One of the most mysterious legends handed down by the ancient world is the tale of Atlantis. Tradition places Atlantis somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean 11,000 years in the past. In 360 B.C. Plato wrote the "Timaeus" and "Critias" which told of Atlantis through Solon, who had traveled to Egypt. In Plato's Timaeus you will find a brief overview of Solon's encounter with the Egyptian Priests. However, Plato's "Critias" describes Atlantis in much greater detail.

The Critias tells us that Poseidon, God Of The Sea, was granted the realm of Atlantis when the gods divided the earth amongst themselves. There he created a palace for his love,a mortal woman named Cleito. On the top of the hill in the center of the island a great temple was constructed to honor Poseidon. Consisting of several land masses, the Atlantis Continent was located in the Atlantic, west of Gibraltar. It was said to have been a paradise, hosting a highly developed civilization. Civil prejudice, greed and power contributed to the downfall of the empire. Zeus called for a meeting of the gods to punished Atlantis. Here the story ends. Whether the author chose to end the story here, or perhaps the last pages were lost to antiquity, we'll never know. It is presumed from the Timareus, the verdict of the gods caused the Atlantic Ocean to submerge the continent beneath it's surface.

While reading the Critias I would like to point to three statements which will be discussed in future additions to the unexplained:
1. "In the days of old the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by allotment."
2. "Many great deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years, for that is the number of years which have elapsed since the time of which I am speaking."
3. "For many generations, as long as the divine nature lasted in them, they were obedient to the laws, and well-affectioned towards the god, whose seed they were."
From the Timareus:
1. "There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes."
2. "the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean."

Archaeologists, explorers and scientists have placed Atlantis in the mid-Atlantic, Cuba, the Andes, South Pacific and dozens of other places. Some believe ancient Thera, a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea that was devastated by a volcanic eruption in 1625 BCE, was the origin of the Egyptian tale. Thera was part of the ancient Minoan civilization on Crete.Charles R. Pellegrino provides a convincing argument for this theory in his book "Unearthing Atlantis". Other than being destroyed by volcanic eruptions, neither time nor location matches Plato's description, unless one believes the miscommunication prescribed by the author.

Atlantis as Antarctica was given birth by the theories of Professor Charles Hapgood of Keene College, New Hampshire. He announced the fact that the continent appears on ancient charts that long predates the discovery of Antarctica by Capt. James Cooke in 1773. The charts also show the landmass as it was before the ice covered the continent. Hapgood proposed the "earth crust displacement theory" claiming that the ice only fully embellished Antarctica following a polar shift around 9500 BC, the end of the last Ice Age. Hapgood's extraordinary book Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, first published in 1966.

Influenced by Hapgood's theories, Canadian writers Rose and Rand Flem-ath claimed in their 1995 book "When the Sky Fell" that the Antarctic continent was Plato's Atlantis. Rand Flem-ath's website Atlantis and the Earth's Shifting Crust. tempts the reader to embrace his views. A very convincing theory, although Antarctica is the only continent lacking evidence of human settlements. In their book, Atlantis Blueprint, Wilson and Flem-ath describe an advanced civilization of people known as the Atlanteans, which lived in as now-free Antarctica. Gifted with advanced technical and navigational skills they left a wealth of sacred sites through out the entire world. Atlantis as Antarctica, you be the judge.

Another excellent proposal claims Atlantis has been found in the East Indies between India and Australia. "The True History of Atlantis" on the www.atlan.org website, claims the true location for the Garden of Eden (Atlantis) can be found in the South China Sea. Combining stories of the Vedas, Bible, and other ancient manuscripts as well as computer based topography of the South China Sea prior to the end of the last ice age, the authors make an interesting argument for their case. According to their theory, the eruption of the super volcano "Krakatoa" played a cataclysmic role in the demolition of Atlantis. This site is well worth a look. As with the previous claims, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pillars of Hercules had to be redefined.

Traditional thinking places Atlantis in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between the Straits of Gibraltar (Pillars of Hercules) and the whole of the opposite continent (the Americas). One of the more likely places according to Plato's location, would place Atlantis near the Azore Islands. The Azores are a group of islands located about 900 miles west of the Portuguese coast. Some people believe the islands are the mountain tops of the sunken continent of Atlantis. Ignatius Donnelly's "Atlantis" attempts to provide evidence for this theory. The Azores are part of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, built by volcanic activity, they arise from the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean. A collapse of the earth's crust to these depths, can not be probable. Geological beliefs attribute a rise in the ocean's depths rather than a sinking of a landmass to account for submerged civilizations. Also when discovered by Portuguese sailors in 1427, they found the islands absent of any signs of human life.

The Canary Islands just west of Morocco are also part of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Unlike the Azores, the Canary Islands were inhabited by mysterious natives, the Guanches.According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Guanches were "any of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting, respectively, the western and eastern groups of the Canary Islands when first encountered by the conquering Spaniards at the beginning of the 15th century. Both populations are thought to have been of Cro-Magnon origin and may possibly have come from central and southern Europe via northern Africa in some distant age. Both aboriginal groups had brown complexion, blue or gray eyes, and blondish hair, and these characteristics still persist in a large number of present inhabitants of the islands, but otherwise they are scarcely distinguishable in appearance or culture from the people of Spain. Neither original group now exists as a separate race, but the name Canarios is now applied to all present residents." Their isolation was said to have helped preserved their Cro-Magnon genetic traits.

The Caribbean America's `sleeping prophet', Edgar Cayce, spoke of locations where records of the Atlantis were hidden prior to the destruction of the island continent. He prophesied that one of them would be found in a portion of the temples, yet to be discovered, under the sea water near Bimini, off the coast of Florida. It will be among the first portions of Atlantis to rise again in 1968.

Oddly enough, in 1968 a megalithic structure located underwater near Bimini's North Island was discovered. The now famous Bimini Road is over 600 meters in length and composed of a double line of enormous blocks which curve gracefully back towards the beach. The structure is similar to the letter J. A similar structure continues in a broken line for over a 100 meters before it disappearing beneath the sands. Some blocks are placed on top of others, but the majority rest on the sea floor.

Underwater photo of the Bimini Road taken from the Book Atlantis
by Vladimir Pakhomov
Click image to view book excerpt.

Many geologists claim that the Bimini Road is simply a formation of natural occurring beach rock formation while others have proposed a number of reasons why the feature appears to be artificial in construction. Other structures have come to light in the immediate vicinity of the Road, including a three-meter ring of large stones and various alleged fallen monoliths. In addition to this, various worked stones have also been found in the same area. Considering the finds, very little archeology work has been done to verify these claims.


Edgar Cayce predicted that there was a room underneath the left paw of the sphinx in Egypt, and that this room holds information about Atlantis. He also predicted that the room would be found and opened in 1996-1998. Sonar reading have proven Cayce to be right about the room but the Egyptian government has officially refused to open the sphinx room, and say they aren't planning to in the near future. Sounds like another Roswell in the making! When and if the room is opened up, if not already explored, it may shed new light on our distant past.

Believers grasp Atlantis as not just a lost continent but forgotten knowledge and wisdom. Whether mankind achieved an advanced civilization through endeavors of their own, or helped by the gods, archeology is pushing cultural growth further and further into the past. A recent article in National Geographic throws aside the theory of the Americas being populated by a single migration from Asia around11,200 years ago. In fact it has pushed evidence of human presence as far back as 30,000 years ago. It not only tells of an Asian migration, but tells of European occupation well before the influx from Asia.

Many fantastic theories have been proposed about Atlantis including:
Atlanteans were extraterrestrials.
They destroyed themselves with nuclear bombs or other advanced technology.
The oddities of the Bermuda Triangle originates from sunken Atlantean crystals of mysterious power hidden under the sea floor.
Atlanteans were the common source for development of ancient civilizations.
Psychic healer Edgar Cayce claimed to be a reincarnation of an Atlantean.
Spiritualist J.Z. Knight claims her spirit channel, Ramtha, is from Atlantis.

Many people believe Atlantis to be complete fiction, others claim that Thera inspired a philosopher's imagination, and still others contend that the story is an accurate account of a long lost forgotten past.

There have been many books written about Atlantis of which the Oera Linda Book from Holland (Frysia) is said to be one of the oldest books ever found. It tells of the destruction of the large Atlantic island by earthquakes and tidal waves.

" During the whole summer, the sun hid itself behind the clouds, as if unwilling to shine upon the earth. In the middle of the quietude, the earth began to quake as if it was dying. The mountains opened up to vomit forth fire and flames. Some of them sunk under the earth while in other places mountains rose out of the plains... Atland disappeared, and the wild waves rose so high over the hills and dales that everything was buried under the seas. Many people were swallowed up by the earth, and others who had escaped the fire perished in the waters."