Beyond the Pillars of Hercules – the History of Atlantis

Once upon a time, in the Atlantic ocean, there was a great kingdom – the legendary Atlantis. This utopian ‘Island of Atlas’ was a place of peace, wealth and virtue. Valuable precious metals could be found here, but also the natural world was rich: a unique flora and fauna made Atlantis seem like a paradise on earth. The cities were full of monuments and temples in honour of Neptune, the god of the sea, who protected the kingdom. Atlantis was a famous naval power, its trade flourished – everything seemed perfect.
But slowly the people were becoming greedy, and corruption and immorality were replacing virtue. The gods turned against them in anger and decided to punish them: One night, suddenly, earthquakes shook the earth and fires raged in the city until the whole kingdom sank into the sea.


This is the story of Atlantis, a mysterious kingdom that is said to have fallen around 10,000 B.C. It has become legendary and its story has been passed on and retold in countless tales and novels. Many adventurers, treasure hunters and scientists have tried to find the island “beyond the Pillars of Hercules”. But does it really exist? Is it possible to find the lost treasures and ruins of Atlantis – or is it all just a legend? Let’s find out!

Plato – Javiermirapeidro – https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/10/14/19/53/vatican-2851664_960_720.jpg 

The famous philosopher Plato was the first to mention Atlantis, in his works Timaeus and Critias in the 4th century B.C. In these dialogues he wanted to prove the superiority of his concept of the ideal state. The story of Atlantis, as told by the characters in the dialogues, tells how Atlantis started a war to conquer all of Europe and Asia and how the “ideal” state of Athens resisted them. In the end, as we already know, Atlantis vanished into the sea. Many people believed this story to be true because Plato made it seem as if it was based on reports: For example, the characters in the dialogue mention Solon, one of the Seven Wise Men, translating accounts of Atlantis.
Although most researchers now believe that Plato was using the story of Atlantis as a metaphorical example to prove his point, the search for Atlantis has captivated people for centuries.
And the search is not over – there is still the possibility that Plato was inspired by real historical events, which he simply retold in a way that suited his arguments. While Atlantis is described as being in the Atlantic Ocean, no trace of a lost island has been found there. The Mediterranean, Crete, the Azores, Cuba and even Antarctica have all been proposed as possible locations for Atlantis, but these search attempts are unlikely to be correct. On the other hand, there are three real catastrophic events that may have inspired Plato:

How Atlantis could look like – Thomas Wolter – https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/02/25/18/19/anchor-7034615_960_720.jpg 

The volcanic eruption of Thera or Santorini around 1600 years ago is considered one of the greatest volcanic events in history. It destroyed the Minoan settlement on the Cycladic island, which had played an important role in trade, and its effects were felt and recorded in many other regions.
Around 5600 BC, a massive tsunami occurred in the Black Sea, causing the sea level to rise. This event is thought to have inspired many legends and myths, and may have been an example used by Plato in his dialogues.
Last on the list is the catastrophe of Helike. This city in the northern Peloponnese was devastated by an earthquake and a huge tidal wave about 100 years before Plato’s dialogues were written.
But all these examples are nothing more than assumptions, more or less scientific.

As far as we know today, Atlantis is probably the product of Plato’s imagination. The real Atlantis has not yet been discovered – and probably never existed.
Nevertheless, it has been an endless source of inspiration for writers and artists. The legend is told over and over again in myths, movies, fantasy literature and science fiction novels; you can even find a Disney film about it!
It is not only the story of Atlantis, but also the centuries-long search for it that continues to fascinate us. I hope you now know more about the origins of the legendary Atlantis – would you have guessed before reading that the whole story was actually part of a philosophical lesson?

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