10 million tons of rock, ash and fuel have been thrown into the environment at this level.

This eruption, together with the massive tsunami that’s believed to have adopted, is commonly blamed for the destruction of the society.

The Minoan civilization, who lived on the island of Thera are believed by many to be Europe’s first nice civilization, constructing roads and palaces, and was the primary on the continent to make use of a written language.

Archaeologists believed that the island had a flourishing financial system because the Minoans have been nice fishermen, buying and selling with different international locations within the Mediterranean.

It was throughout the constructing of this profitable civilization that elements of the island have been abruptly destroyed, main many to hyperlink the catastrophe with Plato’s theories.

3. Atlantis was Antarctica

A unique principle means that Atlantis was really a a lot hotter model of the chilly continent of Antarctica that exists at this time.

That is based mostly off Charles Hapgood’s 1958 e book, Earth’s Shifting Crust, which denied the speculation of continental drift, which was extremely popular amongst scientists on the time earlier than our understanding of plate tectonics got here into full impact.

As a substitute, he urged the Earth’s crust moved 12,000 years in the past, inflicting the continent, which is now Antarctica, to maneuver additional south than from its unique place within the Atlantic.

One principle means that Atlantis was really a a lot hotter model of the chilly continent of Antarctica that exists at this time

This has in flip lent itself to explanations about Atlantis, with some hypothesizing that the hotter, extra temperate situations on the continent might have given approach to extra superior civilizations.

However when this sudden shift occurred, the society couldn’t cope with the plummeting temperature.

Supporters of the speculation counsel the as soon as thriving metropolis would have then been buried underneath layers and layers of ice.

Claims of a hidden land underneath the icy continent have even led to scientists looking for glimpses of human life.

In 2017, researchers from the College of Brussels in Belgium believed they’d discovered Atlantis beneath the ice in Antarctica

In 2017, the invention of a hydrolic system beneath the ice sheets in Antarctica led individuals to hypothesize that it was proof of Atlantic.

Scientists mentioned they’d discovered monumental buildings, some as large because the Eiffel Tower, buried within the ice sheets.

One of many buildings was made up of a combination of mud and sandstone, standing at 490x130ft.

However those that made the invention, from the College of Brussels in Belgium and the Bavarian Academy of Science in Germany mentioned the land plenty are actually ‘water conduits and sediment ridges under the Antarctic ice sheet’, with the smaller spots being the beginning of wider water channels.

4. Atlantis was destroyed in a meteor strike

Whereas it has been labelled as some of the absurd theories concerning the misplaced metropolis of Atlantis, some counsel that it might have been destroyed by a meteor.

Within the Netflix collection Historic Apocalypses, British author and presenter Graham Hancock claims Atlantis had been worn out by a tsunami and widespread flooding that was attributable to a meteor strike.

The tv present claims survivors of the superior civilization moved to a different land the place they taught maths, structure and farming.

This principle has been broadly criticised by archaeologists, with many criticising Hancock for presenting ‘different information’ for leisure.

Within the Netflix collection Historic Apocalypses, British author and presenter Graham Hancock (pictured) claims Atlantis had been worn out by a tsunami and widespread flooding that was attributable to a meteor strike

Hancock additionally asserts, as he finished for a few years in his books, that archaeologists had frolicked attempting to cowl up the concept.

Flint Dibble, an archaeologist at Cardiff College, instructed The Conservation: ‘Hancock got here very strongly and aggressively in opposition to the archaeological neighborhood.

‘I used to be shocked at how strongly aggressive this was. One of many issues I’m questioning is that if they’re actively attempting to attraction to a post-truth, conspiracy crowd.’

ITN, who produced the present, nonetheless, mentioned it had been ‘triple fact-checked with different sources’.

5. Atlantis by no means existed in any respect

Regardless of all of the intriguing theories, most scientists and historians have come to the conclusion that Atlantis in all probability by no means existed.

Many imagine the works of Plato have been fictional and created to substantiate his ethical arguments.

Outdoors of Plato’s dialogues, there aren’t any written information of Atlantis, regardless of there being quite a lot of written information of different issues that survived from Historic Greece.

Even with advances in oceanography and applied sciences that may perform ocean-floor mapping, no traces of the sunken metropolis have been discovered.

Again in 2001, one of many world’s main lecturers in historic mythology Alan F Alford, mentioned Atlantis was a delusion created by Plato.

He mentioned: ‘Behind the story lies a single secret of gorgeous simplicity: particularly that though Atlantis was a misplaced paradise, it was not a misplaced metropolis, island or continent, however a misplaced planet of the previous golden age.

‘The lack of Atlantis was meant to suggest a very profound occasion – the cataclysm of all cataclysms that disrupted the universeat the start of all time.’

The skilled mentioned: ‘Plato is the only authority on the story of Atlantis and to disregard what he mentioned is to invent a brand new delusion of 1’s personal.’

Many imagine Atlantis by no means existed believing that the works of Plato have been fictional and created to substantiate his ethical arguments