Untitled Essay Research Paper Atlantis Atlantis We free essay sample

Untitled Essay, Research Paper Atlantis Atlantis: We will neer cognize Fantasy is a tough sell in the 20th century. The universe has been to the full discovered and to the full mapped. Popular media has efficaciously minimized the fable and the antic rumour, though to do up for this it has generated falsenesss non as munificent but merely as interesting. Satellites have mapped and studied the Earth, go forthing merely a infinite frontier that is every bit yet unapproachable. But standing out is a capturing phantasy the modern universe has yet to verify or reprobate: the lost continent of Atlantis. The male parent of the modern universe? s perceptual experience of Atlantis is Plato ( circa 428- circa 347 b.c. ) . ( 1 ) The Grecian philosopher spoke in his plants Timaeus and Critias of a continent in the Atlantic ocean larger than Africa and Asia Minor combined which rivaled Athens as the most advanced in the universe. ( 2 ) Harmonizing to the fable environing Plato? s duologues, the island of Atlantis was violently thrown into the sea by the forces of nature, and its few subsisters managed to swim ashore and associate their narrative. ( 3 ) There the fable was passed by word of oral cavity until an Egyptian priest related the narrative to Solon, a character in Timaeus. The priest admired the accomplishments of prehistoric Athenians, because when the swayers of Atlantis threatened to occupy all of Europe and Asia the Athenians, on behalf of all Greeks, defeated the Atlanteans to avoid captivity. ( 4 ) The plants of Plato opened the floodgates to endless guess on whether the continent described was fact or fiction. Atlantis has since been placed in Spain, Mongolia, Palestine, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Brazil, Sweden, Greenland and Yucatan. Every nook and crevice of the Earth has been hypothesized ; mountain extremums, desert lands, the ocean floor and even the waste barren of Antarctica have been m entioned in theories. ( 5 ) While some of these theories are compatible with Plato? s plants and are within comparative ground, legion crank theories have been developed utilizing the lost continent as a footing. One of these theories, posted on the computing machine cyberspace where it has entree to over 15 million people, negotiations in 21 pages of pre-historical lands with names like Oz and Luxor. These universe broad web pages list over two 100 separate articles of cogent evidence for the being of Atlantis, as in the followers: ( 6 ) ? Most all ancient civilisations believed in the TITANS, the race of elephantine worlds that inhabited Earth long ago. Different races knew them by different names. These 7 to 12 pes androids were thought to be legendary until the digging of over a twelve skeletons 8 to 12 pess tall, around the universe, aghast archaeologists. These skeletons were positively human. Some of these skeletal remains are on Maui in lava caves near Ulupalakua and Olowalu . The Spanish Conquistadors left journals of wild blond-haired, fair-haired 8 to 12 pes high work forces running about in the Andes during the conquering of the Incas. A twosome were reportedly captured but died en path to Europe. If elephantine animate beings ( dinosaurs ) were possible so why non elephantine work forces? And why are these Goliaths dwelling both Eurasia a nd the Americas? Only on a land bridge created by the vast continent of Antarctica can there be a sufficient bridge for the spread of these giants.?(7) This text, written by self-proclaimed Atlantologist Steve Omar, represents Plato?s text taken to the extreme- using his ideas as a basis for outlandish and unfounded ideas. These unverified fantasies make a dubious complement to the other dark side of the Atlantean fantasy: hoaxes. Atlantis has been ?discovered? many times, but most notably in the fall of 1912 by Dr. Paul Schliemann. Schliemann introduced himself as the grandson of the famous Heinrich Schliemann, the archeologist who discovered the ruins of ancient Troy in 1873. His ?discovery? made front page news (The New York American, October 1912.) and boasted of an advanced civilization with aircraft, power-driven boats and the like. Schliemann said his grandfather told him on his deathbed of the family?s secret: the location of Atlantis. Schliemann?s claims made waves, but di dn?t hold water; when pressed for details, Schliemann was unresponsive and eventually disappeared from public view. (8) Unfortunately, the falsities concerning Atlantis frequently overshadow the possibilities. The subject has gathered its share of honest journalists as well. Ignatius Donnelly wrote the first extensive study of the possibility of existence in 1882, and his views have not been found to be false with twentieth century technology. Donnelly believed in Atlantis, but believed it to be worldly; his reasons for Atlantis?s existence are unable to be proven, but make sense. Some examples: -There is nothing improbable in Plato?s narrative; it describes rich, cultured and educated people but doesn?t mention things of fantasy like giants, hobgoblins etc. (9) -Plato speaks of hot and cold springs in the center of Atlantis, a feature common to islands with volcanic activity. Chances are Plato didn?t know this. (9) -Plato says in his stories that the Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, is always seen on a chariot with horses because he was originally the god of Atlantis, where horses were domesticated. But when Atlantis fell to the sea, the Greeks believed Poseidon brought his horses with him. (9) Responding partly to Donnelley?s theories and partly to the urge to discover, some 20th century archeologists have used twentieth century technology to look for Atlantis. But many have dismissed Atlantis as glorified myths of volcanic eruptions in the island of Thera in 1450 b.c. The eruption may have destroyed that island and caused a small earthquake and tsunamis that ruined the civilization of Crete, but didn?t sink a continent. (10) Therefore, none of Donnelley?s theories can be proved without the actual discovery of the continent. The legend of Atlantis is only a huge collection of theories and guesses, but theories and guesses also led to the discovery of the lost Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, discovered after being buried and preserved by the volca nic ash of nearby Mt. Vesuvius. Because of this, the mystery of Atlantis?s existence will tantalize the world until the continent is either proven or disproven. (11)