Atlantis
What I found attractive about Atlantis “myth”
Dimitar Zanev
ID:100081326
What I found most attractive about the Atlantis myth is that there is still a
lot of mystery around it. Still are a lot of debates whether Atlantis really
existed and if existed where in the map it was, or what caused it is
devastation. Moreover epiphany in the myth of Atlantis is also what attracts
many people and fascinates them. Why is it that after thousand of years, so
many people still search for the answer to this mystery? Did it existed or it
was just moral story told by Plato?
Ever since the first recorded story of Atlantis, written by the Greek
philosopher Plato 2,300 years ago, debate has raged as to whether or not
Atlantis ever really existed. Plato descried it as an extraordinary Utopian
society, thriving around 9,600 BC, which valued peace, art and wisdom. The
land was said to have been very fertile with abundant food, water, animals,
wood and flowers. But, as the story goes, after several generations of ruling
the leaders became increasingly greedy and corrupt, and started to rage war
on their neighboring countries. According to Plato after a failed attempt to
invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean “in a single day and night of
misfortune”. The question is : Did Plato write this s a moralistic story, or as
a true historical account? And I think that’s what makes Atlantis “myth” so
attractive. People want to know if the Gods really punished Atlantis for their
greedy with this unseen disaster. And moreover what attracts people is that I
think their belief , that somewhere in the past something as disastrous as
Plato describes it , happened.
Moreover what I found attractive is that if there were actual island Atlantis
were was it and what caused its destiny. There are some theories where
Atlantis took place on the world map and the most common, the theory with
most supporters is that it was the island of Thera (today’s Santorini). And
personally for me this is a huge attraction, because I went on the island of
Cryt , which is very close to Santorini, and I have always wanted to go to
Santorini, and this myth is one more reason to do so.
There are also theories about the destruction of Atlantis.The most popular
theories as to destruction of Atlantis is exactly what Plato described,
earthquakes and floods. The floods more and likely are attributable to the
tidal waves that would have been caused by the earthquakes. Another theory
is that there was a volcano on the island that erupted with such force that the
island was buried in molten lava. Yet another theory is that an asteroid hit
the island, exerting the destructive power of hundreds of atomic bombs.
However whatever caused this devastation , must be something with
enormous power and size. And if it’s volcano, the population of the earth
nowadays should be prepared if something happened to avoid the destiny of
the people of Atlantis.
All this unclearness together with the moral in the Atlantis “myth” still
fascinates a lot of people today and I’m sure it will continue to do so in the
future too.