Response from the 3nd International Conference for Atlantis (Santorini 25-26/6/2011) Correspondent: Minas Papageorgiou

Τhis year's conference for Atlantis was dedicated to the memory of Professor Antonis Kontaratos, who, in addition to his intense activity inside our country, excelled in many interdisciplinary programs in the USA (NASA, national energy program, national anti-AIDS program, etc.). A total of twenty lectures were given, of which ten, were given by Greek speakers and thirteen by foreigners, coming from countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Norway, Spain and Australia. It is worth mentioning that the English language was used for all presentations without exception.

The professor of Geology of the University of Patras and president of EMAEM, Stavros Papamarinopoulos, was the one who introduced the public to the "problems" faced by the Atlantis case. He argued that:

"Despite the complexity of the issue of the lost continent, Atlantis existed and, in fact, at the same time, along with a strong Athens, during the 12th pre-Christian century. The question that arises is why the historians of later centuries do not mention it ... Could all these detailed descriptions of the city of Atlanteans by Plato be exclusively imaginary or symbolic thoughts of the great Greek philosopher?"

The first purely scientific research

During this international conference, the findings of the virgin scientific study conducted in a real place to search for the legendary continent were presented for the first time. The speech was given by the Frenchman Marc-Andre Gutscher of the French National Center for Scientific Research (C.N.R.S). It presented the methodology used during explorations to the bottom of Spartel Island, just a few miles outside the Straits of Gibraltar. The scientists did not find any evidence of a sunken state, yet all in attendance noted the enormous importance of conducting a study of this level that scientifically upgrades the issue and paves the way for similar efforts in the future.

Gutscher did not fail to point out that Plato's descriptions of the destruction of Atlantis correspond to those of a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1300 BC.

Problems with terminology

One of the speeches that caused a sensation was that of the electronic engineer and member of EMAEM, George Sarantitis. The Greek researcher raised the issue of the many and different "quality" translations of the Platonic texts (especially the "controversial" Timaeus and Critias) that create misunderstandings over time on the issue of Atlantis. He characteristically emphasized that the Greek philosopher does not speak at any point about the sinking of the lost continent, a fact that has turned the research for its search in the wrong directions all these years. In addition, Mr. Sarantitis presented a graph in which he showed that Plato uses in his texts a kind of "testing" of the reader, harmonizing (in terms of difficulty) the semantic content of his work. Finally, through a literary analysis, he "showed" the bay of Gabes on the east coast of Tunisia, as the real "Pillars of Heraklion".

For his part, Professor Papamarinopoulos pointed out the different meaning of the word "island" in antiquity, which was not completely identical with the corresponding today. For example, it was sometimes associated with the word "peninsula", a term that was interpreted differently only in the 5th pre-Christian century by Herodotus, while other times it was used to denote rivers (see Ladonas) or even cities. This fact could of course create new data regarding the search for the "island of Atlantis" by modern scholars.

The "heretical" case of Russia

One of the ... strange theories that was presented was that of the Italian Marco Bulloni who "placed" Atlantis on the Russian islands of Solovetsky in the White Sea (very close to the border with Finland)! The independent researcher from the neighboring country used a rather convincing argument that included a literary analysis of Plato's descriptions, while making the necessary comparisons from his own field research in northwestern Russia. It is worth mentioning that on the central island of the complex (the largest of the six) there are to this day labyrinthine underground labyrinths and a multitude of megaliths and petroglyphs that could have been built by an advanced civilization of antiquity. According to Bulloni, there are signs of destruction and sinking of a significant part of the island by a tsunami, while the age of this event is determined in 1300 BC.

Homer and the astronomical data!

At the conference on Atlantis we also attended some very interesting talks about the astronomical parameters of the adventures of Odysseus and the sea routes of Homer's time. The truth is that many wondered about the presence of this purely Homeric data in the program, yet in the end they understood the usefulness of these studies. The show was stolen without a doubt by the presentation of Panagiotis Antonopoulos (physicist) and Eleni Mitropetrou (archaeologist) regarding the determination of the exact time of the Odyssey events based on the combination of the literary analysis of the texts and the astronomical phenomena described. . The calculation of the return of the versatile hero to Ithaca was determined in the Autumn of 1207 BC, very close to the solar eclipse of October 30 of that year. The astronomical programs and mathematical formulas used demonstrated in the best way the valuable help that "hard science" (as it was characterized) could offer, namely physics, mathematics, geology, etc., in the work of philologists and archaeologists. Similar methods could be used in the future (even with the little data we have at our disposal) to search for Atlantis.

Faced with paraphilology

During the round table of participants, which was the last section of the Santorini conference, the question of paraphilology related to the supposed nature of the lost continent and theories about technologically advanced (with the current data) or even extraterrestrials Atlanteans was raised. Gutscher's radical proposal caused a sensation, which urged the organizing committee to invite such researchers to the conference from now on, so that their theories would be put under the ... "microscope" of the rest.

Pending a new survey

The second scientific study in search of historic Atlantis is currently underway. U.S.A. researchers are searching for the submarine and coastal area of ​​the Costa de la Louth Peninsula in Andalusia, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. In the subsoil of this area are believed to be the ruins of the ancient city of Tartissos, which is considered by many to be identical with Plato's Atlantis. The results of the research are expected to be completed within the next three years and will be announced during the work of the next conference on Atlantis in our country.

Where is Atlantis?

The 3rd Atlantis International Conference is now a thing of the past. The participants renewed their appointment for 2014, promising to present the new fruits of their quests in terms of searching for the lost continent. Making an attempt to detect the main trends and directions that were presented in the two days of Santorini we can summarize the following:

a) Atlantis was a real place that was destroyed by a natural disaster (earthquake and tsunami), probably during the 13th or 12th pre-Christian century, at the end of the Bronze Age.

b) Most seem to agree that it was not an island, but an area located either in southern Spain or on the northwest coast of Africa (Morocco).

c) The need for further examination of philological, geological, astronomical and archaeological data through the conduct of comprehensive scientific research, such as that on Spartel Island, was emphasized.

d) There has been reflection and discussion as to the attitude of the scientific community towards the funding of research related to mythological data, such as the case of Atlantis, despite the ... "sufferings" of the past (see the cases of Troy, Knossos and of Mycenae).

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** The text was first published into Greek language in the Greek magazine "Phenomena" of the newspaper "Free Press" (vol. 38 - 16/7/2011) by the journalist Minas Papageorgiou.

A new map for the lost Atlantis - The sinking of Atlantis: the aftermath of two destruction stages Article from the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Atlantis (Athens, 2008). By Theodoros V. Paschos, Independent reasearcher, Greece

 ABSTRACT

The question, where the island of lost Atlantis was situated, has been asked since very long time ago.

Supposing that the lost Atlantis has existed (according to conclusions of the First International Committee in 2005), it is now interesting to find out where exactly it was situated, since many different views have been expressed concerning this issue. I will present a new plan of the missing island of Atlantis, based on evidence from Homer, Plato, the geographer Marcellus and Poseidonius, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus and other writers. The plan defines precisely the geographical area where it was situated.

With the help of the map and other evidence from ancient historians, mythology and contemporary maps of the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, as well as of scientific evidence, I will try to support my belief that the geographical position of Atlantis and its structure in the Atlantic Ocean had been insecure, a fact that resulted in the Atlantis sustaining the pressure of many natural disasters.

Finally, I will explain how the sinking of Atlantis happened within, at least, two stages (which, to my mind, is the latest argument worldwide) as well as the time periods when these disasters occurred.

1. ATLANTIS EXISTED IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: SOME ELEMENTS

The following elements enable the attempt to define the area occupied by Atlantis and how it was sunk:

• The classic ancient Greek authors Hesiod, Herodotus, Aeschylus, Plutarch, Philon, Proklos, Aristarch, Kratis, Apollodorus and many more later on, have accepted the existence of the island of Atlantis and have placed it across the Hercules Columns (todays Gibraltar) in the Atlantic Ocean.
  
  
• Diodorus Siculus accepts - without any doubt - that it actually existed. In his work "Historical Library" writes:
  ”the Atlanteans, dwelled as they do in the regions on the edge of the ocean and they also subdued the larger part of the inhabited earth, in particular the regions to the west and the north”(3.56.2 to 3.56.4). And he also adds: “Of those who have written about the ancient myths, Hecataeus and certain others say that in the regions beyond the land of the Celts there lies in the ocean an island no smaller than Sicily. It is situated in the north and is inhabited by the Hyperboreans” (2. 47.1).
  
  
• The excellent academic Crantor sustains with obstinacy that “Atlantis existence is a historic fact”.
  
  
• Proclos in his book "Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus" writes that geographer Marcellus talks about seven islands of the Atlantic Ocean devoted to Persephone as well as of another three vast ones, one of which was Neptune's sacred place (23.177.10). But relate to the myth “Atlas begat by Hesperis seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother "Hesperides” and “These daughters after their death attained to immortal honour among men, by whom they were all enthroned in the heavens and endowed with the appellation of Pleiades” (Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 4.27.2 and 3.60.5).
  
  
• Poseidonius believed that Plato’s story about Atlantis is not fiction. This is reported by Strabo who writes that: “...And on this point Poseidonius does well to cite the statement of Plato that it is possible that the story about the island of Atlantis is not a fiction” (Geographics, book 2.III.6).
  
  
• Homer in the Odyssey says that:
  “There was an island named Ogygia which lied far off in the sea. Therein dwelled the fair-tressed daughter of Atlas, guileful Calypso” (Homer, Odyssey, Η 245), “this island was in distance eighteen days west from the land of Phaeacians” (Odyssey H 265 and e 275).
  
  
• The Greek ancient historian Herodotus in his “History” writes about an “island called Erytheia which was lied towards Gadeirus outside of the pillars of Heracles in the ocean” (book 4.8).
  
  
• In Plato’ s dialog Critias (114.b.1) is mentioned that the Atlantis’s island has “its extremity towards the pillars of Heracles up to the part of country now called Gadeirus (in the Hellenic language Eumelus)”.
  
  
• The names Atlas - Antiatlas (mountains of Morocco), Atitlan (Guatemala), Tlakopan, Tenochitlan, Mitla, Etla (Mexico) etc, have common phonetic similarity with A-tla.
  
  
• The traditions of the Indians and Africans in the central America and north-west Africa talked about the disappearance of a large island that took place in similar circumstances as those mentioned by Plato’s description (Devigne Roger, 1924).
  
  
• Plato says in "Timaeus"(24E, 25): «..Αnd there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Heracles; 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».
  
  
• The legends of the people of America can see the “Sons of the Sun” appearing from the East i.e. the Atlantic side and disappearing again towards the East. On the contrary, the heroes of the Sumerians of Mesopotamia and Egypt, which are also related to the “Sons of the Sun”, are referred to have been seen coming from the West and disappearing towards it (Vassilis Paschos, in his book “The Atlanteans and not the Gods”, 2004).
  
  
• The Incas and Mayas of America believed that the Atlantis was situated in the East. The legends of Mayas talk about a god named Quetzalcoatl who came from a strange country of the “Rising Sun” (V. Paschos, “The Atlanteans and not the Gods”, 2004).

According to these facts we come to the conclusion that the island of Atlantis was situated in the Atlantic Ocean. There are many more important facts below that can be considered:

• Researcher Charles Berlitz in his book “The mystery of Atlantis” (1977) says:
  “River beds which have been sunk were discovered at the continental shelf from the two sides of Atlantis in Atlantic coasts. This occurs with French, Spanish, North Africa and American rivers flowing into the North Atlantic and continuing on the bottom along submerged river valleys”.
  The water of Hudson River of New York continues to flow underwater for 750 km along the continental shelf finally connected to the deep ocean basin at a depth of 3 to 4 km below sea level. There is a very deep submarine canyon between rocks (Hudson Canyon). Such an underground morphology is met only in cribes formed on the surface which sunk later. The canyon was formed during the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago, when the sea level was about 120 m lower. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, sonar soundings show that the same canyon-making pattern at the edge of the ocean basin was followed by the Loire, Rhone, and the Seine in France and the river Tagus from Portugal, while on the west coast of Africa there are river Canyons on the seabed although there are no longer feeding rivers flowing from the now-arid land (Ch. Berlitz, “the lost continent revealed”, 1984).
  
  
• Examining the Atlantic coasts around Atlantis, we can confirm the sinking. The separation of United Kingdom from Europe, the submergence of the Norwegian coasts, the rise of the sea level in the Low Countries can only be attributed to the sinking of Atlantis.
  
  
• In 1898 an interesting discovery came about during a search for a broken transatlantic cable, about 800 kilometers to the north of Azores. Grappling irons brought up several rocks from a depth of 3000 meters which proved, upon examination, to be tachylite - a vitreous basaltic lava which cools above water under atmospheric pressure.
  The French geologist Pierre Termier, who made a study of the rocks, in his work "Atlantis" (1912), published in "Revue Scientifique" in Paris, provides us with the following elements:
  1) The Atlantic bottom is volcanic. The lava pulled up by the searchers, from a depth of 3,000 meters found to be basaltic and vitreous. If the lava had solidified under water, it would have been crystalline instead of vitreous.
  2) He contended that the microcrystalline texture of lava showed that it had been submerged under water after cooling and solidified in the open air, probably from a once sea level volcano now under the ocean.
  3) The rocks, a lava known as tachylite, decomposes in seawater after 15000 years. The fact that the underwater lava specimens had not yet decomposed fit well with the theory of Atlantis – even to the timing of the reputed catastrophe, as given by Plato.
  
  
• The geological findings under the sea, the mountain ranges, the reef necks and finally the human constructions.
  
  
• The habit of the Mediterranean eels and those of Europe on one hand, and of America on the other, to travel thousands of miles in order to arrive at Sargasso (seaweeds) Sea, S.W. of England, to give birth (lay eggs) and die (Figure 1). A rock has been detached there and sea weeds of... fresh water of a sunken lake has been found.

It is also known that the eels can only be reproduced in fresh water. The Sargasso Sea is an elongated region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north by the North Atlantic Current; on the east by the Canary Current; and on the south by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current (Figure 2). The Sargasso is roughly 1,100 km wide and 3,200 km long. It stretches from roughly 70 degrees west to 40 degrees west, and from 25 degrees north to 35 degrees north. Bermuda is near the western fringes of the sea. The Sargasso Sea is the only "sea" without shores. It is covered almost completely by floating seaweed of the genus Sargasso, which forms little islands of flora that prevent maritime. The space that they occupy is shallow and is characterized by downfall rain, big moisture and hot and salty waters. The seaweed maintains a peculiar sea life at the shore. It is also mentioned by Christopher’s Columbus during his voyages. Many other seamen after Columbus were afraid that they might be trapped in the maze of the floating vegetation (Encyclopedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica 1992, 1996), (Encyclopedia Harris Patsis, 1975).

Plato, at his dialogue with Timaeus (25 D), describing the sinking of Atlantis, refers to a region of the Atlantic sea which has the same attributes with Sargasso Sea. He says: «But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by the subsidence of the island».

2. A NEW MAP FOR ATLANTIS

Father Kirher (1678) produced a map of Atlantis. The architect Patroklos Campanakis improved it in 1892. He produced a new map of Atlantis indicating connection between Atlantis and Europe and America. The architect Patroklos Kampanakis studied seriously the subject and in 1891 drew a map that shows Atlantis occupying enough space in the Atlantic Ocean, with its west end reaching the coast of Mexico. However, as I believe, relying on the latest geological explorations of this region, Kampanakis has given to the island a great stretch of land.

Nikolai Zhirov (1970) in his work “Atlantis atlantology: Basic Problems” examined geology, climate, oceanography and attempted reconstruction of Atlantis. He amasses a large amount of evidence and expert opinions to prove that:

1. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge were above sea level until about twelve thousand B.C.
   
   
2. Atlantis existed in the tropics, on the north Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In a drawing that he published, he shows Atlantis along the mountain range, on its widest place.

In 1983 the Greek researcher Vassilis Paschos improved the map little bit more, relying on previous discoveries. As it appears in the map of Vassilis Paschos (Figure 4) that he designed for this purpose:

• Easter Atlantis had to be in front of Gibraltar and in a distance equal to that between Crete and Malta.
  
  
• The stretch of Atlantis were lied up and at the sides of the north mid- Atlantic Ridge and on its widest point (plateau), formulating the sign of a cross with the ridge.
  
  
• Its West side and the central part lie to the Sargasso Sea.
  
  
• Its West side penetrated the large gulf which is formed between North and South America in front of Panama Canal.
  
  
• According to Greek mythology there may had been other legendary islands between the main island of Atlantis and Europe or between the main island and Panama Canal (They are not represented on map Fig. 4). Such mythical islands could have been; Gorgon, Tritonis, Amazonia, Erythia, Calypso, Gadir (Gadeirus), Kirki, the seven islands of Pleiades (or Esperides, the seven daughters of Atlas), the island of Hyperboreans and a lot of smaller islands. All these islands may were connected to the mainland Atlantis by reef strips. This is the reason they followed Atlantis when it sunk.

3. THE SINKING OF ATLANTIS

3.1 Unstable position

The geographical position of Atlantis in the Ocean was both fortunate and unfortunate.

Fortunate in the way that temperate climate that was mild and warm contributed to the mental development of its inhabitants and helped them to achieve a lot of things. They inhabited nearly all countries of the temperate zone, from Central America to the Indian Ocean. In these places you can find a lot of tales about the passage of these people from there or their immigration.

However, this was also a poor position as it often received the pressure of wild winds with direction from north to south, of the destructive typhoons and of strong underwater currents. It is also known that the place there has received a lot of earthquakes and volcano eruptions.

The main part of Atlantis must have continued deep below the sea, cut off from any coast near the Atlantic Ocean. This can be seen from the present depiction (charting), using the latest equipment, of the bottom of the sea there. We can see a submerged mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretching from north to south in a depth of 1,000 to 3,000 meters and which has a width of much more than 3,000 meters, especially in its central part, reaching a maximum width of about 1,600 kilometers in the North Atlantic Ocean. Around this wider central part (plateau) the depth of the sea is between 5,000 to 6,000 meters. This vast area of land, now below sea level, is a discovery that “supports Plato’s script about Atlantis”, as William Duran mentions in his “History of Civilization” (1964).

If Plato is accurate in his description of Atlantis the greatest stretch of Atlantis from the right to the left of the mountain range seems that consisted of two pieces of land like two balconies that were based on this mountain range, and they formed a cross. The depth of these two pieces of land into the sea was not very great. It seems that below these pieces there was the sea. Many islands on the east and west sides were connected by shelves with the pieces of land called balconies. On the map 4 we can see on which geographical area - onto or at the sides of north Mid-Atlantic Ridge - Atlantis could have existed. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, first discovered by the Challenger Expedition, includes a deep rift valley which runs along the axis of the ridge along nearly its entire length. This rift marks the actual boundary between adjacent tectonic plates, where magma from the mantle reaches the seafloor, erupting as lava and producing new crustal material for the plates. Moreover it is a frequent site of volcanic eruptions and epicenters of many earthquakes. Many volcanic islands (Azores etc.) are rising from the sides of it, in the north Atlantic. As well as, the deep ocean floor on the right and west of the north Mid-Atlantic ridge is not fairly flat. Latest investigations showed that numerous seamounts, ridges and some guyots and trenches exist.

A known example of largest seismic activity was on 1 November 1755. The epicenter of the earthquake was on Gorringe Bank (or ridge), at around 200-240 km SW of Cape St. Vincent in Portugal. The strong seismic concussion of 8.6 on the Richter scale produced gigantic waves of more than 10 meters in height which devastated large coastal areas of Portugal, Spain and North Africa, as well as Macaronesian islands, and even reach the Caribbean sea, where 3-5 meter waves were reported, and Ireland (Baptista et all., 2003). Various gigantic waves have emerged from this bank or its surroundings, due to its seismic activity from the early age’s time. Professor Papamarinopoulos says that “Gorring Bank produces strong earthquakes of above 8 Richter with a frequency of about 1200-1500 years” (2007).

But, the area with the greatest seismic activity in the Atlantic is still the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Euro-Asian and American plates separate, generating a huge number of seamounts and underwater volcanoes and hydrothermal vents. However, an answer is needed for the question of whether some natural disaster like an earthquake, volcano eruption or a giant tsunami of such force or of greater force, centered at the mid - Atlantic Ridge or somewhere near it, could have sank Atlantis in just 24 hours, as Plato says. Most probably Atlantis sank slowly in stages, with at least two main damages as I explain below.

3.2 The destruction

The point of view concerning the misfortunes of Atlantis is reinforced by the following elements in addition to the previous evidences. Let us turn once again back to what the priests of Sais recounted to Solon with relation to the destructions and the establishment of the town of Sais:

1. One of the Egyptian priests, very old, told Solon about the intensity and causes of the disasters on earth:
   "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" (Plato, Timaeus 22 c).
   To my mind, the main factor in this version is that it deals with the subject of many destructions which split into larger scale ones (more destructive) and smaller scale ones (less destructive) depending on the causes that created them. However, it does not mention precisely when and how many they were.
   
   The same vagueness is prevalent in Critias, where Plato, while describing the city of Athens refers to the following with regard to its Acropolis:
   “In the first place the Acropolis was not as now. For the fact is that a single night of excessive rain washed away the earth and laid bare the rock; at the same time there were earthquakes, and then occurred the extraordinary inundation, which was the third before the great destruction of Deucalion” (Critias ).
   In this excerpt, no mention is made of the time when the three destructions took place before the one of Deucalion. And the most important of all is that it is not made clear whether the destruction of the Acropolis in Athens coincided with the sinking of Atlantis.
   
   
2. The older of the Egyptian priests of the sacred town Sais said to Solon: “you remember a single deluge only (he means the destruction of Deucalion), but there were many previous ones" (Timaeus 23b).
   In this document, we can see that too many floods had taken place before the era of Deucalion. How many were they and when did they take place? There is also here a chronological and numerical ambiguity, as there is above. I allege that two of these floods destroyed and gradually resulted in the sinking of Atlantis, from 9600 to 7000 BC, a fact which I will try to justify.
   
   
3. Continuing his speech, the oldest priest said to Solon:
   «The deity Neith founded your city (Athens) a thousand years before ours, receiving from the Earth and Hephaestus the seed of your race, and afterwards she founded ours (city of Sais), of which the constitution is recorded in our sacred registers to be eight thousand years old» (Timaeus, 23e).
   
   From this passage it appears that the priests of Sais began recording events in their sacred books, from the era when their city was established and afterwards, 8,000 years before the visit of Solon, or approximately from 8590 BC afterwards. This is a very serious point in my reasoning. How can ever be possible that they recorded events regarding Atlantis and Athens (a detailed description of the two cities, the war between them and a destruction) that took place 1,000 years ago, since their city had not been yet established and they, therefore, were not eyewitnesses? Well, I can answer to this satisfactorily, claiming that the final destruction of Atlantis did not take place back in 9600 BC, but in the most recent times, between 6500 and 7500 BC. That is to say, in around 7000 BC, the sinking of Atlantis took place within a day and a night, a fact which the Egyptians priests recorded. In addition, the priests of Sais recorded on the slates of the temple, at the time when their city was established, as well as the whole oral tradition that existed in earlier times in other Egyptian cities, before 8500 B.C. These referred to other parts of Atlantis and islands that sank but were chronologically vague and passed to Solon in 590 BC in the same way.
   
   
4. Let us now mention the work of Plato in Timaeus (24 E) about the dimensions and size of Atlantis. The description shows that “Atlantis was an island greater than Libya and Asia together” (with the sizes they were known in the 6th and 5th century B.C.).
   
   But Plato provides information about the specific dimensions of the plain or the plateau, where the city was lied, 2,000 x 3,000 stages (370 x 555 kilometers), i.e. an area of 205,350 square kilometres which, however, «was surrounded by mountains that stretched towards the sea” (Critias 118a). Thus, the area of the mainland island gets much larger than 205,350 square kilometres, around twenty times larger than the current cluster of the Bahamas islands (19,939 km2) or three times larger than the mainland of Greece (107,000 sq km). But this size corresponded to really large extensions of land.
   So far, I have not yet found any satisfactorily and reliable scientific reference that such a great extension of land (even consisted of large and small islands, as shown on Map 3) could ever sink within a day and night. We should once again remember the priests of Sais who reported much older destruction which apparently had been recorded in their sacred books since the previous existing oral tradition.

3.2.1 The first destruction and partially sinking at 9600 B.C

The first, partial, destruction and submerging took place around 9600 BC when the ice melted phenomenon caused by the global thermal of the last glacial age. From Geological investigations has been proved that the rise of the sea level was rapid between 12000 - 9.500 B.C. The rate of the ice melting was been rapid, too. The level of sea was around -100 m below the present one at 13000 B.C, reaching -55 m at 9500 B.C. (Bard et all, 1990). Around 12000 B.C (Melt Water Pulse 1A) the rate of the sea rise was about 3.7 m /century (Bard et all, 1990). A second Jump in sea level occurred between 10000 and 9000 B.C. (Melt Water Pulse 1B) at a rate of 2.5 m/c. This fact had resulted in more pressure to the land. Together with earthquakes and tsunami waves, the parts of land that were not very well supported, were cut off, smashed to pieces and sank. The same happened to those islands which were connected with balconies by the shelves. Sea levels in the Atlantic Ocean continued to rise less rapidly even after the initial submergence of a part of land of the Atlantis, until about 5.000 BC. At 6500 BC the level of sea was around -23 m (below the present one). Between 9600 and 6500 BC the rate of the sea rise was about 1 m / c.

Another testimony to this era is made by American researchers Paul Martin and Richard Klein, who demonstrate in their book «Quaternary Extinctions A Prehistoric Revolution" the geological upheavals, the climatic changes and the ecological destructions that occurred before 11000 or 9000 years (at the end Pleistocene and during the beginning of Holocene) which caused mass extinction of the species.

3.2.2 The final destruction and sinking around 7000 B.C

The complete destruction of Atlantis must have occurred around 7,000 and 7,500 BC. At that time many different incidents may have contributed to its sinking, perhaps even all the above factors that have been mentioned: Volcano eruptions, earthquakes, tornadoes, strong winds, a movement in its base or movement of layers of earth. It could also have been falling rock from the stars or an explosion of some explosive material. Studying the geological changes that occurred in Africa during the interval of the two floods, Dr Susan Herlin indicates in her work "ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS TO ca. 1500" (2003) that the Sahara desert has been transformed into a lake. She reaches to the conclusion that:
"During the last great wet phase of African climate history, which began about 9,000 and peaked about 7,000 BCE, the higher rainfall levels of the period created numerous very large shallow lakes across what are now the arid southern borderlands of the Sahara desert. Inhabitants of shore communities crafted microlithic tools to exploit a marine environment: fishing and trapping aquatic animals".

Despite the vagueness mainly of the prehistoric time, science acknowledges the existence of some time spans with a possible deviation of 200-1.000 years. As in the Neolithic period (findings of Dimini and Sesklo of Thessaly around the year 5500-6500 BC), we, therefore, admit, that the sinking of Atlantis must have been a time around 7000 BC, namely during the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic times for most countries. The time when almost all traces of the ancient civilizations were lost is exactly determined by the interval of about 8000 to 6000 BC, to faintly come up again in 5000 BC and revive during the years of the third millennium.

Dr. Susan Herlin professor of History University of Louisville, in her work «ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS TO ca. 1500» (2003) deals with the Neolithic period in Africa and concludes that:

"Unfortunately, very little is yet known about how Africans who inhabited the immense lands of the modern Saharan and Sudannic regions in 6000 BCE lived. We do know that there were still thriving fishing communities on the banks of the numerous lakes and the great rivers. They, however, were probably not the first to become dependent on agriculture, since they didn't need to be! They had plenty to eat from fishing, gathering seasonal fruits, and harvesting abundant wild grains. In fact, the first signs of both livestock raising and grain cultivation in Africa appear in what is now the middle of the Sahara desert".

The period of the dynamic development (that is the Bronze Age) of Atlantis coincides with the transition period of other peoples, that is, with the passing from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic and then to the Copper Age. Let us not forget the important scientific argument that during the Neolithic Era, which dates back in the years around 7000 to 6000 of the old chronology, the morphology of Europe gradually took its present geographical form.

3.2.3 Vague Dates:

Some researchers believe that Atlantis sank in 9000, prior to the visit of Solon to Egypt. This was one of the conclusions of the First International Committee on Atlantis that took place in 2005. However, the ancient Egyptians did not use the same calendar to measure the months, years and seasons. For some time, the oldest one, they kept identifying the year with the month (lunar calendar). Later, they kept identifying it with the four and three months. Of course these calendars proved to be erroneous and last times it has been established to measure one year with 360 or 365 days (solar calendar). They are listed in many sources, as the following:

1. The bishop of Caesarea Eusebius (260-340 AD) in «Chronological Canons» says:
   «The most ancient kings of the Egyptians claimed that their years were lunar, that is to say, the year consisted of thirty days, while the Demigods who reigned after them, called their years which consisted of three months, by the name “seasons” (horoi)» (collected works of Manetho, Aegyptiaca A, chapter 2.2).
2. Manetho (3rd century BC), historian and priest of Egypt, states that:
   "Saitis (the first king of the 17th dynasty) added twelve hours to the month so that it could last thirty days, whereas he added five days to one year, which then rose to 365 days" (collected works of Manetho, Aegyptiaca B, ch.58).
3. On the contrary, Plutarch in his work «The life of Numa», states that a year was four months:
   «Τhe Egyptian year had at first only a single month in it, afterwards four, as we are told. And therefore, though they inhabit a very recent country, they have the credit of being a very ancient people, and load their genealogies with a prodigious number of years, since they really count their months as so many years” (The parallel lives, Vol. 1).
4. Diodorus Siculus claimed the same as Plutarch (Historical Library, book 1, ch. 26.5).

These reports are indicative of the difficulties one faces in the accurate dating of prehistoric events. This is because we do not know when they measured time based on month and how long they kept measuring it based on four or three months or when they started to measure it based on the current solar calendar of the 365.25 days. Solon, Critias and Plato encountered the same insurmountable difficulty while converting the 9000 Egyptian years into real solar years. But neither the priests of Sais could explain to Solon this issue, at the time of their meeting (590 BC). The earlier dates as regards events and kings were blurry in their sacred texts, while they remain the same blurry until nowadays. The confusion grew bigger due to the many floods and destructions, of an either smaller or greater scale, locals or global, described in the text of Solon, since they were vague in terms of chronology and geographical space. Critias and Plato who wrote this story have not been able to transform the years. They, therefore, decided to write the number 9000 just as it was written in the text of Solon. They maybe have considered that Solon had transformed them, just as he did with the barbaric names he heard from priests which he translated into Greek.

4. CONCLUSIONS

The wording used by Plato for the destruction of Atlantis, that is, the chronological sentence "9,000 years before Solon's visit to Egypt" does not coincide with the year 9600 BC. as many think. But it corresponds to the period around 7000 BC. At that time the final precipitation and disappearance of Atlantis occurred. This cataclysm could only be clearly recorded by the Egyptian priests and reported to Solon along with all the other details about the civilization, the administrative organization, and the Atlanteans's military force. And that's because their city, Sais, was founded around 8600 BC and not before. And, moreover, the Egyptians did not always measure their prehistoric years with the 365.25 days solar calendar. Climate and geological studies in Western Sahara indicate that the period from 9000 to 7000 BC - which was the last great wet phase in Africa - had the highest heavy rainfall, the Sahara Desert turned into a lake, the Atlantic ocean was raised with rapid rhythm and many species of animals have disappeared due to intense climatic changes.

But previous catastrophes and partial sinking of Atlantean's land had also taken place. The main one, which was not the final one, occurred in about 9600 BC, during the "Second Jump of Ice's Melting and the Second Rapid Rising of the Sea Level - Melt Water Pulse 1B -". And perhaps there was a first partial destruction and sinking of its parts around 12000 BC during the "first jump of ice's melting -MWP 1A". The two oldest disasters were preserved as a blurred vague memory in the popular oral tradition and in the same way they were later recorded by Sais's priesthood, that is, with chronological and geographical indeterminacy.

 Copyright © by Theodoros Paschos, Greece, 2008

The Atlantis Hypothesis

The 2nd International Conference on Atlantis was organized in Athens on the topic: "The case of Atlantis", on November 10 and 11, 2008 on the initiative of the "Society for the Study of Ancient Greek Mythology" (E.M.A.E.M.) and with the collaboration of selected scientists and independent researchers from Greece and abroad.

The conference aimed to bring together experts from different disciplines to present scientifically substantiated views and constructively discuss issues related to or derived from Plato's text on Atlantis. And it was about a topic that is directly related to our country (Plato, Homer, ancient Athens, Greek mythology related to Atlantis) and that is why it is the most suitable country to conduct it and to deal with the issue of Atlantis that attracts the spotlight.

The first conference was held again in our country, in 2005, on the island of Milos.

The monitoring of as many visitors as possible highlights our country internationally as they are covered by many news agencies. More details are available on the event website (http://atlantis2008.conferences.gr)

To express my point of view, which is the view of the Atlantis Museum, I participated in the Conference, as an independent researcher, with a poster presentation and an article, published in the proceedings, entitled:"New map for the Atlantis position- Atlantis was submitted to at least two disasters."

See here the poster with the new map of Atlantis

Read my article: "A new map for Atlantis - Atlantis gradually sank"

The closing of the Conference

On 11/10/2008 at 6.00 p.m. the Conference ended. During the two days that lasted, 34 posters were presented and 37 speeches were given by researchers from different countries. The opinions expressed were many, and in some cases diametrically opposed, but this fact was to be expected on such an issue. Of course, no one expected to find common ground in the discussion. But this does not diminish its value, and the scientific prestige of the presentations. It merely states that the issue of finding Atlantis is still hovering in the air, but at the same time, it is still of interest today. The time has not yet come for a final answer to this question (did it exist? Where? Or did it not exist?). ANYWAY IT WAS AMAZING!

Many Thanks

Thanks to the friends of Atlantis who responded to my invitation, but also to those who supported me

 Theodoros Paschos, Athens